He took her into his arms and touched his lips to the top of her head. “I’m not sick anymore,” he announced happily. “After our activity last night, I feel fully recovered.”
She cuddled up next to him for warmth, and they watched the fog banks roll down from the mountaintops together.
“Still, I want to make an appointment with Dr. Hughes for you today. There might be some medicine or treatment you need to have. I won’t feel completely safe until he pronounces you better.”
“Already taken care of,” Nathan assured her and kissed her again. “I called him, and I’m driving into Wolf Creek to see him this morning. It’s just a formality, though. I feel great.”
He held her tightly against him and took a sip of his coffee as he turned to look out at the majesty of the land. It truly felt wonderful to be home.
“What man wouldn’t feel great in this perfect spot with you at their side?” He looked down into her eyes and caressed her face. She was blushing with happiness.
However, he watched as she hesitated. There was something on her mind, and apparently she was having difficulty putting it into words for him.
“There is something we should talk about, Nathan,” she finally told him.
“What’s that?”
Again she hesitated and looked down. “It’s the two men I was with when you were gone.”
He smiled and ran his hand up and down her arm to ward off the morning chill. “I’ve already taken care of that, too.”
“What do you mean? How?” She was suspicious.
“It’s obvious they worked very hard while they were out here, and more importantly they were very good to you. I understand they’re businessmen in Wolf Creek. They probably lost time on their business while they were spending time helping out here, not to mention all the money they had to spend.”
“That’s all true. They did.” Her voice was strangely far away when she spoke of those two.
“It so happens I still have plenty of funds in my account at the bank.”
Morgan scrunched up her face. She clearly didn’t understand where he was going with this.
“I’m going to send them a large check for their time and trouble.” Nathan thought this the honorable thing to do. He could not foresee any problem with it.
But Morgan didn’t take it very well. “You’re going to give them money for the time they spent with me?” She was incredulous.
“Yes. I am. I understand they’re pretty well off and probably don’t need it. But I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t pay them back for all they did for us.”
Morgan shook her head. She seemed angry, or perhaps even offended by his suggestion. “Nathan, this isn’t about money.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand.” The last thing he wanted to do was upset her. Perhaps more had gone on between her and the two men than he realized. He appreciated the need to move carefully on this subject. “Explain to me what this is about?”
She moved out of his arms and put her hands over her face, perhaps to wipe sleep out of her eyes or perhaps just because she was frustrated with him.
“I don’t think I can explain it to you, Nathan. I’m not sure I really understand myself what all I’m feeling now. Honestly, I’m very confused about my own feelings. I’ve never felt like this before.”
He set down his coffee and went to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I want you to be able to tell me anything—anything at all. Whatever it is, I’ll understand and we’ll get through it together. I just want you to share it with me.”
“Do you want me to share with you that I’ve betrayed you?” She pushed his hands off her shoulders. She was angry. Maybe not with him but at the hand fate had dealt her.
It hurt Nathan to see Morgan in pain. “You haven’t betrayed me. I’ve already told you I’m a shifter. I don’t think like the people you knew back in Chicago. Other shifters have had your body. It’s just sex. They enjoyed you, and I hope you enjoyed them. It doesn’t matter because it’s in the past.”
“But it’s not in the past.”
Nathan felt lost. He really didn’t understand, though he wanted to very badly.
“And it’s not just the sex,” she continued. “I fell in love with those men while you were away.”
Suddenly it dawned on him as a revelation. He could see it in her eyes. Morgan didn’t completely belong to him anymore.
He went to her. She tried to struggle away, but he forced her to accept his embrace. When he had her under control, he hugged her tight to try and let her know how he felt.
“I love you, Morgan. Everything’s going to be all right. We’ll work through this. I promise you we’ll find a solution.”
“I love you, too.” She embraced him with all her strength. “But I don’t think there is any solution to this problem.”
But Nathan was determined there had to be. He loved her so much he knew he would find a way.
* * * *
The “Welcome Home, Nathan” party had nearly one hundred people in attendance. His parents’ home was large and had the room, and his extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins filled it up.
Morgan had come here out of a sense of duty to Nathan. She had come prepared to feel lost in the sea of shape-shifters that was his family.
However, as she mingled with the family members, she found a certain kinship with them. She was not a shape-shifter, and many of their ways were still foreign to her. But the time she had spent with Hunter and Drake had taught her a lot. Shape-shifters were people, too.
Nathan could not be at her side every minute. He had to go and mingle with his family and accept their congratulations at having returned and beaten his illness, so this left Morgan on her own.
She was surprised when she found herself laughing with Nathan’s uncle Thaddeus and his aunt Thelma. Several of Nathan’s cousins had young children, and Morgan enjoyed watching them run around the backyard and play. One of the new mothers even let her hold her newborn baby. The new life in Morgan’s arms made her happy and feel hope.
Immediately after dinner, when everyone had gotten up from their tables set around the backyard, Nathan’s mother approached Morgan.
“I would like to talk to you, if I could?”
Morgan braced herself. Nathan’s mother was scowling, and her body language indicated she might not be entirely pleasant.
“Of course we can talk.” Morgan gave her a smile.
Mrs. McLaughlin led her inside the big house and into a study in back. She closed the door for their privacy. Morgan hadn’t a clue what to expect.
