Good Morning Smile
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Smile, you’re on candid camera. The words were written in the dust of the porch railings and windows. There was no need to look for a photographer’s mark because there wasn’t one. Someone had simply put them there with their own two hands.
But whoever did it hadn’t known that they’d be recorded by the home’s security cameras. That was why the person who left the message never showed his or her face. Not even once. They didn’t want to get caught doing something so stupid.
“It’s a joke,” Morgan said when he saw the words. “A prank.”
He sat down at the kitchen table and poured himself some coffee. It wasn’t long before Laura came into the room carrying an armful of clean towels from the linen closet. She set them on top of the counter and then took off her white blouse.
She wore only a gray-striped bra underneath. Her dark hair fell loose around her shoulders as she walked over to him, leaned against the counter, and stared down at her brother. He noticed how much more attractive she looked than usual without makeup and her clothes.
With just a hint of perfume wafting about, she smelled like a woman instead of a housekeeper. And it made him wonder if this would have been the way she normally dressed if they hadn’t come here. Would she wear a dress or skirt? Or maybe nothing at all?
“I’m glad I can finally do your laundry now that we’ve moved back,” Laura said. “You’ll find out soon enough that being a ranch hand isn’t easy work.”
She reached behind her neck and unhooked her bra. Then she threw it onto the pile of towels and pulled down her jeans and underwear.
Morgan swallowed hard. He hadn’t realized until now what kind of effect her nudity could have on him. He tried not to stare at her bare legs but couldn’t help it. They were slender yet muscular; her thighs smooth and silky beneath her skin.
His gaze lingered on her feet. He wondered if she wore stockings or nylons under those jeans and whether she wore shoes or went barefoot most of the time. When she turned to place another towel on the counter, he watched the muscles in her back flex and contract as she bent forward.
Did she know how sexy she was? Could she tell by the expression on his face or by the bulge forming in his pants? Maybe she thought it was normal to see a man staring at her in such a manner.
Laura removed the last shirt from the pile and set it next to her other items. Then she picked up her bra and tossed it toward the dirty clothes hamper. She stepped closer to where Morgan waited with his coffee mug in his hand. “Now you try,” she whispered.
His mouth suddenly felt dry. Was she trying to tempt him again? To show him how beautiful she really was? What happened to the sister who wanted to marry someone else? Where did this new desire come from? Why did it make him feel so strange inside?
Laura lifted the hem of her sweater and slid it over her head. Her breasts swelled outward, pushing up her bra. The cups weren’t padded; her nipples were already peeking through the thin fabric. As she dropped the sweater onto the pile of clothes, Morgan gulped down the rest of his coffee and stood.
“Don’t forget to wash these,” Laura said as she began hanging up her shirts and bras. She paused to turn around. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone you stared at me naked.”
Then she resumed working and didn’t say anything else.
The front door slammed open and Sam rushed into the kitchen. He stopped short when he saw Morgan sitting across the breakfast bar from his sister. “What are you doing?”
Sam glanced quickly between his sister and her brother, then ran his fingers nervously through his thick black hair. “Uh… Laura told me to bring you some coffee.”
Morgan handed Sam a cup. He nodded thanks and hurried away.
Laura smiled after Sam disappeared down the hall. She took a sip of coffee and wiped off the rim with a paper napkin. “Well…”
Morgan finished the remainder of his drink. “Yes?”
“Didn’t you notice my outfit?” Laura asked.
Morgan frowned. He didn’t think he’d missed any clothing except her bra. “No. You always dress like that.”
Her smile widened. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
“Of course.”
“Why is it that whenever you take a bath, you leave the bathroom door cracked open and stand there in just your undershirt and drawers?”
That brought his eyes to hers. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Because you’re wearing just that right now.”
“So?”
“So why aren’t you embarrassed to walk around our house in front of me? Do you want me to stop washing your clothes because you think I might get a peek at something I shouldn’t be looking at?”
“Maybe you should,” Morgan replied.
Laura’s grin faded. “You’re right. It wouldn’t bother me one bit if I caught you walking around half-dressed. But I still haven’t figured out why you don’t seem to mind seeing me dressed like this. And since it bothers you, I’ll go put on a robe.”
Morgan sat back against the counter and studied her. There wasn’t a single trace of embarrassment in her expression. “I guess you really don’t care about what others think of you,” he murmured.
Laura returned his stare for several seconds before speaking. “My mother never cared about what people thought either.”
When Laura had first arrived at their home four days earlier, she had been very nervous around him. Now he found himself wondering if she had ever worn a bra in front of another woman before. Did she even own a pair of panties? Would she wear them today? If she did, would they match the bra or clash? Would she choose white or pink or maybe red?
