The Lure of White Oak Lake (11 page)

“You did what you had to do. It’s okay.”

Robert shook his head. “It’s never okay to turn your back on your kids, not for any reason. I need your forgiveness.”

“There’s nothing to for—”

“Morgan, I need you to accept my apology.”

“Done,” Morgan said and meant it.

Robert nodded. “Thank you. I know you think having kids is not in your future, but it could happen. You may meet a woman you want to build a life with and you may decide that you want babies of your own. You need to understand that you’re gonna make plenty of mistakes, but learn from mine and don’t follow the same path.”

Morgan would never admit what she said next to anyone else but her father. “I think about it sometimes. I wonder what it’d be like to have kids of my own, but right now, I have to build my career so I can provide, and I’m not there yet.”

“That’s very respectable, but understand that life will pass you right by when you’re making preparations. I truly admire your work ethic, baby. When you were sixteen and worked at that ice cream shop, you were so serious, so diligent, and I knew then that you’d always do well in life. I’m so proud of what you’ve accomplished, but I hope you’ll take time for yourself. These visits seem to be the only time you take a break.”

Morgan shrugged. “My job is demanding. If I slack off, there’s always someone else waiting to step on me to get ahead.”

“Are you happy?”

“Yeah.” Morgan’s response didn’t sound as sincere as she would’ve liked, but with her father, she couldn’t bluff her way through anything. They were too much alike for that. “It gets a little lonely sometimes,” she said as she looked away. “I love Resa
, but sometimes, I feel like we’re just biding our time. I don’t think she’s the one.”

Robert smiled and exhaled slowly. “It’s good to hear you say that because I don’t think she is, either. You two seem like you’re in two different worlds.” He jerked a thumb toward Brad’s house. “Now those two are two peas in a pod. Sometimes I worry that they’re too close. Your brother calls Tonya every day to find out what he should eat for lunch, but it works for them.”

Morgan laughed. “I don’t think I could live like that. I’m just too independent.”

“What’re you looking for in a woman?”

“Myself,” Morgan said with a smile. “That sounds arrogant, doesn’t it?”

“No.”

Morgan looked at the blue sky above. “I want someone who finds humor in the silliest things. I need her to respect that I need my time alone, and I want her to want the same. I want to be able to admit my darkest secrets and know that she won’t be threatened by them. She won’t mind when I’m weak, and when she is, I’ll be strong for her. I want a best friend, as well as a partner.”

“You just described the relationship I had with your mother. They come once in a lifetime, you know? When you find that woman, you never let her go, you hear my horn?”

Morgan laughed. “I hear you honking.”

“Relationships are never perfect. They take a lot of patience and understanding. If you’re not willing to give that, don’t expect that it’ll be given to you.” Robert sighed and squeezed Morgan’s hand. “I could never say this enough, but I am so very proud of the woman you’ve become. You’re not perfect, but God knows, you try. You just dive right in most of the time and give everything your all. I admire your tenacity, but I hope you remember that you also have to take care of yourself. Slow down every now and then and just enjoy the life you’ve been blessed with.”

As Morgan thought back on that conversation, it warmed her to know that her father was truly proud of her. She knew he loved her, but sometimes, pride did not go hand in hand.

I
added a few extra brackets to keep the case together, especially on the backing.” Morgan pointed to a blue and white can sitting on the deck. “Your Aunt Maddie says this sealant will keep the wood watertight. We’ll put a couple of coats on after we finish painting.”

Austin ran his brush over the wood, paying special attention to the inside corners. “I was thinking that since you gave up the bookcase and bought all the paint and stuff, I should pay the entry fee. It’s fifty dollars.”

Morgan stopped what she was doing and looked at him. “You have that kind of money?”

Austin nodded, keeping his focus on his task. “I have sixty left over from this summer when I worked at the store.”

“I don’t want to deplete your savings.”

Austin shrugged. “It’s fair. You’ve already probably spent that much, and you made me your partner.” He grinned. “I already paid it and turned in the form for Captain Morgan and her first mate Austin.”

“Captain Morgan, that’s funny.”

“I got the idea from the bottles behind Mom’s counter. You could dress like the man on the rum bottle if you don’t want to wear a deerskin.”

