No Other Love (A Walker Island Romance, Book 2) (6 page)

After their mother’s death, Emily had done a lot to look after the rest of them, but as the second-oldest, Rachel had been there, too, always ready with unconditional sympathy. In a lot of ways, she’d been the strong one. It was strange how things had changed. There was something almost fragile about her sister now.

“Since none of us are ten anymore,” Morgan said, “how about we make it wine?”

Emily had already grabbed a bottle and three glasses. “You have until we finish the bottle to tell us what's going on.”

Morgan knew better than to try to argue. With two of her sisters ganging up on her because they loved her, she had no chance of getting away with her secrets intact. In any case, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hold it inside anymore. Not when she needed to talk to someone about everything that had happened since she’d gotten back on the island yesterday. Needed them to tell her that she wasn’t crazy and that she was doing the right thing by keeping her distance from Brian.

Leaving Michael in the kitchen to work on the computer, the three sisters settled down on the couch in the living room, each with a glass of berry wine that had come from the other side of the island. Emily generally didn’t see the point in buying things from off the island when she believed everything they needed was already there. In this case, she had a point, since it was really fantastic wine.

“So,” Emily said, “what happened with Brian today out at the garden?”

“It’s not just Brian,” Morgan insisted. But when her sisters gave her
that
look, she admitted, “Okay, maybe it mostly is about him, but there’s also this thing with the interns that I don’t know how to deal with.”

“There’s a problem with the interns?” Emily asked. “I thought they would be just right for your project. I mean, they’re both good kids, so if they’re doing something wrong, especially so early on, then you should talk to them. They probably just need a little extra guidance.”

“No, they're doing a great job with the land. In fact, you should see the plans Natalie drew up. They're incredible. And Tad will work until he drops, which is super helpful considering how much thick brush there was for all of us to clear away. It’s just that Tad is obviously head over heels for Natalie, and while I know that Natalie has her own big dreams off the island—”

“Don’t get involved,” Emily said firmly.

“Wait a minute,” Rachel said. “We don’t even know what Morgan was about to say.”

“Trust me,” Emily continued, “you don’t get involved in the love lives of students. Ever. They won’t end up thanking you for interfering, not when both of their hearts end up broken and they’re filled with angst.”

Rachel thought about it for a few seconds before finally agreeing. “Emily's probably right. Besides, I'm pretty sure you’re only bringing those kids up to try to distract us from the important stuff. Namely, what’s up with you and Brian?”

Morgan was on the verge of telling her sisters that there was no
me and Brian
, but that would have been a lie. And she just couldn't lie to them.

“He wants us to get back together.” Both of her sisters’ eyebrows flew up as she added, “He gave me flowers this morning, the same ones he gave me back in high school at our prom. And yesterday when we went for a drink together—”

“Hold on,” Rachel said. “You went for a drink with him?”

“Just to catch up. It shouldn't have meant anything. It wasn't
supposed
to mean anything. But he ended up saying that while he understands why I had to leave seven years ago, now that I'm back and we're both adults instead of kids, he wants us to try again.”

“Wow, that’s—”

“But I’m
not
back,” Morgan continued, cutting Emily off. “At least, not for long. He was saying how he’s going to fight for me this time and how he’s never stopped regretting letting me go because he's still in love with me, but that’s just
nuts
, right? I mean, if he left this island he would be miserable, and I'm all settled in New York.”

Emily refilled all of their glasses then said, “You’re the only one who can decide what you need to do, Morgan. You need to think about what there is for you there and what there is for you here.”

“It’s obviously a shock, Brian just coming out with all of his feelings like that,” Rachel added, “but at least now you know what's in his heart. The question is, what are you feeling...and what's in your heart for him?”

“When I saw him again yesterday, I tried to ignore the sparks that immediately shot off between us, but when he hugged me, I never wanted to leave his arms. Which is crazy, because we all know it would never work. Yes, we're adults now, but, if anything, that only means we're more set in stone with our careers and lives on opposite coasts.”

