Morgan nodded and a smile eclipsed her face. ‘Okay, that’s fantastic. Thank you again.’
Ned smiled back and her, and she thought she saw a twinkle in his eye. ‘Right let’s do this. Shall we sprinkle the sawdust together?’
Morgan nodded. ‘Yes, then I need those hay bales placing against three walls. They are the seating. The tables and bar need to go on that wall. The tables will be used for the buffet and the games. You know what the bar will be used for.’ Ned grinned.
They worked side-by-side chatting excitedly about the upcoming party, and quicker than Morgan wanted it to be done because she was enjoying herself so much, everything was suddenly in position.
Morgan put her hand to her brow and gasped, as she did a 360-degree turn. ‘Oh my goodness. It looks stunning. A smile eclipsed her face as she turned to face Ned. ‘Thank you. You’ve done me proud.’ She leaned up to kiss his cheek, but he turned his face and their lips met.’ Morgan shrunk away shocked.
‘I-I’m sorry Morgan. I thought you were kissing me.’
‘I was kissing you...on the cheek.’ Morgan felt a wave of guilt wash over her. She hadn’t kissed another man since Bren kissed her, on the night of the accident. ‘I-I think we should go.’
Ned nodded and shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot. ‘Yes, of course.’
THE SILENCE ALL THEway back to Seagull Bay was deafening. Morgan turned quickly to Ned and squeezed out a smile before she opened the door. ‘Thanks Ned, for today. I’ll see you soon.’
She made a move to get out of the car and Ned placed a hand on the top of her arm, halting her. ‘Will you?’
Morgan’s eyes softened when she saw the look of devastation clouding his face. ‘Of course I will. Nothing’s changed between us.’
Ned let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Chapter fifteen
After a hot shower trying to push the day's events from her head, followed by a mug of cocoa, Morgan finally disrobed and climbed into bed.
Wind rattled past her window and Morgan sighed, pulling the duvet up closer around her neck. There hadn’t been any hint of a breeze when she was at the farm with Ned, typical that it would start up now when she was desperate for sleep to claim her so she wouldn’t have to analyse—thekissingincident.
She played out the time she’d spent in Ned’s company throughout the day, scene-by-scene. There had been numerous hints from him wanting to take the relationship further, not only today, but for the last few days, so why had she been so shocked by the kiss? She knew what the answer was, it was Bren. Even after decades without him. Even after the dream of him telling her it was okay to move on, she still felt guilty.
Turning away from the window, she pushed all thoughts from her mind and willed sleep to come.
‘WAKEY, WAKEY.’ A SMALLchildish voice said before giggling.
‘Pippa?’ Morgan’s eyelids were heavy. Her mind told her it couldn’t be Pippa. Pippa was now a grown woman. She forced her eyes open and looked into green coloured eyes edged with long blonde eyelashes. Morgan suddenly became very awake andpushed herself up onto her elbows. ‘Who are you? How did you get up here?’
‘You are dreaming me, silly.’ The small blonde-haired girl giggled again, her tiny fingers covering her pink lips. ‘I’m only here for a short time, but I have lots to show you.’
‘Another dream?’ Morgan rubbed her eyes and blinked. ‘But who are you?’
‘We’ve never met, but I know everything about you.’ Morgan’s brow lifted, mystified. ‘Take my hand. I need to show you something.’
Morgan tentatively reached out, placing her hand into the open palm of the little hand being offered to her. Almost instantly, Morgan’s bedroom faded away and she looked down to see her toes digging into sand. She looked up and saw herself walking down the beach, her arm linked with a faceless man’s arm, her head falling back as she laughed.
Morgan frowned. ‘I don’t own any clothing like that.’ She looked around at the girl and was startled to see she’d aged by around five years. The girl just smiled and pointed forwards. Morgan gasped. The beach had disappeared and now she was inside a house she’d never been in before. She was looking at herself sitting in a very Scandinavian inspired dining room, sitting at a small table. The faceless man was leaning across the table pouring wine into her glass, and there was a plate loaded with steaming hot food in front of her and another plate in front of the man. She watched herself look across the table at the faceless man. Saw a look in her own eyes she hadn’t seen in over three decades.
‘Who is he? And whose house is that?’
Morgan blinked and did a doble take. The girl was now an older teenager.
‘I have one last vision to share with you,’ is all she replied.
In a blink of an eye, the room was gone and the barn she had been standing in only hours ago was right in front of her. Only this time it was filled to capacity with residents of Seagull Bay, their merriment, laughter and music a joy to hear. They had full smiles on their faces which was a wonder for Morgan to see.
‘It’s my party. Look there’s Pamela, Katherine and Phil talking to Pharis and Hayley, and there’s Pippa Brett and Oliver serving at the bar.’ Morgan’s hand went to her open mouth as she gasped. ‘Oh my goodness. I’ve forgotten to hire someone to run the bar.’
‘Don’t worry, some of the community help so they can join in with the merriment.’
