Return of a Hero (13 page)

Blushing, Laura was about to correct him, but Morgan interrupted.

“Let’s go inside,” he urged all of them. “I’ve got a lot of explaining to do.” He gave Laura an unsteady smile as he placed his arm around her shoulders, drawing her to him.

She leaned against Morgan’s strong body, deeply moved by the Trayhern family’s ability to show their emotions. Somehow Laura had expected “Wolf” Trayhern to be like the other generals she’d met over the years—hard and incapable of displaying feelings. But he had Morgan’s sensitivity and warmth beneath that tough skin of his. Walking at Morgan’s side, Laura felt her heart lift with euphoria, because, for a while, she would be a part of this incredibly loving family.

“So that’s it,” Morgan said, concluding the story of what had happened to him in the past seven years. Grimly he studied his parents, who sat opposite him. Shock, disbelief, hurt and outrage showed on their faces. And that was what he felt. He glanced at Laura, who sat next to him. Straightening, he reached out, taking her hand. “And Laura thinks I can clear myself.”

Chase leaned forward, a pronounced scowl on his lined face. “I can’t believe Armstrong or Young would agree to smear someone like this.”

“Dad, there are some officers who put their careers above and beyond honorable conduct,” Morgan growled.

Rachel shook her head. “Chase, this is terrible. What are we going to do?” She got up, unable to sit still any longer.

“Take it easy, honey,” Chase said soothingly. “Let’s look at all facets of this problem. After the rest of the family gets here, we’ll put our heads together and plan some strategy.” He glanced at his watch. “Noah, Kit and their daughter, Melody, will be here in about an hour.”

Morgan grinned. “Was Noah excited about seeing his big brother again?”

Chuckling, Chase rose. “‘Excited’ isn’t the word, son. Your mother and I will get some coffee made. You and Laura just sit back and relax.”

“You,” Laura murmured, “have wonderful parents.”

Morgan drew her into his arms. “After I remembered who I really was, I used to lie on my bunk at night, wondering how my parents would react if I walked back into their lives.”

Sliding her hand against his chest, Laura laid her head against his shoulder, contentment flowing through her. “And did your dreams include this kind of welcome?”

Sifting strands of her hair through his fingers, Morgan studied her peaceful face. “I wasn’t sure, Laura. I thought they might believe what the press and Pentagon had put out on me.”

Each grazing touch of his fingers against her scalp increased the yearning deep within her. Laura raised her lashes, drowning in the warming gray fire in Morgan’s eyes as he held her gaze. “You’re like your father in many ways. The same bravery and spirit is there. And you look so much alike physically it’s uncanny.”

Chuckling, Morgan slid his hand down her shoulder to her arm. “Dad always said I was the spitting image of him. I got his square jaw and stubbornness.”

“And your mother’s warmth and sensitivity.”

“You bring that out in me.”

Laura sat up. “You’ve always had that part to you. It just got closed down because of what happened.”

The urge to bring her forward and kiss her ripe lips was excruciating. But now was not the time or place. Instead Morgan brushed her cheek with his thumb. “I think you’re right. Noah inherited my Mom’s temperament. He’s more open, more generous in showing his feelings than I ever was.”

“I can hardly wait to meet him and his family,” Laura said.

The momentary nervousness that spasmed through Morgan quickly abated as Noah threw his arms around him, holding him tightly for a long time before releasing him. Any doubt he’d had about his brother wondering if he was a traitor disappeared. There were tears in Noah’s green eyes. Self-consciously, Morgan wiped the tears from his. He grinned, gripping Noah by his shoulders.

“It’s been a hell of a long time,” he rasped. He watched the tears trickle down Noah’s cheeks.

“Yeah,” Noah answered hoarsely. “Too long. God, it’s good to see you, Morgan—” And he embraced him hard.

A sob caught in Morgan’s throat as he held his younger brother for a long, poignant moment. Noah looked splendid in his uniform of light-blue shirt and dark-blue pants. Morgan felt that Noah embodied all that was good and pure and true about the Trayherns.

Gradually Noah released Morgan and stood back, wiping the tears from his face. He placed an arm around Morgan’s shoulders. “Come on, I want you to meet my family.”

