Laugh Like You've Never Cried (Summer Lake 5) (24 page)

“Thanks, Laura. I think I might be taking you up on that one soon.”

“Well, hurry up about it, will you?” said Emma.

Ben came over with his takeout bag. “Here you go. The beer's on me. You'd better get this home to your family while it's still hot.”

Michael took it and stood up. “Thanks, mate. Is everyone coming over here tomorrow night?”

“Yep. Everyone,” said Ben.

“Good. We'll see you all tomorrow then.”

***

M
egan made Ethan get down from the stool before she went to answer her phone. It was probably Michael asking if he needed to pick up anything else.

She was surprised to see her sister's name on the screen.

“Kenzie! How are you? I've been trying to get hold of you all week.”

“I'm fine, Megan. I'm at your house. Where are you?”

“You're what? Why? How? When did you get here?”

“I'll tell you that when you come home. You can come home, can't you?”

Megan looked over at Ethan. She couldn't leave until Michael got back. She didn't want Kenzie to come here though. She sounded odd. As if there was something wrong.

“It'll take me a little while, but I'll be there soon.”

“Why's that Megan? Do you have to babysit for him while he's out screwing around?”

“Excuse me?” What on earth was she talking about?

“You're at Michael's house aren't you? Watching his kid while he's in the bar.”

“It's not like that, Kenzie!”

“You can tell me what it's like when you get home. Is there a key around here anywhere? I found the house, but I couldn't find a way in.”

“It's under that little stone toad near the back door.”

“Thanks.” Kenzie hung up.

Megan stared at her phone. What was she doing here? And what was her problem? She must have seen Michael in the restaurant. This wasn't good. It wasn't good at all.

Ethan wrapped his arms around her waist. “Are you okay, Meggie?”

Her heart melted a little. His face looked just like his dad's when he was worried about her. And now he was calling her Meggie too.

“I'm fine Ethan. It's just that my sister is here and she's at my house. When your dad gets home, I'll need to go.”

“But what about our pies?”

“Come on.” She smiled at him. “Let's get them finished quickly. You and your dad will have to be in   charge of taking them out on time.”

They had everything in the oven and she was writing down the times to take them out when Michael came in.

“Hey, honey! I'm home,” he shouted from the hallway. “Who's ready for dinner?” His grin faded as he came into the kitchen and saw their faces. “What's going on guys?”

“Meggie has to leave.” Ethan sounded so disappointed. She felt bad, but she had to go. She already had her shoes on and her car keys in her hand.

Michael turned to her. “What's wrong, Meggie?”

“Kenzie's here. She's at my house.”

“Well invite her over. I'm dying to meet her and we've got enough here to feed an army.”

Megan shook her head. “You may have already met her. I don't know what she saw or heard, but she thinks you've got me locked up at home while you're out and about.”

Michael handed the bag to Ethan. “Here you go, mate. Will you get the grub out while I see Meggie to the door?”

Ethan took the bag and came to hug Megan. “Can Ollie stay?”

She nodded. That would probably be better for all of them. Kenzie had been as disapproving about him as she had about Michael. She followed Michael outside and he closed the front door behind them. He hugged her to him.

“Does she have hair like yours?”

Megan nodded.

“Then I think I get it. A woman came and sat at the bar while I was having a beer. Emma, Holly and Laura came in. She must have heard me joking with them that I was out drinking with the ladies while I had you at home working in the kitchen and taking care of my boy. I
was
only joking though, Meggie. You know what I'm like.” His eyes pleaded with her.

She hugged him back. “You know I do. I don't have a problem with it. But Kenzie does. She's convinced you're another Adrian and hearing that won't have helped.”

“Should I come with you? Explain to her?”

She shook her head. “No. It'll be better if I go by myself. You need to get Ethan fed anyway.”

He nodded. “I guess you won't be back tonight?”

She shook her head sadly.

“Okay. Well, call me. Let me know how you're doing. I'm here if you need me. And let me know when we can get together. I need to meet her and straighten this out.”

“Okay. I'll call you later.”

He cupped her face between his hands and kissed her. She reached up around his neck and kissed him back. She didn't want to go.

“Go on, little one. We'll be here whenever you're ready to come home.”