He remembered the color of her panties as well as the softness of her skin against his lips and fingers. That night had been the only time they’d touched each other intimately. Not once had he forced her to do anything.
Now she seemed comfortable enough to talk freely without feeling awkward. That bothered him more than the fact that she showed no shame in being seen nude by her family member.
He rubbed his chin. “Are you sure you want to stay here? Your father will probably object to having a woman living in the house.”
“I’m staying here whether Father likes it or not. After all, we’ve been married for twenty years. Don’t you think we deserve the same consideration and respect as every other couple in town?”
Morgan shook his head. “We don’t have much choice but to live under the same roof. We can’t afford separate places. Neither one of us could keep up with the mortgage payments.”
“Your point exactly!” Laura exclaimed. “It doesn’t matter where we live; neither one of us has a job. So let’s just live together.”
“But—”
“Look, I know you’re worried about my reputation. Or lack thereof.” She held up a hand. “If I were ashamed of myself, you’d see it. I promise.”
“Okay,” he conceded.
She sipped her coffee while staring straight ahead. “Since I got here, you haven’t made fun of me or treated me differently than you treat Sam. You haven’t laughed at my mistakes. You haven’t looked down at me. In fact, you haven’t done any of those things at all. Why?”
“First of all, Sam treats everyone equally. He doesn’t laugh at people who make mistakes. Second of all, you’re an adult and you don’t need anyone treating you like a child.”
Laura narrowed her gaze at him. “You said yourself that you hadn’t known how to act around me. I was just trying to figure out how you wanted me to behave so we both feel comfortable.”
Morgan shrugged. “Forget it. Forget everything I’ve told you and act naturally. That way I won’t embarrass either of us.”
“Good idea.”
“And I hope you realize that I’m not making fun of you.”
“How can I forget when you keep saying stupid things?”
Morgan smiled. “Just remember what I said. No more laughing at my jokes unless they’re funny.”
Laura grinned. “Fine, but then you owe me a favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“The next time you’re in trouble, tell me about it. Let me help you come up with a solution.”
“I don’t think you understand how dangerous this business is. How can I possibly trust you to help me solve problems?”
Laura set her mug aside and folded her arms across her chest. “Do you honestly believe I would harm you?”
“No.”
“Then I think you should try trusting me. What happened last night was an accident.”
“An accident?”
“Yes.”
Morgan stared at her. The only thing that could cause such a reaction from him was sex. His body reacted instantly, his cock twitched and hardened inside his pants. He wondered if he could take her right there on the kitchen table. Maybe later…
With a shake of her head, Laura turned away from him. “That’s why I didn’t mention the incident until now. I knew you wouldn’t approve. But since we are both adults and have lived together for twenty years, perhaps it’s time to start acting like it. As long as you aren’t planning to ask me to go to bed with you, I’ll be happy to work with you.”
“There isn’t going to be any more sleeping arrangements between us,” Morgan stated firmly. “From now on, we sleep in our own beds.”
“Agreed.”
“Now, what does your husband do besides run a cattle ranch?”
“Sam works as a traveling salesman. He travels three weeks out of the month and comes home for two weeks during the week.”
“So, he’s gone most of the time.”
“Not anymore.” Laura nodded. “This morning, he went into town to apply for a position as a sheriff in New Mexico. With the money we receive from selling the herd, we can pay off the mortgage early. Then Sam can spend more time with us.”
“Doesn’t Sam care that you’re leaving town? Does he mind working for another man?”
“Actually, he’s very excited about the opportunity. He wants to leave as soon as possible. And since I’ll be here alone, you can bring your horse over tonight and ride along with us.”
“Why did he want to become a lawman? I thought you had no use for men in uniform.”
“Apparently he does,” she answered dryly. “He says it gives him a chance to get back at the cowboys who beat him up.”
“Beat him up?”
Laura looked toward the window. “When Sam was ten, a gang of young men started bullying him after school. They called him names. Made fun of his family. Called him ugly. One day they cornered him outside of school.
When he tried to fight them off, they jumped on top of him and beat him senselessly. It took a couple days before he woke up and remembered what happened. After that, they kept coming after him. Until one day Sam finally fought back.”
“Did Sam ever find out who these boys were?”
“No. They ran away when Sam confronted them. He never found out their names or where they went.”
“Was it hard on Sam to live among people who hated him?”
“Very.” She paused. “But Sam has always been a fighter. So, he decided to join the army and learn to defend himself against bullies.”
“Sounds like you taught him well.”
She gave him a quick glance. “It wasn’t easy. I know some people might judge me harshly for being married to a lawman, but I love my husband and I couldn’t bear living without him.”