“This is difficult for me,” Mrs. McLaughlin started. Then she spread her arms out and embraced Morgan in a fierce hug. “You stuck by my son. Having you to come home to may have saved his life. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Morgan was stunned. She didn’t know how to react or what to say. So she hugged the older lady back and told her it was okay.
“I never thought you would stay with him,” Mrs. McLaughlin explained. “When Nathan first told us he had a nonshifter as his lady friend, I told my husband it would only last a few months. Then when he got sick from a shifter disease, I was certain you would abandon him. I was wrong about you, and for that I’m sorry.”
“It’s really all right, Mrs. McLaughlin.”
“No, it isn’t.” The older lady was firm in her resolve to set things right between them. “I’ve treated you badly ever since you moved out here to Wyoming. It could not have been easy for you coming here from the city.”
“Actually, you’re right. It wasn’t easy. But I had Nathan, and he made it easy for me.”
“The way you stuck by Nathan for the past year…” Mrs. McLaughlin seemed amazed. “I know you suffered, and probably more than we did since you’re not a shifter and don’t understand our ways. My husband and I should have been there for you to offer you our support.”
“It’s all right. I made it, and Nathan made it. I have him home with me now, and that’s all I care about.”
“You really do love my son, don’t you?”
Morgan didn’t have to think about her response. “With all my heart, Mrs. McLaughlin.”
“I don’t even think a shifter woman would have stuck by my son’s side through all of this the way you have. I’m proud that Nathan has you in his life, and it makes me feel better about my son’s future.”
Morgan smiled. She had never liked this woman before. But she realized they had one thing in common. They both loved Nathan, and maybe they could even grow to understand each other.
“Welcome to the family, dear. Even though you aren’t a shifter like we are, from this point on we’re going to consider you one of us.”
This time it was Morgan’s turn to give her a hug. “Thank you, Mrs. McLaughlin. I appreciate your support, and I want you to know that I will always love your son.”
Suddenly life seemed so perfect, and the future had opened with possibility. Morgan sighed. She still couldn’t be completely happy, and of course she knew why. There were still two places in her heart that were empty.
Perhaps only a shifter could understand what she was feeling now.
Drake didn’t know what he was doing. He was overcome with anger at one of his employees. He had just practically bitten the guy’s head off. It wasn’t like him. He was a hard boss, but never a mean boss.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Sinclair. It won’t happen again.” The man had been driving the forklift and taken a haul of shingles and placed them in the wrong yard. It wasn’t a big infraction, and Drake realized it had been an honest mistake on the worker’s part.
“That’s all right.” Drake regained his composure. “Sorry if I was rough on you. Why don’t you take your break now? I’ll finish up out here.”
“Thank you, sir.” The worker hurried off through the piles of lumber stacked in the yard and got lost.
Drake slammed his fist against the stack of shingles. His strength almost caused them to topple over even though they weighed several hundred pounds.
Drake knew what was wrong with him. Of course he knew what was wrong with him. But he tried not to think about it. Worrying over a problem never made it any better.
He was about to mount the forklift and take the errantly placed shingles back where they belonged in the yard. Over the metal siding of the lift, he spotted a small form making its way through the yard headed toward him. It was a decidedly female form.
It was Morgan.
He watched her approach without speaking. His heart had come up into his throat. She was a vision of loveliness inside the hard confines of the lumberyard, as out of place as a rose growing in the desert. She was wearing a black leather jacket against the chilly March day, and those sexy tight jeans that always drove him wild with desire.
“Hello, Drake,” she said, stepping directly up to him.
“Morgan?” His throat went dry. “What are you doing here?”
She gave him a sad smile. “Funny, when we were together you never brought me down here to see your business.”
“There isn’t much to see here. It’s a hard place. When I was with you, I was trying to get in touch with my soft side.”
“I need to talk.”
Drake felt relieved. He didn’t know what she had come to say, had no idea if it was bad news or good, but just to see her made him feel better. For these few minutes while they were together again, it felt like he had a part of his life back.
“I’ve missed you,” he told her simply.
“I’ve missed you, too.”
He reached down to give her a hug, but it felt stiff. He didn’t know how he should act around her now. Were they lovers or just friends? It was so natural to lean down and claim her lips with his own. But when he tried, she backed away from him. Instead, she settled for a quick peck on his cheek. He supposed that would have to suffice under the circumstances, but her hesitance to touch him stung like hell.
He motioned ahead. “The office is up this way. Hunter is there. He’ll want to see you, too.”
He led her up to the small office that he shared with Hunter.
When he opened the door for her to enter, Hunter saw her at once. He practically jumped up from his seat and came to her. Drake watched them embrace briefly.
“I had to come and see you. I couldn’t stay away,” she told them. Drake looked across the office at Hunter, but neither of them spoke. “If possible, I want to clear things up between the three of us.”
“Clear things up how?” Drake asked her.
He offered her a seat by one of their desks. She sighed and sat down. “You know, guys, this is hard for me, too.”
“I’m glad we’re not the only ones going through hell right now.” Hunter was angry and even bitter. He had taken the loss of Morgan in their lives every bit as hard as Drake, but expressed himself in a more negative fashion.
“I can’t help the way I feel about you guys. I still love both of you. I can’t forget all the time we spent together or all the things we did.”
“What about Nathan?” Drake asked her the obvious question.
“I told him about us.”
“He’s a shifter like we are,” Hunter reminded her. “He knows what went on between us while he was away, and he’s damn glad he had men looking after his woman for him.”