Morgan made a point of bringing Laura to his side and introducing her to his brother. Noah’s delight showed on his face immediately. And then Noah proudly brought his wife and daughter forward. Morgan warmed to Kit, who was decidedly pregnant. It was obvious that Noah and Kit were terribly in love by the tender look they shared. Their sixteen-month-old-daughter, Melody Sue, toddled confidently between the four adults during introductions.

Melody went straight to Morgan, her tiny hands barely reaching his knees, and smiled up at him. Kneeling, Morgan opened his arms to the black-haired, green-eyed little girl. Melody fell into his arms with a giggle, snuggling against him, covering his face with sloppy kisses. Tears drove into Morgan’s eyes as he gently gathered Melody into his arms. She smelled so fresh and clean, her laughter light and lifting. Kissing her tiny cheek, Morgan found himself smothered with more returning kisses. Chuckling, he stood up with Melody happily ensconced in his arms.

“She’s a little lover,” he told Noah and Kit.

Kit’s smile broadened, and she patted her swollen belly gently. “In here is Matthew Charles Trayhern. And even at six months he’s showing all those famous stubborn traits you have as a family. He won’t go to sleep when he’s supposed to, and he keeps me up all night.”

Laura leaned forward, softly stroking Melody’s black hair. “She’s so beautiful,” she whispered. Melody stretched her arms out to her. Morgan grinned and handed her over to Laura.

“Why don’t you two get acquainted?” Kit laughed. “More than anything, Melody loves to be held.”

Morgan watched the play of emotions across Laura’s radiant face as she took the little girl in her arms. A flush spread across her cheeks, and he saw the luminous joy in her blue eyes as she cradled the child. Looking around, Morgan savored the family that stood around him. Never, in the past seven years, had he dared dream of a moment like this. His throat constricted, he traded a grateful look with his family. They had always believed in him—never giving up on him coming back into their lives.

Noah threw his hands on his hips. “Mom, when are Aly and her husband coming in?”

Rachel brought coffee in on a tray, setting it down on the table in front of the couch. “They’ll be here tomorrow afternoon.” Worried, she looked over at Morgan. “I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you about Aly’s husband.”

Morgan heard the anxiety in his mother’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

Chase came over and placed an arm around his wife. “Son, when Aly was transferred out to the naval air station near San Francisco, she got teamed up with a pilot by the name of Clay Cantrell.”

Shock bolted through Morgan. “Clay? Stephen’s brother?” He saw his parents nod gravely. “But—how?”

Grimly Chase said in a low voice, “We don’t know. I suspect foul play at Bupers, in the Pentagon, but I can’t prove it. Aly paid hell for being around Clay the first nine months of her duty. He hated her because he thought that you were responsible for his brother’s death in Vietnam. And two days after the telegram arrived telling Clay’s mother that Stephen had died, she had a major stroke that took her life.”

Reeling from the news, Morgan shut his eyes. He felt Laura’s steadying hand on his shoulder. “My God,” he croaked, leveling his gaze on his father. “How did Aly survive?”

“She reached down deep into that Trayhern gene pool and hung in there,” Chase growled. “They didn’t have a very pretty relationship. Clay was after her to make enough mistakes to get her blackballed at first. Then they were in an air accident that they survived. They spent a week on the tip of the Baja Peninsula before they were able to get help. I guess that during that time Clay and Aly worked out their differences.”

“And they’re married?” Laura murmured, amazed that despite the hatred Clay Cantrell must have had for the Trayherns, love had been able to transcend the situation.

Rachel smiled. “Clay liked her from the beginning, from what he told us. He fought his attraction nearly a year. Unfortunately he let his grief and anger over what happened to Stephen and his mother interfere in his relationship with Aly. After the crash, they resolved those issues and came back here to get married.”

Laura glanced up at Morgan, seeing the harshness in his eyes once again. It was a bleak look mired with pain. She tightened her hand on his arm, trying to give him solace. There would be some tense moments when Clay and Morgan met. How would Clay react? Perhaps later, when things quieted down for the evening, she could get Morgan alone, talk with him.

Laura was sitting on the wooden swing in the backyard, watching the sun set behind the wall of palm trees that defined the end of the Trayhern property, when Morgan joined her. Searching his face as he came and sat down with her, she sensed his trepidation.

“It’s been one hell of a day.” Placing his arm around her shoulders, he drew her against him. “How are you doing?”

She relaxed, savoring the quiet time with him. “I’m doing fine.”

“Happy?”

“Very.”