She smiled up at him.

“Yes, I said home,” he winked at her then patted her backside. “Go tell that sister of yours you've got a family waiting at home for you.”

If only it were that easy! She knew what Kenzie would think if she told her that. It was something very different than what Michael meant. She loved what Michael meant. She hoped that soon it would be true.

When she pulled into her driveway Megan took a deep breath before getting out of the car. She wished Kenzie would just be happy for her. Wished she would understand how good Michael was to her, and how much she loved him. She knew it wasn't going to be that simple though. Kenzie thought she was saving her from herself. Megan had gone along with the whole Adrian thing because she hadn't realized what she was getting herself into. She'd been very naïve. She'd only seen that going with him would mean escaping the church. She hadn't realized that what he wanted was someone to meet his need for sex and housekeeping. Someone he could bully into providing him with both.

She let herself in the front door. “Hey, Kenzie?”

“In the kitchen.”

Kenzie was sitting at the table working her way through a huge bowl of cereal. She looked skinny. Megan went to give her a hug.

“You didn't have any food in, so I hit the cereal. I hope that's all right?”

“Of course it is. Sorry. I haven't been home much.”

Kenzie gave her a hard stare. “Have you been staying with him and his kid?”

Megan nodded. She decided to go on the offensive before her sister began interrogating her. “I have, but first things first. You need something more to eat than cereal and so do I. I haven't eaten yet either. Michael was only at the restaurant to collect dinner for us. He usually cooks but he was tired after work. Did I tell you he's a doctor?”

Kenzie shook her head.

“So shall I order us something? Or do you want to go out?”

Kenzie looked around. “Let's go out. This place isn't exactly inviting, is it?”

“It may not be much, but at least I'm paying my own way.”

Kenzie raised an eyebrow. “Ouch! In that case you can buy me dinner.”

“I will!”

They settled at a high-top table in the corner of the bar. It was quieter inside tonight. It was a warm evening and the band had set up out on the deck. Megan had spotted the girls out there, she just hoped they didn't spot her. She wanted Kenzie to meet her friends, but not tonight. Tonight they needed to talk. She needed to convince her that Michael wasn't what she thought.

After they ordered, Ben came over. Oh no! She hoped this would go okay.

“Hey, Megan.” He raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were eating at Michael's tonight? He even ordered you a piece of that cheese cake you love.”

Megan smiled. That was a good thing for Kenzie to hear. She gave her a pointed look. “I was going to, but my sister turned up unexpectedly. Kenzie, this is Ben. He owns the resort. Ben meet my sister, Kenzie.”

They shook hands.

“Welcome,” said Ben.

“Nice to meet you,” said Kenzie. Megan knew that look on her face. Kenzie liked Ben! Looking at Ben, it seemed he liked her too. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad one.

Kenzie seemed more interested in Megan's love life than her own at the moment. “So, is Michael a friend of yours?”

Ben nodded. “Yep. A good one too. We grew up together, right here. He's a good guy. You haven't met him yet then?”

“No. I wanted my sister to myself for a while first.”

The server appeared at Ben's elbow with their food. He smiled. “Well, I'll leave you to your sister time. Enjoy.”

“He's hot,” said Kenzie as he walked away.

“He is, but Kenz, I don't think he's your type.”

Kenzie laughed. “Don't worry. I'm not going to chew him up and spit him out. As far as I'm concerned your friends are off limits. I wouldn't want to leave you with one of my messes to clean up.” She looked at Megan now. “He seems to think your man is okay though?”

Megan nodded. “He is! He's wonderful. He's so good to me, Kenz. I want you to meet him. Then you'll understand. I know you're only trying to protect me, but you've got it all wrong. I'm not making the same mistake. I know I was stupid about Adrian, but I've learned my lesson. Honestly. You know what I was like when I got away from him. I just wanted to hide. I'm not hiding anymore because Michael is helping me get past it all.”

Kenzie nodded slowly. “You do seem different. I love the clothes. They work for you.”

Megan looked down at the skinny jeans and long, belted sweater she was wearing. “Thank you. These are some of the things Holly gave me.”

“It's not just the clothes though, Megan. You
are
different, more confident. You're standing up for yourself.” She smiled. “Which is good to see. Even if you are shooting me down.”