“You seem like a nice person,” Morgan said sincerely. “Your husband must be proud of you.”
Laura shook her head. “I wish that weren’t true.”
***
Morgan followed Laura down the hall and stopped at her bedroom door.
“Before we continue with our discussion, I need to show you something else.”
Morgan glanced around the room and noticed several framed photographs hung on the wall. A picture of Sam stood by the bed, looking handsome and strong. Two smaller pictures showed a smiling woman and a little girl standing beside a large oak tree.
“My children…”
“They died in a house fire four years ago,” Laura explained sadly. “We all slept upstairs and lost everything. That’s why I’ve worked so hard to build our life here. We had to start from scratch and make our fortune again.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. Now, let me finish showing you something else.”
She opened the closet door and pulled out a white dress. It looked new and crisp; the fabric felt smooth and cool.
“What’s this?” Morgan asked.
“The wedding gown I wore when I married Sam.”
“A wedding gown?”
“Yes. Do you see how perfectly white it is? I hand-dyed the material myself. It took almost six months to complete.”
“And you plan to wear it tomorrow?”
Laura nodded. “For my second marriage. Only this time I won’t be marrying Sam. Tomorrow, I will marry my brother.”
“What?” Morgan stepped closer to examine the garment more closely. The sleeves were sheer and elegant. Lace covered the neckline, while a small train trailed behind her. “How could you possibly agree to such a thing?”
“Because Sam agreed to it.” Her voice grew stronger. “He didn’t think twice about agreeing. In fact, he wanted me to marry Tom.”
“Who is Tom?”
“His best friend and partner.”
“That still doesn’t make sense. Why would Sam want you to marry his partner instead of his own brother?”
“Tom loves me. He knows that Sam doesn’t.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Of course! I knew Sam loved someone else. But he refused to tell me anything about it because he promised not to break my heart. I figured he was too stubborn to admit his feelings.”
Morgan studied the wedding dress. “Then why are you wearing this?”
“Sam thinks this dress will help convince everyone that I’ve changed. Even if they don’t believe me now, maybe someday they will. Then they’ll understand that Sam really did marry a different woman. Maybe then I can go home and have the real ceremony with my father and—”
Her words were cut short as the front door slammed open. Laura spun around. “Oh!”
Two men rushed inside. Their eyes widened when they saw Morgan.
“Miss Williams, I presume,” one man said. His hair was neatly combed and parted to the side. His face was clean-shaven. His dark brown suit looked expensive.
“Hello, Mr. Harrigan. How are you today?”
“Fine thanks. And yourself?”
“Good morning, sir.”
The other man was younger than Harrigan, with thinning gray hair and an untidy mustache. He was dressed casually in faded jeans and a plaid shirt.
“Mr. Harrigan, this is my associate, John Brannen.”
“Nice meeting you.” Brannen extended his hand and waited for Laura to shake it.
“Likewise.”
Brannen turned to Morgan. “So, what do you think of the wedding plans?”
Morgan tried to keep his tone even, but his anger was building. “I haven’t seen any wedding plans.”
“Well, there aren’t going to be many.”
Morgan’s blood boiled. “Why not? You told me yesterday you planned to invite your entire family.”
Harrigan shrugged. “With all these changes going on, we thought it better to wait until things calmed down before inviting them.”
“Things have only gotten worse since yesterday. People are talking about us.”
“No doubt. I’ve been hearing rumors about you ever since you arrived. Some say you’re a killer and others claim you killed the marshal. Others are just curious about a lady traveling alone.”
Morgan narrowed his gaze. “Did you send that letter to the newspapers?”
“In part, yes.”
“You know I never killed anyone.”
“Don’t worry about the newspapers. What matters most is what people say behind our backs.”
“It doesn’t matter. No one believes the gossip anymore.”
“But it does. Just like the newspapers believed those lies. If they believed you shot the marshal, imagine what they might think after seeing you riding around town on a horse without a saddle or gun. That’s not exactly the image we want to project.”
“They shouldn’t believe everything they read.”
“That’s true, but they should believe enough to stay away from you. We need to get some distance between ourselves and this ranch so we can focus on rebuilding the business.”
“We’re already working on it.”
“Working on it?” Harrigan laughed. “All we’ve done is work on a few repairs here and there.”
“If you hadn’t taken over running the place, it wouldn’t look like this. This isn’t the way you wanted to run things. I’m sorry you had no choice but to take control, but we both know you didn’t do it willingly. You made up the story about being robbed by Indians because you couldn’t explain how you ended up with a wife and a ranch.”
“Don’t talk to me about lying, Mister. I know exactly how you got this ranch.”
