Worth the Effort Ch. 02

"I think we've done all we can," said Casey. She and Astrid both looked as exhausted as Morgan felt. "It's after midnight. Let's go home and come back tomorrow and we'll deal with the rest then."

"Good idea. I'm about asleep on my feet," Morgan agreed. The other customers had left over the course of the evening. Vincent had taken Josh to an urgent care center once the police had gone.

Morgan stepped over and hugged Astrid. "Thanks so much. You were a big help."

"Of course." Astrid smiled. "It's my second home, I don't mind contributing to the upkeep."

"And thank you, too, Shane," said Casey. "We really appreciate it."

"You're welcome. I'm just sorry it happened." Shane leaned against the counter and rubbed the back of his neck. Morgan could see he was as tired as everyone else. "But I agree with going home. I'm more than ready."

"All right. Let's close the register and lock up," said Morgan.

When they were done, Shane took Morgan home.

"You can go on home," said Morgan, although she hoped he'd offer to at least walk her up to her apartment.

"Trying to get rid of me?" Shane teased as he stepped out of the car.

"No," she said. "Not at all. If you're up for it, I'd like some company for a bit longer. I know it didn't happen here, but I wasn't looking forward to being by myself." She used her card to unlock the front door. "It's really late, though. You're welcome to stay the night. My place isn't big, but the sofa isn't bad."

"Oh, um, I don't—" Shane looked uncomfortable.

"It's all right." She smiled at him as they stepped into the elevator. "I know you aren't interested, so don't worry. I won't try anything."

"Morgan, I—it's not that I don't—"

He was cute when he was flustered, Morgan thought.

"Shane, it's okay. I like you, but I know when I don't get the same feeling in return. I appreciate all your help today, and if we're just friends, that's fine." They stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hall.

Shane appeared to mull over her words, and she didn't interrupt. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything, especially as she was so tired, but she couldn't help it. There was no sense in postponing it, and it wasn't like there had to be a big discussion.

Morgan unlocked the door and stepped inside. She almost collapsed with relief now that she was in familiar surroundings. I must be more tired than I realize, she thought. Shane could strip naked and I'd just say good night and leave him on the couch.

"I know it's already tomorrow," she said, "but can I get you anything? Something to drink?"

"No, I'm good." He took off his jacket. "I know you mentioned a sofa but I think I could sleep on the floor."

Morgan chuckled. "Let me get some sheets."

"Hey, Morgan." Shane caught her hand as she took a step towards the closet where she kept extra linen. "Look, I do like you. I mean, really. You're fun to talk to and god knows you're brave. I just don't think I—feel more than that. I'd like to be friends, though."

She nodded. "Okay." His words hurt, she couldn't help it, but she couldn't fault him for his honesty. "Thanks. I'll be back in a minute."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Shane woke up the next morning. There was sunlight, and his phone said it was a little after eight a.m. He was disoriented for a few minutes until he remembered the previous night. With a yawn, he sat up and stretched a little.

"Morning."

He jumped a bit before finding Morgan sitting at a small table in the kitchen area. She wore jeans and a black t-shirt with a swirl of stars and a blue rectangle on it. He had no idea what it referenced. She looked about as tired as he felt, but gave him a smile.

"There's coffee if you want it," she said.

"Oh, god, yes," he said, and she laughed. Shane liked the sound. "Just give me a minute." He stepped into the bathroom, freshened himself up, and came back out.

Morgan had put a cup of coffee on the table, along with some milk and sugar. "Help yourself," she said. "Not sure how you like it."

"If there's no sugar, there's no point," he said, and dumped some in.

Morgan made a face. "I think there's more sugar in that cup than coffee."

Shane took a sip. "You have to get used to it."

"No, thanks." She shook her head. "So, did you sleep all right?"

"I did, thanks. I wasn't sure I'd even sleep, despite everything. You know? I was so wired, but then I was wiped out."

"I was beat when we got back last night," she said, "but I never did really fall asleep. Guess I'll be living on caffeine today."

"Did you get any sleep?"

