Shayna had asked Tristan about coming New Year’s Eve because she’d wanted to try and erase the awkwardness of the date. She’d wanted to at least get back on the friendship footing with Tristan, but now she worried she might not ever regain that once Erin and Noella were done spilling what they thought about her. Where she’d thought she’d ring in the New Year with hope for what was to come, it now was possible that nothing would change except for a new roommate.
“Maybe we’ll come find you a bit later,” Tristan said, and Shayna felt the light touch of his hand on her back. “I still want to introduce her to Hannah and Maya.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize she hadn’t met all the family yet,” Noella said, her gaze going between Shayna and Tristan. “Well, we’d better go and get some food for Finn, James, and the kids. That’s what we were supposed to be doing when we came in here to begin with.”
Once they’d walked over to the table that was laden down with food, Tristan turned to look at her, his brow furrowed with concern. “Are you okay? I didn’t realize that I should have mentioned who besides family might be here.”
“It’s fine,” Shayna tried to reassure him. “I didn’t expect to see someone from back then here tonight. It was just a surprise.”
“Well, you don’t need to talk with them if you don’t want to. It’s not like there’s a shortage of people to talk to around here tonight. If nothing else, you can find Gabe, and he’ll happily talk your ear off.”
“Thank you,” Shayna said, though she wasn’t sure what she was thanking him for aside from being profoundly grateful that he was being so understanding. “I’m not terribly hungry but holding a plate will give me something to do with my hands.”
“In that case, let’s get some food,” Tristan said as he guided her to the table.
There were quite a few people around the table, but no one lingered. They just filled their plates and left. Shayna took in the expanse of food, spying the chocolate covered strawberries on a crystal platter, looking much finer than they had in the container she’d brought them in.
It looked as if people had been taking them, so she hoped they thought they tasted as good as she and Timothy had. They’d had a few “accidents” that hadn’t been good enough for the tray. Giggling together, they’d indulged in one of each type of chocolate.
“You don’t want anything?” Tristan asked as she stood there with an empty plate in her hand.
“I was just seeing that people had taken some of the strawberries, and I was hoping they enjoyed them. Timothy and I had a lot of fun making them.”
“I’d better get some for myself,” Tristan said. “After the teasing I’ve taken over chocolate-covered strawberries, I deserve to have a few myself.”
They fell into line behind someone who looked a lot like the man who’d met them at the door.
“Hey, Tris,” the man said. When his gaze settled on her, he smiled and said, “And you must be Shayna.”
“Yes, this is Shayna Caron. Her son, Timothy, is downstairs with Benjie and Elliot.” Tristan gestured to the man. “This is my brother, Mitch. As you probably can tell, he is the twin to Gabe, who met us at the door.”
“And if Gabe told you he was the better-looking twin, just remember that I’m the nicer one.” Mitch’s grin made him look even more like his twin.
“Mitch’s wife, Belle, owns the bridal salon where Eva works.”
“Oh!” Mitch shifted to face them more fully. “You’re Eva’s new roommate?”
“Yes. She’s moving in this next week.” Shayna was both excited and worried about that. While it would be nice to have someone to help with the financial burden of the townhouse, it would take a little time to get used to having a stranger in her space. She hoped that it worked out well because she didn’t have any other options.
“I think you’ll find her to be very nice,” Mitch said. “Belle thinks really highly of her, and she’s always been friendly and helpful.”
“We’re looking forward to having her in the townhouse.” Shayna picked up a roll from the stack on the platter then followed Mitch as he moved forward.
Tristan and Mitch continued to talk as they made their way around the table. At the end of it, their plates were heaped much higher than hers. She hoped Timothy was eating decent food and not just chips, although he had had supper earlier and, for one night, maybe they should all just eat what they enjoyed.
Not long after they had filled their plates, Tristan led her along a hallway to a large room at the back of the house. It also had a Christmas tree though that one wasn’t as big as the one in the living room. While the living room had appeared to have a more formal feel and look to it, this room was definitely homier and more comfortable.
Within minutes, she found herself on a large sofa seated next to a woman with long hair and a scar on her right cheek. A little boy with dark hair and eyes leaned against her legs, picking at food on the plate she held. She turned to smile at Shayna and said, “Hi. I’m Hannah.”
“I’m Shayna.”
“Oh. Nice to meet you.” She held out a piece of cheese to the boy. “Tristan mentioned that he’d met you and your son at church.”
“Yes. He’s teaching Timothy’s Sunday School class.”
“I was surprised to hear that Tris was going to be teaching.”
“Me, too,” a dark-haired man with a friendly smile said as he bent down to scoop the little boy up into his arms, causing the toddler to shriek in delight. The man sank down to sit on the floor, settling the child on his knee. “Tris was always a quiet one. More for watching than talking.”
Tristan appeared with a couple of cups in his hand. “Telling tales about me, Ry?”
“I’m sure that little revelation comes as no surprise to Shayna.” Ryan turned to look at her. “Right?”
“No, it doesn’t. And I understand that about him quite well. My son is like that too.”
“Is he here with you?” Hannah asked.
Tristan picked up his plate from the end table he’d set it on and sat down beside Shayna. “We left him downstairs with Benjie and Elliot. They’re playing video games.”
“Won’t be long now until Justin will be wanting to join them,” Ryan said as he smiled down at the boy on his lap.
