Page 7 of Easton Island

“Thanks, Morgan. I needed to hear that.”

“You’re welcome. Come see me anytime you need a pep talk.” Morgan tracked down Chester, and they returned to the house. She finished a few tasks and swung by the kitchen to let Tina know she was heading out.

On her way home, she called Easton Estate to check on Tristan. Mrs. Arnsby told her he’d hung out in his room for most of the day but hadn’t complained about his stomach hurting, which only confirmed what they already suspected. His ailment wasn’t his stomach. It was the other kids.

“He wasn’t sick.”

“No. Poor thing.”

“Where’s Brett?”

“He just got home.” Mrs. Arnsby told him what had happened, how his son complained about not feeling well, and suggested he talk to Morgan.

Tink. She glanced at the screen. “He’s texting me now, asking me to call him.”

“I’ll let you go.”

Morgan ended the call and promptly dialed her brother’s number. “Hey, Brett.”

“Hey, Morgan. I talked to Mrs. Arnsby. She told me Tristan wasn’t feeling well but thought he might be faking it. What happened?”

Morgan briefly filled him in. “The bottom line is I’m almost positive two older kids are picking on him.”

“Who were they?”

“I wish I knew.” She told him she’d logged onto the school’s website to check the roster. “To be honest, none of them looked like the two who were making pig faces at us.”

“I’ll try to find out,” Brett said.

“How?”

“I’m rearranging my schedule and will take Tristan to school tomorrow morning.”

Chapter 4

Brett shifted his car into park and turned to his son. “You’re feeling better today?”

“Yep.”

“No more stomachaches?”

Tristan shook his head. “Mrs. Arnsby let me have ice cream for breakfast.”

“Ice cream?” Brett chuckled.

“She said it settles your stomach.” The boy lifted his backpack. “Are you picking me up after school?”

“I have a conference call. Aunt Morgan will be here waiting for you, if that’s okay.”

“Yeah. She’s skibidi.”

“Skibidi?”

“You know…cool.” Tristan reached for the door handle. Brett stopped him. “She mentioned a couple of older kids making faces at you yesterday morning. Do you know who they were?”

“No.”

“Are they picking on you?”