Acquiring Trouble

that for once the whispers weren’t about her.
    Miles held out a chair and Morgan sat down. Mar cy and Jake sat across from her. Paige and Cole sat between Miles and Jake. The bell rang over the door and Pierce strode in. He looked around and smiled when he saw the group.
    “I had to give my statement to the FBI. What did I miss?” He took the seat next to his mother and looked around in confusion as everyone started laughing.
    Morgan relaxed into her seat. Exhaustion was slow ing taking over as she sipped her coffee and enjoyed the easy banter around her. Paige asked about her life in DC and if she enjoyed living in a big city. Morgan could tell Paige was trying very hard to make up for the way she had previously treated her. The old Morgan would’ve held onto the grudge. A s she sat there with laughter around her and Miles’ s arm around her shoulder, she decided it was time to let go of the past. She felt the anger and the bitterness slide away and decided from here on out she was going to focus on the happiness of the future.
    “Morgan?” Pam drew her attention away from her thoughts and back to the present. “Can I join you?”
    Morgan looked at her normally composed sister and saw nervousness in her eyes along with sadness. They had been best friends until Morgan started to look like her biological father , which caused their parents to break their sisterly bond . “Of course you can.” Morgan smiled and saw Pam’s face tr ansform into guarded happiness.
    “John called me this morning and told me all about what happened last night. Are you alright?” Pam asked as she took th e last empty seat at the table.
    “I am. Thank you, Pam.” Morgan smiled at her sister and wished they could be close once again. She was so tired of feeling alone. She had been observing the Davies family and a desire hit her like she’d never had before —a desire to have children, to see them playing with their cousins while she and Pam laughed at their games. Miles appeared and laughed along with them. She wanted that more t han anything else in the world.
    “Then I heard what Miss Lily said about you working with the FBI to do what was right.” Pam leaned forward and dropped her voice so that their conversation was private. “It got me thinking. A person who would risk their life for people she didn’t even know would have an innate sense of right and wrong.” Morgan nodded, but wondered where her sister was going with this. Pam nibbled on her lower lip, just like Morgan did when she was thinking before continuing, “ You didn’t really kiss Stephen did you?”
    “No. I was asleep a nd woke to find his hands on me, ” Morgan said a little more harshly than she intended.
    Pam shook her head, the sadness coming back into her eyes. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
    “I tried to, but D ad was already blaming me and kicking me out of the house. And then Stephen was telling you all that I was seducing him. No one would’ve believed me , so why bother?” Morgan shrugged and tried to pretend t he accusations no longer stung.
    “ I’m so sorry Morgan. I made your life miserable. No wonder you never came back.” Tears glistened in Pam’s eyes as she pulled out a tissue from the pocket of her navy blue , perfectly creased slacks .
    “It’s okay, Pam. It was a long time ago,” Morgan said, realizing that she no l onger felt the anger she once held for her sister. She felt so free now. Free to love, free to move on with her life.
    “No, it’s not. I was horrible and D ad just encouraged it. Why would he do that?” Pam asked a little too loud fo r Morgan’s taste.
    Miles turned his head toward them now and the rest of the table did a poor job of pretending not to listen. Well, if Morgan was to move forward she needed to tell them all the truth. Her mother had tried to find the courage after she left, but couldn’t . Morgan may be beaten and bruised, but she had courage in spades.
    “He did it because I wasn’t his child and he hated me for it.” Pam’s eyes went large and her hand covered her open mouth. Morgan heard the sharp intake of breath that ca me from the table, but then she felt the reassuring feel of Miles’ s hand on her shoulder. “Mom told me the afternoon of my disownment. She fell in love with a man in Cincinnati. She found out she was pregnant and was about to leave D ad when she got a call telling her that her lover had died. Dad threatened her with social abandonment and disgrace