Chapter 14

Morgan knew before she answered the phone the reason her grandmother was calling. "Quinn is here."

"I thought maybe she was headed your way."

"She brought in her bags, lock, stock and barrel, mumbling something about needing a place to stay for the time being. I sincerely doubt you kicked her out."

"I didn't. She left on her own." Morgan told her grandmother what had happened. The missed call. The misunderstanding. Brett's hurtful comments. Quinn's devastating betrayal. "I was in my room, trying to figure out how to fix things. When I came out, Quinn had packed up her stuff and left."

"Oh, dear. I had no idea Brett was feeling as if we weren't pulling our weight."

"As if I wasn't pulling my weight," Morgan corrected. "You don't need to be pulling anything. I'm the one who needs to step it up."

"And you did. You ran everything seamlessly while Brett was convalescing."

"But he's taken it all back. It's all on his shoulders. Reading between the lines from what Quinn said, he resents it. I never meant to leave it all on Brett. In my defense, he insisted he jump back in."

"Because he wants to prove he can do it all. I know you, Morgan, and I know you are more than willing to roll up your sleeves and do whatever it takes," Elizabeth said. "I fear he's realizing it might be too much now. Perhaps he confided in Quinn. She's close to him and sees firsthand how the stress is affecting his health."

"Then why didn't he say something?"

"Because he's an Easton and a stubborn man," Elizabeth said. "Let me see what I can do. Quinn is upstairs settling into her bedroom."

"I appreciate you trying to help, but please don't get caught in the middle. This is between Brett and me. I don't want to drag you, or Quinn, into it any more than you already have been."

"I feel somewhat responsible. If not for me saying no to the deal, this never would have happened."

"Maybe not for this particular project, but if this has been festering with Brett, it was only a matter of time before it surfaced," Morgan pointed out.

"True. Are you sure?"

"Positive. I'm going to give him some time to cool off. I checked his schedule. He's on his way back later today. I'll swing by Easton Estate tomorrow morning and try to talk to him."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"I will. I appreciate you offering to intervene. The last thing I want is for Brett to think I'm hiding behind you."

Elizabeth made an unhappy sound. "I don't think he would believe it for a minute."

"Still…"

"It's your decision, Morgan. We are family and no matter what, we stick together. It will all work out sooner or later."

"Hopefully sooner."

"My offer to assist stands if needed."

"Thank you. And thank you for not taking sides."

"Never. I would never do such a thing," Elizabeth vowed.

Morgan felt more than a little relieved her grandmother didn't believe she was taking advantage of Brett or the Easton family. It was the last thing she wanted. She loved Brett and was concerned about his health.

In her defense, more than once, he'd insisted he could handle his workload. Still, she should have paid closer attention, monitored the situation, making sure he didn't need her help.

And she would love to become more involved in the day-to-day business operations. On the flip side, she didn't want Brett to think she was trying to take over. It was a fine line to walk. Helping, yet not coming across as too pushy.

Morgan got ready for her day, and she and Chester headed to Locke Pointe to meet with Ronni. She made a mental note to avoid mentioning her current dilemma. Hopefully, the misunderstandings and issues would be resolved quickly.

One thing was certain…no matter how much Brett insisted he could handle it all, Morgan would step up, step in and take on more Easton Holdings' responsibilities.

After wrapping up their meeting, she and Chester meandered around the front yard to admire the new fence. She walked along the property line, noticing fresh piles of dirt on Naomi Renaud's side.

Something was missing. It was the barbed wire fence. Naomi had finally taken it down.

"Do you see what I see, Chester?" Morgan patted her pup's head. "Score one for Locke Pointe. Something tells me Naomi will find a new way to aggravate me, but at least the ugly, potentially dangerous fence is gone."

After wrapping up their perimeter patrol, Morgan and her dog headed to the carriage house.

Rounding the corner, she found patio furniture on the porch and a new charcoal grill parked just outside the door. Clearly, Greg was making full use of his new home and Morgan couldn't be more thrilled.

Making her way down to the beach, she did a quick check of the storage shed. The kayaks, canoes and water toys were all neatly organized.

Soon, the weather would turn and the equipment would sit idle for the long winter months. Morgan was looking forward to the changing season, but also a little sad to know the warm weather would soon be gone.

She and her pup walked along the shoreline. Her thoughts drifted to Quinn, and she felt a sharp pang of betrayal.

Perhaps Quinn had been right all along. Besties and brothers weren't a good combination. The fact her friend had been quick to take her brother's side stung.

Never in a million years would Morgan intentionally shirk her responsibilities. She prided herself on being a hard worker, on pulling her own weight and doing her fair share. Clearly, the two of them didn't think so.

Perhaps Quinn was secretly jealous of all Morgan had. Laura had left her daughter a lot, more than she could have ever imagined.

On the flip side, she'd been generous to her friend, not charging her rent and only asking for her to split the cost of the utilities.

Granted, Morgan probably should not have pointed out Quinn would never have moved to Easton Island if not for her. But she'd apologized. They were angry words. Words spoken from a wounded heart.

