Acquiring Trouble

of sit ting alone on my porch. How does that turn me into being disowned? “
    “From what I’ve heard you made out with Pam’s boyfriend, just like you did with Miles , ” Pierce said quietly.
    Morgan felt another tear slide down her cheek, “I was sexually assaulted by Pam’s boyfriend and no one believed me. In fact, everyone blamed me.” Morgan closed her eyes and told Pierce the story of that afternoon on the porch. Sh e hated to even think about it.
    “Why didn’t you tel l anyone?” Pierce asked gently.
    “If my own family didn’t believe me, who would have?” Morgan dried her eyes and gave him a half smile. The pain was still fresh after all these years.
    “Well, I do. Now tell me , why you think Miles is in danger?” Morgan didn’t hesitate this time as she told Pierce the whole story. Pierce stood quietly and listened .
    “I believe you and I understand why you need to see Miles.” Morgan let out a sigh of relief. It was such a simple statement, but no one had ever believed her before. “Except, we need to do this carefully. I don’t want anything to ruin tonight.”
    “Of course. Believe it or not, I’ve always liked your family. What do you want me to do?”

 
Chapter Seventeen
     
    Miles waved his empty glass toward the bartender and waited for him to refill it with red wine. The wedding had been spectacular . He’d never seen his brother so happy. The Wyatt s had turn ed their historic estate into a beautiful wonderland. Tiny white lights sho ne bright ly over the dance floor they had built in the backyard under the magnificent white tent . Beautiful red lanterns hung from the limbs of the massive trees outside and lined the inside of the tent . White lights covered the bushes and smaller trees , while red roses sat on every table.
    Unfortunately, all he could think about was seeing Morgan. He wondered what she’d look li k e in a wedding dress. He took another sip of wine and berated himself for such fanciful thoughts. First he needed to get to the bottom of this and then he’d think about Morgan. He’d been thinking about her so much he actually thought he saw her.
    When his mother gasped Miles realized he wasn’t hallucinating. “What is she doing here? She’s going to ruin everything!”
    “Ma , s he’s not going to ruin anything. I can’t believe you’d say something like that.” His mother had the good manners to look chagrined.
    “Miles!” Pierce waved his hand at his brother when they got closer. The crowd had parted to let them through. “I’m sorry I detained your date. I was just having such a wonderful talk with her that I’m afraid I made her late.”
    Miles kept his eyes on Morgan as she walked nervously toward him. He felt the rumble in his chest at the sight of her delicate hand on Pierce’s arm. All he wanted to do was pull h er to him and claim her as his.
    “Your date?” His mother hissed under her breath.  Miles ignored her and rolled his eyes when he saw Paige out of the corner of his eye coming to stand next to his m other as t he united female front. Morgan was in for a hard time.
    “Hello, sweetheart. ” Miles reached out and took Morgan’s hand away fr om Pierce and placed it securely in the crook of his arm. “I’m so glad you could make it.” He leaned over and kissed her gently and reassuringly on the lips. “Do you know my mother, Marcy? And of course you know my sister.” Miles leveled the women in his life with a hard stare as Morgan turned to say hello.
    His mother and sister attempted a smile and he watched as Morgan nervously complimented them on their dresses and tried to engage them in conversation. He felt the light poke in his ribs and turned to find Pierce standing grimly behind him.
    “We need to talk,” Pierce whispered.
    Miles nodded and then ordered a glass of white wine for Morgan. As he handed it to her he let his fingers linger on hers and gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be back in just a minute. I’m trusting you all to take good care of my date.” While he said it with a smile he knew his mother and sist er heard the command within it.
    “Aren’t we always nice to all your women?” Paige said too sweetly. Miles narrowed his eyes and his sister just rolled hers. He must’ve really lost his touch with the intimidating glare he had perfected during his service . He shrugged his shoulders in confusion as he followe d Pierce f a rther into the yard.
     
    Morgan kept a shaky smile on her face