A Stallion's Touch (16 page)

She followed her brother back down to the kitchen. “I took care of the side dishes, but wasn't sure what you wanted to do with all this meat.” There were trays of ribs, chicken, hot links and salmon.

“I'll freeze some of it for sure, but Brandon and Khalil are coming over tomorrow, so it won't go to waste.”

Morgan laughed. “You know Brandon's going to be happy, especially since we aren't having a family dinner tomorrow.” Brandon was the second oldest, after Siobhan. Morgan and Malcolm were the youngest. Their tight-knit family still got together at their parents' house for dinner at least one Sunday out of the month.

“Yep. He'll probably take home leftovers. Khalil, on the other hand, will just eat the salmon and vegetables.” They both laughed. Khalil was third in line, and the model turned fitness buff ate healthy at least 95 percent of the time. “A couple of guys from the team said they might stop by, too, so I'll send some stuff home with them. Grab some Ziploc bags and let's finish.”

She wanted to ask if Omar was one of the guys, but refrained. She was not supposed to be thinking about him. Reaching into the drawer, she got the bags and began filling them.

They worked in silence for a few minutes and then Malcolm asked, “What's up with you and Drummond?” He came around the island to where she stood adding hot links to one of the bags.

“Nothing.”

“So, all that heat the two of you were generating in my family room was nothing. I'm not blind, Morgan. He's usually one of the first to leave, and I couldn't figure out why he stayed longer than usual. Until you came into the room.” He angled his head. “Did something happen between you earlier? Like when I found you upstairs?”

Malcolm didn't miss anything when it came to her. “We spoke briefly when I came in for a glass of tea. If this is the part where you tell me he's got lots of women and I should stay away from him, you can save your breath. I know what kind of man he is and I've read the headlines.”

He folded his arms and continued to study her. “Actually, I wasn't. But seeing as how you're all on the defensive, maybe I
should
be concerned.”

Morgan zipped the bag and pushed it over with the others. “Please. Now, I'll admit the man is fine and has a body that's out of this world, but I have no interest in seeing my face added to his long list of groupies. Been there, done that. And I have enough problems as it is dealing with this lawsuit.” She worked as an attorney in her family's home-safety company and had just been appointed the lead on the suit that alleged one of their bathtub safety rails broke and resulted in someone being injured.

“How's that going?”

“I'm not sure yet. We're still waiting on a couple of reports, but it doesn't look good. We could use a miracle right about now. I'm only two years out of law school, and this is my first big case. I don't want to let Daddy down.”

He slung an arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple. “Just do your best. That's all you can do.”

She leaned into his embrace. “I know. Thanks.” Morgan glanced around the kitchen. “Do you need me to do something else?”

“Nah, I'll take care of it.”

“You could hire someone to do this kind of thing.”

Malcolm shook his head. “You know I don't like a lot of strangers in my house. Having the housekeeper here twice a month is enough.”

She smiled. “What time are we riding?”

“I'm sleeping in, so we can go around eleven. Night, sis.”

“Good night.”

Morgan went upstairs, showered and climbed into bed. She tossed and turned for hours, unable to get Omar's kiss out of her mind. Then she recalled him wanting to talk to her. She could probably ask Malcolm for his number.
No way.
As curious as she was, she knew the best thing would be to forget all about that conversation. And the kiss.

Copyright © 2016 by Sheryl Lister

ISBN-13: 9781488003721

A Stallion's Touch

Copyright © 2016 by Deborah Fletcher Mello

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