Underestimated (24 page)

murder, and I didn’t think that I had talked in my sleep.

I should have known that morning that something

was up. My mom never told me to come to the truck stop

and eat after school. I wasn’t allowed to be in there. She

couldn’t flirt with all of the truckers if I was there, and she

sure wasn’t going to use her tip money to buy me supper. I

didn’t have that kind of mother. I had a mother who I knew

didn’t stay loyal to my dad, not that he ever did either.

I cautiously wandered into the dive and sat at the

bar with my mom. She wasn’t working at all, and she

wasn’t wearing her ugly green polo uniform shirt. She

patted the red plastic barstool beside of her.

“Order anything you want,” she offered.

I did. I ordered a chocolate milk shake,

cheeseburger and fries. I felt guilty for eating the food and

even more so the milk shake. I knew Justin would have

loved to have had a milk shake.

“I’m not coming home tonight, Morgan,” my mom

explained while I ate my glorious meal.

“Where you going?” I asked around the

cheeseburger in my mouth.

“I am moving away from here. I can’t stay with

your dad anymore. It’s not healthy for any of us.”

“We’re taking Justin too, aren’t we?” I asked, not

understanding what she was trying to say.

“I need you to stay and take care of Justin for me.”

“You’re not taking us with you?”

“I can’t, Morgan. Some day you will understand. I

promise.”

I turned when I heard the well-dressed man clear

his throat beside of her.

“I have to go, Morgan. You take care of your

brother for a while for me, okay?”

“Just for a while? And then you’re coming for us?”

“I won’t be coming for you, but you will be

eighteen soon. You’ll leave this place too.”

She didn’t hug me, didn’t kiss me, and only patted

my knee.

“I love you. Finish your food and head home

before your dad gets home.”

That was how my mother said goodbye.

I did sleep well, other than that haunting dream

about my mother leaving her children to be with some

man, obviously with more money than my dad had. I felt

strange about the dream. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it

was, but it was almost like a clue for some odd reason.

We spent the next day at the expo again. Star’s all

natural sleeping aid once again helped. I was too happy to

have nightmares about my past. We had such a great day

that it made it almost impossible.

***

I could not wait to land that plane. I even asked the

stewardess if she could tell the pilot to speed up a little. I

missed Dawson so much, and couldn’t wait to see him. I

don’t know what my hurry was. We landed at eleven in the

morning. I wouldn’t see him until he got off work at four.

I couldn’t wait. As soon as Star dropped me off at

my door, I tossed my belongings inside the door and

headed back into town.

“You have a really hard job,” I said, seeing him

looking oh so fine in his uniform with his feet propped up

on his desk. He almost knocked over his cup of coffee

when he abruptly sat up with a smile. I loved that smile.

“Welp, guess I better go catch me some bad guys,”

his Deputy Matt said, excusing himself.

Dawson had me in his arms in a split second.

“Don’t you ever leave me like that again,” he

demanded, kissing me. I mean really kissing me. My

arousal went from zero to eighty in two point seven

seconds.

I was panting, and his hands seemed to be magical,

causing sensations to places that he wasn’t even touching.

He let me go rather quickly.

“Your house or mine?” he asked, retrieving his

cellphone.

I didn’t have time to answer before he was on the

phone with Matt, telling him to get back there because he

was taking the rest of the day off.

I followed him to his house and had to laugh when

he accidentally hit the siren on his cruiser trying to get out

of the car.

I was twenty five years old, and it was the first

time ever in my life that I felt passion. I wanted Dawson

more at that moment than I ever wanted anything in my life.

It was also the first time that Drew had stayed out of our

sex life. It was the first time that Dawson had ever gone

down on me, actually it was the first time that anyone had

gone down on me. Wow. That’s a lot of firsts. Drew

wasn’t into pleasing me. He was into pleasing himself.

Dawson walked me backwards toward his

bedroom, never letting the contact of our lips break. He

had my long flowing sundress around my hips and was

thumbing off my panties. I didn’t take any of my clothes off

except for the panties. He backed me up until the bed

stopped me and I pulled myself back with my elbows.

After he pulled my shirt above my breasts, I watched him

hastily undress himself. He raised my knees and kissed my

stomach while his hands caressed the satin on my bra. I

wasn’t used to that either. Drew just demanded that I

spread my legs, and I did it. Dawson moved down and

kissed me on the inside of my right thigh.

I thought I was going to come off the bed when he

slid his finger into me. These were all new and foreign

feelings for me. I didn’t know it could be this way. My

emotions were instantly halted when I felt his tongue next.

It scared me at first, but he sensed it and softly laid his

hand on my stomach forcing me to stay with him, promptly

bringing me back to him and not Drew.

Never in my life had I felt anything like that. I

came. I came hard and called out in loud, totally

unbelievable agony. I hadn’t had time to regain my

composure when Dawson came to me. He kissed me,

another first. I never dreamed that tasting myself on his

lips could have been so sensual. He rolled me over, and I

took over the driving. My long skirt covered us, and he

kept his hands under it, caressing and pulling my hips to

him. My hands ran up his sexy as hell chest. I loved the

hair on his chest. Drew had a bare chest, not that I ever

touched it or anything.

