Return of a Hero Read online

  Sobering, Laura nodded, drowning in the silver fire of Morgan’s eyes. “Yes, I’ll be your partner in this battle. We can’t lose, Morgan. We have truth on our side.”

  He caressed her lips with his, feeling them part beneath his exploration. “You’re so sweet and innocent,” he breathed against her.

  Closing her eyes, Laura molded her lips to his mouth, feeling the texture and strength that was only him. “My belief in you is all I need.”

  Groaning, Morgan devoured her offering, kissing her hotly. Laura sagged against him, and Morgan felt his world narrowing to only her unshakable belief in him. As he tasted the depths of her mouth, lost in the sweetness, he knew that, together, their strength would see them through hell, if necessary. Drawing back gently, lightly kissing each corner of her smiling mouth, he admitted that every day presented potential devastation. But looking into Laura’s radiant blue eyes, he found the determination he needed.

  As he stroked her flaming cheek, threading his fingers through the silky strands of her hair, Morgan could hardly wait to introduce Laura to his family. They would love her on sight, he knew.

  The phone rang just as Laura opened the door and entered the foyer of her home. She tossed her coat and purse on the couch, having to reach over a welcoming Sasha to pick up the extension. Elated because Dr. Taggert had said that her eyes were in perfect condition, she answered the phone breathlessly.

  “Hello?”

  “Laura, this is Jim Woodward.”

  Her joy dissolved. Morgan was giving her an odd look as he came in and closed the door. “Oh, Jim…”

  “Don’t sound so happy to hear from me.”

  Rallying, Laura said, “I’m sorry. What is it you want?”

  “Just to make sure you’re all right. I’m still doing research on Ramsey. I’m hoping the CIA might shed some light on this for me.”

  She sat down, rubbing her brow. “Jim, why don’t you just drop this?” Frustration built in her. Laura knew Jim’s penchant for thoroughness. Often he’d accompanied her down to the photographic vaults in the basement of the Pentagon. Terror leaked through her. If Jim found photos of Morgan, he’d turn the information over to law enforcement officials. And then they would arrest Morgan.

  “The guy bothers me,” Woodward responded tightly. “His face…I know it! It’s bugging me and I want to put all the puzzle pieces together.”

  Laura sighed, watching how Morgan’s features had closed when he found out it was the marine captain on the phone. “Fine. You do what you want, but leave me out of it. I don’t want to hear about this again, Jim. Do you understand?”

  “I’m sorry I’ve upset you, Laura. But I’ve got to pursue this matter. Goodbye.”

  Laura put the receiver down, giving Morgan a desperate look. “That was Jim Woodward. He’s still trying to identify you through photographic files and a CIA search.”

  Morgan nodded, his eyes hooded. “There’s nothing we can do to stop him, Laura. Let’s get packed. Our flight is at eight tomorrow morning. I’ll take Sasha over to the kennel for you right now.”

  She rose, all of her happiness returning. Morgan had already agreed to bring the baby robin along in a small cardboard box. He’d assured her that his mother would love the baby bird and probably dote over it. “Okay….”

  Taking Laura in his arms, Morgan gave her a game smile. He saw the worry in her eyes. “Hey, this is going to get a hell of a lot worse before it’s over, Laura. If you’re going to nosedive like this over one snoopy captain, what are you going to do when the heat’s really applied?”

  Leaning upward, Laura kissed his mouth, relishing the returning strength of his response. The thick hair from his mustache grazed her skin, sending a delightful prickle through her. “You’re right,” she whispered.

  “I’ve been in tight spots before,” Morgan told her, cupping her chin, gazing into her eyes. “Even if Woodward does get something on me, I’ll be gone. He won’t know we’re in Florida because I’ve given the airlines an assumed name. The tracks leading to me end right here.”

  “I just hope he doesn’t stumble onto your real name,” she muttered. “Knowing Jim, he’s probably going back year by year through those photo files.”

  “He’s got seven years to plow through before he finds me,” Morgan reassured her. “Come on, we’ve got things to do. And frankly, I can hardly wait to get home.”

