A Match for Morgan Read online

  Zoe abandoned the crepe streamers and slipped her arm around Morgan’s shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze.

  “How do you know? Just because he’s had one bad marriage doesn’t mean he’s soured on the whole institution.” That wouldn’t be like Wyatt, and Zoe prided herself on being a good judge of character. “I’ve watched that boy over the years, Morgan. He’s always hung around, looking hungry for what we had here. His folks are very nice and polite, but they’re not very demonstrative people.”

  For the life of her, Zoe could never understand people who didn’t feel the need to hug their children, to express with a touch what they were feeling. She looked into her daughter’s eyes.

  “I think he likes fire, Morgan, and Lord knows you’ve got plenty of it to spare. Warm him up a little.” When she smiled a certain way, she looked young enough to be Morgan’s sister. “Not that I think he needs any lessons in that department.”

  Now there was an understatement. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

  “Good.” Zoe got back to work. “I’ll hang on to the decorations.”

  She’d always said her mother was an optimist. And never more than now. As much as she wanted to hold on to a thread of a fantasy, Morgan knew better.

  “Better keep them in an airtight box so they’ll keep a long time,” Morgan advised as she went to get the ladder.

  Zoe watched her go. “Won’t be that long,” she murmured under her breath.

  “If your face were any longer, you’d run a risk of getting splinters from the porch floor.”

  Startled at the sound of his voice, Morgan looked up. She’d been so engrossed in thought, sitting out here on the front porch, she hadn’t heard Wyatt approach, hadn’t seen him park his car in the driveway. The phone call she’d just taken not ten minutes ago was weighing heavily on her. The way she felt right now, she would have missed hearing a twenty-piece marching band work its way up the walk.

  Damn, why did these kind of things happen to helpless children?

  Pressing her lips together, she frowned in Wyatt’s direction. “Did you come up all this way just to insult me?”

  “No, I didn’t even know you were going to be here.” He tapped the thick box under his arm. “I came by to drop off Hank’s—Hank and Fiona’s wedding proofs,” he amended. God, but it was hard thinking of his best friend as being one half of a couple. He studied her expression. She looked upset. “What’s wrong?”

  Morgan waved a hand at the question. “You don’t want to hear.” And she didn’t feel like going into it right now. She was afraid she’d cry if she did. Cry because she knew Josh was going to be hurt again after she’d promised him that he never would be again. He was going to think she lied to him.

  Wyatt came onto the porch and leaned against the railing. He wasn’t going anywhere until she talked. “I asked, didn’t I?”

  She swallowed the retort that came to her. He was acting civil, the least she could do was behave the same way.

  “Josh’s foster parents can’t adopt him, after all.” Even as she said the words, she could envision Josh’s small face when she broke the news to him. “They can’t even keep him through the weekend. He’s going to have to go back to the Home.”

  The Home. The term had all the warmth of metal left out on a January night. It was a place where he would have a bed and food for his belly, but nothing for the void that existed in his life.

  “What happened?”

  Was it her imagination, or had his voice softened as he asked? “Ann’s mother’s taken ill. She and Ray want to refocus their attention on preserving the quality of her mother’s life.” Morgan knew the kinds of financial burdens that were involved. There was no way there would be money left over to take care of a small boy who wouldn’t stay small for long. “They’re going to New Mexico to bring her back with them to live. That leaves Josh completely out of the picture.”

  Wyatt thought of the photograph on her desk. And how he would feel if it were his son who’d been orphaned. “Isn’t there someone else who could adopt him?”

  She’d already exhausted the possibilities before finding the Jacksons. “People want babies, not half-grown boys.”

  Four hardly seemed that, yet he knew she was right. It was her job to be right.

  Wyatt nodded, absorbing the information. Thinking. “Why don’t you bring him to the wedding?”

  The suggestion startled her. That was what she’d decided on just now. She was hoping the outing tomorrow would help soften the blow a little for Josh.

