Bridgette threw her head back with laughter. “Have you met her? Trust me! Tristan wants nothing to do with arts and crafts. If she’s not out riding her horse or catching up on her studies, she’s either hanging out with Cole and the boys or she has her nose deep in a book.”
“There’s hope yet that we can pull this off, then,” Moira said as she scribbled notes onto a legal pad. “We better get to the mall before its too late.”
2
Late Afternoon
Morrow Manor
Fox Hollow, Pennsylvania
June 23, 2004
The front door of Morrow Manor crashed open as Tristan, Tommy and Cole stepped over the threshold. Expecting to hear a cacophony of noises coming from the dining room, they were surprised when they realized that the house was completely silent. Well, completely silent other than the sound of someone sawing wood from the parlor.
“Wonder where everyone went…” Tommy said as he scratched his head.
Tristan stared around them in bewilderment. “This is the quietest the house has been in months.”
“Good. I could use a break from all this wedding stuff,” Cole admitted.
The three of them walked together into the dining room. Tommy approached the liquor cabinet and immediately retrieved a bottle of bourbon and proceeded to pour a splash into three ornate glass tumblers. As Tommy carefully replaced the bottle of bourbon back in the wooden cabinet from where he got it, a deep voice cleared from just behind him. A sly smile grew upon Tommy’s face as he reached back into the cabinet and poured a fourth glass of bourbon.
“That’s better,” Jack said as he took one of the tumblers from his son.
“I thought you were sleeping…” Tommy admitted as he clinked glasses with his father.
“You know I’m a light sleeper,” Jack admitted. “What happened to the craft committee that was in here?” Jack asked as a sarcastic glint in his eye shone back at his children.
“I was wondering the same,” Tristan added. “But I’m glad for the temporary reprieve from all things wedding related.”
“Not having cold feet, are you?” Jack asked, giving his daughter a concerned look.
Tristan looked taken aback. She reached for Cole’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “No way, Dad. I’m just saying it is nice to take a night to relax in the midst of all this wedding prep. I can’t wait to marry Cole. I just want everything to go well.”
Jack nodded approvingly at his daughter just before winking slyly at Cole. “A word, please?”
“Uh oh…” Tommy said in a teasing fashion.
“Oh, shut it,” Jack said with a chuckle as he left the room.
&
nbsp; Leading Cole into the living room, he motioned for his future son-in-law to have a seat on the couch.
“Is everything okay Jack?” Cole asked as he cast a nervous gaze over at his fiance’s father.
“Couldn’t be better,” Jack admitted. “I just wanted to have a chat with you before things get too crazy around here.”
“Oh, uh, sure… Uh, what did you want to talk about?” Cole asked, stammering every inch of the way.
“Tristan is my only daughter. My baby girl,” Jack began as he cast a more serious gaze towards Cole. “And you know I’m a bit protective…”
“A bit?” Cole said as a joke. But when he saw the serious gaze his future father-in-law was giving him, he immediately stopped with the jokes. “Uh, sorry.”
“With that being said… This is a very important step in both of your lives. I know we’ve talked about this before, but I wanted to make sure that you are prepared.”
“Jack-“ Cole began, but he was cut off by Jack.