Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (28 page)

“
Morgan,
I apologize. Please, allow me to start again.” Mustafa took a
deep breath and took as much time as he could to explain how their
week would go. “We're going to ride, yes. But this week we'll
also take time to appreciate the beauty of this land.” He
looked out to the seemingly never ending sand before them. “Years
ago, before I lived here, my family took us on a grand vacation. We
spent a week in the desert, visiting villages, talking to locals, and
experiencing Morocco in a way that most people never will. I promised
myself as a young man that someday, I would move to this land, and
bring someone with me to experience it together.” Mustafa left
out the part of the story that he'd only
lived
in
Morocco for a few days, and that trip would be the last he'd ever
take.

Morgan
nodded, loving his story, but wondered why he wouldn't want to bring
someone special to fulfill his dream. She didn't have to wonder for
long, because Mustafa had already began to finish his story. “Local
women aren't interested in this type of holiday, and the women I knew
in Madrid,” Morgan nodded, loving that she nailed his accent,
“would never go without luxuries for a week. So...”

“
So,
you signed up for Julianne's service and hoped to hire someone to go
with you?” Morgan smiled, as did her client. He nodded, and
hoped that the truth of the situation satisfied Morgan. “Okay,
I'll do this with you. But,” Morgan smiled and walked around to
Bonnie's other side, “if you make my butt sore, we're going to
have issues.” Mustafa laughed again, and Morgan relaxed once
again. “And, I need to change out of this sweater really quick,
if that's okay.” He nodded, and moved for Morgan to pick her
tank out of her bag. “I'll be right back.”

Mustafa
paced between their rides as he waited, He knew that he had been
rushing her, but they had only three hours to make it to their next
camp before dark, and time was running short.

Morgan's
phone sounded in her back pocket as she pulled her white tank over
her head. “Sean?” She answered it quickly, just to be
polite and tell him that she would most likely be out of range for a
week. “Hey, you!”

“
Holland!
I've been calling you for hours. Where are you?” Morgan laughed
as she rolled her sweater into a ball. “I'm in Morocco. Near
Casablanca, I think. And get this! I'm going on a camel ride through
the desert! A camel, Sean!” He laughed into the phone and
Morgan instantly missed her favorite Irishman.

“
Sounds
like fun. I've actually been to Morocco several times. Did you land
at the airport with the pink buildings across the street?”
Morgan confirmed that there were, in fact, pink buildings. “Well,
there's a restaurant not far from there that has the best Indian
food.” Morgan smiled again, remembering their many meals
together from his favorite place.

“
No
can do... I'm boarding a camel in two minutes.” Morgan left the
tent and began walking back towards Mustafa. “I have to go, but
can you text Finlay and Angel for me? Tell them that I won't have
service for a few days. I'll talk to you at the end of the week.”
Sean agreed, and their call ended as she met up with Bonnie again.
“Well, I'm ready!”

Sean
held his phone in his hand, wondering who to contact first. “John,
he needs to catch up with her.” He made his first call, telling
the man where he could find Morgan. “She'll be the only blonde
woman on a camel, she won't be hard to follow.” His next move
was to text Finlay and Angel at the same time. “Morgan is in
Morocco, riding through the desert. She won't have reception for a
week. She told me to tell you.”

“
Are
you sure?” Mustafa took Morgan's hand and walked to the other
side of the tall camel.

Morgan
nodded slowly and looked up to Bonnie to reassure herself. “I
think so.” He nudged a tall box with his foot, and pushed it in
Morgan's direction, then gave her a nod, implying she use it.
“Wait...I'm supposed to just...” She looked from the box,
to the tall hump on Bonnie's back, unsure of how she would ever get
up there.

“
Step
on the box, grab this,” he held a rope in his hand, that was
attached to the saddle, “step into the stirrup and pull
yourself up.” His voice held amusement, one that Morgan didn't
share at that moment. “I thought they were supposed to kneel
down or something.”

Morgan
placed her hands on her hips and briefly evaluated her plan of
attack.
If I fall...
She
stepped one foot on the box, then the other.
Don't fall.
Don't fall.
She grabbed the rope
and started to climb.

“
Morgan?”
Mustafa brought his hand over his mouth to hide the grin.

“
Did
I do something wrong?”

“
Not
unless you want to ride her backwards.” Morgan's brows came
together in confusion and she looked from Mustafa to Bonnie. She was
facing the right way, and didn't understand what the man was talking
about. “Your foot.”
Morgan looked down and saw that
she had placed her left foot into the stirrup.
What is
wrong with me?
She had rode
horses,
I know how to do this.
“Shit.”
She giggled and pulled her foot out and replaced it with the right
one. “I knew that.” She took a deep breath, grabbed the
rope and lifted her body up, then climbed over the massive hump. It
wasn't an easy task, nor was it graceful, but she did it. She also
noticed that Clyde's hump wear was more authentic in a red and white
plaid, and certainly, no stirrups.

“
There
ya go. Nothing to it. Next time, there won't be a box.” He took
a step towards Bonnie's rear. “Hold on.” With a firm slap
to the beauty's hind, Bonnie began walking toward the opening of the
tent.

“
Wait!”
Morgan lunged forward with the first step and nearly lost her
balance. “Alright. This isn't bad.” She'd always wondered
what a camel's back felt like, and she never thought she'd find out
by riding one. To Morgan, it felt like an orange. Firm, yet squishy.

“
I'll
be right there.” Mustafa grabbed a water bottle and stuffed it
into his bag, on the side of Clyde.

