Page 49 of Easton Island: Old-Fashioned Christmas
“Prissy, on the other hand, has done a complete about-face. She’s actually pleasant to be around.” Morgan tapped the top of her watch. “If you don’t need me, I’m going to head out right after I track down Jeff and Tristan.”
“Good luck. I’ll be curious to find out what the boy is thinking. I know Brett is as well.”
Morgan ran to her room and grabbed her bags. It took a couple of trips to her vehicle to load up her gifts and clothes. After finishing, she tracked down her pup and found him exactly where she thought she would—in the kitchen and on his favorite chair, monitoring the activities.
“Thank you for a delicious dinner and awesome breakfast.” Morgan wrapped her arms around the cook, giving her a big hug. “You’re the best.”
“And thank you for the thoughtful gift. I can’t wait to dig through all the fabrics, beads, bobbles and threads you gave me. The goodies will last for a long time.”
“I’m glad you like them. I knew I couldn’t go wrong with a six hundred and ninety-nine piece craft kit,” Morgan joked. “You could open your own Etsy store.”
“I do it because I love it, but good point. Maybe others would be interested in my crafty creations.”
“I know they would.”
Mrs. Arnsby trailed behind Morgan, following her to the door. “Are you leaving?”
“I want to check on the cottage and Locke Pointe. I thought I would track down Tristan to see if he wants to tag along.”
“He should be upstairs. He and Jeff were outdoors trying out the drone and then came in when Jeff said he needed to make a couple of phone calls.”
“Thanks. I’ll go find them.” Morgan, with Chester by her side, took the back stairs leading to the wing of the house reserved for guests, separate from where Brett, Morgan, Quinn and her grandmother’s apartment were located.
She found Jeff’s door ajar and gave it a light rap. Hearing a muffled reply, she gently eased it open and found him standing by the window, cell phone in hand.
“Hello, Morgan.”
“Hello, Mr. Blakely.”
“Jeff.”
“Jeff,” she repeated. “I’m heading out to check on my properties. If it’s okay with you, I thought I would invite Tristan to ride along. You can come with us,” she added.
“Where are they?”
“My cottage is only a short drive from here. Locke Pointe is a little farther away and off the main road, so there’s no worries about us getting stuck in a snowdrift. We’ll be gone for maybe an hour or so.”
“It’s up to Tristan. He’s in his room. If you don’t mind, I have a phone call or two to make and will hang out here. Your brother also wanted to chat with me. Can I get your cell phone number?”
“Of course.” Morgan rattled it off, waiting while he entered it into his phone. “Like I said, we’ll only be gone for an hour or so.”
“When I found out about the Easton family, I did some internet research,” he said. “You and your family have an interesting history.”
“We do.”
“I heard you tell Tristan you didn’t know about Easton Island until after your mother died.”
“I was shocked. I mean, I knew I had family, but I thought they were all gone.”
“At the risk of sounding nosy, why did she move away and not tell you about Easton Island?”
“It was a difficult situation.” Morgan hesitated. On the one hand, she wasn’t keen on airing her dirty laundry. On the other hand, it was no secret about what had happened. Most islanders knew what Rhett Easton had done. “Brett and I are close in age. We have the same father but different mothers.”
“You were illegitimate?”
“Actually, Brett was born while my parents were still married.”
“I see. It’s only the two of you? There are no other siblings?”