"I got some. Three hours will have to do." She shrugged. "I'll be all right. I've done it before. I can go on short sleep for a couple of days. Luckily, we don't open until noon today, and I'm off Monday, so I just need to get through today."

"Can't call in sick when you're the boss, hmm?"

Morgan laughed. "No, I have to admit that's one of the drawbacks. But we will be busy again today. We have more of the booster draft today. Which reminds me I need to call Sharon; I told Josh to take the day off."

"Is he all right?"

"As far as I know. Vincent texted last night. Early this morning, whatever it was. I don't want to call Josh yet; I don't want to wake him if he's resting." She got some more coffee. "Casey and I could manage on our own but it would be hectic."

"Because it's the weekend?"

"Partly, but also because of the Magic event. We have multiple three-hour sessions. We had three sessions yesterday, and we'll have three more today. Sometimes we even have special midnight sessions, but we didn't do it this time."

"Wow, that's a lot to keep up with. Plus the store is open for regular business, right?"

"Yep."

"How did you do all that and write a book?" he asked.

Morgan blinked. "How did you know about my book?"

"Vincent told me last night. Congratulations. That's fantastic."

"Thanks. I'm still kind of in shock about it. Happy shock, though."

"I can imagine." He smiled. "You'll have to tell me about it sometime."

"Only if you really want to know," Morgan said. "Believe me, I know how weird it will sound if I explain it."

Shane felt a little guilty at her self-deprecation. He realized his lack of interest had been evident, despite his efforts to hide it. He decided to change the subject. "Has anything like last night happened at your place before?"

"No, although I guess it was just a matter of time." Morgan frowned at her cup. "We have social media accounts, of course, and we get all kinds of trolls. And threats. Vincent said he'd seen something last night and was concerned something would happen."

"You have some security, right?"

"Sure. Cameras in a few places, but you can only do so much. We try to work out plans, like it was Casey's job to call the cops last night, and then record things."

Shane slanted her a look. "Was it your job to go confront the assholes? Because I'm not sure that's the best plan."

Morgan reddened. "No, not really. I just couldn't help myself. It wasn't smart, you're right. I was just so angry."

"I could tell. You know, if that happens again, you should first, not do that. Second, you can give me a call."

"Thanks, Shane." She patted his hand. "That's very generous of you."

"What can I say? I'm a generous guy." He grinned. "By the way, I meant to tell you. I talked to Evan yesterday. He feels really bad about what happened with the dinner, and is going to pay us both back. If you have Venmo, he can do that. He wanted me to apologize to you."

"Okay, thanks. That's good of him."

"It is, although I wish he'd step up himself. He said he wanted to get in touch with you and apologize, I guess he just hadn't gotten there yet."

"It's fine," said Morgan. "There's no reasoning with Brianna when she gets her back up. I don't blame him for waiting."

"That's not the best way to handle it, though." Shane frowned. "Hiding things is not a good long-term strategy in a relationship."

"No, it's not. Brianna is often not the easiest person to deal with. She has her moments, like when she put together a fantastic party for our parents' thirtieth wedding anniversary. Or when Jenna had appendicitis, Brianna took her to the hospital and pretty much handled everything. But lately, she's been difficult. I hope Evan can figure out a way to address that."

"Yeah, me too." Shane finished his coffee. "Okay, I think I should be going. I appreciate the coffee, but I need to get home."

"Sure. I'm sorry I didn't have any breakfast to offer. Thanks again, really." She bit her lip. "I was pretty stressed out after everything, and it was nice to have someone here and not be alone."

Shane fought the urge to run his thumb over her lip, or maybe even kiss her. Which, he thought, he should not want to do since he didn't like in her that way.

"Happy to help." He stood and found his jacket. "Good luck with the draft."

"Thanks. Hey, hold on just a second." She went back to the bedroom and came out with a book. "Here's a copy of my book. If you'd like, you can have a sneak peek."

"Really?" He took the book and looked at the cover, which was bright and colorful and featured a spaceship. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome. You don't have to read it, but if you do, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Come on by anytime. I know it doesn't seem to be your thing, but you're welcome to drop in."

"I might just do that."