She could tell Emily wanted to say something more, but just then Morgan's phone dinged with an email from Juliet saying the studio wanted to lock her into a single location for the shooting of her show. Thinking about how Brian had said his favorite segment had been when she’d gone on the road—and how she’d felt exactly the same way—Morgan stood up and said, “Sorry, I need to deal with something my assistant just alerted me to.”

* * *

After Morgan left the room, Michael walked in and said, “Don't do it,” to Rachel and Emily.

“Do what?” Emily asked, but it was clear from the flush in her cheeks that she knew exactly what he was talking about.

“Interfere with Morgan and Brian. Or am I wrong and that's not what both of you are thinking of doing?”

Rachel cracked first. “I was just thinking that it might be nice if…well...what if…”

“What if we could get Morgan to stay?” Emily finished for her.

“I know how much you both love her and why you want her to stay. I do, too.” Even more than they wanted her to stay on the island, though, he knew that they wanted their sister to find love again. Still, that didn't change his advice. “But even if you think you’d be helping her, and him, too, by meddling, we all know that if they're going to work things out—or not—they need to do it all by themselves.”

CHAPTER NINE

The garden behind the historical society wasn’t large, certainly not as large as the Walker plot, but it had always been one of Morgan’s favorite places. Though it had been planted only twenty years before, it seemed much older, squeezing a grand old mansion’s flower garden into a space half the size. She’d come to the patio that overlooked the flowers and small trees as a kid to get her schoolwork done whenever it didn’t seem likely to happen in a house full of sisters, and now she worked there again, going through her email.

So far she'd composed a reply to the network about why she thought it would be far better if they filmed her makeover show on the road versus bringing her subjects into the New York studio every time. She'd also read through Juliet’s research on potential supply chains and had sent a couple of messages to celebrities she’d worked with to feel out the likelihood of them coming on her show.

“I thought I’d find you here,” Brian said.

She looked up with surprise—and pleasure she couldn't even begin to suppress—as he came up onto the porch to sit down next to her. He’d cleaned up after working in the garden that morning, but there was still a wonderfully earthy, outdoors feel to him. She couldn’t imagine certain people working in an office, and Brian was definitely one of them.

“Some things don’t change,” Morgan agreed, putting away her laptop as she accepted that she wasn’t going to get any work done with Brian here. Not when being this close to him completely scrambled her brain...and the rest of her, too. “Especially on Walker Island.”

“Some things have definitely changed. Lots of things, actually.”

Morgan should have just let it go, but she suddenly couldn't stop herself from challenging him. “Name three.”

“I can do better than that.” Brian stood up, holding out a hand to her. “Let me show you what’s different. Unless of course...” He didn't finish, just let his challenge linger between them.

Morgan knew the last thing she needed to do right then was go on a field trip around the island with Brian. After everything he'd said, after he'd held her in his arms, and after the flowers he'd given her, saying yes to this would probably only give him the wrong idea. But how could she run from the challenge in his eyes? And how could she possibly pretend that she didn't love to spend time with him?

Besides, she
would
like to see the changes to the island. Morgan had been back a few times since she’d left, a day here and there for Grams’ birthday or one of Charlotte’s recitals, but it had always been a super quick visit. In and out, with no time to do more than toast a bride or carve a Thanksgiving turkey.

“Okay,” Morgan said as she stood up. “Although the way I remember things growing up, the boats in the harbor getting a fresh coat of paint was a big deal.”

Brian laughed as he drew her to her feet, and for a moment they were close enough that she could smell the wonderfully clean, masculine scent of him.

He slung her heavy bag over his shoulder, then led the way out of the historical society into town. He gestured to the left, where a small boutique now sat. “Do you remember what used to be there?”

“The old candy store.” Morgan could remember saving up her money to buy plenty of sweet stuff as a kid, although she had to admit that these days, the current contents of the windows were probably more to her taste.