“Yes, I heard you married the sheriff’s daughter.”
“Only because she needed protection.”
“What makes you so certain that you’ll survive another attack?”
“I’m not taking chances. I hired two armed guards and added more to the payroll. It won’t stop every thief, but at least it gives us a chance.”
Laura stepped forward. “This is ridiculous. There’s nothing wrong with hiring guards. It’s smart business.”
Harrigan chuckled. “Smart business? The only reason we managed to avoid disaster was because of the marshal.”
“Marshal?” Laura gasped.
“He came back to warn us. Told us that the outlaws were planning on coming out west. They probably followed him back to Denver.”
“And you ignored his warning?”
Harrigan gave her a cold stare. “There was nothing we could do except make sure our defenses were ready.”
“And then you decided to start a new life with Miss Williams.”
“Not exactly. She was the one who suggested it. Now she has nowhere else to turn, so she’s staying.”
“A woman traveling alone would draw attention wherever she went.”
“Now we don’t have to hide.”
“Maybe not now, but someday someone will notice her.”
“Then we’ll deal with it then.”
“How did you get rid of the marshal?”
“Just tell them he died of pneumonia.”
“You let him die?”
“He wasn’t much use to us dead, was he?”
“I’m sorry. Did something happen to him while he was in Colorado?”
“Nothing happened to him, but I’m sure something will if he continues to hang around.”
“Do you mean the marshal’s death?”
Harrigan nodded. “The last thing we need is an investigation.”
“I understand. But what about the marshal’s son, Tom?”
“Tom? Don’t you know anything about lawmen? A man’s only as good as his badge. He’d be useless unless he joined the force.”
“When did you meet him?”
“Yesterday morning when we met for breakfast.”
“Wasn’t he supposed to come out west with his father?”
“Yeah, but Tom said he couldn’t leave his mother behind.”
“So you brought her out here.”
“She was happy to join us. At first anyway.”
“What changed?”
“Someone tried to kill her.”
“Who?”
“One of the bandits. We barely escaped. And now we have to keep moving. We can’t afford to stop here long enough to hire extra help.”
“Where are we going next?”
“Back east. Back to Denver.”
“Why?”
“To sell this place.”
“No, why do we have to move again? Why not just rebuild where we are?”
“Because this time we’re not alone,” Harrigan replied. “We may still be able to handle a small bandit attack, but if the gang comes across any other trouble—and I guarantee they will—we won’t stand a chance. Even if we somehow manage to defend ourselves, there’s always the chance we’ll end up getting caught in a crossfire between the robbers and whoever else might try to stop them.”
“But you didn’t even give them a chance to settle down.”
“They didn’t want to settle down. That’s why I took over the business.”
“Did you really think you could do better than the marshal? What kind of lawman is he, anyway?”
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we’re doing fine without him.”
Laura stared at Harrigan. “Fine? How can you say that after what happened yesterday? After seeing the marshal murdered before my eyes!”
“It was just a robbery that went bad, not murder.”
“That’s exactly what I thought too until I saw the bodies.”
“The marshal knew how dangerous the situation was.”
“Which is exactly why I never trusted him. You should’ve listened to me sooner, instead of making excuses for him.”
“Excuses! Do you realize what we lost because of your stubbornness? Think about it. If we hadn’t had the marshal to protect us from the bandits—”
“If we hadn’t been so afraid to trust anyone, maybe we wouldn’t have been attacked.”
“Yes, and then we might all be dead by now. Look, I don’t blame you for feeling uncomfortable around men, especially a group of gunmen like us, but it’s time to face reality. We can’t live under siege anymore.”
Laura turned away. “Let me guess. This is another one of your jokes?”
“Think about it. It’s no fun being alone.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, I’m tired of having to take care of everything myself.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? Nothing. But I’m sick and tired of living like this. So am I selfish or stupid?”
“Neither.”
“Good. Then we agree on something.”
“Agreed. I hate it here.”
“And I hate the fact that every day we wake up wondering who’s trying to kill us and how many more times we have to run for our lives. It’s time we moved somewhere safer, someplace where people aren’t constantly trying to rob or kidnap us.”
“Like back home.”
“Don’t worry. There are plenty of places left to choose from. The only problem is that none of them are free.”
“Free?”
“Of outlaws. Now, listen to me closely. Our options are limited. One: we stay right where we are. Two: we build a new house elsewhere, far away from this part of the country.”
“I vote for two,” Laura said.
“Then let’s go find a nice spot in Colorado and start building tomorrow. I promise not to forget about you while I work.”
“You’re forgetting someone,” Laura said. “A woman needs a husband.”
The End