Everywhere and Every Way(21)

Cervical cancer wasn't the standard problem an eighteen-year-old should  have. When her Pap smear had returned positive, Morgan hadn't been  worried. She was young and fit and healthy. No one got cancer at her  age.

Except the second test proved her wrong.

Young people did get cancer.

Each time they met with the doctor, the prognosis got worse. She met  with some of the best experts in the world. Morgan learned terms such as  trachelectomy, a procedure that would save the uterus so she could  possibly still have children. But her cancer wouldn't respond to  chemotherapy. Her cancer spread, and there was no choice but the most  aggressive one of all.

She underwent a complete hysterectomy before she even hit twenty years old.

The memory of that morning, waking up and realizing she'd never hold her  baby in her arms, still haunted her. In some crazy way, she felt like  she'd let her parents down. Besides getting sick, she'd never be able to  give them grandchildren. Her Southern roots went deep, and the idea of  big families was never questioned. Morgan had envisioned at least four  children running around her big plantation while she worked side by side  with her mama in her design business. She wasn't the type to wonder  what her future would be like, because she'd always known.

Until that morning when her life suddenly changed.

Ashley Raines held her while she cried. And then she did what any good Southern mama would do.

She went hard-core.

Morgan wasn't able to wallow in her misery. Her mama had taken her  immediately to the pediatric ward to engage with the children who were  fighting their own battles. She became friends with Peter Ward, who had a  50 percent chance of living. She met Alice Monroe, who used to have  pretty blond hair and a future in modeling. Her smile was bright and her  eyes were fierce as she told Morgan she'd be getting a bone marrow  transplant soon and she intended to go back to second grade. And Morgan  learned something from those children that changed her path forever over  those next few weeks as she dealt with her new life.

She learned she was a fighter. She learned she had a new life, but it  was a good life. It held hope and love and endless possibilities, and  Morgan decided she wouldn't squander a second of it. When she caught  sight of a mother cradling her child, her womb still wept. But she had  carved out a career she adored and led a glittering, big life that kept  her engaged and happy. A different path, yes. But her path.

Her throat tightened. The hysterectomy had done its job, and every test  for the past ten years had come back clean. But her mama still worried  that the ghost of their past would suddenly come surging in and wreak  havoc.

"Yes, I checked in with the local doctor, and they sent her my charts. Everything's good, Mama. Please don't worry."

"Of course I'll worry-it's my job. But I'll change the subject because I  know you're capable of handling anything that comes your way. Let's  talk about something fun. Have you met any boys?"

The image of kissing Cal slammed into her mind. The firm texture of his  lips. The delicious thrust of his tongue. The spicy, masculine flavor  that heated her blood and made her knees weak. It was the most erotic  kiss of her life, and she'd panicked because she hadn't seen it coming.  When he pulled away and looked at her in the moonlight, her instinct was  to jump back in his arms, drag him to the ground, and engage in carnal,  glorious, raw, dirty sex.

Instead, she'd talked about molding and pretended nothing had happened.

Her mama's laugh tinkled through the speaker. "I do declare, you're blushing, baby. Who is it? Is he cute?"

She sighed and surrendered. "Yes. He's hot and grumpy and talented and a  pain in the butt. But he's also off-limits. He's the builder, Mama."

Ashley Raines winced. "Oh, my. That could get a bit sticky."

"I know. We kissed, but it was a onetime thing. He's probably forgotten about it already."

Her mama snickered. "He didn't forget. If you like him, maybe you can make it work."

"No, I can't risk the project for a weak moment of lust. He's  professional, so if he pushes, I'll just let him know it's better to  avoid anything personal. I've seen firsthand what a mess combining work  and pleasure can be. Explosions on job sites, delays, fights." She  shuddered at the thought of such messiness. "I need to keep things  tight."         

     



 

"Pity. You could use a delicious affair."

Morgan laughed. "You're bad, Mama. Daddy would freak."

"That's why we don't tell Daddy girl things. He still sees you in pink dresses with baby dolls in your hand."

"I prefer pink hammers now."

