"I look forward to every morning with you." Morgan grinned. "Was that corny?"

"Yeah, but I love it," Jaclyn said with a laugh as she kissed her. "Good morning, by the way. It's two a.m. We finished sooner than I thought we would."

"Can we sleep here like this and doze off looking at the tree?"

Jaclyn kissed her again. "Anything you want is fine with me."

Chapter Thirty-eight.

The days flew by in a whirlwind. Morgan took off work during the week and did her private Christmas shopping, and Jaclyn did the same. Austin became secretive and wouldn't let anyone in his room, but he was often seen climbing the stairs with tools and sometimes wrapping paper. Jaclyn taught Morgan how to bake gingerbread men, and there was always a plate of fresh ones sitting on the counter. They all took turns biting them and leaving the poor little guys on the plate without heads or appendages.

The town of White Oak Lake was festooned in brilliant colors. Nearly every house on the lake was decorated in lights. Even the shallow end of the lake behind the store was sporting a Cajun Santa in a sleigh being pulled by alligators. Morgan stood out on the dock early one morning admiring it all as she sipped her coffee with worry brewing in the pit of her stomach.

She'd not told Brad about Jaclyn, and he had no idea that she was no longer living in the cabin. They'd talked many times, but Morgan had neglected to tell him about the love of her life. Mainly because she was afraid he wouldn't believe her. She didn't want anyone telling her it was too soon for her to be so involved, nor did she want to discuss that her new career was working at a bait store. She simply didn't want to be put in a position to defend what she knew was right for her, which was why she and Celeste had barely spoken at all.

But she'd not told Jaclyn about any of this, either, and she knew she should've done it sooner. To let it drag out this long she knew would translate to Jaclyn that she was ashamed of their relationship or she didn't expect it to last. And now, there were three days left before Christmas.

Morgan sighed as she dialed Brad's number. He answered immediately. "You never call this early, what's wrong?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just need to talk to you for a few minutes. Do you have time?"

"Plenty. I'm sitting on the interstate at a dead stop, traffic as usual in Baton Rouge. Talk to me."

"I've met someone pretty special."

"That's great news. Will I meet her at Christmas?"

"Oh, yeah," Morgan said with a laugh. "You'll be having Christmas dinner at her house. Is that okay?"

"Well, yeah, that's fine. h.e.l.l, I've dragged you to the Waverly place with me a few times. I owe you. Is that why you sound so nervous? Did you think I'd be p.i.s.sed?"

"Not about that. The relationship is serious. I'm...uh...not living at the cabin anymore."

"Where are you living?"

"Her house next to The Lure. Her name is Jaclyn Wyatt."

"Wow," Brad said slowly. "What took you so long to tell me?"

"I was afraid that you'd think I moved too fast. I know I've made the right decision, and I know I've found what I've been looking for. We've always looked out for each other, especially now that Dad's gone, and I figured you'd just worry about me."

"She's the blonde that's at the store all the time, isn't she?"

"Yes."

Brad started to laugh. "The minute Tonya saw her, she said she was gay, and I didn't believe her. Are you happy?"

"Very. She's amazing. I've laughed more in this last couple of months than I have in my life. She's my other half, she just fits perfectly; I don't know any other way to explain it. I think you'll understand when you get here."

"What about work? Have you found a job there?"

"We work together at The Lure."

Brad cleared his throat. "You're working at a bait shop?"

"And loving every minute of it."

"Well, what can I say? I'm happy for you. If this is what you want to do, then I say do it."

"I need you to mean that."

"I'm shocked, Morgan, I am. This is so out of character for you. If you're truly happy, then I will be, too...after I get over the shock."

Morgan looked back up at the house. "How long is that gonna take?"

"Well, I don't know, but I won't be a d.i.c.k when I get there."

"I have the cabin all spiffy, and I set up a tree. We'll spend some time together, I promise. Oh, and I forgot to mention she has a son. He's fourteen, and I'm crazy about him, too."

"Okay," Brad said with a sigh. "This I have to see. We may have to come in a day early so I can observe you in your new natural habitat."

