Page 45 of Easton Island: Old-Fashioned Christmas
Quinn chuckled. “You make it sound like a war documentary.”
“Which is basically what it’s been, for decades now.” Morgan picked at a piece of lint on her slacks. “Have you called your parents yet?”
“Yep. As soon as I got up, and wished them a Merry Christmas.” Quinn tucked her legs beneath her. “I’m thinking about taking a quick break and heading back down there with them after their visit ends. The gallery is closed until after the New Year, so I have plenty of time to sneak away.”
“What about your plans for you and Brett to spend time together?”
Quinn cradled her coffee cup. “Everything is up in the air right now. He wants to see what happens with Tristan.”
Morgan hesitated, carefully choosing her words. “I’ll admit I was shocked.”
“I was too, although I knew something was up the minute I met Jeff and Tristan. I knew about Brett’s marriage to Addison, how Rhett was furious, accusing her of being a gold digger and him basically throwing her out.”
“And paying her off. I’m not sure if Brett told you this part, but Addison was afraid that if the family found out about Tristan, they would try to take him from her.”
Quinn wrinkled her nose. “Do you think they would have?”
Morgan pondered the question. It was possible. Anything was possible. She had no idea how her father would have reacted. Maybe he would have tried getting custody, deeming Addison an unfit mother because of her “line of work.” “I honestly don’t know.”
“I wonder what Elizabeth thinks.”
“She’s one hundred percent certain Tristan is Brett’s son. She dug out some old photos of when he was around the same age. Tristan is the spitting image of Brett.”
“I’m wondering if, after confirming he’s Brett's son, she’ll invite him to move to Easton Island and live here,” Quinn said.
“It will be up to Brett to decide. Tristan is in a tricky spot. His mother is gone. His uncle travels a lot,” Morgan said. “I think I heard someone mention that the only family Tristan has is his uncle.”
“Brett planned to talk to him last night. I wonder how it went.”
Elizabeth appeared. “I thought I heard voices. Do you mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.” Morgan sprang to her feet and hurried across the room. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas to you. It’s been a rollercoaster these past couple of days.”
“Quinn and I were talking about Tristan and what will happen if we find out he’s Brett’s son.”
“When,”Elizabeth corrected. “I’m certain he is.”
“Would you invite him to move here to Easton Estate?” Quinn asked.
“Of course, as my great-grandson, we would welcome him into our family. Reading between the lines, it appears his uncle is the only person in his life.”
“Meaning no other close family like aunts, uncles or grandparents,” Morgan said.
“Correct.” Elizabeth mentioned Brett had chatted with Tristan the previous night.
“How did it go?”
She tipped her hand back and forth. “It was a guarded conversation, basically small talk about Tristan’s interests. As Brett mentioned before, he’s hesitant to delve too deeply. Jeff seems open to the possibility of Tristan moving here but with a caveat: he’s able to visit the boy whenever he wants.”
“If I were in his shoes, I would want the same. I’m sure Mr. Blakely has done his research and knows a little bit about our family,” Morgan said.
“Without a doubt. Tristan’s welfare is of great importance to him, as it should be,” Elizabeth said. “Addison died almost a month ago. Jeff and Tristan found out about Brett right after her death.”
“So they’ve had time to absorb the news,” Quinn said.
“Correct.” Elizabeth eased into a chair across from Morgan. “Tristan seems to have taken to you.”
