Coming Home (The Morgans) Read Online Free PDF Page B

had been amazing as far as she was concerned. She couldn’t be reading him wrong, could she?   What was he so afraid of? What was holding him back?
      Anger grew and welled up inside her chest.
      “What are you sorry for, Drue?” she asked quite seriously.
      “That you did kiss me or that you stopped?”
      “That I kissed you of course.” He replied in disgust.
      Drue scrubbed his face with his hands as if to clear his head. He drew a deep settling breath.
      “We both know I never should have done that.” He stated matter-of-factly, which irritated Tori even further.
      “And it will not happen again,” he said, emphasizing the word not.
      “You have my word on that for whatever it’s worth at this point.”
      “Chalk it up to provocation? Is that it Drue?” she asked.
      “I just pushed one too many buttons, and you just reacted. Does that about cover it in your mind, Drue, or did I leave anything out?” she couldn’t keep the sarcasm nor the hurtful edge from ebbing out.
      She threw the dishtowel on the counter and turned to go. She stopped at the back door. She didn’t want to leave things like this.
      “Look, Drue. I admit I was trying to draw you out and have a little fun.” Tori started.
      “And maybe I went too far, but ask yourself this question.”
      “Why is it that not once but twice today you have reacted in this manner? Just an off day or is it something more?”
      With that Victoria Winslow held her head high and walked out of the Morgan home.
      She didn’t take a breath until she was back on Winslow property. When she finally slowed her step, the chill of the night broke through her endless berating thoughts.
      Jeez, Victoria! When will you ever learn, her conscience scolded her.
      “Not once but twice you give in to Drue Morgan, making a complete and utter fool of yourself. You might as well have asked him to take you to bed!”
      “Oh Em Gee!” she growled.
      She trudged up the front porch steps and made her way upstairs to prepare for bed.
      Like she was going to be getting any sleep tonight. Even if she could, she didn’t think she wanted to. She had an uneasy feeling that her dreams would haunt her by replaying the scene in the Morgan’s kitchen.
      One thing she was certain of. Drue was not indifferent to her. Far from it if his reaction to her tonight was any indication. The question is what kept pulling him back?
      Secondly, did she really want to explore if there really could be anything between them?
    She had her life in Chicago and the hope that her first book was about to be published. Drue’s life was here on the farm.
      No good would become of pursuing Drue yet again.
     

Chapter Six
     
       Okay. I know that box has to be up here somewhere.” Tori said to herself. “ Grandma never threw anything away.”
      She circled the house-length attic, looking at stacks of boxes, furniture and even toys she recognized from her childhood.
      Porcelain dolls sat neatly in a row on a shelf. Shelby, Cassie, Polly and Anna smiled down at her in their faded checkered red and blue dresses.
      Below that sat a wooden rocking horse whose faux mane was matted, the seat was worn from the many hours it had been ridden, and his painted black nose was partially missing.
      “This place is like a time capsule.” Tori smiled. Every part of her life up until college was in this house, including the attic. There wasn’t a place she didn’t feel her grandparents presence.
      She went to a corner of boxes that were labeled “School Years”.
      She scooped the top box down to the floor and sat Indian-style. When she opened the box she found every school annual for each year of school she had been in.
      Good Lord! We need to make sure these never leave the attic she thought to herself.
      Dusting her hands off on her jeans, she started flipping through the first book.
    It wa s her sophomore high school year. There was Kevin with his