"Come anytime. I can't wait to see you and Tonya."

"I'll let you know what I can work up. I am happy for you, and I won't deny having you an hour and a half away is a big bonus."

"I love you."

"Love you, too. I'll call you tonight and let you know if we can get there earlier. I want to meet Jaclyn and her son and spend a little time with you."

Bailey was out of school for the holidays and was minding the store. Morgan knew Jaclyn would be down soon to check on her, and she decided to seize the opportunity while Austin was still asleep. Jaclyn walked out onto the porch just as Morgan was coming up the steps. "You're up early on a day off," Jaclyn said with a warm smile. "I missed snuggling with you."

"I missed you, too. Is there any chance we can just go back to bed?"

"What do you have in mind?" Jaclyn asked seductively.

Morgan tried to keep her expression neutral. "To talk, I need to explain something to you."

"Sit with me then." Jaclyn backed up to the porch swing.

Morgan sat beside Jaclyn and met her worried gaze. "I love you, and I'm so incredibly proud of you and Austin." She swallowed hard. "But I hadn't told my brother about you, about our living arrangements, until this morning."

Jaclyn asked the most obvious question. "Why?"

"I moved here in late October, and before Christmas, I'm in love and living with you. I've taken a lot of c.r.a.p from Celeste about it, and I know Brad won't believe how happy I am, how right this is until he sees it for himself."

"Celeste doesn't approve?"

It was getting worse with every word Morgan said, but she was in too deep to stop. "When I first told her that I was interested in you, she advised me against pursuing anything. She thought I had been through too much, and I was just reaching out for comfort." Morgan shook her head. "But the more I got to know you, I realized you were the one I was always looking for. Please don't look at me that way. I can't stand knowing that I hurt you. We are two halves of a whole. I know that with all my heart."

It was a touchy subject for Jaclyn and ill-timed. She'd already admitted that her parents didn't approve of her, and though she'd never met Celeste, she'd heard Morgan speak of her often. And she was another person who didn't approve. Her voice shook as she asked, "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Celeste's theory that Stanton would offer Morgan her job back flittered through her mind, but if that was his intention, Morgan felt sure that he would've contacted her by now. Regardless, her mind was made up, she was staying with Jaclyn. "No."

Jaclyn looked away. "I worry sometimes...what Celeste said about you having been through a lot."

"What I've told you is the truth, but the only way you're really going to know it for sure is to spend each day with me and see how committed I am to you. I've never been happier, and I know I'm in love with you. I was devastated when I came here and felt totally lost, but maybe that's what it took for me to realize that my life wasn't complete. And now, I know it is here with you and Austin, and nothing and no one will change my mind about that."

Jaclyn burrowed into Morgan's arms. "Thank you for telling me. I wish you would've done it sooner."

"I wish I would've, too." Morgan kissed the top of her head. "I'd do just about anything to keep from hurting you. What I want most is to sit here on this porch and to grow old with you. We'll watch Austin get married and we'll play with our grandkids, then we'll send them back when they get on our nerves." Morgan squeezed Jaclyn tight when she laughed softly. "I know you love me. I see it when you look at me. I hope you see it in my eyes, and if you don't, then I need to know."

"I do see it. I'm just a little needy right now."

"Good because I've been needy since we met, and I feel like a weenie."

"What did Brad say when you told him?"

'"Wow.' But after we talked for a while, he said he was happy for me, and he wants to meet you and Austin and see me in my 'new natural habitat.' I think it'll take him less than five minutes to realize that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."

"I haven't told my parents about you, either," Jaclyn admitted. "But we don't talk. Our communication is through Maddie, and I'm sure she's already said something to them."

"That's a different circ.u.mstance altogether, and I understand why you wouldn't just call them and say, 'Hey, I have a new lesbian lover, and she's living under my roof.'"

"Well, this is the next step in a relationship-meeting the family. No offense, but I'm glad we're doing it all at once. After the holidays, we can just go on living as we have been-happy."

Morgan kissed the top of Jaclyn's head. "I'm happy now."