  Chapter Seven

  Morgan wiped the nervous sweat from his brow as they drove up to the Trayherns’ two-story stucco home on the outskirts of Clearwater, Florida. His heart was pumping hard in his chest, and his mouth was dry as he parked the rented vehicle. He felt Laura’s hand on his.

  “It’s going to be fine,” she told him, giving him a warm smile.

  “Home,” he croaked. “It’s just as I remember it….” Palm trees dotted the sloping landscape, and vivid red poinsettias bloomed in colorful profusion along the concrete walk and across the front of the house.

  Morgan got out of the car, staring at the front door. He noticed his mother first, then his father. The shock of seeing them rooted him to the spot. All his fear dissolved at the sight of joy and welcome in their faces, not disappointment, as they hurried down the steps to the walk.

  “Go ahead,” Laura urged, squeezing his hand. “Go meet your parents.” She gave him a little shove in their direction, following behind him.

  “Oh, Morgan!” Rachel cried, throwing her arms around him.

  “Mom—” He folded her tall, thin form against him, a sob tearing from deep within him. His mother was young-looking despite her fifty-six years, with the same sparkling green eyes, winsome smile and short black hair, now textured with silvery gray tones.

  Laura stood back, tears in her eyes. She saw Chase Trayhern’s piercing blue eyes fall first on her as he approached. Although in his early sixties, he looked much younger. His face was square, with a pronounced aquiline nose and a generous mouth that could either thin in disapproval or… He smiled a welcome to her, and Laura felt as if the sun had embraced her. Holding her hands against her heart, she felt how privileged she was to see Morgan reunited with his parents.

  Chase stepped forward, throwing his arms around Morgan’s broad shoulders. “It’s good to have you back, son,” he said, his voice quavering.

  Morgan held both his parents, their heads bowed against him, all of them momentarily unable to speak. His mother’s quiet weeping, her strong, slender arms around him, broke down the last of the walls holding old grief and pain. He cried with them, time ebbing to a halt around them.

  They stood locked in one another’s arms for a long time. Finally Morgan raised his head, his eyes awash with tears. His voice was little more than a croak. “Laura?” He unwrapped his arm from his dad and held his hand out to her. “Come here.”

  She smiled unsteadily, moving forward to take Morgan’s hand. Hastily wiping her tears away, she allowed him to pull her into the circle.

  “Mom, Dad, you’ve got to meet Laura Bennett. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here.”

  Shyly Laura held out her hand to Rachel Trayhern. Instead Morgan’s mother threw her arms around Laura, hugging her tightly.

  “We owe you so much,” Rachel said, sniffing. “Thank you, Laura.”

  “Well—I didn’t do much—”

  Rachel pulled another handkerchief from the pocket of her green apron. “Nonsense. Here you’re crying as much as I am,” she said, smiling through her tears as she pressed the cloth into Laura’s hand.

  Blotting her eyes, Laura smiled up into Chase Trayhern’s stern features. How much Morgan looked like him, she thought, as she extended her hand to him. Chase gripped it firmly, and rasped, “You’ve got to be quite a lady to have found our son and brought him back to us. Thank you.”

  Blushing, Laura was about to correct him, but Morgan interrupted.

  “Let’s go inside,” he urged all of them. “I’ve got a lot of explaining to do.” He gave Laura an unsteady smile as he placed his arm
around her shoulders, drawing her to him.

  She leaned against Morgan’s strong body, deeply moved by the Trayhern family’s ability to show their emotions. Somehow Laura had expected “Wolf” Trayhern to be like the other generals she’d met over the years—hard and incapable of displaying feelings. But he had Morgan’s sensitivity and warmth beneath that tough skin of his. Walking at Morgan’s side, Laura felt her heart lift with euphoria, because, for a while, she would be a part of this incredibly loving family.

  “So that’s it,” Morgan said, concluding the story of what had happened to him in the past seven years. Grimly he studied his parents, who sat opposite him. Shock, disbelief, hurt and outrage showed on their faces. And that was what he felt. He glanced at Laura, who sat next to him. Straightening, he reached out, taking her hand. “And Laura thinks I can clear myself.”

