Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (71 page)

“He
reminded me of my uncle from New York. Crazy old guy that would
belch all through dinner. Ah, he was the best.” Robbie smiled
at the distant memory, and Morgan immediately wanted to know more.
She pushed her hand between his waist and arm, then wrapped her
fingers tightly around his bicep.

“Is
that where you grew up? New York?” He shook his head and told
her that he was from Kansas, but had family all over the states.
When Morgan heard Kansas, she smiled and asked her next question.
“Kansas, huh? There are a lot of horses there, right? Do you
ride?” It was her only way to bring up his prior passion, and
she hoped that it would work. Robbie's gaze fell to his shoes
briefly, then straight forward again just as quickly. She heard him
take a quick breath, and found herself unable to release her own
until he spoke. Several seconds of torture for both of them passed
before Robbie finally answered.

“Yes.
I used to ride.” His brief answer told Morgan that she was on
shaky ground, but she pressed on as nicely as she could.

“I
haven't ridden much. In fact, not too long ago, my riding was the
reason for a friend breaking his ankle. But, I've had a few rides
that didn't end so tragically.” She nudged his side and he
looked down to greet her smile with his own. “I'd love to ride
again. Do you have horses?” She knew that he did, because
Loraine had told her that he still had his two favorites and would
never part with them. The problem would be getting him to agree to
get on again. She watched his jaw clench in the fading day's light,
but kept her demeanor light and friendly. So many moments had passed
since her question as they walked to the zoo's exit, that Morgan
began to believe that he wasn't going to answer her at all.

“Are
you hungry?” It wasn't exactly the answer to her question, but
Morgan knew she wasn't done trying. She nodded and gripped his arm
more tightly as the sun hid itself deeper beyond the horizon. He
nodded as well and his arm reached across his own chest to meet her
hand on his arm. He asked her what she liked, and remembering the
search for food the night prior, Morgan told him that she wanted
seafood. He nodded again and said he knew the perfect place.

Morgan
took it upon herself to call a cab, and it wasn't until both were
seated in the back seat that Robbie spoke again. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“I
have horses.” He gave Morgan a very brief smile, then looked
back down to his lap, then to his right, out the window.

“You
do?” Morgan did her best surprised voice. “How many?”

“Two.”
Robbie's eyes flickered. Morgan could tell it was bittersweet to talk
about the horses, due to the fact he loved them dearly, but it
saddened him to know he'd never ride again. “Tarzan and
Tobasco.”

“Interesting
names.” Morgan commented. She wanted to know more, but she also
wanted him to open up.

Robbie
laughed as if he recalled a memory, and brought his attention away
from the window and back to Morgan. “Tarzan, well, he was a bit
wild. Thought we'd never break him, and one day, it just happened. It
was right after a storm, and I went out to check on him and he ran up
to me, scared as hell. It..he..” Robbie was still giggling.
Morgan couldn't help it and began to laugh as well. His laugh was
unique, and contagious. “He ran up to me and pressed his head
to my cheek, like he was asking for a hug. Sometimes, I just wonder,
did that big 'ol boy get hit by lightning?”

“So,
he was nice after that?” Morgan was truly interested.

“Oh,
he was never mean or anything. But...we just...kind of...clicked
after that. He let me ride him that night, for the first time.”
Robbie smiled at Morgan and shrugged his shoulders.

“And
Tobasco?” Morgan placed her hand on his, without batting an
eye. His fingers tightly wrapped around her soft hand in a brief
squeeze, then found a comfortable position of their intertwined
fingers on the seat between them.

“Tobasco.
Right. Well, I came out to the barn one day, still eating my lunch,
which happened to be a steak burrito. I like my food spicy, so I had
it covered in Tobasco sauce.” Robbie raised a brow at Morgan,
urging her to guess what happened next.

“He
didn't!?” Morgan leaned forward in her seat, and her fingers
curled around his.

“Yes
and no. The asshole grabbed the burrito from my hand, then of course,
dropped it to the ground when the tobasco hit him.”

“So that's how he got his name? What did he do with the taste?”

The
two talked about the face Tobasco had made upon the discovery of hot
food, and Morgan giggled at the thought of an animal making such
facial expressions. Robbie also told Morgan that Tobasco's name had
just been Red, prior to that day, due to his rich chocolate-red coat,
but his second name suited him much better.

By
the time he finished the story of how his horses got their names,
they were pulling up to a place that Morgan couldn't pronounce.
Robbie told her the name with a near perfect German dialect, and the
two of them argued all the way to the front door about how the word
above the door looked nothing like the word he was saying. It was
like two children bickering in an old,
it does too, it does not,
kind of way, which made Robbie laugh like he hadn't in a very long
time.

It
was nice for the man to have such an easy distraction. He didn't even
care about the fact he'd chosen a rather dimly lit restaurant, nor
for the fact he was beginning to enjoy her company more than he
should. It was just nice to have someone be there because they
enjoyed his company as well, and enjoyed him for who he was, rather
than what he thought he wasn't. Loraine didn't have to take care of
him as much as she did, and although it was nice to have her in his
life, even unintentionally, he could tell she felt bad for him.
Morgan didn't feel bad for him, and it was an amazing feeling.

Morgan looked around the small restaurant and Robbie organized a
table for two with the staff. It was a tiny place, roughly twelve
tables, and unlike any seafood restaurant she'd ever stepped foot in.
In fact, it was rather plain. The walls were a burnt orange color,
yellow trim. The floor was dark green carpet, one that desperately
needed replaced. There was no real art to speak of, the lighting was
weak and the ground creaked beneath their feet as they made their way
to their table.

