Savior

Chapter 43

-xx-

Cate rolled over and instinctively reached across the bed. Instead of her boyfriend, she felt only the mattress and comforter. She took her time opening her eyes when she realized that Derek was no longer in bed next to her.

She lay back on the mattress for a moment and listened to the commotion in the living room at the bottom of the stairs. The excitement in Derek's voice as he talked with who Cate assumed was his sister brought a smile to her face.

Her mind wandered back to the previous evening; getting to finally meet Derek's high school best friend and his wife was the perfect way to begin their weekend in his hometown. Watching the interaction between Derek and Brendan kept the two women laughing all night long. Derek hadn't been back to Chicago in over eight months, but it was like he never left when the two of them got together.

She finally convinced herself to get out of bed. After a look at her attire – a pair of too short pajama shorts and a tank top – Cate pulled an outfit from her suitcase as well as her toiletries bag.

The brunette listened closely to hear what was going on downstairs before slowly opening the door all the way and starting towards the bathroom.

"Hey sleepy head." Cate stopped in her tracks and turned around to see Derek finish his climb up the staircase. "I was just coming to see if you had gotten up yet."

She flashed him a smile. "I was just going to wash up before I came down," she said softly.

He eyed the bag in her hand. "Are you seriously putting on make up right now?"

She blushed. "I'm not meeting your sisters looking like this," she emphasized the statement by pointing to herself and her outfit.

Derek closed the gap between them and placed a hand to each of her hips. After a peck on the lips, he smiled down at her. "You are beautiful." The blush came back to her cheeks, but she did her best to not look away from him. His compliments were genuine. "You don't need pounds of make up to look good, baby. I prefer you au natural."

He kissed her forehead before dropping his hands. He headed back towards their bedroom. Derek stopped in the doorway and winked in Cate's direction as she stood in the middle of the hallway.

-xx-

Minutes later, Cate stepped down the stairs into the living room. Derek had been lounged on the oversized recliner in the corner of the living room. She instinctively pulled at the hem of her t-shirt to straighten it out as she stepped off of the last stair.

"Good morning," Fran offered from the couch.

"Morning," Cate replied.

Sarah sat next to her mother on the couch as they organized their picture display for the bridal shower. "Cate, hi," Sarah offered as she stood from the couch. She pulled the brunette into a welcoming hug. "It is so nice to finally meet you."

Cate grinned. "Likewise," she replied. Derek moved over in his seat to make room for her. He pulled her down onto the seat, mostly on to his lap, and wrapped his arm around her. Derek handed her a cup of coffee from the table next to him, and shrugged to Sarah when Cate's eyebrow rose in question. "I think I have found my new favorite Morgan child," she said with a laugh.

Derek jokingly tickled her side. "I ordered," he began, "and paid. Doesn't that count for something?"

The women in the room laughed. Cate let out a satisfied sigh as she took a sip of her coffee. "Sarah delivered," Cate retorted.

"I had to try your order," Sarah replied and lifted her own Starbucks cup. "It's delicious."

"When you become more than a regular at your local Starbucks, they give you the insider tips," Cate said with a wink. "Though, the coffee shop next to Derek's apartment building is pretty good, too."

"Our apartment building," he softly reminded her. She turned to him and smiled. "I think all of the boxes in the spare bedroom prove that."

Fran watched the three younger adults go back and forth with a smile on her face. She would admit this was the happiest she had ever seen her only son.

When he asked to bring her home for the weekend, Fran found herself in shock. She resigned herself to the fact that he was never going to settle down. Between his job and inability to open up to several people in his life, she worried he would never find someone who could deal with everything he came with.

But watching him in her living room, comfortable enough to bring a woman home to meet her, could have potentially brought her to tears. Tears of happiness; her daughters found their perfect partners, but it was time that her only boy did. She found it tough to believe that in just the past four years, all three of her children found their happiness. Sarah had gotten married almost four years before, and Desiree was set to marry Collin in just under nine weeks.

Derek caught the smile on his mother's face as a smile settled on his own. Watching his sister and mother put together last minute decorations for the shower made him laugh; Sarah loved to take charge, but there were certain things Fran was not letting her take over.

The two kept showing Derek and Cate certain photos that they were putting in the display. Derek reached out for the last family photo they took as a family of five. Cate rested her head on his shoulder as he glanced down at the photo with a smile.

"He would have loved you," he mused out loud.

She grinned and locked eyes with Fran. With tears on the brim her eyes, she smiled and nodded. "Daddy would be so proud of all of you."

The matriarch of the Morgan family brushed away any tears that fought to escape and went back to work. Sarah rubbed her mother's back for a moment before taking the photo back from Derek and placing it on the display.

"I can't wait to see you walk your sister down the aisle, Derek," Fran said with a beaming grin.

Cate turned to her boyfriend. "There was no way I was going to say 'no' to her, Ma." He winked at Cate. "Living up to my big brother duties." The brunette grinned at his admission. He had yet to tell her about it, but Cate had a feeling he would be asked. He admitted to being a pushover whenever Desi asked him for anything. It was only right he would escort her down the aisle on her big day.

The brunette took a sip of her coffee and looked around the living room. Derek was answering a text message on his phone, and Fran and Sarah were hard at work with their last minute touches. She felt like she truly fit in with the Morgan family. There was an ease about being under Fran's roof that brought a simple joy to her life.

-xx-