  Chase leaned forward, a pronounced scowl on his lined face. “I can’t believe Armstrong or Young would agree to smear someone like this.”

  “Dad, there are some officers who put their careers above and beyond honorable conduct,” Morgan growled.

  Rachel shook her head. “Chase, this is terrible. What are we going to do?” She got up, unable to sit still any longer.

  “Take it easy, honey,” Chase said soothingly. “Let’s look at all facets of this problem. After the rest of the family gets here, we’ll put our heads together and plan some strategy.” He glanced at his watch. “Noah, Kit and their daughter, Melody, will be here in about an hour.”

  Morgan grinned. “Was Noah excited about seeing his big brother again?”

  Chuckling, Chase rose. “‘Excited’ isn’t the word, son. Your mother and I will get some coffee made. You and Laura just sit back and relax.”

  “You,” Laura murmured, “have wonderful parents.”

  Morgan drew her into his arms. “After I remembered who I really was, I used to lie on my bunk at night, wondering how my parents would react if I walked back into their lives.”

  Sliding her hand against his chest, Laura laid her head against his shoulder, contentment flowing through her. “And did your dreams include this kind of welcome?”

  Sifting strands of her hair through his fingers, Morgan studied her peaceful face. “I wasn’t sure, Laura. I thought they might believe what the press and Pentagon had put out on me.”

  Each grazing touch of his fingers against her scalp increased the yearning deep within her. Laura raised her lashes, drowning in the warming gray fire in Morgan’s eyes as he held her gaze. “You’re like your father in many ways. The same bravery and spirit is there. And you look so much alike physically it’s uncanny.”

  Chuckling, Morgan slid his hand down her shoulder to her arm. “Dad always said I was the spitting image of him. I got his square jaw and stubbornness.”

  “And your mother’s warmth and sensitivity.”

  “You bring that out in me.”

  Laura sat up. “You’ve always had that part to you. It just got closed down because of what happened.”

  The urge to bring her forward and kiss her ripe lips was excruciating. But now was not the time or place. Instead Morgan brushed her cheek with his thumb. “I think you’re right. Noah inherited my Mom’s temperament. He’s more open, more generous in showing his feelings than I ever was.”

  “I can hardly wait to meet him and his family,” Laura said.

  The momentary nervousness that spasmed through Morgan quickly abated as Noah threw his arms around him, holding him tightly for a long time before releasing him. Any doubt he’d had about his brother wondering if he was a traitor disappeared. There were tears in Noah’s green eyes. Self-consciously, Morgan wiped the tears from his. He grinned, gripping Noah by his shoulders.

  “It’s been a hell of a long time,” he rasped. He watched the tears trickle down Noah’s cheeks.

  “Yeah,” Noah answered hoarsely. “Too long. God, it’s good to see you, Morgan—” And he embraced him hard.

  A sob caught in Morgan’s throat as he held his younger brother for a long, poignant moment. Noah looked splendid in his uniform of light-blue shirt and dark-blue pants. Morgan felt that Noah embodied all that was good and pure and true about the Trayherns.

  Gradually Noah released Morgan and stood back, wiping the tears from his face. He placed an arm around Morgan’s shoulders. “Come on, I want you to meet my family.”

  Morgan made a point of bringing Laura to his side and introducing her to his brother. Noah’s delight showed on his face immediately. And then Noah proudly brought his wife and daughter forward. Morgan warmed to Kit, who was decidedly pregnant. It was obvious that Noah and Kit were terribly in love by the tender look they shared. Their sixteen-month-old-daughter, Melody Sue, toddled confidently between the four adults during introductions.

  Melody went straight to Morgan, her tiny hands barely reaching his knees, and smiled up at him. Kneeling, Morgan opened his arms to the black-haired, green-eyed little girl. Melody fell into his arms with a giggle, snuggling against him, covering his face with sloppy kisses. Tears drove into Morgan’s eyes as he gently gathered Melody into his arms. She smelled so fresh and clean, her laughter light and lifting. Kissing her tiny cheek, Morgan found himself smothered with more returning kisses. Chuckling, he stood up with Melody happily ensconced in his arms.

