Monroe, Marla - The Edge of Night [The Protectors 3](Siren Publishing Classic) (41 page)

Amanda sighed and picked up a book to try to get back into it. She managed to read the first few chapters, then threw the book down again. She wanted Morgan, and nothing could ease the pain of that, nothing but having him there with her.

Chapter Thirty

Morgan woke from the dream frantic with worry. Something was wrong with Amanda. He just knew it. She’d been dying in his dream, and he couldn’t do anything to help her. He pulled on his jeans and grabbed a shirt from his pack.

“Hey man. What time is it?” Tyler asked, rubbing his face.

“Early. I’m going to Cold Creek.”

“What for, Morgan? Don’t play with Amanda’s feelings.”

“Shut the fuck up, Tyler. Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”

“Um, I talked with her a couple of weeks ago, and she sounded fine. Said everything was going fine with the baby.” Tyler swung his legs off the bed and grabbed for his jeans.

“You talked to her and didn’t tell me?” Morgan yelled.

“You haven’t exactly wanted to talk about her. I figured you’d just get pissy about it. Like now.”

“You should have told me. I’ve been worrying about her for weeks now.” Morgan pulled on his boots.

“Well, we aren’t far from there. We should be there in about four hours if we don’t stop for anything.” Tyler pulled a shirt over his head and rushed to catch up with Morgan.

“I sure as hell don’t plan to stop. There’s something wrong, I’m telling you.”

“Call that Mrs. Pullum lady and see what she has to say,” Tyler suggested.

“It’s only 6:00 a.m.”

“So, by the time we get breakfast, it will be seven. Call her then.”

“I wasn’t planning on getting breakfast.” Morgan stopped with his hand on the doorknob after unlocking the door.

“Yeah, well, that’s a reason to eat. Besides, you don’t want to ride up at ten to where she works and scare her to death.”

“Fine, we’ll get breakfast.” Morgan opened the door and settled his pack in his saddlebags.

They ate at the local diner that wasn’t far from the motel. The food was decent, but the service sucked. By the time they got out of there, it was nearly seven thirty. Morgan punched in the number for Mrs. Pullum and nearly growled when she didn’t answer right away. He was just about to hang up when she answered out of breath, as if she’d run.

“Hello?”

“This is Morgan from across the street. I called to check on Amanda.” He didn’t bother apologizing about the early hour.

“She’s not doing so well, Morgan. She’s been put on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy.”

“Why in the hell haven’t you called me?” he fussed.

“She made me promise not to. She said she had to do this on her own, but between you and me, she’s not handling it very well.”

“What happened?” he asked.

“Her blood pressure went up too high, and he had to put her in the hospital for a few days to get it down. Then he put her on bed rest, and she’s about to go crazy worrying about work and how to pay the bills. I’m afraid her blood pressure is going back up. She goes back to the doctor the end of the week.”

“I’m on my way home. I’ll take care of her,” he promised.

“See that you do. But if you’re just going to up and leave again, stay away.”

“I plan to marry her.” Morgan surprised himself with that.

“Well, good luck. She’s a stubborn woman,” Mrs. Pullum told him.

“I know it. Good-bye, I need to get on the road.”

Tyler was right there demanding to know what was going on. Morgan filled him in and then jumped onto his bike and took off. Tyler caught up with him, and they rode hard for the next four hours until they entered the city limits. Then they slowed it down and maneuvered around the small city until they reached Morgan’s street.

Morgan pulled up into the driveway and hopped off the bike. He didn’t bother knocking on the door. He used his key and walked in with Tyler right behind him. He found her sleeping in the bed. Her face held strain even in sleep. It nearly killed him to see her so worried that she didn’t relax even in sleep.

Tyler eased into the room next to Morgan. He shook his head and turned and left, leaving Morgan alone with her. He wasn’t sure whether to wake her up or not. As it turned out, she woke with a start, as if sensing someone was in the room with her.

“Morgan? Is that really you?” She started to sit up.

Morgan rushed over and stopped her from sitting up. “You’re supposed to be on bed rest. Don’t get up.”

“Mrs. Pullum.” She huffed out a breath. “Did she call you?”

“No, I was on my way back and figured you were at work, so I called her to check on how you were doing and let her know I was coming back.”

“So she told you I was having trouble.” Amanda didn’t look at him. Instead she smoothed the covers down with both hands.

“Yeah, she did. She said you had even been in the hospital. Why didn’t you call me, and if not me, one of the others?” he asked.

“Because I can’t worry someone when I have to do this on my own anyway. I can’t depend on anyone but me.”

“You’re not alone anymore, Amanda. I’m with you. I’m not leaving you again.” He brushed a strand of hair from her eyes.

“What do you mean, Morgan?” She searched his eyes.