  She cocked her head, looking at Wyatt. “You taken up mind reading?”

  He laughed. “Don’t flatter me, Morgan. I’d need more than eight years of college and a Ph.D. before I could attempt to divine what’s on that mind of yours.” He straightened, his hand tightening around the rectangular box. “Your folks inside?”

  She turned around to face the door. “C’mon, I’ll take you to them. I want to see those pictures, too. What are you doing with them, anyway?”

  “Running an errand. Your mother asked me to pick them up if I got a chance.” Reaching the door ahead of her, he held it open for Morgan. “You coming?”

  “Said I was, didn’t I?”

  “You’ve been known to change your mind.”

  It felt as if he’d whispered the words against her hair just as she passed him. Morgan tried not to shiver. Why did he do that to her, make warmth skim along her like that?

  “Not that fast.”

  “Yes, that fast,” he contradicted. “You keep changing it all the time around me.”

  She looked at him significantly. “That’s because I keep coming back to my senses and then leaving them again.”

  He’d have expected nothing less ambiguous from her. “Which is which?”

  Morgan thought it safer not to elaborate on that.

  Morgan hurried into the hot pink gown as quickly as possible. The last of the four bridesmaids dresses, she mused, angling to pull up the zipper.

  Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

  The old saying echoed in her head again, the way it had the first time.

  She didn’t have time for old sayings, she thought, fumbling with her headpiece. She had a small boy waiting for her. She didn’t want to leave Josh outside for too long, even though the boy was with her father. She knew Josh felt better when she was around.

  He’d taken the news incredibly well that his adoption had fallen through. There were times she thought he was far older than his tender years. Adversity did that. If she had her way, he would never know another moment of pain or sorrow.

  But she couldn’t have her way, she reminded herself. For now, all she could do was make this as pleasant a day as possible for Josh. She’d taken her with him to the one formal-wear store they had in Serendipity and managed to rent a small tuxedo for him.

  It had been a little large, but a few nips and tucks here and there had made the fit acceptable. She wanted him to feel a part of things. She might not be able to legally adopt him, but she could damn well go through all the motions of giving him a family life.

  Stepping into her shoes, Morgan pulled open the door of the tiny room off the altar and walked into the hallway. Her father was right where he was supposed to be and was talking to Father Gannon, but Josh was no longer at his side. He was nowhere to be seen.

  Wonderful, he’d wandered off.

  Morgan glanced at her wristwatch. The wedding was about to start in less than fifteen minutes. She had to find him. Fast.

  She tapped her father’s arm. “Dad, where’s Josh?”

  The concern in her voice pleased Jake. There were times he worried that of all his children, Morgan was the one who felt the least.

  “Wyatt took him.”

  “Wyatt?” Why would Wyatt take Josh anywhere?

  Jake nodded. “Said he wanted to get acquainted. Try the parking lot,” he suggested when she just stood there, confused.

  Good a place as any to start looking, she supposed. Gat
hering up the folds of the tight skirt, Morgan quickly made her way outside. She wasn’t aware of the pleased smile on her father’s face as he watched her.

  Rounding the church, she found Josh at the rear of the building. With Wyatt, just as her father’d said. They were playing catch.

  For a second, Morgan watched them, the boy and the man, astounded and admittedly touched. They looked so natural together. Was this what Wyatt would have been like with his own son had the boy lived?

  She felt a pang for him.

  Now there was a surprise, her feeling sorry for Wyatt. It had to be a day for miracles.

  “You’ll get dirty,” she called out to them as she came closer. She glanced at her watch again. Time was racing by.

  Wyatt’s hand curved around the ball. He motioned to Josh.

  “C’mon, we’d better get inside. The show’s probably going to start soon.” The boy hurried to his side and Wyatt draped an arm around his thin shoulders. But his attention was on Morgan. “I can remember a ragtag girl who didn’t care if she was covered with dirt from head to foot,” he reminded her.

  If he were to guess now, he would have said that she’d probably begun to win his heart then. Every inch a determined tomboy, she’d been like no other female he’d ever come across.

