Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (75 page)

Chapter
Nine

Morgan
and her two new friends had finished their drinks and agreed to take
their rescheduled meeting to the stables. The sport of jousting was
something that could be shown, better than explained.

“Wow!
Look at that! Oh my gosh...oh my...they're going to kill each other!”
Morgan watched two men in the lists, donned in battle gear, charging
at full speed. Lances were held straight and strong, with a
determination that she could feel in the very air she breathed. It
was terrifying to watch, but also exciting enough to make her heart
pound in her chest. “Talk about heart rhythms!” The men
looked at her and smiled, they already figured out that the pretty
girl was quirky, and it was best to just smile and nod instead of
question.

“I
doubt there will be a death today, my Lady.” John, the red
haired and ruggedly handsome man that smiled easily, nodded with an
air of nobility at Morgan. In a more natural tone, he began to
explain the basics of the sport. “You see that lance over
there?” He pointed to the splintered wood that had been tossed
far from the area. “Breaking them is good.” He smiled
when Morgan nodded. “Unhorsing your opponent is even better.”
Once again, Morgan nodded.

“Got
it...break the stick thing on the other guy, or knock him off his
horse. That gives points, right?” John laughed loudly and
agreed firmly that she was correct. “Wait! The stick! That's
the tattoo that he has on his chest!” Morgan smiled at her new
discovery, then tried to listen again.

“Lance,
Morgan. It's a lance.” She smiled at how badly she wanted to
respond naturally,
whatever.
“During the Middle Ages,
lances were used in battle. Eventually, it became a sport for
nobility. In fact, King Henry II was killed when jousting in 1559.”
John continued to tell Morgan about how chainmail used to be worn by
the men, and the strength it would have taken just to stay upright on
their horse. Morgan was fascinated with the history lesson, and was
eager to learn even more.

“So,
do you joust?” John's eyes took on a distant look, even though
his smile remained. His slow nod reminded Morgan of the time an
elderly gentleman asked her grandmother if she could cook. Her
grandma was the best cook in Stark County, at least to everyone that
had ever been lucky enough to enjoy her food. So that nod, that
knowing look with a quiet confidence, told Morgan that she was
probably standing with one hell of a jouster. “I see. And do
you know, Robbie Edwards?” John's smile faded, and a look of
shock took over his handsome face.

“Robbie?
Yeah, do you?” It was a silly question, obviously she did,
but it was shocking to hear the man's name. Morgan nodded and
explained that he was the reason for her request to learn more about
the sport. “He's here? In Germany? I thought he had gone
back home.” Morgan wanted to know more, so she walked to the
benches that were against the wall of the large building, and asked
him to join her.

“Spill
it.” She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest and
smiled, waiting to hear everything about her client. John took a
deep breath as he sat next to her, and began with a heartbreaking
story that Morgan wasn't quite ready to hear.

“Rob's
one of the best. Well..he was. He and I were competitors for years,
here and in the States. Ah, the man is fearless.” Another
distant look made Morgan wish she could dive into his mind, to know
what it was like to watch a man like Robbie compete in such a
dangerous sport. “I can't say we were friends, in fact, we had
our heated moments from time to time. But, I always respected him,
and at times.... well.... let's just say that I wasn't always looking
forward to going up against him.” Morgan sat up a bit and
nodded.

“Yeah,
I'm still afraid of flying, but I do it all the time. It's alright
though, fear is natural for all of us.”

“I
never said I was afraid!” Morgan giggled at the serious look
on his face, and the defiant edge to his voice. She hit a nerve, and
quickly tried to make it right.

“Okay,
not afraid.” She turned her head slightly but kept her
squinted eyes on him. Slowly, he smiled again. “So, he was
good?” John nodded quickly, telling her that he was one of the
best.

“He's
a legend of sorts. His horse was a beast too, a big red fella. Those
two just knew each other inside and out.” Morgan thought of
Tobasco and smiled. She'd have to see the troublemaker soon. “Even
if you ask these young bucks about him, they'll know who he is.
Robbie Edwards.” The man placed his palms on his knees and
looked off into the horizon at the setting sun. Hues of gold, pink,
orange and red filled the sky in a fiery display of beauty over the
ranch. Morgan took a few moments to take in the sight, then looked
back to John, to the horses, to Brett and back to John.

“I
would love to see him ride again,” Morgan told the men. A part
of her was prying, wondering if there was anything the men could do
to help. Morgan wasn't even sure if they knew of Robbie's condition,
but the look on John's face told her that he didn't.

“He
just vanished one day,” John looked at Morgan to speak, then
back to the sunset. “There was a big tournament...he didn't
show up. It wasn't until a few days later, we heard he hadn't been
feeling well and his housekeeper passed it along that he'd be moving
back west. That's the last any of us heard of him. It's great to hear
he's still in the area, I'd like to grab a beer with the man and ask
him what the hell got into that head of his to give up the sport!”
His last sentence was finished with a fierce head shake and a firm
slap to his thigh.

“Ah,
maybe he got knocked off the horse one too many times,” Brett
interjected, with a hearty laugh.

Morgan
looked down at her hands and bit her lip. It wasn't really her place
to talk about her client, but she wanted them to understand that
Robbie didn't just give up the thing he loved the most. She took a
deep breath and for the next few minutes, she explained everything
she knew, mostly what Loraine had told her.

“What
a shame that is,” John finally spoke when she was finished
telling the men. “And you said he doesn't even ride anymore?”
His brows came together in a look of confusion as he asked Morgan the
question that perplexed him. Robbie was never seen not riding, to
think that he didn't do it anymore was shocking.

