The Lure of White Oak Lake (30 page)

Morgan shook her head and looked down at her hands. “He could barely handle the department when I was there. I doubt he’s headed anywhere but the unemployment line.”

“What’re you gonna do?”

Morgan met Brad’s gaze. “What would you do? Say you were in the same position, and it was Tonya.”

“That’s not fair. We’ve been together since high school. There’s no comparison.”

“But you love her.”

Brad sighed as he reeled his line in. “Morgan, this is a monumental decision, and I can’t help you make it. All I can promise is that I’ll support you whatever decision you make.”

~~~

Tonya sighed and giggled as she looked at a picture of Austin grinning with yams covering his cheeks and mouth. “How old was he when this was taken?”

“Two and a half.” Jaclyn handed her another photo of Austin asleep in his toy box.

Tonya smiled as she looked at it. “I know you probably hear this a lot, but you look so much alike, it’s hard to believe you didn’t give birth to him. What’s it like? I mean, is it scary to have something so precious totally dependent on you?”

“You worry that you’re gonna screw up, but another instinct just takes control.” Jaclyn shrugged. “You just love them so much that it tempers the fear somehow. My stomach turns at the thought of him driving one day, that’s coming in a couple of years. Knowing that I’ll have to watch him drive off by himself just frazzles my nerves. Morgan says she’s going to tail him everywhere he goes.”

Tonya leaned her head against the couch and smiled at Jaclyn. “She’s good with him. They’re very close, aren’t they?”

“Extremely. They took to each other so fast. When you’re a single parent, it’s so difficult to date because it’s not just you. The person you choose to have in your life has to be good for your child too. I’d pretty much given up on finding anyone who would be good enough for Austin, and along came Morgan. I couldn’t ask for any better.”

“Brad and I sat up many a night wondering why Dad left Morgan the cabin. When Brad was younger, he spent a lot of weekends here; we just thought he’d get it. Dad never said anything to us about it. We just found it in the will after he died.” Tonya shrugged. “Brad was a little hurt, but when Morgan’s life turned upside down, he was thankful she had a place to retreat to. I know it’s silly to think this way,” she said with a smile, “but I like to think that Dad led her here because he knew she’d be happy.”

Tonya’s eyes went wide. “Oh, little kick,” she said as she patted her stomach. “If you were to have met Morgan a year ago, you wouldn’t be able to recognize her now. I can tell you she’d never have gone out on a boat with her brother. When she visited us, she was either on her phone or her laptop. When you talked to her, she was mentally somewhere else. Her face was so full of lines that she actually looks younger now. This place, you and Austin are good for her.”

“Thanks,” Jaclyn said with a genuine smile. “I needed to hear that.”

J
aclyn, I love you.”

“Aw, damn.” Jaclyn yawned as she made Christmas Eve breakfast. “What do you want, Maddie? Are you stuck to something again?”

“No, I’m mopping up sewer water in my bathroom. The toilets overflowed when I ran the washer this morning. Heath thinks there’s a clog in the main.”

“You need to come over and shower?”

“Yes…Jac, if he can’t get the line repaired, we may have to do Christmas dinner at your place.”

Jaclyn’s eyes flew open wide. She was fully awake then. “What?”

“You ever try to get a plumber out to your house on Christmas Eve? If Heath can’t get that line cleared, then no one will be able to use the bathroom here. Mom doesn’t want to have it at her house because she says it’s too small.”

Jaclyn had been looking forward to spending the least amount of time possible at Maddie’s, then going home to peace and quiet. Having dinner at her house meant they’d have to start cooking early in the morning to give the turkey the time it needed. That meant Maddie would be over early and so would their mother.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not like you stuffed towels down the toilet to avoid having it at your house…or did you?”

“No, but I can tell you that I’ve taken a lot of heat off of you already. Mom’s been over here bitching constantly. I don’t keep a heavy enough hand on the kids. I don’t wear enough makeup to make myself look presentable. I don’t keep the house clean enough. I’m thinking about jumping the fence and getting myself a woman, so she’ll avoid me too. I got the gay toe, remember?”

“Tell her to kiss your ass. That’ll do it.”

“Yeah, she said you basically told her to do just that, but I don’t have the balls you have. I do have good news, though. They’re leaving the day after Christmas to go to Texas. Apparently, Gayle has shacked up with some guy, and they’re going to visit them.”

“They should’ve done that in the first place and left us in peace,” Jaclyn snapped bitterly. “Okay, so you’ll be here around six with the turkey?”

“No, I’ll put that in the oven at my place, but I’ll come over around nine to prepare the other dishes. Mom will want to help because I don’t do it right, so I’ll tell her to be there at eleven,” Maddie said with a chuckle.

“All right. I’ll see you then.”

“I really do love you, Jac.”

“Yeah, I love you, too, shut up.” Jaclyn grinned as she ended the call and set the phone aside. Later, she would go to the store and find that bottle of bourbon she kept out for Morgan when she had anxiety.