“That’s right,” Brian said. “Mrs. Kiriakis sold her store about a year after you left.”

He led the way down a winding lane where Morgan couldn’t remember anything much being there when she’d left. Just a few old, empty workshops. Today, though, they were open to the outside world as studios for working artists. What had been a dull, ordinary spot had sprung to life with a sculptor working on a bust, a couple of painters discussing a half-finished canvas, and a sketch artist doing quick but excellent drawings of passersby.

“Do you mind if I draw the two of you?” the man asked as they came closer. “It will only take a few minutes.” Agreeing that they could spare the time, she and Brian stood together, hand in hand, while the artist sketched with charcoal and pastels, looking them over with a critical eye.

“You really do look good together,” he said when he was done and showed them the picture. He’d caught their connection so perfectly, and Morgan was more pleased than she wanted to admit when he gave them the drawing.

“Come on,” Brian said after she very carefully tucked the beautiful drawing in between two folders in her bag so that it wouldn't wrinkle or smear. “There are a couple more places I’d like to show you.”

He took her up in the direction of an old lookout point where they’d once gone on a date, just enjoying being with one another as they'd stared out over the ocean. A small building had been built on the site with a sign beside it that said
Walker Island Ornithological Station
.

“Bird watchers have taken our spot?”

She didn't realize what she'd said—
our spot
—until she saw the warmth, and the yearning, in Brian's eyes. But he didn't draw out the moment, just simply said, “Come inside.”

The interior of the small building was similar to the whale-watching stations around the island where the marine biologists congregated. However, where those had pictures of whales mixed in with sonar equipment, this one was filled with pictures of coastal birds, along with plenty of telescopes. A middle-aged man and woman were staring out over the island and down toward the sea through two side-by-side telescopes.

“I’m telling you, Harold, I know an osprey when I see one. I do have a PhD in ornithology, you know.”

“So do I, and there aren’t any that make their home on the island, Lisa.”

“Until now.”

Brian cleared his throat, and they both looked up with smiles. “Hello, Brian,” the woman said.

“Hi, Lisa. I hope you don’t mind me coming round like this. Harold, Lisa, I’d like you to meet Morgan Walker. Morgan, this is Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Bernstein.”

“You’re married?” Morgan asked.

“Was it the arguing that gave it away?” Lisa joked right before Harold looked at her with his heart in his eyes.

“Yes, we are, and I'm the luckiest man in the world.”

Brian was grinning as he said, “Harold and Lisa have been running a research project looking into the island’s birds for the last couple of years.”

A couple of years? It was weird thinking that this building had been sitting on one of Morgan’s favorite spots on the island for a couple of years, and she hadn’t known about it.

“I thought most of the research teams from the universities came here for the whales?”

“Certainly that’s the main focus of research on the island,” Harold agreed. “But there are whole new avenues of research when it comes to a microclimate like the one on the island. Species can be introduced and change things around them very quickly.”

“Like ospreys,” Lisa said with a little smirk on her pretty face.

“That was
not
an osprey.”

Brian nodded to the door as the couple continued their argument from where they'd been interrupted, and Morgan took the hint.

“I encourage students to come up here to get a taste of research,” Brian said. “And they usually come away with a lot of new knowledge...at least when those two aren’t sparring.”

“Don’t they scare off the birds?” Morgan teased.

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But you can see how much they love each other, underneath it all. And the bird observatory has been a really good addition to the island.” He brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes before saying, “There’s one more thing I want to show you.”

Morgan nodded, although actually it felt a little strange to see these changes in the one place that she'd always believed would never change.

Brian led the way back down the hill to the old oak tree at the heart of town, and she looked around, wondering what could possibly be different here. “This all looks the same. What did you want to show me that’s so different?”

Brian drew her over to the tree. There in the bark was a heart, not carved with any initials, but simply with the words
You and Me
. It had been the lyrics of the song playing back at their prom when he'd pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all the love in his heart.