“He
said he hasn't in quite a while.” Morgan began to wonder if
going to the stables was a bad idea. It was nice to know about the
sport, but it made her sad to think about her client never jousting
again. She couldn't imagine if she could never take another photo. Of
course, it could never be compared to jousting, but it was just a
simple thing she loved doing and would be heartbroken if that was
taken away from her one day.

“We're
going to have to change that.” John looked to Brett and they
both nodded. It was subtle, but Morgan noticed. “Hamburg you
said?” His attention was back to Morgan, and she nodded.
“Right.” That was the end of the discussion about Robbie,
and Morgan was okay with it. She had a feeling it wasn't the last
she'd see of the two men, and she'd have time to ask more questions
at another time. But her heart filled with happiness at the thought
that Robbie's two old friends might visit him soon, and maybe
convince the broken man to spend some needed time with Tobasco.

The
three of them spent another hour together, watching the horses run up
and down the lists, and correcting Morgan several more times about
the
stick thing
being a lance. When the sun finally set and
the stars began to twinkle in the sky, John took Morgan back to her
hotel so she wouldn't have to call a cab.

That
night, Morgan went to sleep with a smile on her face.
You're not
done yet, Robbie. One way, or another...

*****

The
following day had been spent taking hundreds of photos of the city,
including the Kaltenburg Castle and an exquisite watering hole, loved
by the locals for their homemade beer, which was even stronger than
the other one's she'd tried. Morgan had only been able to handle one,
but it had been the perfect drink to help her sleep on the train ride
back to Hamburg. She arrived back to her hotel room late that night,
but upon checking her phone, she had a voice mail from Julianne,
stating she was in Sweden and had in-and-out cellphone reception and
text messages from Tanner, Angel and...

“I'm
sorry...” Morgan read the message aloud from the third person.
“And who are you?” Morgan stared at her phone for a
moment, it was a number she didn't recognize, stating a very simple
apology. She gave herself a quick reminder to look up the number
later, but first she was going to try and give Julianne another call.
Morgan was almost to her room when she heard her boss' voice mail
box, and she ended the call without speaking.

She
got to her room and dropped her bags right inside the door. The only
thing she wanted was to crawl into bed and relax before her official
week began with Robbie. It was in bed five minutes later that she
was relaxed enough to tend to her text messages.

“I
miss you. I need you. Your Aussie.” His simple text made her
smile, and also made her want to see her Aussie very soon. She spoke
aloud as she replied. “I miss you. Let me know when I can
visit.” The next message, from Angel, made her wish that she
could visit him soon as well. “Sticky Ass, call a bitch and
make it quick. GQ is making my balls hurt with his singing. Save me.
Stick!” Morgan laughed hard until she was wiping tears from
her eyes. She had the best friend in the world, and a visit with her
Angel had to happen soon. When she got herself under control enough
to text, she sent her reply. “Record it, I have to hear it.
Hang in there, he has to go to work sometime. I love you, my Angel!”

“I'm
sorry. Who the hell is sorry?” She typed the area code into
her browser. “Oh... Kole? Kala?” It had to be one of
them, and with a new phone number since the contact didn't show up.
“Well, if that's you Kole, then you can save your apology.”
She spoke the words softly, and she wasn't even sure if she had
meant them. Kole hurt her feelings, and he had no right to act the
way that he had, but she also really cared about him before the
incident. It was one of those times in life when the pain had to
heal enough to allow room for forgiveness. At that moment, her heart
just didn't have room to forgive the man. “Maybe someday.”
Those words were spoken with more sincerity since she knew her own
heart. She would forgive him....eventually.

That
night, Morgan fell asleep with her phone against her chest, thinking
of her best friend, her Aussie, Finlay, and even Kole. Her thoughts
were comforting and lulled her to sleep, just as the gentle hand of
her grandmother would stroke her hair until she closed her eyes, the
fullness of her heart stroked her very soul.

*****

“Morgan!”
Robbie walked quickly across the yard to meet her as she stepped out
of the cab, and grabbed her bags from her hand, then set them in the
driveway beside him. “So glad you're here.” He sounded
happy, and the smile on his face made Morgan's heart race. She put
her arms around his neck and kissed him quickly, only because Loraine
was standing only a few feet behind them. “Come on, let's get
you fed. I know you're starving.” Morgan laughed and took his
hand as the two of them passed the housekeeper on the way to the
front door. The women looked at one another, Morgan smiled, and
Loraine gave in with a brief grin that made all the difference to
both of them.

Lunch
was simple, but one that Morgan absolutely loved as a child. Grilled
cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. It was her idea, and although
Robbie had insisted on actually cooking a whole meal for her, he let
her win and Loraine made up a couple sandwiches for each of them as
Morgan and Robbie entertained each other in the living room.

“So
you're feeling all better?” Morgan mock-checked for a fever on
Robbie's head and he playfully swatted her hand away.

“Yep,
one-hundred percent. If it hadn't been for you leaving me out in the
cold rain all..” He didn't even finish his sentence before
Morgan gave him a playful shove. “I know, I know. And I'm not
sure if I ever really apologized for how I acted...”

“No...but
apology accepted.” Morgan gave him a quick peck on the cheek
and grabbed his hand as she stood. Lunch was being served, and even
though it had caused a fight between them, Morgan was still willing
to try and make Robbie's life a little easier. She served him, along
with herself and Loraine to make it less obvious, then placed the
napkins and spoons down for everyone. She also took care of the
drinks, but to Robbie, she was just being kind.