Chapter 47

I knocked on the door but there was no answer, so I knocked again. Finally I heard a weak, "Come in," and opened the door. The room was almost completely dark, so I flipped the light switch on. The sight that greeted my eyes was so totally unexpected it took my breath away for a moment. Myrna was sprawled out on the floor, leaning against a chair sobbing. The shock of seeing her like this was more than a nightmare. Here was the strongest woman I had ever met, and she was sitting on the floor sobbing like a baby. I moved over to her, sat down and took her in my arms, feeling completely helpless. All I could do was hold her as she sobbed. I never felt so useless in my life. I don't know how long I sat there holding her, until she finally started to ease off a little. I wanted so bad to ask her what was wrong, but I didn't want to intrude on her or bother her until she wanted to talk. She finally turned toward me, and looking at her red eyes and runny nose, I felt like crying myself. I dug in my pocket and got the handkerchief I always carried and silently handed it to her. She took it and wiped her eyes, then blew her nose and just hugged me tight. I held her and waited to see why she was so upset.

"Jon, I'm sorry you had to see me like this."

"Myrna, what's wrong? Is it something I said or did?"

"Of course not, Jon. Do you think I am getting married too fast? Will it work out for me, Jon?"

"Myrna, you know I can't answer that. I think you will have to decide the answer to that by yourself. Has something happened between you and Carver?"

"Oh no, nothing like that, Jon. I am just worried about our future together. Jon, will I lose you and Sally to Kat when you get married? I love Kat, but Sally is the only child I have ever had and I don't want to lose her. I love her like she's my own, and just the thought of her moving away scares me to death."

"Move away! Myrna, Sally and I are not going anywhere and I'll tell you right now, that she thinks of you as her mother and so do I. Why would you think we would move away?"

"Carver and I have been talking, and he thinks once we get married, we should buy our own place to live. He says he doesn't like living on someone else's charity. I told him I wasn't moving anywhere, and we had an argument about it. He says he doesn't want his wife being a servant to anyone."

I was furiously cussing him in my mind, and trying to hold onto my temper at the same time. I never considered Myrna my servant, and hoped that she didn't think she was. To have him, almost a stranger to all of us, say something like that, made me furious.

"Myrna, I'm sorry he feels that way, but I have never considered you a servant to me or Sally. Sally and I both love you like family, and I don't think I could have managed all these years without you being there for both of us. I know Kat considers you a friend, and is looking forward to you being there for her when we get married. Myrna, I never knew my mother or father, but I would hope she would be like you have been to me and Sally over the years. I don't know what I can do to change Carver's mind, but I can talk to him, if you want. I know how much you love him, and I would be very unhappy if I was the cause of troubles between the two of you. Myrna, I can't make this decision for you, but I will say that if you do decide to leave, we will miss you an awful lot. As much as I hate to say this, it's your life now and you deserve some happiness too. You have taken care of my family almost all your life, so you think about it and make the decision that will make you happy. Sally and I will back you in any way we can, and regardless of what you decide, we both won't ever stop loving you. This is one decision I cannot and will not try to interfere in. This one you need to talk out with the man you are going to marry, and work it out between the two of you so you're happy, Myrna. I think this is one of those times you need to think about what you want instead of everyone else. Will you be ok now?"

"I'll be fine, Jon, thanks for listening to this old woman rant."

"Myrna, I know this may be a little personal, but just how old are you? The woman I saw in the hospital looked to be in her thirties, but you have never said anything."

She looked up at me and smiled sadly, then lightly brushed her hand over my cheek before replying;

