Cooper (The Family Simon 6)

Cooper’s hand froze midair, just for a second, and then he dropped the tail onto his plate and reached for his cracker. “She’s fine?”

“She is?” Charlie seemed relieved. “I’ve been meaning to call her, but I’ve been so busy at the shop. Saturday wasn’t easy for her.”

“I could tell.” Cooper sat back in his chair. “What got her so spooked?”

“Who’s Morgan?” Isabel piped up, dabbing at the corner of her mouth, focusing on Cooper.

“She’s a friend of Charlie’s,” he replied.

Isabel’s eyebrows rose. “And…”

Cooper sighed and sat back in his chair. He knew the look in his mother’s eye. He also knew he needed to shut her down right away.

“There is no and. She’s doing some work for me. Nothing more, Mother.”

“What kind of work?”

“Just work.” He didn’t want to talk about Morgan’s job. He wanted to know who the hell Martha and Nathan and Christy were. “You going to elaborate, Charlie?”

Charlie frowned. “Well, what did she tell you?”

He shook his head. “Just that she needed to leave, and I took her home.”

Charlie frowned. “So you haven’t talked to her since Saturday night?”

“Not really.” And not for lack of trying, although he wasn’t about to volunteer that information. He’d never met a female so immune to his charm. Not even Mrs. Wilson, an old Sunday school teacher of his. When he was six, she was the scariest lady any of the kids knew. On a dare, it had taken him nearly six months to get her to crack a smile. It was like winning the grand prize at the local fair.

“Well then, how do you know she’s fine?” Charlie looked concerned, and a sliver of unease hit Cooper square in the chest.

“What happened on Saturday night?” Isabel looked from Cooper to Charlie, and when neither one of them answered, she turned to Maverick. “Can someone please tell me who this Morgan person is and what happened Saturday night?”

Maverick hesitated, and then Charlie cut in. “Sorry, Isabel. Morgan is an old friend of mine, and I’ve known her since I was five. We used to figure skate and play hockey. Run track. She was the most gifted athlete I’ve ever known.” A wistful, sad sort of smile touched Charlie’s lips. “Life hasn’t exactly treated her kindly, so I was real excited to hear she was coming back to Fisherman’s Landing. Even if it was only for a few months, but…” She reached for her glass of water. “I don’t know if she’ll stay. And she should stay. This is where her family is. But now…”

“Now?” Cooper leaned forward, anxious to hear the rest.

Charlie’s eyes widened, and for a moment, Cooper thought she would change the subject. Such was the way of it here in Fisherman’s Landing. At least where Morgan Campbell was concerned.

“Now that Nathan and Christy are moving back, I’m not sure what she’s going to do.”

Silence followed her words, but only for a few seconds, because Cooper couldn’t help himself. He had to ask.

“I’m taking it Nathan and Christy have a past with Morgan.”

Charlie nodded. “Christy was her best friend and Nathan…” She sighed and tossed her napkin. “Nathan was her fiancé.”

10

Morgan’s week passed in a blur. She got up each day, drove out to the McLaren estate, and hid in the attic. She couldn’t even say she got much work done. Oh, she moved th

ings around and wrote in the ledger, but it didn’t seem as if she accomplished anything. Truthfully, if she could have stayed in bed all week, she would have.

Morgan pulled up to her usual spot and cut the engine. It was nearly one in the afternoon, and she was late by about four hours. In her defense, she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days, must have forgotten to set her alarm, and her cell phone died.

She would have stayed home, except the thought of listening to her father complain about pretty much everything while working his way through a twelve-pack of Bud wasn’t high up on her list of things to do. Which was why she’d dragged her ass out of bed, had a quick shower, and snuck out of the house without her dad even knowing.

She was pretty sure Cooper wouldn’t notice her lateness anyway. He spent all his time in the outbuilding, doing God knows what, and she came and went as she pleased. It was the perfect job, really. Gave her a lot of space, and considering the news she’d been hit with Sunday afternoon, she needed it.

Nathan and Christy. Here. In Fisherman’s Landing.