John’s hip might be broken, but his brain worked just fine.
“Greyson and I went with Andrew to East Kentucky to pick up reindeer for Rosie’s wedding,” she admitted, wondering at the warmth that she could feel radiating from her face.
“Reindeer for her wedding?” John asked, then shook his head. “Nope. I don’t want to know. That one has always been a little off her rocker.”
“It’s probably what I love best about her, though,” Morgan admitted. “And Lou doesn’t seem to mind her off-her-rocker-ness.”
Andrew’s comment about Rosie’s blue hair driving Lou crazy played through her mind.
“I don’t think thoughts of Rosie just caused that smile on your face,” John accused as he lay back and eyed her.
“Actually, I really was thinking of Rosie.”
John wasn’t buying it.
“I was remembering how happy she was about Andrew picking up the reindeer for her. She couldn’t go on enough about him at church yesterday.”
Of course, all the Butterflies had been spouting off wonderful things about Andrew. Did they think she didn’t know how great he was? Him being wonderful wasn’t the problem.
Well, it was the problem, in the sense that it made it impossible not to be attracted to him.
“A more accurate answer would’ve been that you were imagining Andrew,” John corrected her.
“Maybe,” she admitted, surprising even herself with her honesty as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around John’s left arm.
John was quiet until she’d finished taking his reading, then he asked, “So what’s the problem?”
Had the military trained him in mind reading, or what?
“I loved my husband.”
“I never thought you didn’t.”
Morgan paused next to the valiant man’s bed, taking in his Korean War Veteran’s hat that he was rarely without, then heard herself say, “He died in a mountain climbing accident. Bad weather moved in much quicker than anticipated. They should have turned back, but Trey and a couple others didn’t want to stop until they reached the summit.” She paused, then sucked in a deep breath. “Three from their group didn’t make it. They told me Trey died while trying to rescue the other two and...”
She couldn’t finish. Why had she even started? This wasn’t something she talked about with anyone. Not ever.
“I’m sorry for your loss, especially at such a young age, but this old mind of mine still isn’t seeing why this means that you liking Andrew is a problem.”
Morgan sighed. “I’m trying to learn my lesson about being attracted to men who are so reckless with their lives.”
“Reckless?” John shook his head, studying her a moment, then adding, “Not sure recklessness has much to do with it. Sounds more to me that you’re attracted to men who are willing to risk their lives to save others. It’s an admirable trait.”
Yeah, she supposed that was one way of looking at it. But try telling that to all the fears that kept her up at night.
“Thank you for inviting me, Sarah. I was at loose ends for the evening with Greyson gone to a slumber party until Sophie reminded me about your Christmas party.”
Morgan had teetered between excitement that Greyson had made friends and fear that he’d be spending the night away from her for the first time.
“Well, Harry would rather Greyson be here, I’m sure,” Sarah said, taking a pan of cookies from the oven of her gorgeous kitchen. It was filled with Christmas décor, as was the rest of Hamilton House. It seemed like every nook and cranny was bright with garland, lights, and knick-knacks of all kinds that just highlighted the beauty of the grand old Victorian bed and breakfast. Morgan particularly loved the flocked garland that wrapped around the winding staircase in the entryway.
“Had Greyson known this was where I was headed, he might have chosen playing with Harry over going to the sleepover.” A time or two she’d been tempted to tell him due to her teary-eyed “my baby is growing up” moments.
“He’s going to have a great time,” Sophie promised her, uncovering a fruit tray she’d brought. “And so are we. Sarah and Bodie throw the best parties.”
Sarah smiled. “We do like to have fun, and tonight we’ve got something extra special planned.”
“You in here giving away our secrets?” Bodie asked, coming into the kitchen and reaching for a cookie. Cole, Ben, and Andrew were right behind him, carrying in a cooler full of drinks along with bags of chips.