"Jon, I turn forty-eight next month. I haven't ever told anyone my age before now, so I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything to anyone. I haven't even told Carver my age, although he has asked a couple of times. Jon, I love you and Sally with all my heart and soul, and I will not choose between my love for you and my love for Carver. Yes, I love him, but if he won't listen to reason, I will not marry him. My place is with you and Sally, and there is no one who will ever come between us. I will talk to Carver again, but if he pushes me to move away, he can go to hell. I am staying with you and Sally and Kat. You are my family and the only ones I consider as such. I know this might sound harsh, but I have always made my own decisions, and I am not going to change my life to make Carver happy with his outdated way of thinking. That house we all live in is mine as much as it is yours, Jon. It's the only home I have ever known, other than when I went to college, and I was so happy to get back home when I graduated. If he can't understand that, then he is going to have a very lonely life. I love him and it hurts that he wants me to choose between my family and him. What he doesn't know is that although I love him, he better accept me as I am or we won't be getting married. This has been coming to a head for the last week or so, when he started asking why we didn't go live in the house that Bill left us. I know I have always been bossy and sometimes mean to you, but I love you like a son, Jon, and I think you have always known I felt that way. I am proud of what you do and so is my girl. No man, even one I love, is going to change me or try to make me do something I know in my heart would be a mistake and would make me miserable. Jon, I know you get mad and frustrated with me sometimes, but everything I have ever done has been because I wanted you to be the son I never had. Now that you and Kat are getting married, it makes me tingle with happiness to think that the house will have kids running around and that Aunt Myrna can be their granny. No Sir, no man is going to take that away from me. Now you go out and be with Sally and Kat. Take them for a walk and enjoy their company. You know Sally is growing up fast, and you need to show her how much you love her because you certainly haven't been spending much time with her these last few months. You let me work out this out with Carver in my own way. Jon, I know you, so please don't interfere regardless of how it turns out. This is something that I have to settle on my own without anyone interfering. Promise me?"

"I will promise you, Myrna, but if he hurts you in any way, either Tiny or I will take a hand and he won't like the way we handle it."

"Jon Morgan, don't you say a word to Tiny. He has enough on his mind right now, and you will not handle it. This is my problem to handle, so you just stay out of it. Don't worry, he would never hit me."

"Myrna, if he does and I find out, he is a dead man and that I promise you."

She hugged me and said again for me to go and spend some time with Kat and my daughter. I got up, but I didn't like the conversation and resolved to have a talk with Tiny as soon as I could. Between the two of us, we both could keep an eye on her and Carver until this got settled one way or the other. I didn't feel that Carver would hurt her, but just the thought had my inner wolf raising its head. While I was walking back to the table, I decided I would have Maurice run a deep background check on him, just for my own satisfaction. I had read part of his service record, but there were always other things that it didn't contain. These were what I wanted to know about.

When I got to the table, Sally was laughing about something. I sat down and picked up my beer. Before I could even get a sip, both of them were looking at me. Sally said one word with Kat looking at me intently.

"Well?"

"You're right, Sally, I think maybe it's just pre-wedding jitters."

Then Kat laughed and looked at Sally, then at me before saying; "What about you Jon? You have any doubts I need to know about before we go through with this? Remember, I am supposed to be pregnant with triplets, so if you have any doubts about being a daddy, speak now. But, if you back out, Sally and I will both beat you so bad you won't want to face us for the next hundred years."

I looked at both of them, and they both were glaring at me. Then they busted out laughing at the look on my face.

"Kat, what man in his right mind wouldn't want to marry a beautiful woman like you? Sally, in a few more years you will be just as beautiful. I couldn't be happier than I am right now. I don't know about you two, but I haven't seen any of the island since we got here. What say we steal the golf cart and see if we can terrorize the natives for awhile?"

Sally jumped up yelling, "I'm driving," as she ran around the house. I got up and was promptly kissed by Kat, who giggled when my knees gave out as she broke the kiss.

"I get shotgun!" Kat shouted as she ran around the house, leaving me standing with my lips still puckered from her kiss. I just shook my head, chuckling to myself as I hurried to join them. Boy, I could just see it now; these two were going to be teasing me constantly. I gingerly sat down on the back seat, and Sally took off so fast I almost flipped out the back. I started yelling at her to slow down, this isn't a race car. They both were laughing at me and Kat was yelling, "Faster, Sally, faster." Needless to say, I was holding on with a death grip as they drove along the cliff overlooking the ocean. I didn't get to enjoy the view, because every time she hit a bump, Kat would yell, "Go faster." I wasn't sure at that point if I would survive long enough to make it to wherever they were headed for. I think I actually put finger dents in the aluminum rails as I held on for dear life. They both were laughing and having a grand old time. Sally slammed on the brakes and I flew out of the side onto the ground from the unexpected stop. I think I rolled twice before I gingerly got up brushing myself off glaring at the two of them.

"Sorry Dad, I guess I should have warned you, huh?"

I glared at her for a moment and told her if she drove like that when she got old enough to get her permit, then I would never buy her a car. Kat just laughed, and of course Sally had a comeback for me almost immediately.