Page 32 of The Reluctant Roommate

If only her mom knew. Morgan forced a smile. “I do, yes. I had breakfast with some new friends this morning.” Even if it was stretching the truth to call Heidi and Lula friends. “And I might go for a hike in the foothills later. RedRocks.”

“I loved the hike you took us on there,” her dad said. “Have a beer for me at the bar.”

“I will.” She wouldn’t. “And Mom, Dad, I meant it about funding Aunt Linda’s surgery, if she changes her mind. As a gift, not a loan.”

“We’ll tell her. We can contribute too. Maybe, when she tells Nathan and Ellie, she’ll change her mind.”

Morgan nodded, her chest too full of worry to speak. She pressed a kiss to her fingers and then to the screen. “I’ll talk to you next week, right?”

“Of course,” her dad said.

“I love you. And please pass on my love to Aunt Linda, if you talk to her.”

Her mom’s smile slipped sideways. “We will. Love you too.”

The call ended.

Morgan threw the cell phone down on the quilt. Stubborn and pigheaded ran in their family—as did secret keeping. She acknowledged that in herself. But in Linda’s case…well, she would do anything to try to persuade Linda to change her mind.

Anything.

A burst of laughter came from downstairs, followed by a crash, more laughter, and then loud voices.

What the hell were they doing down there? She flung herself toward the door, then stopped. She didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with a rowdy roommate and an even louder visitor right now. Not now, probably not today.

She wished she could go down and make a coffee, have a few squares of dark chocolate, something comforting to soothe her mind. But going downstairs meant dealing with Heidi and Lula, and she just couldn’t.

No, she’d drink water and search the job sites, work on her LinkedIn profile, get her name out there. Maybe it was time to broaden her search beyond positions in finance. If she was to fund Linda’s treatment, she’d need a job sooner than anticipated.

And then there was Heidi. Her trial period was up soon, and they hadn’t discussed it. Had Heidi forgotten, or was she assuming all was okay and was staying on?

Morgan closed her eyes. What had seemed so good at first was showing the cracks. Heidi was a nice person, a good person, yes. She wasn’t a weirdo and was mainly considerate. She was good company. She was queer. And despite her earlier conversations, she didn’t seem to hook up, and the only friend who’d come around was Lula, who was still talking way too loudly downstairs. But now that Heidi wasn’t tiptoeing around Morgan so much, she was messy. Untidy. Clothes abandoned in the living area. The TV remote stashed in random places so Morgan had to hunt for it. And the kitchen now wasn’t the spotless, hygienically clean space Morgan was used to.

But if she was to give money to Aunt Linda, then Heidi’s rent was necessary. If she was to keep her house, give money to Linda, and eat, all in the same week, Heidi’s rent wasessential. Compared to the previous applicants, Heidi was still the best.Morgan snorted. Would she rather live alone? Hell, yeah. Right now, could she afford to live alone?

Hell, no.

Like it or not, she needed Heidi to stay.

Chapter 17

Adulting

Heidi sat cross-legged on the couch, her laptop in front of her, and the University of Denver information on the screen. Her application essay—done. Proof of education—done. The website talked about the beautiful campus and the Friday tour with the free lunch. Oh yeah, that was totally done, and she liked what she’d seen.

She took a deep breath and hitSend.

College application—done.

Shit. What have I done?This screamed commitment—not just to an undergraduate degree, but to a city, a state—hell, even a different country. And the financial commitment was a whole 'nother ballgame.

“Did you send it? Did you press the button?” Fiona’s voice came over the speaker. “Or are you still sitting there wibbling?”

“It’s gone. But I’m in meltdown over the whole thing. Currently, the cost and commitment.”

“You don’t have to do anything more if you don’t want to. You can ghost them when they offer you a place. Not turn up. Transfer out to another college. Come back to Australia and save yourself a heap of money.”

“No. I’m going to do it here. Denver’s my place—I feel it. I’m making money, I have a great place to live. I’m going to look at cars soon and explore those mountains.”