Running for Cover by Shirlee McCoy

Author:Shirlee McCoy
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-06-24T22:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

Helen’s house was tucked deep in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Sheltered by towering evergreens and surrounded by fifty acres of prime land, the ranch-style home had a charming appeal that hadn’t faded over the years. The well-lit front porch was wide and wrapped around both sides of the house. The creamy siding seemed to gleam in the darkness. It had been years since Morgan had visited the place, but she knew it almost as well as she knew her Lakeview bungalow.

She barely waited until the car stopped before she jumped out and walked toward the porch. It felt good to stretch her legs, and it felt even better to know that she’d soon be settled into Helen’s guest room. Alone.

She needed to put some distance between herself and Jackson. Traveling across country with him had forged a bond that she hadn’t expected and didn’t want. Hours on planes and in airports, hours of talking and learning more about one another had led her to do something she’d promised herself she’d never do again.

She’d begun to trust him, to believe in him, to pin her hopes of safety and security on him.

When they’d been sitting in his dark car, waiting while their pursuers drove by, she’d wanted nothing more than to burrow in close and to stay there. She’d let the warm weight of his arm comfort her, let herself lean on him as she hadn’t leaned on anyone in years.

And she knew exactly where that would lead—heartache.

“Looks like your aunt is up and waiting,” Jackson said, falling into step beside her, apparently unaware of just how desperate she was to be away from him. “I think every light in the house is on.”

“She may be working. She usually forgets to turn off lights when she’s in the middle of a project.”

“Working at this time of night?”

“It’s what she does.”

“You said she was a potter.”

“A fantastic one. I learned everything I know about craft from her.”

“When you spent the summers here?”

“Yes. There was nothing else to do. No television. No contact with friends. Just me, Aunt Helen and the clay.”

“Must have driven you crazy.”

“At first,” she said, smiling at the memory. Helen had offered to teach her to throw a pot six times before Morgan had finally been bored enough to accept the offer. “After a while, though, I began to enjoy the quiet and the time I spent at the pottery wheel. It filled the hours, and that was something I desperately needed.” It had filled an empty spot in her heart, too. A place she hadn’t even realized was empty.

She stepped onto the porch, the wide-planked floor creaking a little under her feet. The sound was the same one she’d heard when she was a teenager, and she found it comforting.

Before she could knock, the door flew open and Aunt Helen appeared. Medium-height and slender, she had deep red hair and a ready smile. “Morgan! I’m so glad you finally made it. I was beginning to worry.”

“There was no need,” Morgan said, doing her best to relax under her aunt’s scrutiny.

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