Read Rise (Roam Series, Book Three) for Free Online Page A

else she wanted. She was gracious, taking only what she needed and refusing the extras that he offered, like paying off her car.
    “This is something else,” he lowered to the couch, and Morgan sat next to him, brushing her hand over Eva’s hair. “She woke up this morning with a deep scratch across her cheek. It healed by ten this morning.”
    “Immortals have the best healthcare.” She leaned back, looking down at Eva’s face. “Sound asleep. She just wanted me.”
    “You want me to lay her down?”
    “In a couple minutes. Let her get settled.”
    He stood up, stretching. Morgan looked away, uncomfortable with her betraying admiration of his incredible body. He wore jeans and a long sleeved, thermal blue shirt that matched his eyes, and his face needed shaved. “I have to get the cookies out of the oven.”
    “Okay.” She cleared her throat, leaning back against the couch.
    “Your birthday’s coming up. We can’t skip it like last year. We have to have a do-over for your twenty-first.” She heard the cookie sheets slide over the burners before he shut the oven door. “We have chocolate chip… surprise!”
    Morgan laughed- Eva’s favorites were chocolate chip, and they baked cookies at least once a week.
    “Twenty-one, twenty-two, what’s the difference.”
    He bent over her, gently gathering his sleeping daughter into his arms. “ Don’t grow up too fast,” his breath smelled like cookies, and she backed her head away, stiffening.
    She watched him carry Eva up the stairs, deciding it was time to talk to him. She and Jason had broken their engagement more than six months ago, and the countless hours she spent with West and Eva consumed her life. When she would consider a relationship with West, she would immediately think of her sister, and the impacting guilt sickened her.
    “Balloons. Guaranteed aunt maneuver, like Play Dough and silly string.” He rolled the switch on the baby monitor, turning it up to a rushing hum.
    “Don’t forget whistles,” Morgan added, waiting for him to sit back down on the couch. When he did, she took a deep breath and turned to him. “Listen, I have to talk to you. This is messy, so hold on, okay?”
    West raised his eyes, shrugging. “Shoot.”
    “I’m having feelings for you, and I hate myself for them, so I need to… stop seeing you so much. There.”
    He stared at her, unblinking. The silence was louder than any word he could have spoken at that moment. She turned and looked down at her hands.
    “…and I can tell you did not see this coming, so I am also embarrassed.”
    “Morgan,” he sat back, floored. “You can’t even know what you mean to me.” He reached for her, pulling her head to his shoulder. “Please don’t be embarrassed.”
    “The guilt is eating me up. I have to go away for a while, from you… I hate that it means leaving Eva, too.”
    “I’m used to waiting centuries for Roam. These two years have been the worst, longest two years of my life. But I can’t give up on her. I have to find a way back to her.”
    “I get that. I don’t want you to give up.”
    “I can’t imagine my life with anyone else.” The resolve in his voice was clear. “One time I could- with Laurel. But Roam is all I will ever want. ”
    “I want you to feel that way. That’s why I’m going,” she pulled away, sighing. “Jason and I finally feel… over… and I can’t move on with my life when you’re in it… the way you are in it.”
    “I’m so sorry, Morgan. I never considered your feelings- feelings that are completely natural, and you shouldn’t be embarrassed about. I’ve been too focused on Eva.”
    “West,” she tilted her head . “We’re cool. I’ll be back. Promise.”
    He looked down. “When are you leaving?”
    “Tomorrow. I can’t skip out on Shorty’s birthday.”
    He stood as the doorbell rang, brushing his hands against his jeans and looking out the window. “UPS. Did you order something?”
    “No,” she watched