Morgan thought about that for a moment, thinking she’d look cool in the high black boots, then shook her head. “We’re Vikings. I’ll wear a skin since you cleaned out your savings.”

Austin’s grin was fixed on his face as he looked at her. “You’re cool.”

“You are, too. How’d it go at school today?”

“Logan wasn’t on the bus, and I didn’t see Rylee. Someone said she wasn’t at school, either. Everybody was freaking out and deleting the pictures off their phones. We’re not supposed to have them at school anyway. We’re supposed to check them in before the first bell and check them out before we get on the bus in the afternoon. I always check mine in because if they catch you with it, you can’t check it in anymore, and your parents have to come get it at school. They have to sign a form saying they won’t allow you to bring it back, but some kids still do anyway.” Austin sat back on his haunches. “Did you always follow the rules?”

“I’d like to say yes.” Morgan set her paintbrush aside. “We didn’t have phones then, but we weren’t allowed to leave the campus during school and I did. I left two times and sneaked over to a burger joint. No one caught me when I sneaked back, and I thought I’d gotten away with it. But my dad found out. He knew one of the ladies that worked there. I was grounded and missed two track meets, then I got kicked off the team. That really sucked because I let everyone down. My coach was really mad, but my daddy wouldn’t budge an inch.”

“Were you mad at your dad?”

Morgan nodded and looked up at the cloudless sky. “I blamed him, but it was really my fault. It took me a while to see that.”

“I bet your dad was strict, most dads are.”

“He was,” Morgan agreed, “but he was fair.”

Austin went back to painting. “I think about it sometimes, having a dad. Logan goes hunting with his dad, and they do a lot of stuff together by themselves. I just wonder what it would be like.”

“I know exactly what you mean. My mom died when I was six, and I was kind of jealous of kids whose moms did things with them, took them places. I would’ve been jealous of yours because as moms go, she’s pretty awesome.”

“I know. Some of my friends want her to be theirs. Logan says she’s hot, and it pisses me off. I don’t want him looking at her like that.” Austin stopped painting again and looked at Morgan. “You know she didn’t have me, right?”

Morgan nodded.

“She loves me more than Gayle, though. One day, I’m gonna take care of her, so she won’t have to work all the time. She can sit on the porch and paint like she always wanted to.”

Morgan raised a brow. “She’s an artist?”

“No, she just wants to paint the lake the way she sees it. She says she doesn’t have the talent, though.” Austin looked out at the water. “My other friend David has a new stepdad, and he hates him. He says he’s always on him about cleaning his room, and he makes him wash the cars before he can do anything on the weekend. I’m kinda glad Mom doesn’t like men because I wouldn’t want to have to live with someone I don’t like. He wouldn’t be my real dad anyway. He kept his gaze averted. “I’d like someone like you. I hope Mom meets someone cool like you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Austin.”

He smiled and nodded and went back to work. Morgan watched him out of the corner of her eye as she resumed painting and thought it would be very easy to love him. Part of her was already beginning to. And his mother, she wouldn’t be hard to love, either. Morgan’s hand faltered, sending paint down onto the deck as she considered that she’d only been there a week, and her mind had begun to ponder things better left alone.

“Hey, you know what?”

Morgan was almost afraid to reply. “What?”

“The corn maze opens this weekend. Have you ever been to one?”

“No, I haven’t.”

