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It was ages since Morgan had been so relaxed. Of course, the entire bottle of wine she’d finished might have had something to do with it. Or maybe it was just the fact that, for a few hours, she pushed aside her pathetic life to enjoy being with, what appeared to her to be, a normal family.
She didn’t think about her father and his drinking, or the fact that he’d given up on living long before she’d come back to Fisherman’s Landing. She didn’t ponder the logistics of living in the same town as Nathan and Christy. Or how she was going to react when she eventually ran into them. And she would. No way that could be avoided.
She didn’t dwell on any of it.
Instead, she let herself fall under the spell that was Charlie and Maverick. Their love for each other was palpable. It was a living, breathing thing that permeated the air and wrapped every single one of them in a piece of their happiness.
It was in the soft touches, the shared smiles, and the secret looks they thought no one else saw. But Morgan did. She saw all of it right up until they left to go home. While Cooper was saying good-bye to his mother, Maverick slid his hand across Charlie’s belly and bent low to plant a kiss there. Right where their child grew. An ache bloomed inside Morgan, and she turned away.
“I hope I see you again.” Isabel smiled at Morgan. “And I’m so sorry we’ve no room in our car.” She wasn’t sorry. Not in the least. Even Morgan saw that. For some reason, Isabel thought her son and Morgan had some kind of thing going on.
She couldn’t have been more wrong. Her smile faded. Cooper was just being nice. She’d seen the look on his face when he saw the scars on her arm. It was the same look she’d seen many times over from others. Shock. Pity. Probably disgust. She didn’t blame him—they were ugly as hell.
Cooper ushered his family outside, grabbing Connor along the way and ruffling the little guy’s hair, while Morgan retreated to the kitchen, tossing the empty wine bottle into the recycle container under the kitchen sink. Damn. If only she’d kept to one glass, she’d be able to drive home. Now, she’d have to stay a few more hours until she was good to go.
She’d even called Hank for a ride but got his voice mail and had given up at that point. There was no one else.
She wandered over to the window and stared out at the blackness beyond. The sky was littered with a blanket of stars, and was that a… Morgan winced, angling her head for a better look, a soft smile breaking across her face. A shooting star arced across the night sky. She watched it until it disappeared.
“I feel like a fire.”
She jumped at the sound of Cooper’s voice and turned around to face him. His expression was unreadable, and he moved toward the family room, where a large fireplace took up nearly an entire wall. Stanley padded along behind him and flopped onto one of his beds, this one next to the heat. Cooper tossed him a bone, and the pup got busy.
Feeling more than a little restless, Morgan stretched, but with no other option than a fire, she made her way across the room.
She slid onto the sofa and settled herself into the corner, watching Cooper as he stoked the fire. The Henley he wore was thin and did nothing to hide his broad shoulders and muscular back. Of course, considering she’d seen pretty much all of him, did it really matter if it did?
Naked Cooper did funny things to her. Don’t think of naked Cooper.
He stood and turned around, hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans. “We can watch a movie if you like.”
She was nodding before he finished speaking. Anything was better than sitting alone with Cooper Simon, trying to make small talk. It was easier when the others were here, but now… She exhaled and pasted a smile on her face.
Now it was just the two of them.
Cooper scooped up the remote and sat on the sofa. He leaned back, and the large screen came to life. Perched on the wall above the fireplace, it was the focal point of the room.
“Netflix?” he asked. Again she nodded, smile still firmly in place. She could do this.
He clicked on movies and began to scroll through them when she sat up. “Wait. That one,” Morgan said, suddenly interested.
“Which?”
“The Dark Abyss.” She grabbed a nearby blanket and pulled it across her lap.
“That’s an intense movie.”
She glanced at him. “Have you seen it? It’s a Lee Holloway film, based on one of his books.”
He slowly shook his head, and if she’d been paying attention, she might have noticed the tightness around his mouth. The way his eyes slid from her. “No. I haven’t.”
Morgan settled in deeper, drawing up the blanket until it covered her shoulders.
“I think it won a few Oscars.”
“Seven, actually.”
“Huh.” But Morgan wasn’t really paying attention to Cooper anymore. She was glued to the television as the opening credits began to roll. She’d read the book while recuperating in the hospital. It was an emotional journey for the main character, Bella, and though the ending was tragic, the theme of hope that ran throughout the book helped Morgan through her own dark time. Lee Holloway had a gift for words, and those words let her find some sort of peace in a world where all she could see was darkness and pain.