All
in all, she liked it. No,
loved
it. The fact there were only
two other people sitting in the restaurant, the fact the music made
no sense at all, and the fact it smelled like the ocean, mixed with
an array of seasonings she couldn't quite decipher. There was a
similar place back in Ohio. Although it wasn't seafood, she recalled
going to the place when she was a young teenager. It was an italian
place, and it served the best lasagna Morgan had ever had in her
life. Family owned and operated. That's when Morgan first learned her
appreciation for hole in the wall establishments. Usually, they were
the best kept secrets.

“I
know, it's not the most fancy of places, but their shrimp and pasta
is to die for. Trust me. I'll take you somewhere really nice this
week though, don't worry.” Robbie guided Morgan to her side of
the booth, then took two small steps to the left until he no longer
felt the edge of the table against his thigh, then slid into his side
of the table. The restaurant was darker than he'd remembered, but it
had been about six months since he'd been there, and his sight had
declined since then. He let out a small sigh at the realization, then
grabbed a menu from the back of the table and slid it toward Morgan.

“No,”
Morgan protested, then looked around the restaurant once more. “I
love it. I'd take this over fancy any day.” She flashed him a
smile, then directed her attention to the menu. “So, you like
the pasta, huh?”

She
knew why he chose the place. Robbie already knew what he wanted, and
he didn't have to look at the menu. Reading in that environment would
be next to impossible, and she knew it. She also knew that she would
still help him, but not enough for him to notice.

Her
first opportunity came when their server approached the table with
two full glasses of ice water. Morgan immediately put her hand
around the cold glass after it had been placed to Robbie's left, and
pulled it slightly forward so that he could grab it easily. It was a
subtle move, and one that her date didn't even notice. At least, so
she thought.

“Why
did you do that?” Robbie's brows came together as he
questioned her, and yes, Morgan knew instantly that her move wasn't
as subtle as she had previously thought. She was grateful for the
poor lighting in the room at that moment, because she felt as if her
face had already turned four shades of red before she could answer
him.

Shit!
Morgan...you're a freaking idiot!
She fumbled with her own
glass quickly, trying to make it appear as if she had planned to move
both of their drinks closer to their hands. She took a deep, and
very quiet breath as she finally answered. “Do what?”
Her nonchalant look had worked, or perhaps it was the tone that she
had managed, because Robbie just shook his head and dismissed the
question.

The
man ordered for both of them, the pasta and shrimp that he loved so
much, and tried to calm himself down. There was no way that Morgan
knew about his ailment, and he couldn't ruin such a perfect day with
overreacting with insecurities. “So,” he cleared his
throat and tried to think of something to lighten the mood, “you
enjoyed the zoo?” Of course she did, they had already talked
about it, but he couldn't think of anything else at the moment.
Morgan was happy that she covered for her mistake, and even more so
that he didn't suspect anything.

“I
did, I loved it. I hope we can do more sight seeing.” Morgan
placed the large red linen napkin on her lap and flattened it slowly
with her hands. She looked up to see a wide smile on Robbie's
handsome face, and she gave a genuine toothy grin in return. “You
have a great smile, Robbie Edwards.” That time, it was his
face that turned a few shades of red. They were still smiling at one
another when their server returned with a large basket of fresh hot
rolls. They were placed in the middle of the table while Morgan and
Robbie tried to look away from one another, still smiling, when the
basket bumped the small candle in the center. Bread was already
starting to fall to the table when Morgan grabbed Robbie's glass of
water once again. She did it because the man's hand was moving
forward to stop the bread from falling, but his glass was in the
direct path. Morgan saved him from another embarrassing moment.
Robbie's eyes moved with Morgan's hand as he watched his water glass
being placed in yet another place on the table. He felt his face
warm, and his insecurities felt a bit more real at that moment.

“Why?
Morgan, why did you move that again?” He had to know.
“Morgan, look at me.” Morgan's eyes had fallen to her
red napkin at the sound of his voice, and she wouldn't look up again
until she found a way to cover for herself. Then, a slow smile
formed on her lovely face as she met his gaze.

“Why
did I do what? Move your glass? You didn't want bread to land in it,
did you?” It was perfect, she simply moved it as a normal
reaction. Bread was falling and she helped him, but not in an
I-need-help sort of way.

Robbie
gave a quick nod, “Right.” Slightly ashamed of his own
thoughts, he looked back to the half empty plate in front of him.
Get
it together, Rob.
A person moving a glass shouldn't have given
him that kind of reaction, but it had been so long since he'd felt
almost normal, that any kind of
normal
help still felt like
pity-help.

Morgan
exhaled slowly. Again, she was relieved he wasn't on to her. What
would have been worse, she thought, have him knock his glass over and
onto the table and both of their laps or her simply moving it out of
his way?
I did the right thing.
In her own attempt to change
the subject, she took her turn in asking something about the zoo.
“Which was your favorite animal?”

Robbie
turned his eyes back to Morgan and smiled slowly, then back to the
bread basket in the center of the table and reached for one of the
steaming rolls. His first attempt to get his hand in the basket fell
a bit short, the second attempt he found one of the fluffy bread
bites and quickly brought it to his lips. He tore off a big bite with
the side of his teeth, making a quiet growl that made Morgan giggle.
“Lions,” he finally answered through a full mouth, and
Morgan laughed some more.