"That's my girl. Now, I have to tell you before you find out from  someone else. Elias Baker is back in town. He's decided to settle in  Charleston."

Morgan waited for the ache of pain to hit, but there was only a mild  poke. Good. She'd finally gotten over the jerk. Her ex-fiancé came from  old money and had told her he was madly in love with her. When he found  out she couldn't carry his children, he told her it didn't matter. She  decided to believe him, but a few months before the wedding, he admitted  that he couldn't bear a future without his own children. The gossip had  fueled the town for a long while, and Morgan once again struggled to  find her way past the humiliation. "Married?" she clipped out.

"Yes."

"Three point five children?"

"Three with another on the way."

"Is his wife pretty?"

Her mama cocked her head and considered. "Five out of a ten. She's an  outsider and talks in a horrible accent. Already the Woman's Design  group decided she wouldn't be a good fit with us. Plus, they bought the  old Magnolia mansion, so you know their taste is excruciating."

"Hmm, they're wannabes." The Magnolia mansion had been vacated by a  popular reality-star couple who ended up in jail for tax evasion. Their  taste ran the gamut of animal prints, Elvis trinkets, and lots of gold.  Their home was famous in town for its history, bad taste, and central  location. Morgan couldn't imagine stuffy Elias living there, but maybe  his wife had convinced him. Or maybe they'd renovate.

"Did he get fat?"

Her mama sighed. "No. But he's almost bald."

Their gazes met and they burst into laughter. "Good enough for me."

"Just remember, baby, he was never good enough for you. Goodness  gracious, he probably wouldn't have wanted you to work! Can you imagine  being stuck doing nothing but charity benefits and hosting dinners for  his boring clients?"

"I love you, Mama."

"Love you, too, baby. Get some sleep. Kiss more boys."

She blew kisses to the screen and clicked off.

Morgan changed into her soft cotton pj's, pulled on socks for her  constantly cold feet, and snuggled under the luxurious Egyptian-cotton  sheets. Elias had broken her heart. When he rejected her because she  couldn't mother his children, it confirmed her worst fears. Men wouldn't  want her. For the second time in her life, she struggled with feelings  of inadequacy and not being a real woman for losing a part of her body  that was essential.

Once again her mama had realized it was not a regular heartbreak but ran  so much deeper. On her urging, Morgan found a great therapist and  joined a support group where other women struggled with the same issues.  And she rebuilt herself for the second time.

Now, at thirty years old, she looked at the world differently. She no  longer thought of herself as less and knew the right man would love her  for everything she was and nothing she wasn't. Elias had never been  meant for her. And Morgan didn't waste time wondering where Mr. Right  was. She was too busy living her life.

She picked up her Kindle. Now done with Nora Roberts, she opened up her  new BDSM erotic series and read for the next hour. Finally she clicked  off the light and snuggled against the pillow. The clean scent of cotton  rose to her nostrils, and an image of a shirtless Caleb Pierce drifted  past her vision. Rock-hard muscles and tight abs. Eyes that glinted like  charcoal and burned like fire. Strong hands that caressed with a  leashed power able to break her. She imagined him as a delicious dom  type, stripping her, laying her out on the bed, and fucking her hard.  Her body shivered, and her pussy throbbed with need. His kiss told her  the type of lover he'd be. Controlling but patient. Thorough but  demanding. Raw and dirty yet tender. Her nipples peaked into hard  points, and her skin grew hot and itchy with desire.

Morgan slid her hand down her body and under her panties. Already wet  and needy, she closed her eyes and let her fingers bring her temporary  relief while the fantasy of Caleb Pierce took her away.

And she came with his name on her lips.





chapter eight







For God's sake, where is everybody?"

Cal tore off his hard hat and scratched his head. Sweat ran down his  neck and back in tiny rivulets, so that his T-shirt clung to him. His  jeans stuck to his legs, crusted with dried dirt, and he cursed as he  stalked over to Jason, the only guy left on the job. Foo Fighters  screamed from the boom box, and Caleb stopped in front of the ladder,  motioning to Jason to stop hammering.