Page 30 of The Awakening (The Morton Family Saga #3)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Gavin

T he hours ticked by. There was no sign of Ellie anywhere.

Night had fallen hours before, but I couldn’t rest. Couldn’t turn off the worry and the regret.

I wandered to the barnyard and looked up at the sky.

I argued with the man upstairs, pleaded with Him, made deals hoping it would be enough for her to call me.

I promised to be the best father in the world, to love Ellie until my last breath and beyond. We would go to church every Sunday. But the phone never rang.

I watched the sun peek over the horizon from the porch steps.

My father came walking out of the house. “Have you slept?” He asked.

I shook my head and stood.

“Son, you need to rest.”

“I can’t. She’s my life, Dad.” My voice cracked. “This isn’t a life without her and our baby. It’s my fault she left in the first place.”

My legs no longer capable of sustaining my weight, I fell to my knees.

I ran my hand over my face, wiping away stray tears I hadn’t realized were rolling down my face.

“I had coffee with Naomi, and she filled my head with all the doubts I had about our former relationship. So I came home and started questioning Ellie about why she was here and why she was with me. She doesn’t know how much I love her, and she doesn’t have any idea how much I need her,” I yelled as my father knelt down and pulled me to him, letting me cry into his shoulder.

My family gathered around me, and Tyler and Rob helped me to my feet. Mom rushed ahead of us when they dragged me through the front door and poured me a cup of coffee.

“Drink this, my baby. You’re going to need it.” Her voice was calm and soothing, like it had been when I was a child.

The warm liquid was a bitter reminder of the day before and the reason I’d treated Ellie badly. I was about to confess to everyone what happened when my phone rang. Picking it up, I hit the green answer button.

“Ellie?” I frantically asked.

“Is this Gavin Morton?” the voice on the other end asked flatly.

“Who’s asking?” I barked.

“Hank Bowers, Elyse is here in Montana.”

“She’s what?” I yelled into the phone.

“Ray found her in Texas and brought her home. Quite frankly Morton, she ain’t our problem anymore. She’s your wife, so you need to come get her before anything happens.” His voice was emotionless, like he was talking about dirt instead of his daughter.

“There better not be one hair out of place when I see her, or I will personally see to it that anyone involved in her abduction is dealt with. That includes you, Bowers.” I was seething, my words spoken through gritted teeth. These last twenty-four hours had been torture.

“Gavin, everything ok?” Rob called from the other room.

I shook my head and looked at my family. “Ellie’s in Montana.”

I didn’t need to say more. My brothers were hot on my heels.

Over the years, we’d had our ups and downs. But when push came to shove, they were the only men I needed standing behind me.

They were both on their phones, looking for information on the way to the truck.

“We have Tony on the way, and Tyler filed a flight plan. By the time we get to the hangar, it will be ready. The three of us will go with you. Mom and Kate can keep the ranch running, and Jessica will make sure the kids are occupied.” Rob was beside me, matching my steps.

“I can’t lose her or the baby.”

“Gavin, we’ll get her back, and the baby will be fine.”

“I want the chance to truly make her my wife, I want to be a daddy to that baby.” Words I hadn’t spoken aloud for anyone else fell from my lips.

“What are you talking about? She’s your wife, and that baby is yours.” Dad looked over his shoulder at me and then to Tyler.

Tyler shook his head. “You better fill him in while we drive, Gavin.”

Hopping into the truck, I knew it was time to come clean. So I told my dad about the night I found Ellie standing at the stove in my cabin. About her father and Ray and how we’d lied about being married.

“What was the endgame? What about when she was ready to move on and have a real life? Her taking off would have killed us all. You really don’t think, do you? And all this is a result of a story you concocted?”

I nodded, feeling like I was three years old, being scolded.

“You know, Dad, I never wanted to be a father because I didn’t want to turn out like you.

So you can be mad all you want. But over the last six months, I have realized that no matter what, I will never be like you.

