Acquiring Trouble (35 page)

“
Let me show you where I want you tonight,” Morgan said breathlessly as she pulled him toward the bed.

“Yes, ma’am.” Miles grinned and let his nur
se take away the years of hurt.

*
    
*
    
*

Morgan and Miles laughed as they sat on the bed with trays of food on their lap
s. They had gotten up early that
morning, made love
,
and decided they should probably
have breakfast
before it was time to head back into the real world. Her hotel room had served as a wonderful escape from the craziness of the day be
fore. Morgan grinned as she pinched
off a small piece of buttered biscuit. It had been the perfect night. She just wish
ed
it didn’t have to end.

A knock at the door elicited a groan from both of them. “I fear our sanctuary is about to be interrupted,” Miles said as he slid off the bed and tied the belt to the white hotel robe he was wearing.

Morgan leaned forward to see who had found them. Cole strode into the room
wearing
his black cowboy hat. “Sorry to interrupt. I thought you’d want an update.”

This grab
bed
Morgan’s attention. She had been worried he was t
here to interrogate her more. A
lthough he was a nice guy, he wasn’t so nice when
she was
on the receiving end
of his questions. “What’s going on
,
Agent Parker?” Morgan set aside her tray and swung her
legs over the side of the bed.

“I think
after
all of this you
better start calling me Cole or
I might get my feeling
s
hurt.” Cole swept of
f
his hat and took a little bow.

Morgan laughed
at his antics, but then remembered why he was here. “What happened?”

“I got a call from Agent
Salmond
s
. David Washington has been arrested in DC. He was caught at the airport trying
to board a plane for Indonesia, which just happens to not have an extradition treaty with the US,” Cole said as he leaned against the window.
 

“What does this mean
for the future
?” Morgan asked
Cole.

“Well, for one, Top Producers is now being investigated by every government agency known to man. So, you pro
bably don’t have a job anymore.”

“I think I can l
ive with that,” Morgan grinned.

“Now that it seems you
have some time on your hands
, maybe
it’s time to come home and clean up the mistakes from the past in order to move on to your future.” Cole looked at Morgan and she though
t
he could see
through her. Then he slowly looked over to Miles and put his hat back o
n. “Y’all have a good morning.”

Cole
stepped
out the door and Morgan was left thinking about
what
he
had said. She had thought about staying for a little while, but should she stay longer than that? Could she mend the fences she had broken down as a teenager and more importantly did she want to?

Two months later…

Morgan lean
ed against the hood of her car and
basked in
the warm May sun
,
enjoying that it was
not blocked by large buildings.  She leaned her head back and let her face soak up the rays
as she waited for Miles
. Just last month she and Miles had traveled to DC.
together
for
her
deposition i
n the David Washington hearing.

Miles had stayed
by her side the whole time. When she was finished with her deposition
,
she had taken him around
DC
and showed
him
what her life
would’ve
been like had they not been l
iving out of her hotel room
while
his
house was being repaired.

The next day Miles had shown her his side of DC.
They
visited his old commanders and she listened as they swapped stories from training camp to missions. Then he took her to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where they visited with
some
recovering troops Miles had met in Ge
rmany over Christmas.

Morgan had been so proud watching him talking with soldiers who seemed so alone in the huge complex. She could see him as the
born leader
he
was
when he stopped to talk to a private who was recovering from losing his leg
in
a roadside bombing. The kid
had a case of hero worship when
Miles revealed his name and rank. Miles ended up talking to him for an hour. They talked about their tours, their families, and the kid got misty
-
eyed when talking about missing his beloved dog
at
home. It was then Miles had gotten that determined look in his eye.

Morgan
heard a door open and opened her eyes.
People and dogs streamed out of the double glass doors.
She caught sight of Miles with Bill trotting ha
ppily by his side as man and
dog made their way toward her.

“How’d you boys do?” Morgan asked.

“We aced it. Bill is now a registered therapy dog!” Miles beamed.

“Oh!” Morgan clapped her hands together
.
“Congratulations!” She leaned forward and gave Miles a kiss before leaning
down
and scratching Bill behind the ears.

“And,” Miles continued excitedly
,
“I saw Dr. Kelly in the hospital
when
we were doing the testing around medical equipment
. H
e asked if Bill and I would visit some of the wounded veterans
that he treats for PTSD at the hospital next week.”

