“You’ve had a few not-so-great days here.”
“I knew what you meant. No worries. And today’s been a great day so far.”
“Glad to hear it. So you know how news travels around here. Heard you were out with Sierra last night.”
“That’s right.” Morgan looked up at Duke, who was muscular and covered in colorful tattoos. “Something you want to say, Duke?”
“Just that she means a lot to me and a bunch of other people. Wouldn’t want to see her get hurt.”
“That’s certainly not my goal.”
Duke nodded, seeming a bit flustered or something. “I don’t mean to step out of line.”
“You didn’t. You’re looking out for your friend. I get it.”
“She’s more like family than a friend, and she’s got this tough outer shell that might make you think she’s tough on the inside, too. But she isn’t. Not at all.”
“I’ve already figured that out for myself.”
“Then I guess we understand each other. No hard feelings?”
“None at all. I get wanting to protect the people you love from being hurt.”
“That’s all it is.”
“Understood.”
“If you could maybe not tell her we had this conversation, I’d appreciate it. She might be tempted to kill me.”
Morgan laughed. “No worries.” He raised his hand for a fist bump.
“Thanks, man.”
“Any time.”
Morgan wasn’t surprised to discover that Sierra had close friends looking out for her, especially since she’d been such a good friend to him since Billy went missing and in the months since they’d found his body.
She sprinkled friendship and compassion like fairy dust, and he was glad to know she had great friends like Duke looking out for her.
After his workout, he showered and went to Billy’s office to pick up where he’d left off the day before, determined to clean up the mess so he could figure out a plan for the gym—and himself.
Two hours later, he’d made a dent in the filing and paperwork when his phone lit up with a text from his boss, Devin.
Hey, man, hope you’re doing okay. We’re all thinking about you. Also wondering if you’ve decided whether you’re coming back to work. We just landed a new contract for an apartment complex in Dorchester, and I need to get my ducks in a row. Would love to have you on the electric, if you’re available. Work scheduled to begin in mid-January, so I’ll need to know soon. Let me know when you can, and again… hope you’re hanging in there.
Well, there it was, Morgan thought. Decision time.
Dev had been super supportive from the minute Morgan found out Billy was missing and had never wavered in telling Morgan to take the time he needed. Three months had gone by in a flurry of activity as he kept his brother’s business running while cleaning out Billy’s home and working to settle his estate. And yet, he felt no closer to being capable of making any long-term decisions than he had when it had first happened.
If anything, he was more conflicted than ever after spending so much time on the island and becoming part of the community. Yes, he had friends at home, people he enjoyed spending time with, but when he wasn’t working, he spent most of his time alone. That got old after a while. Here, he was rarely alone, and while he would’ve expected to be annoyed by the constant parade of people through his days, he’d begun to find it comforting.
Did he want to go back to being somewhat of a lone wolf?
Or did he want to stay here, where he’d made new friends, not to mention the start of something promising with Sierra?
But then he thought about the fifteen years he’d spent with Devin’s family’s company, working first for his father and now for him as the business grew bigger all the time. They’d been good to him, paid for him to get his master electrician’s license and had steadily increased his salary over the years, putting him well over six figures.
He’d had a comfortable life that had suited him for years.
