Chapter 17
“You finally made it.” Mrs. Arnsby hustled across the kitchen, stopping in her tracks when she noticed Naomi traipsing in behind her. “Oh.”
“Mrs. Arnsby, I’m sure you know Naomi Renaud.”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Naomi’s power went out. She wasn’t able to find an open shelter and stopped by my place to see if she could get a room at my bed-and-breakfast.”
“And you don’t have power there.”
“At Locke Pointe or Looking Glass Cottage.”
“I told Morgan I would ride it out in my car or try to get back home. She called Elizabeth, who invited me to stay here.” Naomi motioned toward the lights. “You have power.”
“We’re running on generators, which is why the lights are dim. Heat first, lights second.” Mrs. Arnsby held out her hand. “Let me take your coat. We have a boot bin over by the door.”
“Yes. Of course.” Naomi wiggled her boots off and set them in the plastic bin while Morgan followed suit. They hung their jackets, hats and gloves on the hooks before padding across the kitchen in their stocking feet.
“Where is Grandmother?”
“In the library.”
“And our…other guests?”
“Are upstairs settling into their rooms. Dinner is at seven o’clock sharp in the dining room. I’ll be serving our traditional Christmas Eve meal.”
“Along with your delicious Christmas pudding.”
“Christmas pudding?” Naomi’s eyes lit. “I love Christmas pudding.”
“Mrs. Arnsby’s is the best.”
The cook waved dismissively. “You’re too kind.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit. It’s delicious,” Morgan insisted.
“Mrs. Arnsby’s cooking skills are well known here on Easton Island,” Naomi said.
“Stop. You’re going to make my head swell.” Despite her protests, Morgan could tell the cook was flattered by the compliments.
“I have no doubt we’re in for a special Christmas Eve meal.”
“We are.” Morgan motioned toward the door. “Let’s track down Grandmother to let her know we made it safely.”
Mrs. Arnsby patted Chester’s head. “Chester can hang out with me in the kitchen. Go on now, take your spot.”
The pup promptly leapt onto his favorite chair, giving him a bird’s-eye view of the kitchen activities.
Morgan scratched his ears, reminding him to behave himself. “Thanks for keeping an eye on him.”
“He’s no problem at all.”
Cutting through the kitchen, Morgan and Naomi walked along the long hall, past the office, and the parlor to the cozy library.
As they drew closer, Morgan wasn’t surprised to find a roaring fire in the fireplace.
Beneath the twinkling Christmas tree lights were piles of presents, each wrapped in holiday paper—Santa Claus wearing his traditional red suit, maneuvering his sleigh, laden with presents along the snowy hills, Frosty the Snowman leading a parade down the main street, mischievous elves, candy canes and snowy scenes.
Atop the tree was a stained-glass star, a family heirloom Elizabeth had inherited from her parents. Each of the tree’s decorations had been lovingly placed by Morgan and her grandmother.
As they crossed the threshold, Morgan noticed Elizabeth and Gerard sitting in front of the fire, talking in low voices.
Morgan cleared her throat to announce their arrival.
The conversation ended, and Elizabeth abruptly stood. “Finally. I was getting ready to send Jax out on the snowmobile to find you. Did you get my text?”
“Text?” Morgan tugged her phone from her sweater pocket. “I’m sorry. I must’ve missed it.”
“It was a white-knuckle drive over,” Naomi said. “Thank goodness Morgan was able to use her SUV’s four-wheel drive to get us here, although I must admit barreling up Dead Man’s Drop was a nail-biter.”
“I’m sure. I’m glad you made it.” Elizabeth hugged Morgan before turning to face her adversary, a woman who, for years, had bashed and trashed the Eastons.
Naomi, who had once been engaged to Garrett Easton, Morgan’s grandfather, held nothing but animosity and contempt for the entire family, Elizabeth in particular, claiming she’d stolen Garrett from her. Which couldn’t have been further from the truth.
According to Elizabeth, Naomi cheated on him. After they broke up, Garrett and Morgan’s grandmother started dating, and the rest was history—a rich history which included the couple building the Easton family dynasty.
“Hello, Naomi.”
“Hello, Elizabeth.” She forced a small smile. “Thank you for inviting me to stay here. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.”
“Morgan mentioned the roads to the airport have already drifted shut.”
“They have. My power went out. I was an idiot and waited too long before deciding to leave. When I saw Morgan’s vehicle at Looking Glass Cottage I stopped, hoping she had an extra room at Locke Pointe.”
“From what I’ve been told, a good deal of the island is without power.”
“I was going to ride it out in my car or try to get back home, but Morgan convinced me it wasn’t a good idea,” Naomi said.
“You could have run out of gas, gotten carbon monoxide poisoning,” Elizabeth said. “I asked Jane to have one of the estate’s staff members prepare an extra bedroom. It should be ready by now.”
Naomi hung her head. “I don’t deserve your generosity, but thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Elizabeth extended her hand. “It’s Christmas Eve. I suggest you and I bury the hatchet, at least until you’re able to return home.”