“I love you, Amanda. I planned to ask you to marry me, but not like this. I wanted it to be romantic,” he said with a sad smile. “I’m not really good with romantic.”

“Say it again,” she said.

“I love you. I’ve loved you since I first saw you fighting off that bastard at the truck stop, but I’ve been fooling myself into thinking I couldn’t love you. First because you were too young and then because you were pregnant.”

“That doesn’t matter anymore?”

“Yes, it matters a lot. I want to raise him or her as my child. I want to adopt the little thing.”

“Are you sure? You weren’t so happy with me being pregnant with Guy’s baby before. What made you change your mind?” she asked, wary of his sudden change.

“I realized it didn’t matter because the baby was part of you, too. I couldn’t help but love it as much as I love you.”

“I love you, too, Morgan. I’ve loved you almost since I first met you. You leaving like you did nearly broke me. Please be sure, Morgan. I couldn’t handle you leaving me again.”

“I’m sure. I haven’t been able to think of anyone other than you ever since I left. Tyler will probably tell you what a bastard I’ve been, these last few weeks especially. I need you, baby.”

He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her to his chest. His lips brushed her temple as he thought of all the ways he wanted to love her. She deserved a more romantic declaration of love, but that would have to come later. Right now, he needed to touch her, hold her, and know for sure she felt the same way about him.

“Will you marry me?” he asked anyway. He had to know.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.” She laughed and grabbed him by the ears to pull him down for a kiss.

Something moved between them, and he pulled back, startled. The little tyke had kicked him.

“Hey, he kicked me,” Morgan complained.

“He’s kicking like a soccer player, all right. Keeps me up most nights and sleeps during the day. Guess you woke him up.”

“So you’re having a boy?” he asked.

“No, I don’t know what I’m having. He hasn’t cooperated and let us see what he is yet. But it really doesn’t matter as long as he’s healthy.”

“As long as he’s healthy,” Morgan agreed.

He thought hard about it while holding her close to him. A little boy he could teach about bikes and how to ride. He’d already been thinking hard about what he could do for a living and had decided to open up a motorcycle shop. The closest one was in Dallas. He figured he would have a fairly good business if he did repairs and sold bikes. It would provide them with a living, and it was something he enjoyed.

He lay with her in his arms for a long time thinking about opening the shop and her having the baby and settling down. It all felt right to him. He hadn’t felt this much at peace in more years than he could count.

Finally, he extracted himself from Amanda’s arms and quietly slipped from the room. Tyler was sitting in the living room, with the TV on low, watching an old movie.

“How is she?” he asked.

“She’s better than she was, I think.” Morgan sat in the recliner across from Tyler and rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward.

“I asked her to marry me,” Morgan told Tyler.

“Well, it’s about fucking time.” Tyler grinned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You should have asked her all those weeks ago and never left in the first place,” Tyler fussed.

“Yeah, you’re right, but I needed to figure some things out first. I wouldn’t have been good for her six weeks ago.”

“And you’re going to be good for her now?” Tyler asked.

“I’m going to take good care of her now. She won’t have to ask for anything. Want to go with me to pick out her engagement ring?” he asked.

“Hell yeah. Let me wash up some.” Tyler disappeared upstairs in a rush.

Morgan walked back into the master bedroom and gently woke Amanda up. He wasn’t leaving without her knowing he was coming back.

“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty,” he said.

“You’re supposed to wake me up with a kiss,” she complained.

“Sorry.” He bent down and kissed her softly on her lips. “Was that better?”

“It will have to do, I suppose.”

“Tyler and I are going to town to get some things. I wanted to let you know we’ll be back in an hour or two. I’ll cook when I get home. Okay?” he asked, searching her face.

Amanda smiled and nodded her head. She relaxed against the pillow and closed her eyes. “I’m just going to take a little nap, is all. I’ll be more awake when you get back.”

“Rest, baby. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Morgan settled the covers more firmly around her and tiptoed out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Tyler sat at the bar waiting on him.

“All set?” Tyler asked.

“Ready. Let’s go find the perfect ring for her.”

* * * *

One year later

“Morgan, Anna wants to ride,” Amanda said.

“Oh, she does, does she?” Morgan picked up his little girl and carried her over to the little dirt bike he was repairing for someone and sat her on it and helped her “ride” around the room, going “zoom zoom.”

“You realize you’re spoiling her. She’s going to want one of her own by the time she’s five or six.”

“She’ll get whatever she wants—within reason,” Morgan said as he picked her up and threw her in the air, only to catch her again.

Their daughter giggled over and over as he lifted her over his head and wiggled her little body. Amanda loved seeing Morgan play with her. He always made time for her and was never too busy to stop and pay attention to her.