Read Online Wherever You Are by Sharon Cullen - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sharon Cullen
Ads: Link
looked out toward the dark waters. Almost unconsciously Morgan took a step closer to her. Ships in this day and age were not a safe place for a woman and whether he liked it or not, he was her protector. John understood the threat and turned away.
For a long time Morgan stood at the bow, staring into the blackness of the night. His mind was as muddied as the bottom of the ocean, his heart as dark as the sky. He thought of things he hadn’t let himself think about for years. Zach and Juliana. What he’d been and what he’d become. Zach had been everything Morgan was not. Good to his bad. Optimistic to his cynical. Hell, Zach had been downright holy compared to Morgan’s life of sin.
Even if Morgan told Juliana he was Zach she probably wouldn’t believe him. Even he didn’t believe it. It was almost as if Zach and Morgan were two separate people.
He turned to her. “We need to talk.”
By the light of the half moon, he watched her face grow paler. “Okay.” Her hands rested in her lap and she began twisting her fingers.
Talk about what? What was he going to ask her? He couldn’t exactly come out and say, “By the way, how are Zach’s parents and his sister, Molly?” Nor would he allow himself to say, “I’m Zach.” Two simple words that were much more complicated than that.
His dad would be nearing retirement by now and his sister… Christ, Molly was twenty-nine. His baby sister all grown up. Was she married with kids and a mortgage? And how was his mom? What was she doing these days?
He burned with the need to know. But how to ask without giving himself away?
Simple. He couldn’t. He fisted his hands at his side and ground his teeth together. He had no right to be disappointed. He’d turned his back on his old life and forced himself to banish the memories in order to live the life he’d been dealt. Yet he felt he’d been given a second chance, a reprieve from the constant guilt of leaving Juliana the way he had. Here was the chance he’d only dreamt about in his darkest hours. Except the chance had come at a high price. For years he told himself he’d done what he did in order to survive and he pushed his shame to the darkest corners of his soul, but now the shame came flooding out. His parents would be shocked at what their son had done. And Juliana? She would be horrified.
Yet he still burned to know and thought he might be able to discover something of his family and her life. He moved closer to the stack of sails, sat on the edge and turned to her.
“Do you have family, Juliana? Someone I can return you to?”
She looked down at her hands and didn’t say anything.
“Juliana?”
“I have no family.” She didn’t raise her head and her tone was flat.
Morgan sat back, intrigued. Of course a drunken mother and a father who turned a blind eye to his child’s abuse did not a family make. It was his greatest regret that he’d left her to deal with her family alone.
“There’s no one? No one you can turn to?” Like my family.
God bless his mother and father. From the moment Zach brought a bedraggled, seven-year-old Juliana home with him one hot summer day, his parents enfolded her into the fabric of their lives. When he allowed his mind to go back to those days, to think of his family and Juliana, he’d been comforted by the fact that at least they had each other.
“No one.” She lifted her head to look out over the ocean, carefully keeping her gaze from him.
She’d wanted to be a journalist, he a police officer. The idea was laughable now, when he’d gone so far in the opposite direction. Hell, for a time he’d had a price on his head and wouldn’t be surprised if Barun put another on him. There was that shame again, biting and cruel.
He hadn’t accomplished his dreams but Juliana, she could have accomplished it all. She’d been driven to succeed, to escape from beneath her mother’s thumb. And he’d been certain his parents would have helped her. So what happened to
For a long time Morgan stood at the bow, staring into the blackness of the night. His mind was as muddied as the bottom of the ocean, his heart as dark as the sky. He thought of things he hadn’t let himself think about for years. Zach and Juliana. What he’d been and what he’d become. Zach had been everything Morgan was not. Good to his bad. Optimistic to his cynical. Hell, Zach had been downright holy compared to Morgan’s life of sin.
Even if Morgan told Juliana he was Zach she probably wouldn’t believe him. Even he didn’t believe it. It was almost as if Zach and Morgan were two separate people.
He turned to her. “We need to talk.”
By the light of the half moon, he watched her face grow paler. “Okay.” Her hands rested in her lap and she began twisting her fingers.
Talk about what? What was he going to ask her? He couldn’t exactly come out and say, “By the way, how are Zach’s parents and his sister, Molly?” Nor would he allow himself to say, “I’m Zach.” Two simple words that were much more complicated than that.
His dad would be nearing retirement by now and his sister… Christ, Molly was twenty-nine. His baby sister all grown up. Was she married with kids and a mortgage? And how was his mom? What was she doing these days?
He burned with the need to know. But how to ask without giving himself away?
Simple. He couldn’t. He fisted his hands at his side and ground his teeth together. He had no right to be disappointed. He’d turned his back on his old life and forced himself to banish the memories in order to live the life he’d been dealt. Yet he felt he’d been given a second chance, a reprieve from the constant guilt of leaving Juliana the way he had. Here was the chance he’d only dreamt about in his darkest hours. Except the chance had come at a high price. For years he told himself he’d done what he did in order to survive and he pushed his shame to the darkest corners of his soul, but now the shame came flooding out. His parents would be shocked at what their son had done. And Juliana? She would be horrified.
Yet he still burned to know and thought he might be able to discover something of his family and her life. He moved closer to the stack of sails, sat on the edge and turned to her.
“Do you have family, Juliana? Someone I can return you to?”
She looked down at her hands and didn’t say anything.
“Juliana?”
“I have no family.” She didn’t raise her head and her tone was flat.
Morgan sat back, intrigued. Of course a drunken mother and a father who turned a blind eye to his child’s abuse did not a family make. It was his greatest regret that he’d left her to deal with her family alone.
“There’s no one? No one you can turn to?” Like my family.
God bless his mother and father. From the moment Zach brought a bedraggled, seven-year-old Juliana home with him one hot summer day, his parents enfolded her into the fabric of their lives. When he allowed his mind to go back to those days, to think of his family and Juliana, he’d been comforted by the fact that at least they had each other.
“No one.” She lifted her head to look out over the ocean, carefully keeping her gaze from him.
She’d wanted to be a journalist, he a police officer. The idea was laughable now, when he’d gone so far in the opposite direction. Hell, for a time he’d had a price on his head and wouldn’t be surprised if Barun put another on him. There was that shame again, biting and cruel.
He hadn’t accomplished his dreams but Juliana, she could have accomplished it all. She’d been driven to succeed, to escape from beneath her mother’s thumb. And he’d been certain his parents would have helped her. So what happened to
Similar Books