Austin grinned. “You will, and it’s a blast.”

~~~

Jaclyn’s stomach growled as closing time drew near. Through the window near the counter, she could see movement on Morgan’s deck in the distance. They were hard at work on Thor. She pulled out her cell phone and sent Austin a text.
Do y’all want me to get a couple of pizzas and bring them down?

Apparently, there was a conference because the two stopped moving. Austin’s reply came a minute later.
M said she’ll order it, come when ur
ready.

Be there in about thirty
. Jaclyn smiled and slipped her phone back into her pocket. The bell on the door caught her attention. She rolled her eyes when Maddie stalked in. “What salacious tidbit are you bringing me today?”

“I know you already know about Rylee and Logan,” Maddie said as she made herself something to drink. “I heard that Austin registered for the regatta with Morgan, and I wanted to have a closer look at their craft.”

Jaclyn glanced out the window. “It’s still just a bookcase. They’re painting it brown right now.”

“I think it’s really sweet that she’s willing to do that with him. I know you would rather shoot off one of your toes than get into that water in November.”

Jaclyn smiled. “I think Morgan’s fooled herself into believing that she’s going to somehow remain dry.”

“Heath can’t wait for Caleb to get a little older so they can do it together. I’ll leave that father and son bonding to them. Mom called today, they’re not coming in until Christmas. They’ve made plans to have Thanksgiving with some friends they met in Tennessee. Kind of pisses me off, we hardly ever see them. They should at least make an exception for family over the holidays.”

“It’s what retirees do, I suppose,” Jaclyn said as she wiped down her counter.

“You don’t miss them, do you?”

Jaclyn continued scrubbing. “It’s hard to miss someone who can’t stand you.”

“That’s not true, they’re just…hardheaded, stuck in their old way of seeing things.”

“Grandma was too, and she didn’t act like them.” Jaclyn put the disinfectant under the counter and tossed the cloth next to it, thinking she should’ve been over the rotten relationship she had with her folks by then. She didn’t look forward to the holidays anymore; it was just a time to get together and rip open old wounds.

“If my house is back in one piece by then, we’ll have Christmas dinner there, then you can retreat.” Jaclyn followed Maddie’s gaze to the pair in the distance who were hard at work. “I was going to suggest that you invite Morgan, but I know you won’t.”

“I’m not going to subject her to Mom and Dad. If one rude word was spoken, I’d blow my top, and you know one of them would make a snide comment.”

Maddie looked Jaclyn in the eye. “One day, you’re going to meet someone special. What will you do then—just skip Christmas?”

Subconsciously, Jaclyn glanced out the window. “I’ll cross that bridge when and if I come to it.”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with her, you see her at least once a day. Is there—”

“Absolutely nothing going on, we’re friends.” Jaclyn waved a hand. “Before you ask, yes, she knows about me.”

Maddie shook her head. “That’s not what I was going to ask. I wanted to know if maybe…you’d kind of taken an interest in her that wasn’t just platonic.”

“Morgan’s just taking a break here. She’s looking for work, and when she finds it, she’s gone. Only a fool would allow herself to get attached.” Jaclyn smiled sardonically. “I’m not that dumb or desperate.”

Maddie sighed. “I had high hopes.”

“Why?”

Maddie looked at Jaclyn incredulously. “What do you mean, why? I’d like to see you with someone. I don’t care if it’s a man, woman, or a…” Maddie pursed her lips. “I was gonna say stuffed bear, but that’s just eww. Everybody wants to be in love, to have that special someone to cling to when the nights are cold or laugh at stupid things,” Maddie said with a laugh. “The other night, Caleb took the guard off of Heath’s trimmer, and he didn’t notice. That man shaved off one whole eyebrow before he realized it, then he had to shave the other. I laughed until I cried.”

Jaclyn grinned as she imagined what Heath must’ve looked like. “Are you serious?”

Maddie cackled. “He looks awful, and he won’t let me pencil any on. Everybody comes into the store and just stares at him until they figure it out, and I’m rolling on the floor laughing like a fool.” Maddie held up her phone and showed Jaclyn a picture of Heath looking forlorn.

“That’s hysterical.”

Maddie shrugged. “I just want you to have your own misfit.”

~~~

Morgan had brown paint on her ass, forehead, and chin when Jaclyn arrived, and Austin was spotlessly clean.

“She sat on my paintbrush,” Austin said, pointing at Morgan’s butt. “Then she stuck her hand in the can.”

Morgan was surrounded by paint splatters on the deck. “I had kind of planned on refinishing this anyway,” she said nonchalantly, “it’s no big deal.”

Jaclyn’s eyes went round, thinking that she’d heard Heath say that a million times, and usually, it was over something that was a very big deal. Another misfit was in her midst, but against Maddie’s wishes, this one did not belong to Jaclyn. “The not-boat is coming along nicely,” she said as she admired their paint job.

“I hope the paint will be dry by morning, so we can begin working on your idea.”

Austin nodded. “We need empty kegs, Mom.”