Megan smiled back. This was more like
her
Kenzie. She only did what she did because she cared. “I don't mean to shoot you down. I just want you to understand. Michael isn't what you think. And I
am
learning to stand up for myself, but only because Michael is helping me build my confidence.”

Kenzie nodded. “I'm not trying to be mean to you, Megan. I hope you know that? I would love nothing more than to be proved wrong, to find out that Michael is a great guy who's going to love you and marry you and give you your happily ever after. It's just that I'm more realistic than you are.”

Megan smiled. “In this case, I think the word you're looking for is cynical, not realistic.”

Kenzie laughed. “Wow, and the score is Megan two, Kenzie zero.”

M
ichael sat out on the deck of the Boathouse with Ethan. The little guy was grumpy this morning. They'd taken Ollie out for a walk, then ridden their bikes out by the river, but nothing was distracting Ethan from wanting Megan to come home. He was sitting on his hands swinging his legs.  He looked up at Michael.

“Can we call her yet?”

“No, mate. She's with her sister. They might come over this afternoon. Anyway look, here comes Scotty.” He'd called Missy to see if she and Scot wanted to join them for lunch, in the hope that Scot would keep Ethan's mind off Megan.

Missy ruffled Ethan's hair before she sat down. “Good morning.”

“G'day, Miss, Scotty,” said Michael.

“Hi.” Ethan barely looked up.

Missy laughed. “Oh dear. Are we pining for Megan?”

Michael nodded.

“Can we go feed the ducks?” asked Scot.

Missy nodded and gave him a baggie full of bread crusts from her purse.

“Come on, Ethan.”

Michael smiled as he watched his son trudge after Scot to the edge of the deck where they were soon surrounded by ducks.

After their server had poured them water and taken their order, Missy smiled at him. “Em said they met Megan and her sister last night. They had quite a night by the sounds of it.”

“They did?” Michael raised an eyebrow. He'd been disappointed that Megan hadn't called him last night. They had talked this morning, but only for a few minutes. She'd said they might come over this afternoon, but they'd definitely be coming out tonight.

“Yeah. The girls were out and bumped into Megan and Kenzie, and they all danced the night away and stayed for drinks with the band afterwards.

Michael was surprised as that rush of possessiveness swept through him again. He didn't like it, but he couldn't help it. He'd wanted her in his bed last night. He'd missed her. His bed didn't feel right without her in it anymore. And he didn't feel right because he hadn't been able to make love to her as he'd been planning to.

Missy wrinkled her nose at him. “Michael Morgan! You are jealous. I can tell by the look on your face. You do realize that's totally hypocritical of you, I hope?”

“What do you mean?”

Missy gave him the stern look she normally reserved for the kids when they were misbehaving.

He shrugged. “All right. I admit it, I am jealous. I'm as surprised as you are by that. What I don't get is how it makes me a hypocrite?”

Missy laughed. “You're the world's biggest flirt. You flirt right in front of her and she doesn't bat an eyelid. She gets it. She goes out without you for the first time since you've known her and you're going all jealous boyfriend. Get over it. You said you were going to teach her how to have fun. You can't complain if she takes what you've taught her and runs with it.”

That stopped Michael in his tracks. He'd never considered it before, but perhaps that was really all she needed from him. Perhaps he was nothing more than a catalyst for her? She'd had a rough time. She'd spent a few years hiding and recovering. He was the first guy she'd dated. She was growing every day. Her confidence was growing, she was standing up for herself, getting over her fears. What if he was just her first step on a journey to figure out who she was, who she wanted to be?

Missy was staring at him. “Did I say something wrong, hon? I was only joking. She's in love with you, any fool can see that.”

Michael rubbed his chin. “I don't know, Miss. She is now, but only because she doesn't have anything else to compare me to.”

Missy laughed. “She's in love with you because you're adorable. I know you are because you told me yourself.”

He gave her a rueful grin. “Yeah, I'm lovable all right. But maybe full-on love and marriage and family isn't what she needs yet. She missed out on fun all her life till now. Maybe she needs to be out catching up on that.” He looked over at Ethan who was hanging over the railing with Scot. “Maybe she doesn't need to be landed with us.”