  “Well, that ragtag girl didn’t have to walk down the aisle at her brother’s wedding,” Morgan pointed out. She paused to brush a speck of dust off his collar. “And neither did you.”

  Wyatt waited until she was finished. “So, am I presentable?”

  She pretended to brushed another speck off his shoulder. “You’ll do.”

  His eyes met hers. “Will I, Morgan?”

  He was asking her something she wasn’t prepared to answer. Or maybe she just thought he was. “They’re waiting on us.”

  “Wyatt said he’s going to adopt me,” Josh told her as she took his hand.

  That brought her to a skidding stop. What was this all about?

  “What?” As Josh repeated his statement, Morgan could only stare incredulously at Wyatt. “When was. this decided?” she demanded.

  She looked annoyed. So much for being able to pick up signals. But Wyatt remained firm.

  “Probably when I looked at his photograph on your desk. I make snap judgments, then let them cool off before I act on them. When you said his foster parents were forced to back out, I figured it was a sign.”

  “Of what?” she wanted to know. “Your insanity?” How dare he toy with Josh’s emotions. “You’re not even married.”

  “Don’t have to be these days,” he told her simply. “Not if you can show that you can properly support a child. Besides, Josh and I have bonded.” He grinned down at the little boy. “Right, Josh?”

  Bonded? They’d hardly been together for ten minutes. “Over one ball game?”

  “We talked.” He had all the proof he needed that this was right. The light in Josh’s eyes. Maybe this was what he’d needed all along, to be responsible for someone else. “The ball was extraneous.”

  So was his brain, she thought. Morgan set her mouth hard. The last thing she wanted was for Wyatt to fill Josh’s head with false hopes. He’d been disappointed too many times as it was.

  “We’ll talk,” she promised Wyatt tersely.

  Holding Josh’s hand, she hurried into the church ahead of Wyatt.

  He watched her walk away from him, the way he’d done so many times these past four weeks.

  “I’m counting on it,” he said to her back.

  It was hard keeping her mind on the wedding, even though it was even more splendid than the ones that had come before. It was as if her parents felt that since this was the last one, the impression it made would have to last a long while.

  Ginny’s sister, Jennifer, was her maid of honor, and Quint had included their cousin, Carly, who was also his deputy, to balance out the bridal party. Once more Audra was the flower girl, strewing rose petals along the white runner with joyful abandon.

  Morgan waited for their cue. But just before she and Wyatt were to begin walking down the aisle, Wyatt put his hand out to hold her back. Confused, she looked at him. Before she could ask what was going on, she saw Josh being ushered forward by Denise’s father.

  Josh looked nervous, but he was beaming.

  Pillow in hand, with two rings dead center on it, Josh looked to Wyatt, not her, for guidance.

  “Just like we practiced,” Wyatt whispered, flashing a smile at the boy.

  Practiced? When had this happened? Just what had gone on while she’d been in that tiny room, changing?

  Morgan leaned into Wyatt. “Who decided to make him ring bearer?” she whispered.

  “I did.” He’d used an old pillow Father Gannon found in the rectory. It had been left over from a previous wedding. “I thought it was a nice touch. Couldn’t let his miniature tux go to waste, could we?” He felt her looking at him. They should have begun walking. “What?”

  Something warm slipped over her. A warm, fuzzy feeling she would have never associated with Wyatt. “You can be nice when you want to be, can’t you?”

  “Been telling you that all along,” he murmured just as Josh reached his destination. It was their turn to walk. “Show time.”

  Morgan caught herself looking forward to the first dance. Looking forward to an excuse to be close to Wyatt. Yes, it certainly was a day for miracles, she thought.

  When he took her in his arms, she felt as if she’d come home. Morgan had to concentrate not to let herself slip into the feeling that beckoned to her.

  “I want to thank you.”

  He looked at her, mildly surprised. “For anything in particular?”