“A ceasefire.” Naomi grasped her hand.
Morgan held her breath, watching as the two longtime adversaries agreed to a temporary truce. Naomi Renaud and Elizabeth Easton standing in the same room, not only standing in the same room, but standing in Easton Estate’s library, shaking hands. It was a Christmas miracle of epic proportions.
“Dinner will be served at seven on the dot.” Elizabeth began making her way toward the door. “Priscilla is upstairs resting. I haven’t told her you were coming. I’ve placed you in the guest room next to her.”
Jax appeared in the doorway, his arms filled with boxes and bags. “I have the special-order items, gifts I picked up at Captain Davey’s last night, the ones that came over on the ferry.”
“Thank you, Jax. Please put them upstairs in my apartment. I’ll deal with them later.”
His eyes flickered with surprise when he noticed Naomi standing there. He quickly recovered. “I’ll set them inside the door.”
“You have your hands full, Grandmother. Let me show Naomi to her room. After I’m done, I’ll wrap the presents.”
“Thank you, Morgan. Wrapping the gifts would help me out immensely.” Elizabeth pulled her granddaughter aside, filling her in on what she’d purchased. “Quinn is upstairs with Brett. Perhaps you can enlist her help.”
“I will. I’m sure she won’t mind. Does she…has she talked to Brett?” Morgan asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure when he planned to address the issue at hand.”
“No worries.” Morgan held a finger to her lips. “Mum’s the word.”
“I figured as much. You’re an Easton through and through,” Elizabeth said proudly. “I believe this may go down in the books as one of the most interesting Christmases we’ve had in decades.”
“You could be right.” Morgan pivoted, noticing Naomi was quietly listening to their conversation.
With any luck, the Eastons could keep Jeff’s and Tristan’s identities on the down low until Brett confirmed exactly who Tristan Blakely was.
As far as Quinn was concerned, Morgan was certain her friend would be equally shocked.
“Shall we?” Morgan made small talk, leading Naomi up the center staircase to the guest room adjacent to the one Prissy occupied. She eased the door open, checking to make sure it was empty. “It looks like the room is ready.”
Naomi followed her inside. “It’s beautiful.”
“Grandmother recently remodeled the guest rooms. I think she did a great job.”
Naomi stepped over to the bed and lightly pressed down. “It’s not even hard as a rock.”
Morgan laughed out loud. “Do you think Grandmother would give you a room with a hard bed? Don’t answer that.”
“I mean…” The woman wrinkled her nose. “I probably deserve a hard bed, and I certainly don’t deserve Elizabeth’s kindness.”
“No, you don’t. Grandmother can be tough as nails, but she has a generous heart. There’s no way she would let you or anyone else freeze to death. In fact, had you gotten stranded in a snowbank, she probably would have sent Jax out to rescue you.”
“Prissy told me about how you helped her when she sprained her ankle,” Naomi confided. “It left an impression on her. As you know, she wasn’t a fan of the Eastons either.”
“No, she wasn’t.”
Fast steps caught Morgan’s ear. Priscilla peeked around the corner. “I thought I heard your voice. What are you doing here?”
“I wasn’t able to make it to the airport. I saw Morgan’s SUV at Looking Glass Cottage and stopped to ask if she had an extra room at Locke Pointe.”
“I don’t have power either. Naomi had nowhere to go, so I called Grandmother to ask her if she had an extra room.”
Her jaw dropped. “Elizabeth knows you’re here?”
“She does. I chatted with her downstairs. She put me in this room to be next to you.”
Prissy plopped down on the edge of the bed. “You had better not start causing trouble. You’ll get both of us kicked out.”
Morgan turned away, covering her mouth to hide her smile. The irony…had someone told her six months ago Priscilla Finkpin and Naomi Renaud would be sitting on the bed in one of Easton Estate’s guest rooms, she would have laughed in their faces.
Yet fate had once again stepped in and intervened in a most unusual way.
“Dinner is at seven on the dot. Mrs. Arnsby is whipping up a Christmas Eve feast, so don’t be late. Easton Estate has a dress code. No jeans, T-shirts, hats or casual wear are allowed at the dinner table.”
“Got it.” Prissy gave her a thumbs up. “I brought a dressy dress. This might be the only time I’m ever invited for dinner, so I’ll be minding my p’s and q’s.”
“Unfortunately, I didn’t plan on a formal dinner,” Naomi said. “I might have to eat in the kitchen.”
Prissy’s eyes flitted from Naomi’s head to her toes. “I brought a couple of extra dresses. You’re thinner than I am, but I think one will do in a pinch.”
“I’ll let you settle in. Remember…seven sharp.” Morgan slipped out of the room and headed down the hall toward her grandmother’s apartment.
Elizabeth had hit the nail on the head. Christmas Eve at Easton Estate was shaping up to be one of the most interesting holiday gatherings Morgan could ever remember.