Morgan smiled up at Miles and took his hand in hers. “That’s fantastic! I’m so proud of you for taking control of your PTSD. And I’m proud of Bill too. You two will help so many people. Now, let’s celebrate! It’s
a
good thing your mom foresaw you passing
the tests
. I heard she even made a
special dinner just for Bill.”

Morgan helped Bill into the ba
ck seat of the car as
she thought of Mrs. Davies.
She
and Paige had made a real effort to get to know her over
the last couple of months and in return Morgan had begun to feel comfortable
with the entire Davies family. She had also gotten to know her own family. Morgan and Pam were close again after all these years apart. She
enjoyed
hanging out with her brother-in-law and her
rambunctious
nephews.
She
loved
standing on the sidelines cheering
at
their
soccer matches
with Pam
while M
iles and Jeffery laughed at them in the bleachers
.

“I have a better idea. We don’t need to be at my parents until six, which means we have time for a private celebration
.
” Miles pulled her close and she had no doubt what he meant.

*
    
*
    
*

Miles watched Morgan as she shimmied her black skinny jeans over her delectable behi
nd
and
slid both straps of
her bra over her shoulders
.
Miles sighed. He hated it when she got dressed
again
, but there was something so satisfying in being able
to see all her little rituals.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a detour on the way to my parents’ house,” Miles said casually as he slid his fee
t into his black leather shoes.

“Sure. Where are we going?”
s
he asked as she finished dressing.

“I just need to check on something. It won’t take too long.”

“Okay.” Morgan
chose
shoes from her side of the closest in his newly
repaired
house and put them on. “I’m ready to go.” She smiled and Miles felt his heart
skip
a beat. She was beautiful and she was his. He just hoped he didn’t screw it up now.

Morgan
rolled down her window and
took a deep breath. The smell of fresh
ly
cut grass and blooming flowers drifted in. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the
breeze blowing her hair.

S
he couldn’t believe she’d
been here for f
our
months already. A part of her felt that time had gone by so fast. The other part felt as if she had never left Keeneston all those years ago. Morgan had taken her term of unemployment well. She’d used the time to become reacquainted with the town and
its
people. She apologized to those she had hurt
and had been fully welcomed back into the fold. Now she just had to tell those that had become so close what her plans
were
for the future
,
hoping
they’d
b
e okay with it.

Morgan opened her eyes as Miles slowed the car. She looked around and
saw they were
on a dirt road in th
e middle of a field full of wildflowers
.  There was
a herd of cows in a nearby field that
Bill
barked at happily
.

“Oh, I know where we are. Isn’t this where the infamous water tower is?” Morgan turned in her seat
and saw it out the back window.

“Sure is
. You don’t have a paint brush on you, do you?” Miles teased as he got out of the car and walked around to open hers.

“No. I’ve learned my lesson. I’m walking the straight and narrow from now on!” Morgan giggled as Bill bounded around in the ankle
-
high grass
and into a patch of wildflowers taller than him
. “Now, why are we here
?”

“I thought we could take a short walk before we enter the craziness of my mom’s house. Besides, when we get to
M
om’s I’ll have to leave
you for my girl,” Miles laced his fingers through hers
and brought them
up to his lips for a kiss as
his eye twinkled with mischief.

Morgan laughed as she leaned against him. Little Sophie had Miles wrapped a
round her chubby
finger. They started off through the field keeping a wide berth around the
notorious
water tower
that now read ‘KHS Foot
b
all Sta
te Champions’ on the far side
. Bill frolicked through
the field be
com
ing a p
est to some of the cows
close to the fence line
,
but she didn’t have the heart to tell him no. The little dog with the gray face was practically smiling as he went off chasing a butterfly.

The sun warmed her as
they
walked in comfortable silence
down a small path
through the beautiful flowers
. Miles leaned over and picked a bunch of beautiful white daisies that were dancing in the spring breeze.
Morgan smiled and reveled
in her happiness as they came to a stop and Miles handed them to her. His eyes seemed
to
match the gre
en of the field today.

“So, all those years ago when you vandalized the city’s water tower, did you think it was romantic?”
Miles asked as he slipped a beautiful dee
p purple flower behind her ear.

“
Kinda
. A part of me thought you’d finally see me and come to your sen
ses and see how wonderful I was. T
he other part just wanted you to finally be in trouble with Red,” Morgan teased.