~~~

“You come up with anything about the job offer?” Brad asked later when he and Morgan were standing outside.

“I haven’t discussed it with Jaclyn, so keep your voice down.” Morgan glanced back at the porch. “I’m not taking it.”

“Morgan—”

“I’m happy here. I don’t want to argue the point.”

He opened his mouth to say something else and snapped it shut as Austin and Skip approached.

“Hey, man, you ready to get them ducks?” Skip asked with his shotgun slung over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to getting out in the swamp.” Brad looked at Morgan. “Sure you don’t want to come?”

“Positive, and I hope y’all don’t see a single duck. I’ll check on Tonya when she wakes up from her nap.”

Skip shook his head. “Oh, man, don’t jinx us, Morgan. My Rene loves to cook duck. You can still come out to the blind with us, it’s nice out there.”

“Is there a TV, heater, recliner?”

“Oh, you a pansy, yeah. Go back inside, baby, and suck your thumb.”

“I will,” Morgan said, “and I’ll be comfortable, unlike you morons traipsing off into the marsh.” She put a hand on Austin’s shoulder. “You be careful, bud, and take care of my baby brother.”

Morgan went back inside and found Jaclyn sitting on the couch staring at the tree. “I’ve been thinking,” Jaclyn said when Morgan sat next to her. “We’re not going to have a whole lot of time alone over the next twenty-four hours, and I’d like to give you one of my gifts in private.”

Morgan grinned as she asked, “Is it sexual in nature?”

“You got one of the words right.” Jaclyn set a small box on Morgan’s leg. “Open it.”

Morgan ripped into it with no regard for the ribbon or bow Jaclyn had carefully put on the gift. “Where did you find this?” She studied the small glass medallion on a silver chain.

“I had it made. Inside are petals from the goldenrod field where we had our first date. Want me to put it on you?”

“Not yet.” Morgan held it up to the light. “It’s beautiful, is that…” She looked closer. “Is that an ant?” Jaclyn began to laugh as Morgan pulled her close. “This is an awesome gift, I’ll always treasure it,” she said seriously. “Now you can put it on me.”

Jaclyn took it from Morgan and clasped it around her neck. “When you see it or feel it, you’ll always think of me.”

“I’ll always think of you anyway.” Morgan kissed her and got up. “Now you have to open one of mine.” She set a large box on Jaclyn’s lap and watched with a grin as Jaclyn tore into it, to reveal another box gift-wrapped.

“Oh, you’re a shit. I started to do the same with yours, but you always sneaked up on me.” Jaclyn opened three more boxes and pulled out an envelope with a curious gaze. Her face went blank when she pulled a brochure from the envelope.

“I can change the dates if necessary since it’s booked so far in advance. I hope you’ll forgive me for being cheap and giving you a Christmas and birthday gift all in one because that’s when we’re going to Fiji.”

“Morgan, this...” Jaclyn’s eyes watered as she looked at the picture of the cabanas over the water. “It’s way too expensive.”

“I still have my savings in case we need it for emergencies. I paid for this when I got my profit-sharing check from Menagerie.” Morgan tapped the picture of the cabanas. “We’re going to make memories there.”

Jaclyn threw her arms around Morgan’s neck. “You made me cry,” she said into her shoulder.

Morgan’s eyes watered too, out of pure joy.

M
addie sniffed as she sliced into an onion. “Did y’all have fun last night with Brad and Tonya?”

Jaclyn set a baking dish on the counter. “We did. We had dinner and opened presents. How’d it go with Heath’s family?”

“As usual, they gave the kids a ton of stuff we almost couldn’t fit in the car. What did you get Morgan?”

