“I do have things to do, you know,” Morgan replied a bit awkwardly. “I’m not just lazing around on Parrish Island like abum.” Although he kind of was these days, especially now that his shoulder was better. But Parrish Island was where Ty was, and Ty was all alone right now.
“Okay.” Katie held up her hands. “Whatever you want. I’m not going to push.”
“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “You know I appreciate that.”
She sighed. “I know. Come on, Nickster,” she continued, looking at her daughter, who was staring between the two of them like she was watching a tennis match. “Go put your plate in the sink and then get ready for bed; it’s late.”
“But Mom!” Nicki immediately whined. “It’s a vacation day; I want to stay up late. I want to watch a movie.” She batted her eyes at Morgan. “Do you want to watch the newKPop Demon Hunterswith me?”
“The what?”
“KPop Demon Hunterscan wait until tomorrow, honey,” Katie said firmly, getting to her feet. “Come on now, to bed with you.”
“Mooooom!” She did as she was told, though, and was sound asleep in her bed by nine o’clock. Katie and Morgan met in the kitchen, where Katie poured them a glass from the bottle of wine she had in the fridge. They toasted in silence, then took a sip.
“You really like it there, huh?” she said after a moment.
It was the line of questioning he’d been waiting for. “I do, yeah. A lot more than I thought I would.”
She nodded. “And you like Ty, too.”
Morgan knew he was blushing, but he rolled with it. “I really do. He’s …” He smiled a little helplessly. “He’s great. He’s been very welcoming to me, and helpful, and he’s—”
“A guy who’s got to have at least fifty years on you.”
Oh, he hadn’t cleared that up with her? “No,” Morgan said. “That’s the previous generation.” Or close enough. He pulled out his phone and opened the gallery. “This is Ty.” He turned it so she could see.
Katie choked on her next sip of wine. “That’sTy? Are you freaking kidding me?”
“Nope.”
“He’shot.”
Morgan grinned smugly. “I know.”
“Holy shit. What’s he doing for the holidays?”
“Nothing special.”
Katie looked disturbed. “He doesn’t have any family to go to?” Morgan shook his head. “Then why didn’t you bring him along so he didn’t have to spend Christmas alone?”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he contemplated what to reveal. Not the tentacles, for sure. He went with another technical truth instead. “Ty is enochlophobic. That’s a fear of—”
“Of crowds.”
Of course, Katie knew that; she was a psychologist. “Yeah. He can handle the little town close to Parrish Island, but he can’t go much farther without having a panic attack. He’s working on it, but …” Morgan sighed. “I’m not going to push him for something he can’t give me. He’d like to meet you and Nicki, though,” he added. “He told me he’d love it if you two came to the island.” That much was very true; Ty was enamored with the idea of meeting more of Morgan’s extended family.
“That’s nice of him.” They stood in silence as Katie processed what he’d told her. “Maybe we should have come to you this year,” she said slowly.
Just her mentioning the idea of travel was a surprise. “Why do you say that?”
“Because—”
Just then, Katie’s phone rang. She picked it up off the counter and checked it, then rolled her eyes. “It’s Mom. You ready?”
“Go ahead.”
Katie answered. “Hey, Mom, you’re on speakerphone,” she said as she put it back down on the counter so they could both talk into it. “Merry Christmas Eve.”
