Free The Right Thing by Donna McDonald Page A

see for himself what kind of man the woman liked other than Angus Carmichael. It shouldn’t take much investigation to check out Gerald’s son and make sure he was decent.
    *** *** ***
     
    Morgan laid the two button-up shirts he’d bought on the bed, trying to decide which one to wear tonight. He was going to dinner at the restaurant, and if he got lucky, he was going home with Thea.
    “Go with the blue stripe,” Gerald said from the door. “Sorry. It was open. I figured it was okay to stop in and say hi.”
    “It’s fine Dad. You think Thea will like the blue stripe?” Morgan asked.
    Gerald shrugged.
    “Don’t know, but blue is supposed to be calming. It might help you at least,” he said, laughing when his son didn’t correct him or say anything snippy back.
    Morgan picked up the blue striped shirt and slipped it on.
    “Thea doesn’t need to be alone tonight. She got some bad news about a family member today,” he said softly.
    “Yes. I know. It’s her mother-in-law,” Gerald said, his own tone sober. Looking at Morgan’s face, he could tell his son was concerned about Thea’s frame of mind about it.
    It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Morgan about his own relationship to Delilah, but Gerald still wasn’t sure his son could accept his being committed to a dying woman while he was sleeping with another one. Nor did Gerald think Morgan would believe him if he said he loved them both.
    He certainly didn’t need anyone’s judgment weighing him down on top of the grief.
    “You know the person who’s dying?” Morgan asked, noticing for the first time how tired his father looked.
    “Yes. I know her very well,” Gerald said carefully. “I’m going to miss her terribly when she’s gone. Delilah Carmichael is a special woman, probably the sweetest one I ever met next to your mother.”
    Morgan stopped buttoning his shirt and turned. “I’m sorry, Dad. You sound as down about it as Thea. You need me to stay home with you tonight? I’m sure Thea will be okay.”
    Gerald took a moment answering to make sure he wouldn’t get too mushy on Morgan and scare him, but it was damn hard to keep it all inside when his son was offering support.
    “No. I’m going to a friend’s,” Gerald said shortly. “That’s what I came to tell you. I didn’t want you to worry that I’m not at home. You head on back to the restaurant.”
    “Let me give you a lift to your friend’s house. I’ll even pick you up tomorrow if you want,” Morgan offered.
    Gerald shook his head. “I’m going to drive the Honda.”
    Morgan nodded and then looked at the floor as he spoke.
    “Thea kissed me today. If things work out the way I hope, I may not be home tonight either.”
    He made himself lift his gaze to his father’s face then, even though he feared what he would find there. Surprisingly, he watched his father smile and nod as if it were inevitable. Since being with her was all he could think about—in a way, Morgan guessed, it was.
    “Well, good luck with that,” Gerald said. “Be good to Thea, son.”
    “Thanks, and I will,” Morgan said, watching his father walk away, his step slower and more sluggish than he’d seen it be since he had come to Sedona.
    *** *** ***
     
    “It’s Friday night. Everyone eats out on Friday nights. You should be crowded,” Morgan said, looking at the nearly empty restaurant. “Where is everyone?”
    Thea sighed and looked around her. Here was hard evidence that Tom was right in his projections. She wasn’t going to last much longer if something didn’t change soon.
    “Times are tough. People stay home. If they do go out, it has to be the best expenditure of the week for them to justify spending the money,” Thea said with a resigned shrug.
    “You need to offer a special for dinner. Do a different one every day. Pasta, salad, and a drink for one price,” Morgan told her, not really considering the fact that he was in short telling Thea how to run her business. It just