  “Yes.” She wasn’t going to let him tease her out of this. “For being nice to Josh.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing. For once, she didn’t want to sound as if she was criticizing him. “But you really shouldn’t toy with his emotions like that.”

  She’d lost him, but then, that was nothing new. “When did I do that?”

  “When you told him that you’d adopt him.”

  “I was serious.”

  Despite what she’d seen earlier, she found it hard to believe. He was a ladies’ man, a charmer. Where did a child figure into his plans?

  “But, Wyatt, you’re a single man,” she reminded him again.

  He laughed at the way she said it. “It’s not like it was a terminal condition.”

  Something froze inside her. “Then you have someone in mind?” Surprise. Just like the last time, a voice echoed in her head.

  Except that this time she’d really gone and done it, she’d made love with him, and now he was going to tell her that he was marrying someone else.

  Hurt, wanting to be anywhere but here, Morgan stopped dancing and began to pull away.

  But Wyatt held her fast. “Dance isn’t over yet.”

  She didn’t care about any stupid dance. How could he do this to her, play her like she was some little fool?

  Maybe because she was.

  Morgan struggled to keep the angry tears from flowing. “Let go of me, or I swear I’ll hurt you.”

  “If that’s the way you accept proposals, no wonder no one’s ever asked you.”

  It took a minute for the words to catch up with her brain. And even then she didn’t think she’d heard him correctly.

  “What proposal?” she demanded. “What are you talking about?”

  “If you’d let me get in a few words edgewise, maybe you’d know.” He took a deep breath. This was harder than he’d thought. Because this time his heart was in it, and he was afraid of having it rejected. “I’m trying to ask you to marry me.”

  It was a joke. It had to be a joke. She wanted it too much, so it couldn’t be happening. “Why would you be doing that?”

  “So that when I bring you to the church for the wedding, you won’t be caught completely off guard,” he deadpanned.

  This was Quint’s wedding. She couldn’t start a riot in the middle of i
t, she reminded herself. And she didn’t want to scare Josh. But she really did want to punch Wyatt, just once, for laughing at her this way.

  “What kind of a sick joke is this?”

  “I didn’t know they came in varieties.” As she pulled, he tightened his grip. Enough was enough. “Morgan, will you marry me?”

  The anger, the hurt, slipped away. Shock and disbelief took their place. “You’re serious.”

  He held his right hand up, silently swearing an oath. “Never more.”

  “You’re asking me to marry you,” she reiterated. “Just like that?”

  Amusement began to blanket his initial unease. “Would you like me to take out a billboard?”

  “No, I’d like you to make some sense.”

  “What, asking you to marry me doesn’t make sense? It makes perfect sense. We already know how to fight—” a sexy glint entered his eyes “—certainly know how to make love, and we’re both crazy about your family.” He glanced over toward where Josh was playing with Audra. “And Josh. What more is there?”

  He was serious, she thought. But he had forgotten something. Something very important. “There’s a little matter of love.”

  “It’s not such a little matter,” he contradicted. “It’s a large matter.” And because it was, she deserved the unvarnished truth. Even if it made him uncomfortable. “Morgan, I think I’ve probably loved you for a very long time.”

  An eighth of a feather could have knocked her over. “Then why didn’t you ever say anything?”

  There was a simple reason for that. “Because in the beginning, I didn’t realize that I was. And because you’d have laughed at me. Or knocked my head off.”

  She opened her mouth to protest, then shut it. He had a point.

  “You’re probably right about the second part. But why now? Why do you suddenly realize you love me now?” She had to know, had to hear it. And then maybe, just maybe, she would believe it.

  He’d thought about it, long and hard. “Because I saw the way you looked when you talked about Josh. And how much it bothered you not to be able to take him in, not to give him your love. I realized you’d make a good mother. That you weren’t just sexy as hell, you were loving, as well.” He looked into her eyes. Looked and saw his destiny. “I want a big family, Morgan. The kind of family you grew up in. And I want you to be the mother.”