“I don’t have much time. She’s got two weeks.”
“Son, is there something you haven’t told us? Are you ill?”
“No, Ma, I’m fine. It’s just that…well.” Looking at his mother’s worried face, he knew a simple explanation would not suffice this time to cover his slip. Carefully, he weighed what to tell the three people watching him. If he stayed, there would be many more slip-ups, but the thought of leaving them was too painful to contemplate. Lying didn’t sit easy with him, never had, but the truth would be worse. He would no longer be their ‘Morgan’, but a stranger brought to them by some bizarre means, or worse, a man who was completely off his rocker. Taking a deep breath, he decided to wing it and promised himself he would be more careful in the future.
“I know you all realize I’ve changed in some ways, and one of those ways is that I sense when something bad is going to happen. I have a strong feeling Callie Mae and the girls may be in danger, and soon. That’s why I have to get her to agree to marry me right away. I need to get them away from the saloon and close it down for a while. This probably doesn’t make much sense to you, but there it is,” he finished quietly, hoping they believed him.
“So, you’ve got the sight, you’re clairvoyant now?” Emma asked. “How is that possible?”
“It is, Ma,” Matthew chimed in enthusiastically. “I once read an article about a man who was struck by lightning. After that he was able to tell things before they happened. Is it like that, Morgan?”
“Not quite, Matt,” Morgan replied gratefully. Bless you Matthew, he thought. “It’s more of a sixth sense and I’ve come to trust it. Something bad is going to happen at The Duchess and we may have to get the girls out of there quickly when the time comes.”
“When is that time?” Mead asked, his dark eyes focused on his brother.
“Three weeks, the 29th to be exact. Do you believe me?”
“As far as I know, you’ve never lied to me, and I have no reason to believe you’d lie now. As strange as it sounds, I’m with you.”
“Matthew?”
“I’m with you, Morg,” Matthew replied solemnly. “What do you need me to do?”
“I don’t know. I guess if I can get Callie Mae to marry me, I can take her away on a little honeymoon.”
“What about the girls?” Emma asked.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable for them to come and stay here for a week, do you? Matthew can stay in town with Mead so it would all be acceptable. Maybe Annalise would want to go stay out at Ty’s Mama’s place. I really don’t know. All I know is none of them can be anywhere near The Duchess on the 29th.”
“Well,” Emma said, getting up to pour them all another cup of coffee. “I don’t understand it, but I trust you to do what’s right, all of you. I will say that this conversation should never go beyond the four of us. I won’t have town folks whispering about my family.”
“Agreed,” Morgan said thankfully.
“There is one thing that bothers me though. What if Callie Mae says no?”
Morgan smiled. “She won’t say no.”
“How can you be so sure?” Emma asked, narrowing her eyes at her oldest son.
“Because if worse comes to worse, I plan to compromise her.”
Emma nearly dropped the coffee pot as her mouth fell open. “I did not hear that, Morgan Whittaker. I did not hear my son, who I raised to be a man of honor, say such a wicked thing!”
“Yeah, I kind of think you did, Ma,” Matthew laughed.
“You hush your mouth, Matthew, and you better explain yourself, Morgan,” she insisted.
“Ma, I’m not going to hurt her, I’m just going to show her carefully and gently some of the benefits of married life,” Morgan replied, blushing wildly.
Mead’s shoulders where shaking with shock and laughter as he watched his older brother just about cut his own throat. It was the first time he’d seen Morgan on the receiving end of their mother’s wrath.
Emma sat with a plop and stirred her coffee rapidly as she absorbed this new side of Morgan’s plan.
“If I didn’t know how much that girl loves you, I swear I’d take a switch to you for even suggesting such a thing. But being I know how stubborn Callie Mae can be and seeing I want some grand babies runnin’ round before I pass, I guess I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that. I will say this though, if you do what you’re planning and I don’t see the two of you standing in front of Reverend Simms, I’ll escort you both there myself with a shotgun poking you in the back every step of the way!”
“You won’t need a shotgun for me, Ma, but I can’t speak for Callie Mae,” Morgan assured her with a grin.
Early Monday morning, Morgan rode into town with a batch of his mother’s cinnamon rolls, a handful of fall flowers, and a determined attitude. Rapping once on the back door, he let himself into the kitchen, catching Callie Mae and the girls still in their nightclothes. At a nod from Callie Mae, Marilee quickly herded the others out of the room.