Quinn was the best friend a person could ask for. She'd been by Morgan's side through some of the lowest points in her life. Her mother's death. Jason abandoning her, not to mention being dragged into his criminal activity.

Despite the drama, Elizabeth seemed to understand Morgan's predicament and had not taken Brett's side. But then, she knew better than anyone how Brett viewed Easton Holdings. Perhaps in many ways, he felt it was "his" company. Morgan was merely a beneficiary.

She pushed the worrying situation from her mind and headed back to the main house. Morgan swung by the kitchen to check in with Tina before she and her pup headed out.

Climbing into her vehicle, she glanced at her watch. Wyatt would be awake by now, although she knew he'd worked a late shift. She drove to the other side of the island, to Easton Harbor. Turning off the main thoroughfare, she circled around the block. She spotted his Jeep parked in his driveway and pulled in behind it.

As soon as she opened the door, Chester sprang from the SUV and scampered across the driveway. He patiently waited on the porch steps for her to catch up. "I wish I could bottle your energy."

Morgan knocked on the door, Wyatt appeared moments later. "Hey, beautiful."

"Hey, Wyatt. I hope I didn't wake you."

"Nope. I've been up for a while." He held the door. "Come in."

"Thanks." Morgan kicked her shoes off and followed him into the kitchen. "I have some good news and some bad news."

"Uh-oh." Wyatt reached into the cupboard and grabbed a clean coffee cup. "Coffee?"

"Sure. Thanks."

He poured a cup, topped his off and eased into the chair next to her. "Start with the good news."

"David Wynn and I have an executed contract. I'll be heading to Mackinac Island sometime soon to get the ball rolling."

Wyatt lifted his hand and gave her a high five. "Congrats."

"Thanks."

"What's the bad news?"

"Brett isn't happy about it."

Wyatt frowned. "I thought you told me last night he wasn't interested."

"He wasn't, but then he didn't sound completely convinced. I told him I would wait until today to make sure he hadn't changed his mind."

"So why is Brett unhappy?"

"Because I texted him early this morning to check. He didn't respond, so I sent the contract to Wynn. He signed it and sent it back." Morgan filled him in on the rest. How Brett had finally tracked Morgan down. "The bottom line is Brett's call never came through until after the deal was signed."

"Bummer."

"I apologized and told him we could re-sign. He got a little snappy, pointing out I knew he held Wednesday morning staff meetings and wasn't readily available. Which is true. I knew, but I forgot."

"It was an honest mistake," Wyatt said. "Resubmit the deal with all of your names on it."

"I offered. He still seemed upset and abruptly ended our conversation."

"Because in his mind you sneaked behind his back and stole his deal."

"Yep." Morgan blew air through thinned lips. "There's more. Quinn was in the kitchen and heard the whole thing. She hinted about me not doing my fair share. Reading between the lines, she thinks I basically dumped the workload on Brett as soon as he was well enough."

Wyatt grimaced. "That's rough."

"When I asked her if she thought I pulled a fast one on Brett, she said it seemed a little too coincidental his message didn't come through until it was too late."

"So Quinn is siding with your brother."

"Yep." Morgan wrinkled her nose. "I told her she wasn't a part of the family and had no right to stick her nose in."

"Ouch."

"I might have said if not for me, she wouldn't even be here."

"I bet the conversation went up in flames after that," Wyatt guessed.

"Not really. More like abruptly ended. I apologized and went to my room. By the time I came out, Quinn had packed up her things and left."

"And went where?"

"To Easton Estate."

Wyatt arched a brow. "How do you know?"

"Grandmother called. Quinn showed up with a bunch of stuff. She called me to find out what was going on."

"I'm sure she's concerned."

"She offered to help. I thanked her but told her it was my problem to fix. I don't want her getting caught in the middle."

Wyatt pulled Morgan into his arms. "I'm sorry, darling. It will be all right. Give it a little time. Give everyone a little breathing room and I'm sure cooler heads will prevail."

"I agree. Brett is on his way back later today. I figured I would run by the house tomorrow morning to talk to him in person."

"Try not to dwell on it too much."

"It's going to be next to impossible."

"I'm sure." Wyatt spent the next couple of hours working hard to keep Morgan from dwelling on the family drama. She was grateful for the distraction and glad she'd gone to his place to talk.

By the time she arrived home, she and Chester decided a stroll along the beach was in order. Between spending time with Wyatt and a long walk to one of her favorite spots with her best bud, Morgan began to feel better.

Wyatt was right. All the three of them needed was to take a step back. Brett would understand. They would clear the air and hammer out a revised work schedule. He could turn over some of his day-to-day tasks and sign on for the Wynn Harbor Inn project.

It would be a win-win, all the way around. She and David Wynn would benefit from her brother's expertise. She could work as the liaison for the project, doing the brunt of the traveling back and forth.

Quinn, Morgan suspected, might be a completely different story. Taking back hurtful words, spoken in anger, might be nearly impossible.