” This was not the time to make grand statements or have this conversation, but my mouth was moving, and I couldn’t stop it.

“I know I’ll never live up to Tyler or Rob in your eyes, but I carved out a life for myself with little help from you.

I’ve made mistakes, but Ellie is all the good that has come out of it.

I will raise that baby as a Morton, whether you choose to be a part of our lives or not.

This is my family we are talking about, and I need to bring them home. ”

“Well, let’s go get our family, then.” He turned off the ranch road and sped down the highway.

Flying over Texas as the sun set was usually one of the things I loved most, but I couldn’t enjoy it tonight because people I loved were in danger.

My phone rang, and I answered it through my headset.

“Hello?”

“Gavin Morton?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I’m Lieutenant Sampson. I’m calling about Elyse Morton. Are you her husband?”

“Yes, sir,” I said, my chest constricting at the seriousness of the officer’s voice.

“She’s been in a car accident. She is being life flighted to Billings.”

“How is she?”

“I’m sorry, sir. That’s all I know. If you have more questions, I can give you a number to call.”

“Yes, that would be great.” I grabbed a pen and wrote the number on the back of my hand. I ended the call and tapped the button for the flight attendant.

“Divert to Billings. Ellie is being taken to the hospital there. She was in an accident.” I turned to look out the window to hide the flow of tears running down my cheeks. I had caused all of this by questioning her motives.

Waiting was the worst part. We were only an hour into our fight. Two more hours would feel like days.

The hospital staff was less than helpful. They kept telling me they couldn’t give me more information until the test results were back. Even my questions about the baby went unanswered.

“Gavin, what’s going on?” My father walked into the waiting room.

“They still won’t tell me anything.”

“You know, there was something funny about you and Ellie right from the start. Your mother felt like we were watching a relationship grow, not one that had been going on for months. I told her she was imagining things. That it was because you’d been gone so long.

Man, I hate having to tell her she was right.

I never hear the end of it. She’s going to be okay,” he said, sitting beside me and patting my knee.

“What are you going to do next? She’s going to recover, and you’re going to have to make a decision about where to go from here. ”

“I’m going to marry her again. We’ll have a big wedding and raise that baby as ours. Dad, I love her more than my own life.” I rested my head in my hands and let the tears flow again.

My father moved his hand to my back and soothed me like he had when I was a little boy. Back when life was easy.

“I see the way you look at her and I am pretty sure she feels the same, so if this is what you want, we’ll make it happen.

” He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“So when she pulls through this, and she is back on her feet, it looks like we’ll be hosting another wedding.

Your mother will be happy. She was a little upset you eloped. ”

“What if she’s not all right?” I looked up at him, no longer hiding my tears. Fear was creeping in, and every terrible scenario filled my head.

“She’s going to be fine. I know it. The women my sons have chosen to spend their lives with are strong and resilient. The future of our family is in good hands with them.” He looked from me to Tyler and Rob. “You boys have made me and your mother incredibly proud.”

My brothers looked at each other and then looked at me.

I sat up straighter and looked at our father. “You hit your head or something, Dad?”

My brothers tried to hold back their laughter, and I couldn’t help the grin that formed across my face.

He just shook his head and swatted my leg, and the three of us burst into laughter.

The waiting room door swung open, and a police officer walked through them.

“Mr. Morton?” he asked.

I stood, and then my father and brothers did as well. They formed ranks around me, and we waited for whatever he was going to say.

He held out his hand, and I shook it. “Mr. Morton, I am Sergeant Tillerson. Your wife was involved in a traffic accident. Would you mind if we had a seat?”

Once we were all seated, the officer took a deep breath. “She was being chased by a man named Ray Watson.”

“Her ex-fiancé.”

The officer nodded. “Yes. She was able to tell us the story while we were waiting for the paramedics to stabilize her and he baby. Mr. Morton, Ray’s dead.”