Chapter 21
Tristan hopped into the passenger seat and slammed the door. “Can Chester sit on my lap?”
“Sure. We’re not going very far or very fast.” Morgan waited for him to buckle up before backing out of her parking spot. “I’ve been meaning to ask, did you and your uncle come right here from the airport?”
“Yeah. We got an Uber. The driver was gonna drop us off at our hotel until Mrs. Easton…uh…Ainsworth, invited us to stay. I’m glad she did.”
“It was a lot more fun than staying at a hotel, huh?”
“Yep. The plane ride was cool. I’ve never been on a plane before.”
“You live in Nevada.”
“Near Las Vegas, but we don’t go into town much. My mom worked there until she died.”
“I’m so sorry about her death,” Morgan said.
“Uncle Jeff tries to take care of me, but he’s gone a lot. His neighbor has been watching me, but not for much longer.”
“Because you’re old enough to stay by yourself?”
“Not at night. It’s just me and my uncle. My grandparents are gone. I feel bad because Uncle Jeff is stuck with me.”
Morgan’s heart pinched. “I’m sure he doesn’t feel like he’s stuck with you.”
“He doesn’t have time to take care of a kid. My mom’s boyfriend let me call him Dad. He was okay, but now that she’s gone, he doesn’t come around.”
“Did you do stuff, you know, like go hiking or camping, or other family activities?” Morgan asked.
“Mom worked a lot. We would go shopping, and sometimes she took me to the arcade. I’m pretty good at taking care of myself. It’s only at night that I can’t be alone.”
“When…is your uncle going back to work?”
“In a couple of days. He’s traveling to Japan.”
“It sounds exciting.”
“He’s a consultant, whatever that means.”
They reached Looking Glass Cottage, and Morgan pulled in the driveway, relieved to discover Naomi’s car was long gone. “We’re going to check on my house for a minute.”
“This is a nice place.” Tristan unbuckled and looked over his shoulder. “You can see the lake.”
“And I have my own beach. Chester and I like to take walks when the weather is nice.” Morgan slid out of the driver’s seat and waited for Tristan, who was carrying Chester, to catch up. They waded through the deep snow, trekking to the front steps where she unlocked the door.
The power was back on, and the cozy cottage was once again nice and toasty. “My house weathered the storm.” Morgan jangled her keys. “We’ll head over to Locke Pointe now.”
“Is Chester coming with us?”
“Nah. He can hang out at home.” Morgan watched as the pup trotted over to his doggie bed and climbed in. “He’s all tuckered out from the holiday festivities.”
“I wish I had a dog.”
“Maybe one day you will.” Morgan waited for him to squeeze past her before locking the door behind them. “What kind of dog would you like?”
“A beagle. They kind of look like Chester.”
“You’re right. They do.” Back inside the SUV, Morgan pulled onto the road.
“Where are we going now?”
“To my bed-and-breakfast to check on it.”
During the ride, Tristan rattled off a list of things he wanted to do. He loved the snow and couldn’t wait to go snowmobiling. “Uncle Jeff and I got to try out my drone. It even has a camera so I can take pictures.”
“It sounds neat. I’ve never flown a drone before.”
“Me neither. You can borrow mine,” he generously offered.
“Thank you, Tristan. Maybe I’ll give it a go.”
They arrived at Locke Pointe and found the driveway plus the parking lot already plowed, thanks to Greg. She pulled in close to the snowbank and shifted into park.
Halfway to the door, Morgan spotted her handyman clearing a path from his carriage house apartment to Locke Pointe’s back door. Changing directions, she and Tristan caught up with him.
“Hey, Morgan. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Greg. Thank you for plowing and shoveling.”
“No problem. I figured you would be by soon to check on the place.” He shot the boy a questioning glance.
“This is Tristan Blakely. He and his uncle are staying at Easton Estate for a few days.”
“Hello, Tristan.” Greg held out his hand, and they shook.
“Hello, Mr. Greg,” he politely replied.
Greg grinned. “You can skip the mister part and just call me Greg. Are you on Christmas break?”
“Yeah. My uncle and I flew here a couple of days ago. I’ve never seen snow before.”
“No?”
“It was my first time flying. Mrs. Ainsworth bought me a drone for Christmas. When I get back to her house, I’m going to fly it.”
“Have fun.”
Morgan shoved her hands in her pockets. “We’re going to run inside and check on things.”
“I beat you to it. The place is safe and sound, no sagging roof or frozen pipes.”
“I should’ve known you would. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Is your Mom back home now?”
“Yeah. There were tons of people camping out at the airport.”
“You could’ve come to Easton Estate to stay.”
“I would have except for Mom wanting to be with her friends. I figured I had better stick with her to make sure she was okay.”
They made small talk until Greg left to finish shoveling out his walkway.
Morgan and Tristan stayed on the cleared path all the way to the front steps. Using her key, she unlocked the door and stepped inside.
A whoosh of warm air greeted them, along with the fresh scent of pine and a lingering aroma of cinnamon.
Tristan sniffed the air. “It smells good in here.”
“Like Christmas.”
“Uh-huh.” He slipped past her and walked to the living room entrance. “You have a cool tree like the ones at Easton Estate.”
Morgan stepped in next to him. “Similar for sure, but maybe a little smaller. Grandmother does everything on a much grander scale.”
“Do you own this house too?”
“I do. I inherited this, plus the cottage, from my mom when she died.” She trailed behind Tristan, following him to the fireplace. Lining the mantle were family photos—Morgan and her mother, a photo of her grandparents along with a photo of Laura when she was younger.
She’d even framed the picture of her and her brother Rhett when they were babies. Proud Mama Laura stood behind them, protective hands resting on the matching baby bouncers.
“Is that you?” he asked, pointing to the photo.
“I’m on the left. The baby on the right is my brother Rhett. He died when we were young.”
“What about your mom? You said she was dead.”
“She died almost two years ago.”
“I bet you were sad.”
“Very sad. Sometimes I still am.”
Tristan turned, a puzzled look on his face. “Did you have to move after she died?”
“I didn’t have to, but when I came to Easton Island and found my grandmother and brother, I wanted to be close to my family.”
He nodded his head, listening carefully to what she said.
“It was hard losing my mom and feeling all alone, kind of like you except you have your uncle.”
“Uncle Jeff says maybe if we find out Brett is my dad I should think about moving here.”
Morgan carefully chose her next words. “Would you consider it?”
“Living here?”
She nodded.
“Maybe.” Tristan lowered his head. “I mean, what if Brett doesn’t want me?”
Morgan clenched her jaw, feeling every emotion she’d gone through over the past couple of years…grief, denial, anger, confusion, and here this poor kid was dealing with an equally heavy load but at a young age.
“What if he does want you? What if he wished he’d known you all along?” Morgan fought the urge to break down in front of him. This…this conversation was important and could easily be a deciding factor about the direction Tristan’s life might take. “You know what else?”
“What?”
“If Brett is your father, it means I’m Aunt Morgan.”
He stared at her. “Aunt Morgan. Can I call you Aunt Morgan, I mean as soon as we find out if we’re related?”
She grasped his hand. “You can call me Aunt Morgan now, if you want.”
“Aunt Morgan.” A slow smile spread across Tristan’s face. “I’m going to draw you a picture with my new art kit when we get back. That way, you won’t forget me.”
Morgan’s lower lip trembled. “I won’t forget you, Tristan. Trust me, I won’t.”