Morgan pushed the swing so that it moved gently back and forth. “Noah’s got a beautiful wife and little girl, doesn’t he?”

“Yes. They’re very happy.”

“I’m glad for him. After he told us about how he and Kit met, I realized just how much he’d gone through.”

“Life’s never easy on anyone,” Laura said wryly, glancing up at him. His eyes were shadowed. “You’re worried about meeting Clay, aren’t you?”

Nodding, Morgan managed a cutting smile. “I’ll tell you something. The stain Armstrong and Young placed on me has sullied my family even more than me. None of us has escaped the pain they’ve caused.”

Laura heard the resolve in his voice and exulted at his determination to clear his name. “Going back to D.C. to start unraveling this mess will take priority,” she stated.

“You bet it will.” With a sigh Morgan leaned over and pressed a kiss to her hair. “Someone’s going to pay for all the torture my family has undergone. And soon.”

A little shiver of fear wound through Laura as she watched the sky turn from a brilliant orange to a blood red. The tension in Morgan’s voice made his words a ground-out promise. Now she would be witness to the famous Trayhern fighting style.

“Do you know that ‘Trayhern’ is Welsh for superiron or superstrength?”

“No.”

“Yeah, it means someone with superior strength and endurance. And I’m going to need all the genes I’ve inherited to uncover this frame-up.”

“I think your father is planning a family conference on what to do, after Aly and Clay arrive.”

Giving her a slight hug, Morgan muttered, “First things first, though. Somehow I have to convince Clay Cantrell that I didn’t desert his brother and leave him to die on that godforsaken hill.“

Although Clay Cantrell was dressed in civilian dark-brown slacks and a white shirt, Morgan could see the military bearing of his brother-in-law. Aly burst through the door, throwing her arms around Morgan, crying. He mussed her short red hair, kissing her damp cheek, but his eyes never left his brother-in-law, who stood stiffly at the entrance to the house.

Aly wiped the tears from her eyes, holding out her hand to her husband. “Clay, I want you to meet my brother, Morgan.” Her voice was husky with feeling. “And I want you two to shake hands and
not
fight!”

Morgan made the first move, thrusting out his hand to the naval officer. He was aware of the set of Cantrell’s mouth and the unsureness in his eyes. “Stephen talked a lot about you, Clay,” he offered, holding his hand out to him. “We were the best of friends.”

Hesitantly Clay took his hand. “You and I need to talk,” he said. “Somewhere private.”

Laura heard the edge to Cantrell’s voice and saw the fear in Aly’s face. There was so much naked emotion on the surface of each man’s face that she ached for both of them. Rachel Trayhern came forward and gave Clay a hug.

“Why don’t you and Morgan go take a walk in the backyard? There’s a swing out there. Go sit down and resolve your differences. I’ll have lunch ready in about an hour.”

Relief sizzled through Laura as Rachel defused the explosiveness that surrounded the two men. Morgan glanced over at her, then turned, heading toward the back door, with Cantrell not far behind.

Laura stood there alone, watching them disappear out the door. She clasped her hands, realizing they were icy cold with nerves. Aly Trayhern came over, giving her a weak smile.

“Mom says you know everything that happened. Maybe we could sit down somewhere and you could fill me in.”

Gripping Aly’s hand, Laura pointed toward the living room. “Sure. Let’s go in there.“

It was noon when Laura finished her explanation.

The woman pilot sat there, her face devoid of color. She knotted her fists and sat up. “I can’t believe this!” she cried softly. “How could they frame Morgan like that?”

“Worse,” Laura murmured, “is how Armstrong and Young’s decision has affected every one of you.”

Rubbing her face tiredly, Aly muttered, “Our family won’t let them get away with this. I promise you, we won’t.” Aly glanced over at her. “It’s obvious Morgan couldn’t have contacted us without your support.”

“Well—uh—”

Her eyes narrowing, Aly studied Laura. “You won’t give yourself the credit you deserve. Why?”

“It isn’t necessary. What’s important is Morgan, and helping him during this time.”

A grin spread across Aly’s features. “So there is something serious between the two of you. I thought I sensed it.”

Heat flamed into Laura’s cheeks. “We’ve known each other less than two weeks.”

Chuckling delightedly, Aly got up and stretched. “I met Clay and fell head over heels in love with him the first time I saw him! It took us nine months to admit it, but the love was there from the beginning.” She leaned down and patted Laura’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep what I know to myself.”