I came twice. The second time wasn’t as intense as

when he had brought me there with his mouth, but none the

less, I did, and it was incredible. Dawson was right there

with me and rolled me over. He frantically took me

sending us both over the edge.

We both kind of laughed at our hungriness for each

other.

“Damn, I love you,” he said, kissing my lips.

I was glad that Dawson loved me. I loved him, and

couldn’t imagine not having him in my life.

Chapter 9

I was doing well, and I was so proud of myself. I

slept every night in Dawson's arms, and my nightmares

were becoming a thing of the past. My thoughts of Drew

grew few and far between. I did it. I was happy in my

small town practically living with my sheriff. I loved

calling him my sheriff. I think he secretly liked it too,

although he did tell me more than once that he had a name.

It was usually followed by a kiss though.

The shop couldn’t have been doing better. There

was no such thing as a slow day anymore. I did however,

have to keep on Starlight some. Her lack of organization

and my OCD sometimes clashed, but it was all out of fun.

I turned twenty six on October 2nd, well not really,

Riley turned twenty six on October 2nd. Morgan had turned

twenty six in June. I had never been so happy in my life. It

was almost surreal. I had run away from Morgan Willow,

leaving her in the hills of West Virginia, and Morgan

Kelley was dead in Las Vegas. I never wanted either

Morgan back. I loved being Riley Murphy.

I thought that Dawson was taking me out for my

birthday. I showered and was ready to go when he picked

me up at my house. I had on a new pair of jeans that fit me

well, and a new flowing embroidered Kurta that I had

ordered from one of the hippy catalogues. It was white

with a brown embroidered Indian design around the

sleeves and waist. I wore brown leather dingo boots with

my jeans tucked inside. I looked cute. The mirror behind

my door said so.

“Happy birthday. I don’t want to take you out

anymore,” Dawson decided, kissing me.

He had told me happy birthday at least ten times

already, not counting the multiple texts that I had received

throughout the day. I loved his compliments. I didn’t

always love them, and it took some getting used to, but I

finally learned to accept them with a smile.

“Feed me and I may let you spend the night,” I

teased.

I read the text from Starlight just as we pulled out

of my drive.

“Star wants to know if you will stop and hang

some kind of hooks for her,” I said, looking to Dawson.

“I guess we have time,” he replied.

We parked on the front street, and he held my hand

as we went inside.

I should have known something was up. Star never

said anything about any hooks before.

He held the door for me, and the whole place was

decorated with balloons and banners.

Lauren, Levi, Matt, Star and several of our

regulars were there. I couldn’t believe it. I almost cried. I

was twenty six and was having my first birthday party…

ever.

“You guys,” was all that I could think of to say. I

was in shock.

Starlight handed me a blue drink on ice with a cute

little umbrella.

“What is it?” I asked, eyeing the neon blue drink.

“Sex in the driveway,” Lauren was the one to say

with a smile.

Dawson and I exchanged a private glance, both

thinking the same thing. A couple of months back we had

gone out with Lauren and Joel to celebrate her birthday.

We never made it inside and jumped in the backseat and

had sex. We woke up just after daylight, both still naked.

The paper boy had come and left the paper on the door.

Needless to say, he had to walk right past the car to leave

the paper.

We ate pizza and drank the sex in the driveway

drinks.

I couldn’t believe the presents. I had never gotten

presents like this for my birthday. I did usually get one

gift. When I was real little it would be like a Slinky or one

of those plastic Barbie’s that seemed to always get their

faced smashed in, and you could never push it back out. I

would get cheap Jewelry when I was older. I never got a

birthday present from Drew. Hell, he probably didn’t even

know when my birthday was. Rebecca always got me

something though. It too was usually earrings or a bracelet

of some sort.

Even the patrons bought me gifts. They were

nothing extravagant. I got the cutest little key chain from

my beach friend, John. It was a piece of sea glass. He

explained that it meant happiness. I was very happy.

Lauren bought me a Miranda Lambert CD. I opened all of

my gifts and Dawson had saved his for last. When I turned

to see where he was, he knelt on one knee in front of me.

Oh, God…

I didn’t freak the way I would have expected

myself to. I could only feel how much I was loved, and

was beyond grateful for my friends and of course Dawson.

He smiled and opened the black velvet box.

“Will you marry me, Riley?” he asked.

“Of course I will marry you,” I smiled. I didn’t

need to think about it. I knew what I wanted. I wanted my

sheriff.

He slipped the diamond on my finger and kissed

me while my friends hooted and hollered.

I was well on my way to being drunk from the blue

drink that I had been consuming for the past three hours by

the time we left.

Dawson stayed at my house, and it was the best

night of my life. I couldn’t believe that I was going to

become Mrs. Dawson Bade. We were planning a May 1 st

wedding, and I wanted it all. I never had the church

wedding, the white gown or anyone that cared about me at

my last wedding. I didn’t want anything lavish or anything,

just a small church wedding with my friends.

Dawson made slow passionate love to me that

night, and I don’t think I could have been happier had my

life depended on it. I’m not sure if it was because of all of

the excitement, the fact that I was going to marry Dawson

or the ring that I proudly wore on my finger, but I did