Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(58)

“Hi, Morgan!” Nina chirped. “I’m good. How’re you?”

“Good. I fell asleep at eight o’clock last night and didn’t wake up once until I had to pee at six in the morning! What about you?”

Nina beamed. “Me too! Well, I got up when it was still dark and checked to make sure Mommy was still there, but then I went right back to sleep.”

“Good for you!” Morgan praised. She hated that the little girl was still waking up to make sure she wasn’t alone, but that was much better than waking up with night terrors or crying hysterically. Today was their last session together—at least, she was hoping it was. If Nina needed to talk something through later, Morgan would always be available.

“Hi, Arrow,” Nina said with a small smile as she stepped away from Morgan.

“Hey, girl. I like your hair.”

Nina beamed. “Thanks! I had Mommy braid it like Merida’s.”

“The girl from the movie Brave. You know, the archer,” Morgan whispered behind her hand as she pretended to scratch her face.

“Ah, the archer,” Arrow said as he wrapped a hand around Morgan’s waist. “Morgan and I watched that movie the other night. She’s something else, huh?”

Nina nodded agreeably and started describing her favorite part of the movie.

“Thanks for the save,” Arrow said softly as the little girl went on and on. He leaned in and nuzzled Morgan’s hair.

“You’re welcome,” Morgan told him as she gave him her weight. The more time she spent with Arrow, the more she fell for him. He wasn’t perfect by any stretch. He had a tendency to forget clean clothes in the dryer, and he followed behind her to double check some of the things she’d already done, like locking the door. He also straightened things in the cupboard that she’d just put away. But all the wonderful things he did for her more than made up for the small quirks. If those were the worst things he did, she could definitely live with them.

“How’s your stomach today?” he asked when Nina had wound down and run off to tell her mom something.

“Good. I must’ve had a twenty-four-hour bug or something,” Morgan told him.

“It was a lot longer than twenty-four hours, beautiful,” Arrow reminded her.

“I know. Whatever. I feel much better now. Must be all that OJ you forced me to drink,” she teased.

“Forced?” Arrow asked and dug his fingers into her sides, tickling her.

Morgan choked back the screech that threatened to break free and tried to squirm away from his fingers. “Stop!” she ordered.

He did, immediately, but gripped her hips tightly as he held her to him. Morgan hooked her fingers together at the small of his back and leaned against him. She’d always hated being shorter than everyone else, but with Arrow, she loved it. Loved how she fit against him perfectly. Loved how he seemed to surround her with his strength.

“Do you have an individual meeting today? Or just the joint one with Nina?” Arrow asked.

“Just the one with Nina and her mom.”

“I know I ask too much, but are you really doing better here?” he asked. “And don’t lie just because it’s what you think I want to hear. I’ve loved having you with me for the last week. I love falling asleep with you on the couch. But if you have any doubts, or if you need your space, I’m not going to be upset if you tell me that you want to get your own apartment or go back to Albuquerque.”

“Do you want me to go?” Morgan asked instead of answering his question.

“Abso-fucking-lutely not,” Arrow said with conviction.

“What if I said I was tired of sleeping on the couch?” Morgan asked.

“I’ve been camping out on the couch because you said you aren’t sleeping well by yourself. But if you’re ready to stay in the guest room, I can make that happen. All I need is for you to tell me.”

“I don’t want to sleep in the guest room,” Morgan said, trying to sound as certain as she felt inside. “And I’ve gotten used to sleeping with you . . .”

She watched as Arrow’s eyes closed. When they opened, she saw a mix of emotions. “Tonight, we can sleep in my bed and see how it goes.”

Morgan smiled. “Good.”

“I’d like you to consider something else,” Arrow said.

“What?”

“Not calling your mom tonight.” He held up a hand when she opened her mouth to protest. “I know, I know. She’s worried about you and isn’t taking it well that you moved back up here. But she’s stressing you out. All I’m suggesting is that you maybe back off a little on how much you talk to her, not that you push her out of your life altogether or anything.”

Morgan knew he was right. Her mom was stressing her out. She’d flipped when Morgan had told her she’d be going back up to Colorado Springs. Even when Morgan had promised she’d call her every day and let her know how she was doing, Ellie still pressed her to stay. Morgan understood. She was Ellie’s baby and had been missing for a year. So it was understandable that her mom was leery over her moving out. But the nightly whining and begging for her to come back to Albuquerque had started to take its toll.

“Okay,” she told Arrow. “My dad still wants me to talk to Diane Sawyer. He’s going to call tonight to talk to me about the interview again.”