Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(31)

“I’m not sure I want to go back to my old life,” Morgan blurted.

Instead of looking shocked or concerned, Arrow simply nodded. “I’m not surprised. You’re a completely different person than you were a year ago. And that’s not a bad thing. You went through shit that very few people experience, and you emerged from the other side a different Morgan Byrd.”

“I already feel guilty,” she admitted.

“Don’t,” Arrow fired back immediately. “You are who you are. If your old friends can’t deal, then you get new ones who can. You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone, and you don’t have to answer to anyone except yourself.”

“Thank you,” Morgan whispered.

“You’re welcome. Now, come on.” He held out a hand. “Let’s do this.”

Morgan allowed Arrow to help her step over the lip of the tub, and she sat cross-legged with her back to him. She felt him settle behind her, his legs flanking her shoulders.

“You’re going to get wet,” she warned.

“Yup,” he agreed.

He reached over and turned on the water, waiting until it got hot before filling up the ice bucket he’d put within reach. “Close your eyes and tip your head back,” he said.

Morgan did as he said, and sighed in contentment as the warm water cascaded over her head. It also ran down her forehead into her face and onto the shirt she was wearing, but she didn’t care. Within moments, her hair was soaked, and she heard Arrow uncap the bottle of conditioner. The cream felt cold against her now-warm scalp, but she was amazed at how patient and gentle Arrow was as he worked it into her hair.

“You’re good at this,” she observed after several minutes.

“I’ve had some practice.”

Morgan stiffened. Oh shit. She hadn’t even asked if he was married or if he had kids or anything. Was she attracted to a married man? Had she misread the signals he was sending? And if so, why was he acting as if he liked her? Liked her as more than just a chick he was rescuing?

Before she could freak herself out more, he said conversationally, “My sister is seven years younger than me. She was the ultimate tomboy. She was constantly rolling around in the dirt and muck. My dad died when I was young, and Mom worked a lot to make ends meet, so it was up to me to get Kandi to bed most nights, and that meant helping her with her bath and getting all the dirt out of her hair.”

Morgan relaxed a fraction. Then she turned her head so she could look at him as she asked, “Your sister’s name is Kandi?”

Arrow grinned. “Yup. I have no idea what my mom was thinking. She got teased mercilessly in school because of it. Now turn around, I’m still working.”

Doing as ordered, Morgan couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped. “Kids are brutal, but with a name like Kandi Kane, I guess I’m not surprised.”

“Don’t feel too sorry for her,” Arrow said. “I taught her how to defend herself.”

“I bet you did.” And just like that, Morgan felt melancholy once more.

“What is it?” Arrow asked, perceptive as usual.

“I always wished I had a sibling,” she told him.

“Kandi’s a pain in my ass,” Arrow told her. “You can have her.”

Morgan chuckled again. She could hear the affection in his voice when he talked about his sister. “Does she live in Colorado Springs?”

“No. Thank God. I’d go crazy worrying about her all the time. She lives in Michigan with my mom. She’s been dating the same guy for years, and I keep threatening to go up there and kick his ass if he doesn’t hurry up and propose.”

“Do you like him?”

“Yeah. He’s a great guy. He keeps an eye on my mom since I can’t be there. I send her money, but that doesn’t help when she needs to put up the screens in the summer or get her grass mowed. I hate not being there for her.”

“I bet she’s proud of you,” Morgan said.

“She is. I joined the Marines right out of high school. I know she didn’t want me to, but she never let on. Always supported me in whatever I wanted to do. I got my degree when I was enlisted, and she cheered me on every step of the way.”

“My parents love me, but not like that,” Morgan said.

“What do you mean?”

She closed her eyes as Arrow’s fingers caressed her scalp while he did his best to remove the stubborn mats in her hair. “It’s just that I’ve been a bone of contention between them my entire life. They’re always trying to one-up the other. My dad’s got lots of money, and he never hesitated to use it to make my mom feel bad that she couldn’t get me the things he did. Holidays were the worst. I mean, I loved getting toys and clothes and stuff, but I knew he bought them just to irritate my mom. And Mom never missed a chance to complain about Dad. She’d bitch about whatever woman he was dating and call her a slut, tell me to my face that Dad didn’t really love me, that he was giving me stuff to take digs at her. It was . . . tough.”

“Fuck, beautiful. I’m sorry. That sucks.”

She shrugged. “Yeah. But eventually they stopped acting like three-year-olds, and it got better. My dad started giving me cash for birthdays and holidays, and I wouldn’t have to try to hide extravagant presents from my mom. And she learned to keep her feelings about him to herself.”