“
Oh
my...oh! Okay. Easy girl.” Morgan's knuckles turned white as
she held onto the reigns. The movement was nothing like that of a
horse, and it took her a moment to get used to the slow lunge with
each step. “Where are you going pretty girl? Okay, you can
stop.” The camel reached the edge of the tent, but kept on
walking. “Mustafa?” She turned around, and he was not
behind her and the tent was getting further away. “Bonnie! Uhm.
Halt? Heel? Mustafa you're not leaving me in this desert on a camel!”
Her voice carried to the tent and brought laughter from within. “Ah,
you're a funny guy.” It wasn't a few minutes later that he
caught up with her, and their adventure began.

Chapter
Two

“Morocco?
Riding through the desert?” Finlay ran his hand though his
hair, and over the two week's worth of growth on his chin. He
released a long sigh and raised a brow at the blank screen on his
phone. He had struggled for the prior day and a half on whether to
take his chances and just fly to Morocco without direction, but right
then, he had all the information he needed. “The desert it is.”
Within five minutes, Finlay had the next flight to Morocco booked,
and within twenty minutes, he was fully packed and ready to go.
“Burke, I need ye te take me to the airport.” His flight
was in less than thirty minutes, and he wasn't going to miss it.

At
that very moment, John was doing the very same thing. Sean's call had
him moving quickly. It was a twenty-five hour trip from Edinburgh,
and he was upset he'd be missing a whole extra day away from Morgan.

The
two men had booked the very last seats available on the flight, as a
newly wed couple had come down with the flu and canceled their trip.
John's mission for the next ten hours, would be keeping his distance
from Finlay.

Only
problem...they were seated side-by-side.

*****

“
So,
your family owned a small,” Morgan nodded in his direction in
respect, “yet financially sustainable hotel in Madrid. You took
partial control of it, and turned it into a five star paradise.”
Morgan laughed and looked to the top of Bonnie's head. “And you
have me riding Bonnie's hump through the sand. Nice.” The man
laughed as they swayed through the soft sand towards their unseen
destination. “I have to admit though,” Morgan pushed the
sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, “this is
more beautiful than I ever dreamed.”

Erg
Chebbi, was breathtaking. The wind shifted the sands all around them,
and Morgan loved watching the different colors seemingly appear after
each layer was removed. “Yeah, I'll admit it....as much as I'd
love a bubble bath right now, this is pretty awesome.” Mustafa
reached over and gave her leg a hearty pat, which made Morgan smile
at how comfortable the man seemed in his own skin.

“
Now
you see why I came back.” Morgan nodded, but refrained from
asking right then why he moved to Morocco from Spain, and who was
looking after his business. One thing she was certain of, after only
two hours with the man, he wasn't extremely wealthy like most of the
other men she'd met. His sandals were worn, his jeans were faded from
use, his white tee shirt had a small rip at the hem, and the sun had
lightened the outer portion of his dread locks from brown to blonde
in certain places. She also noticed that it didn't appear as if he
had a care in the world about any of it.

Morgan
had asked every question she could think of, and still remain polite.
She learned about his business, which most likely offered a great
living but not millions as past clients typically earned. She also
heard about his parents, whom he loved dearly, and that he was an
avid fisherman in his spare time. “You would like my friend,
Tanner.” Mustafa cleared his throat as he could see the look on
Morgan's face when she spoke the man's name.

“
Well,
I hope that you have such a good time this week, that you forget his
name.” Morgan laughed loudly to the point of making both Bonnie
and Clyde turn their heads in her direction, and Mustafa smiled at
the carefree nature of his date.

“
So,”
Morgan took a second to wipe the sand from her face that had been
sticking to the sweat, “how much longer until we get to...
uh... to the place we're going?” He looked at her, a small
smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he began to speak.

“
Another
hour. Are you good?” Morgan nodded, feeling unexpectedly good
considering they had already rode for well over an hour already. “And
we're going to our own personal camp, I think you'll enjoy it.”
Morgan nodded, but instantly thought about how tired she was going to
be when they finally arrived. Putting a camp together wasn't
something that she was looking forward to.

“
Sounds
good.”
Please don't make me put the tent up.

The
following hour passed quickly, especially when a caravan of locals
passed by. Their camels were loaded down with metal cook wear,
blankets, clothing, food, and brightly colored head wear. They all
smiled at Mustafa, some waved, and the half mile long line of riders
nearly drained her camera's batteries.

“
This
is incredible.” She was watching them move from their vision in
the setting sun when Mustafa guided them behind a large dune on their
right. “Oh, are we here? What..wait...is that ours?!” The
full view of the camp came into view. A large tent, with a screen
that resembled a wrap around porch, was set up and waiting for them.
“Is that..is there a fire going?” On the left of the tent
was a fire surrounded by containers and a large cooler. There was
also a temporary shower, large enough to stretch her weary body in,
standing to the right.

Mustafa
simply smiled as they moved closer to their destination, and quickly
jumped from Clyde. He helped Morgan reach the ground, and motioned
for her to look around their camp, She wanted to say that she
couldn't feel her rear end, and that her legs were shaking from
keeping them spread for hours across Bonnie's large hump, but she
couldn't as relief washed over her.

Morgan
moved closer to the fire and saw a small table for two directly
behind it. It was already set for dinner, and their meals warmed in
covered pans close to the flames. “Get a shower first, if you'd
like, and I'll finish dinner.” Morgan thought to ask how it all
got there, but she heard shower and ran back to Bonnie to grab her
only bag.