  “She’s a little lover,” he told Noah and Kit.

  Kit’s smile broadened, and she patted her swollen belly gently. “In here is Matthew Charles Trayhern. And even at six months he’s showing all those famous stubborn traits you have as a family. He won’t go to sleep when he’s supposed to, and he keeps me up all night.”

  Laura leaned forward, softly stroking Melody’s black hair. “She’s so beautiful,” she whispered. Melody stretched her arms out to her. Morgan grinned and handed her over to Laura.

  “Why don’t you two get acquainted?” Kit laughed. “More than anything, Melody loves to be held.”

  Morgan watched the play of emotions across Laura’s radiant face as she took the little girl in her arms. A flush spread across her cheeks, and he saw the luminous joy in her blue eyes as she cradled the child. Looking around, Morgan savored the family that stood around him. Never, in the past seven years, had he dared dream of a moment like this. His throat constricted, he traded a grateful look with his family. They had always believed in him—never giving up on him coming back into their lives.

  Noah threw his hands on his hips. “Mom, when are Aly and her husband coming in?”

  Rachel brought coffee in on a tray, setting it down on the table in front of the couch. “They’ll be here tomorrow afternoon.” Worried, she looked over at Morgan. “I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you about Aly’s husband.”

  Morgan heard the anxiety in his mother’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

  Chase came over and placed an arm around his wife. “Son, when Aly was transferred out to the naval air station near San Francisco, she got teamed up with a pilot by the name of Clay Cantrell.”

  Shock bolted through Morgan. “Clay? Stephen’s brother?” He saw his parents nod gravely. “But—how?”

  Grimly Chase said in a low voice, “We don’t know. I suspect foul play at Bupers, in the Pentagon, but I can’t prove it. Aly paid hell for being around Clay the first nine months of her duty. He hated her because he thought that you were responsible for his brother’s death in Vietnam. And two days after the telegram arrived telling Clay’s mother that Stephen had died, she had a major stroke that took her life.”

  Reeling from the news, Morgan shut his eyes. He felt Laura’s steadying hand on his shoulder. “My God,” he croaked, leveling his gaze on his father. “How did Aly survive?”

  “She reached down deep into that Trayhern gene pool and hung in there,” Chase growled. “They didn’t have a very pretty relationship. Clay was after her to make enough mistakes to get her blackballed at first. Then they were in an air accident that they survived. They spent a week on the tip of the Baja Peninsula before they were
able to get help. I guess that during that time Clay and Aly worked out their differences.”

  “And they’re married?” Laura murmured, amazed that despite the hatred Clay Cantrell must have had for the Trayherns, love had been able to transcend the situation.

  Rachel smiled. “Clay liked her from the beginning, from what he told us. He fought his attraction nearly a year. Unfortunately he let his grief and anger over what happened to Stephen and his mother interfere in his relationship with Aly. After the crash, they resolved those issues and came back here to get married.”

  Laura glanced up at Morgan, seeing the harshness in his eyes once again. It was a bleak look mired with pain. She tightened her hand on his arm, trying to give him solace. There would be some tense moments when Clay and Morgan met. How would Clay react? Perhaps later, when things quieted down for the evening, she could get Morgan alone, talk with him.

  Laura was sitting on the wooden swing in the backyard, watching the sun set behind the wall of palm trees that defined the end of the Trayhern property, when Morgan joined her. Searching his face as he came and sat down with her, she sensed his trepidation.

  “It’s been one hell of a day.” Placing his arm around her shoulders, he drew her against him. “How are you doing?”

  She relaxed, savoring the quiet time with him. “I’m doing fine.”

  “Happy?”

  “Very.”

  Morgan pushed the swing so that it moved gently back and forth. “Noah’s got a beautiful wife and little girl, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes. They’re very happy.”

  “I’m glad for him. After he told us about how he and Kit met, I realized just how much he’d gone through.”

  “Life’s never easy on anyone,” Laura said wryly, glancing up at him. His eyes were shadowed. “You’re worried about meeting Clay, aren’t you?”