Chapter Thirty-nine.

That afternoon, a dark cloud descended on White Oak Lake in the form of a Winnebago. Perhaps Jaclyn imagined it, but the wind seemed to grow colder when Maddie called her with the news. "They're here," she said in imitation of the girl in the movie Poltergeist. "They stopped by the store on the way in."

"I'm ready. I have on my emotional armor. It's only for a week or so, right?"

"Well, that's a mighty positive att.i.tude you're sporting there, Jac. Mom is directing Dad as he's backing into the driveway. He just ran over one of Mom's garden gnomes, and she's flapping around like a chicken trying to wave him off...oh, the trellis. I don't know if I can sit here and watch the carnage of lawn ornaments."

"For the very first time, I truly appreciate those binoculars."

"It's nice to observe one of their arguments at a distance. Mom is stomping her foot and pointing at what's left of her garden. They're never there, the plants are all dead, and it's full of weeds. I don't see why she cares. It's probably because Dad paid no mind to her directing. Dad just kicked the headless gnome. He's limping into the house."

"What's Mom doing?"

"She's still out in the yard with a full-on rant going. I don't think she noticed that Dad went inside. Whoa, wait, neighbors are coming out. Mom is shifting into another gear, fake smile, overemphasized laugh. I don't act like that, do I?"

"Only when you nail yourself to something."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. I'm putting the binoculars away now. They've stopped ruining stuff and fighting, I've grown bored. Oh, wait, there you are on the porch. Wave to me."

Jaclyn shot her the finger. "Maddie watching?" Morgan asked as she walked out.

Jaclyn nodded, then laughed when Morgan turned her a.s.s to Maddie's house and jerked her pants down.

"Oh! Tell her to tan that thing, my retinas are burning."

"I like it just the way it is," Jaclyn said with a wink at Morgan. "So I'll prepare for an unexpected drop-in because I know they'll want to see Austin. Invariably, they'll get p.i.s.sed off at my new living arrangements, and I won't have to see them again until Christmas at your house."

"That's the spirit."

The surprise visit occurred later that afternoon as Morgan and Jaclyn were making dinner. Jaclyn wrapped her arms around Morgan's waist and put her hands on top of Morgan's as she chopped a bell pepper. "Little chunks like this. I'm gonna cook them down with the pork chops, and if the chunks of pepper are small, you get just enough flavor in every bite."

"Who taught you to cook?"

"Grandma. She made the fluffiest biscuits, you would've loved them."

"I love yours, and I'd like to fluff your biscuits right now," Morgan said as she dropped the knife and turned in Jaclyn's arms. They were enjoying a kiss when someone rapped on the back door.

Jaclyn felt like a kid again caught doing something bad when she saw her mother's face in the window. "Austin?" she called out as she went to the door and opened it. A brilliant move on her part because neither of her folks were fully in the door before Austin was on them.

"Lord, you have grown. We saw you a few months ago, and you were just a boy. Now you look like a grown man. Just look at him, Cliff."

"Looking good there, sport." Cliff gave Austin a big hug.

Morgan watched as Jaclyn's mother embraced her. That was all Morgan could consider it because it wasn't the robust hug that she'd seen her give Austin. Her father did at least kiss Jaclyn's cheek. It saddened Morgan to watch because she'd never known that kind of disinterest from her father.

Jaclyn and Maddie favored their mother. They'd inherited the light hair and skin from her and some facial features. But it was obvious she lacked their warmth. She fawned over Austin, but to Morgan, it didn't seem genuine.

Jaclyn's father was tall, a head taller than Austin. His eyes were deep-set and dark beneath a head full of salt-and-pepper hair. Morgan was willing to bet despite his size he bent to his wife's will on just about everything.

"Hey, I want y'all to meet Morgan. She was my partner for the regatta, and we won!" Austin said excitedly.

Jaclyn's mother cast a dull-eyed glance at Morgan. "Maddie told us. We were so excited for you."

"Mom, Dad, this is Morgan Cha.s.sion," Jaclyn said and looked at Morgan, "my parents, Liz and Cliff."