Page 4 of Heal You
Yeah, until she turned up here with her fucking husband.
Morgan sighed inwardly.She was forever finding the wrong women attractive.
“You okay?”Finn clicked her fingers in front of Morgan’s face, her brows drawn.“Lost you for a sec then.”
“I’m fine.Just trying to figure out how long I have left on my shift.”Morgan lied.“Too long, is the answer.”
“What time are you here till?”
“Until close, unfortunately.”Morgan briefly turned and pressed the espresso button on the coffee machine behind the bar.She sat a cup under it while the beans were grinding, and then she turned back to Finn.“What do you guys have planned for the rest of the afternoon?”
“Gillian is coming here for a glass of wine, and then I’m taking her out to dinner.She had a busy weekend working from home, so we didn’t get much of a chance to wind down.This week looks less busy for her, so I’m stealing her away from her office for the rest of the night.”
“That sounds nice.”Morgan rested her forearms on a beer pump and sat her chin on them.“Jan coming over with Gillian?”
“No.Jan doesn’t do day drinking.She’ll be at the office still.She’s just been away for the weekend with Phil.I’ve asked Gillian to find out what the hotel was like so we could potentially book it.Jan is really into her spa treatments so if the place is good, she’ll tell us.”
Of course Jan was into her spa treatments.That woman had looked like an angel the last time she strode through Morgan’s bar door.That had been the night when Morgan accidentally let a wine glass slip from her hand, and it was the crash of the glass that had brought her back down to reality.Jan was striking.Her long blonde hair was natural, and those blue eyes were like nothing Morgan had ever come across before.And she’d come across many people in her time behind the bar alone.But it was the dress Jan wore that had caused the wine glass incident.Morgan hadn’t been able to focus her eyes anywhere else for the entire night.At one point, she’d considered closing up early just so she didn’t have to ogle any longer.A little black dress and heels would always have Morgan salivating.Put those items onJanand Morgan was having palpitations.
Finn clicked her fingers again.“What the hell is going on with you?I lost youagain.”
Fuck.Morgan had to stop doing that.“Like I said, I didn’t sleep much last night.”
“Sure.You keep telling yourself that.But I know you well enough now to know thatsomethingis going on inside that mind of yours.”
Morgan exhaled a breath and left Finn sitting at the bar.If they kept talking, Morgan was going to blurt out the latest with Amanda, and she honestly wasn’t ready to have that conversation.She approached Tyler and laid a hand on his shoulder.“I’m here now so you can get going for your course.”
“Thanks, Morgan.I appreciate it.”
“I appreciate you coming in at short notice for me today.I owe you one.”
* * *
With the greatestsense of loss settled deep in her chest, Jan knocked back the dreg of wine in the bottom of her glass and lifted a hand to catch Morgan’s attention.She had spent the last two hours sitting in this very spot, watching people come and go, unable to fathom the idea of going home tonight.
What home?You don’t have a fucking home anymore!
Jan swallowed down the emotion in her throat and closed her eyes.This day had been the furthest thing from her mind from the moment she’d met Phil.In all honesty, Jan had to wonder whether she was dreaming.But then the realisation sunk in all over again, and now Jan sat here on a Monday night…actuallyalone for the first in twenty-seven years.
Morgan approached from the other end of the bar and rested her arm on a beer pump.“You’ve been here a while now and you’restillsitting on your own.You want me to call Finn and find out what the hold-up is?They were both in earlier, but I thought Finn was taking Gillian out for dinner.She didn’t say they were coming back here.”
Jan smiled as she looked up at Morgan.She had spent many nights here with Gillian and Finn now.It was their ‘local’ even though it was nowhere near their homes.Morgan was great, she’d hosted some amazing nights here since Jan started to frequent the place, so she’d found herself walking towards the bar a couple of hours ago.“I’m not meeting them tonight.”
“No?Waiting for the husband?Phil…was it?”
Jan tensed at the mention of her husband’s name.He had also frequented The Corner on several occasions with Jan, Gillian, and Finn.“No.Phil won’t be joining me either.”
Morgan frowned.“Then why are you sitting here drinking my bar dry?”
“Do you ask everyone that?”Jan eyed Morgan as she held up her empty wine glass.“I can go elsewhere if I’m putting a downer on the atmosphere in here.”
“That’s not what I was implying,” Morgan said as she took Jan’s empty glass and refilled a fresh one with wine.“You know you’realwayswelcome here, Jan.I’m just not used to seeing you on your own or looking so sad.Did you need to talk to someone?”
What was the point?Jan didn’t even know if she could speak the words.She was yet to inform Gillian of her day so far.“N-no.But thank you.I appreciate your concern.”
“Well, I just need to change a beer barrel and then I’ll be right back.”Morgan regarded Jan with a gentle smile, her deep brown eyes soft and caring as they always were.Jan understood, though.Morgan was probably used to playing therapist for the lonely souls who ended up sitting here night after night.
Jan couldn’t believe she had just become a part of that particular group, but here she was, unable to comprehend what her future looked like.She’d had it all planned out.She’d never imagined anything different.But here she sat, with the knowledge that her husband had been having an affair with a woman sixteen years younger than him.
