Page 8 of Shelter for Morgan

"I heard Morgan and thought-"

"That I was a boy." She shook her head. "I get it." She looked away, her gaze lifting toward the ceiling before dropping down to the ground of the carpeted hallway. "So... I should probably find somewhere else to stay."

She bent over to pick up a bag and he reached out to stop her.

"Wait. Don't."

She looked up and they almost collided with each other. "Palmer, I-"

"Morgan, please-"

She took a step back, putting some distance between them. Rhett's instinct was to close that distance and draw her into his arms.

He wanted to comfort her and make up for the way that he'd just shoved his foot deep into his mouth.

"I can find a hotel or something, Palmer. It'll be fine."

"No, no it won't." He took that step forward and she didn't move back. She lifted her face to see him, and he was instantly struck by her blue-grey eyes. "You're staying with me, Morgan."

He saw her hesitation.

He knew what it was like to be new in a town and struggling to get your footing.

If she tried to find something, somewhere to stay, she wouldn't end up in a great place. Not on a teacher's salary, because that's what she'd come to do in San Antonio. Teach high school.

And if he let her leave and try to find a place to stay, he'd be a total asshole.

He might look like a jerk, but he wasn't on the inside.

And his mistake wasn't her fault.

"You're staying. I have a spare room and I'm hardly here, so it would make no sense for you to go anywhere else. I'm a man of my word."

"And I'm not a man," she offered him a hesitant smile.

"No," he almost smiled, "you're definitely not a man."

He reached for the bag that was weighing on her fingers and tilted his head toward the windows. "Come on in. I'll show you where the room is and then I'll help you get the rest of your things from your car."

Rhett saw her fingers flex and didn't know if she was trying to get feeling back in her fingers or if she was thinking of taking her bag back from him.

"Come on. It's going to get hotter outside soon, so let's get your things inside before the sun is at its peak and then you can think of ways to argue with me later."

She drew back and frowned at him. "I wasn't arguing with you!"

"Good to know." He was pretty sure he was about to smile. "Come on, let's get moving."

He stepped back and when she took a step in his direction, he went straight past the closet and took a turn toward the bathroom. "We have a shared bathroom. There's a tub and a shower. One of the best things about this apartment is that we have great water pressure, but the heater isn't all that great. So just keep that in mind."

As he reached the area between the bedrooms and the bathroom, he turned back and saw her nod as her gaze swept around the main room.

"Your bedroom is to the right." He lifted his chin toward that side, seeing her drag her gaze to him before he dropped his chin back down. I'm on the other side."

Rhett watched as she moved past him and into the bedroom.

"Oh, wow. It has windows."

Okay, he was smiling.

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