“The necklace I showed you, jeans, and one of those digital picture frames. She spent all morning loading it with the pictures we’ve taken. Austin, that little stinker, contacted the paper and got a copy of the pictures they took the day of the race and made frames for them.” Jaclyn swallowed against the emotion building in her throat as she remembered how Morgan looked when she opened hers. “Morgan was so cool and collected with Austin when she opened hers, but her eyes teared up when we talked about it later.”

“That’s really sweet,” Maddie said with a smile. “What did she get you?”

“An easel and paint set because Austin told her I always wanted to paint the lake.”

“Aw.” Maddie wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “That was so thoughtful. You’ve been wanting to do that for years. Too bad you suck at painting.”

“Ass. She got me something else, too.” Jaclyn inhaled deeply. “We’re going to Fiji for my birthday.”

Maddie looked up slowly. “You’re shitting me.”

Jaclyn shook her head as she held up the brochure.

“Oh, my God!” Maddie screamed, and she and Jaclyn began to jump up and down and dance in a circle.

~~~

“Are you crazy?”

“Yes, I think we’ve covered that,” Morgan said testily as she and Brad sat drinking coffee on the deck behind the cabin.

“Fiji? Do you have any idea how expensive that is?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“You’re working at a bait store, for Pete’s sakes. If you want to take lavish trips like this, then you had better reconsider turning down that offer. The money you have socked away won’t last you forever.”

“And I may not always work at the bait store, but it will be somewhere close to home.”

Brad frowned as he took a drink of his coffee. “This isn’t like you at all.”

“No, it isn’t because I’ve never been truly happy. I was so pissed at Stanton when he cut me, but now, I think he did me a huge favor.”

Brad poured his coffee out in the yard and slammed his cup down. “Have you stopped to consider that someone might be doing you a favor again? If I thought that you’d really looked at all of this clearly, then decided to turn the job down—your career—I’d feel a lot better about this. But I don’t think you have, and the fact that you have not discussed this offer with Jaclyn further compounds my worry. Go take some time alone with yourself and think, Morgan. Think hard!”

Morgan watched as Brad went inside and slammed the door. She set her coffee cup down and took that walk.

~~~

“What about the rolls, Maddie? By the time you warm all the casseroles, they’ll be cold.”

Maddie’s eyes flashed with fire as she regarded her mother. “The bread is in the cooker, I made a homemade loaf. Let me and Jaclyn worry about the dinner and you go spend some time with your grandkids.”

“Well, I wanted another cup of coffee,” Liz said as she reached for the pot. “I’m gonna brew some fresh, do you want some?”

Maddie stepped in front of the pot before Liz could get her hands on it. “I’ve already set the coffee to brew, and I will serve the coffee, and I will scream and throw the coffee if you don’t go into the den.”

Liz wagged a finger at her. “You let yourself get worked up too easily, Madeline. You—”

“Momma, go,” Maddie said, her words coming out in a growl.

Jaclyn smiled as she passed her mother on the way into the kitchen. Liz had plucked her last nerve and had already ripped Maddie’s out, but Jaclyn could still smile because she had Morgan and Fiji on her mind. “She’s scowling, so whatever you did, keep it up,” Jaclyn whispered.

“I swear she gets worse every year, always bitching and nitpicking. I used to think it was just us she was so unhappy with, but now, I think she’s just miserable with herself.”

“You may have something there.” Jaclyn looked in on the turkey. “Give this a few more minutes, and we’ll be ready to warm the rest.”

“Let me go serve the queen and king, and I’ll be back.” Maddie walked out of the kitchen with two cups as Jaclyn moved to the stove to stir the gravy. A small Mason jar with a milky substance in the bottom of it caught her eye.

“Maddie, what’s this?” she asked when her sister walked back into the kitchen.

Maddie’s eyes widened for a second as she looked at the jar in Jaclyn’s hand. She snatched it away and tossed it in the trash. “Seasoning.”

Jaclyn recognized the jar. It was the same type Clarice had when she came to the house to doctor Morgan’s ant bites. “Where did you get the
seasonings,
and what are they used for?”

“It’s my secret weapon,” Maddie said lowly. “Clarice offered it to me for Mom and Dad. She said it would calm them and take the edge off. She suggested I try it, too, but the last time she made me her purification tea, it gave me the runs for a week. I put it in their coffee, so hopefully, those two will nap the rest of the day and leave us in peace.”