Not even at her dad’s ranch in California…back when she used to visit him. Sounds she never heard while tucked away in her Chicago high-rise home. That’s when she started to notice other sounds. She yelped as a flock of birds broke from behind a mossy rock and scattered into the densely humid atmosphere. Gathering her courage, she cupped both hands around her mouth. Her sense of direction sucked major ass and now daylight was beginning to fade. Morgan turned around and scanned the green, sloping trees, trying to remember which way she’d come. In her halter top and shorts, bikini top tied underneath, she couldn’t be dressed any more inappropriately to get lost in a freaking jungle. The hotel pool, leering businessmen and a virgin piña colada didn’t sound quite so bad right about now. The farther she walked, however, the more she began to suspect the sign was either ancient or the gas station had sunk right into the mud, just like her poor flip-flop. Morgan trudged forward, telling herself for the tenth time that she would run into the advertised gas station sooner or later. Unfortunately, she’d taken a wrong turn-or seven-and promptly blown the right front tire of her mother’s rental Chrysler. To take her mind off how fast her mother moved on from her father. Her intention was to hitch a ride to Miami and use her fake identification to sneak into a couple clubs. Morgan’s mother hadn’t been taking work trips.Ĭould anyone blame Morgan for bouncing? She wasn’t about to sit around the hotel watching her mother make eyes at a divorced real estate investor.

Imagine Morgan’s surprise when they’d landed in Key Largo only to be greeted by her mother’s secret boyfriend.Īll this time. Ever since the promotion, she’d been fending for herself, throwing dinners together in between homework and applying for internships. She hadn’t been torn up over the chance to have Mom all to herself for once. When her mother suggested Florida, Morgan had been on board, thrilled for a chance to work on her tan. Surrounded by swampland with no cell phone reception was not exactly the kind of post-graduation summer break she’d been hoping for. She turned in a circle as silently as possible. Usually rebelling against her mother was fun-not this time apparently. Morgan’s flip-flop sank into a sludge and she cringed, once again pulling the cell phone out of her pocket to check for reception.

Thick by Alexa Riley