“Or is it just you wanting to hang out down there instead of up here?” Hannah said as she reached out to run the backs of her fingers along his cheek.
Ryan reached up to take her hand and pressed a kiss to it. “I only want to be where you are, sunshine.”
“Do you try and stock up on the compliments so that when you say or do something wrong, Hannah doesn’t send you straight to the couch for the night?” Tristan asked as he picked up a roll with ham and cheese in it and took a bite.
“I never do or say anything that would make Hannah send me to the couch,” Ryan said with confidence. “Right, sweetheart?”
“You have managed to be a pretty good husband, I have to admit.” Hannah gave him a smile that could only be described as indulgent. “Actually, I’m not sure I could have asked for a better man to be my husband.”
What had started out as a teasing exchange had quickly turned affectionate. There was no doubt the two of them shared a deep love. Shayna watched them with a pang of loss that she quickly tried to smother. Right then was not the time nor the place to allow those feelings to surface.
Looking away from the interchange between the two, Shayna focused on the food on her plate. Her appetite was teetering on disappearing, but she wasn’t going to just let the food she’d taken go to waste. Conversation continued on around her, most of it carried on by Ryan and Gabe, who had joined them with his wife and their little daughter.
Every once in a while, Tristan would interject a comment, but mainly, he let his siblings do the talking. Shayna was caught up in her own thoughts, and nearly missed the question that came her way.
“Where do you work, Shayna?” Gabe’s wife, Maya, asked.
Just the question she had hoped not to be asked. She knew it wasn’t an unusual question to be asked when meeting new people, but she had sort of hoped to avoid it that night.
“I work at a restaurant in St. Boniface as a waitress.” Shayna lowered her gaze as she picked up her roll and took a bite, hoping to avoid seeing the looks they were likely exchanging. “I’ve been there for almost ten years, so they’re very good at working with my schedule needs.”
Although, that wasn’t exactly true these days. More than once recently, she’d heard the owner and manager talking about needing people who were more flexible with their schedule. While she hoped that would just apply to anyone new they hired, Shayna knew she couldn’t be totally sure of that. If they decided that they only wanted people who could be flexible with their availability, she would have to find a new job.
She felt a touch on her arm and saw Tristan’s fingers resting on her sweater. “Are you okay?”
Looking up, she saw concern on his face. She tried to smile to reassure him. “Yes. I’m fine.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t pursue it.
“Oh wow,” Maya said in a hushed voice. “I didn’t know Danica was bringing a boy tonight.”
Shayna looked toward the entrance of the family room and saw Sierra standing there with Danica and a lanky young man.
“You’re not so old that a guy that age could be considered a boy, babe,” Gabe said with a laugh.
“Oh, I know, but I still think of Danica as the young girl she was when I first met her.” Maya sighed. “They’re growing up so fast.”
“I’m pretty sure Mom and Dad feel the same way now that so many of us have families of our own.” Ryan glanced up at Hannah and gave her a loving smile. “Our growing families.”
At the warm press of an arm against hers, Shayna glanced at Tristan to find him smiling as well. “Ry and Hannah announced at Christmas that they are expecting a baby.”
“There are a few of us expecting,” Hannah said, resting a hand on her stomach. “It’s going to be a baby boom this next year for the family.”
“It’s been a baby boom the last few years,” Maya said with a laugh. “I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when all these cousins hit their teen years.”
“They’ll take the city by storm,” Gabe said.
Ryan reached over to punch his shoulder. “With you leading the way, no doubt.”
“Someone’s got to show them how to cut loose.” Gabe punched Ryan back. “Goodness knows that wouldn’t be you.”
Shayna shifted closer to Tristan, getting a whiff of his cologne as she did so. “Are they always like this?”
“Pretty much. Whenever Gabe is involved, there’s usually plenty of teasing and poking fun.”
“And no one gets mad at him?” Shayna wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t get mad if the teasing was turned in her direction. Lorne always used to tell her she needed to loosen up a bit. Unfortunately, in the years since his death, she hadn’t loosened up. In fact, she was probably more uptight than ever.
“Oh, we’ve all gotten mad at him, especially the girls. Makayla, in particular. The two of them have scrapped plenty over the years.” Tristan grinned, his eyes sparkling in the lights from the Christmas tree. “All of us boys—well, all except Gabe—learned not to mess with Makayla. I’m pretty sure that Gabe ended up with at least one black eye because he didn’t stop to think what poking the bear might do.”
“Your sister being the bear?”
“Yep. I love her dearly, but she can be wound rather tightly. Although, marrying Ethan and having a baby has mellowed her out quite a bit. Ethan steps in frequently to tell Gabe to back off. He’s very protective of his bear.”
Shayna started to laugh then covered her mouth. “Sorry. That caught me off guard.”
“No, don’t apologize. We’ve all laughed at how Gabe backs off when Ethan sends him a look if he’s teased Makayla a bit too much.”
“Shayna!” She looked away from Tristan to see Sierra and Danica approaching.
Sierra got to her first and said, “I didn’t know you were going to be here. Is Timothy here too?”
“Yes. He’s downstairs playing video games with Benjie and Elliot.”
“Oh, maybe we’ll head down there too,” Danica said. “I think Les might be more comfortable with them.”
Tristan got to his feet and turned to the man behind Danica. “Les, is it?”
The young man nodded and said, “Yes, sir.”
“No sir for me,” Tristan said. “You can reserve that for my elders, which is pretty much any guy here but the ones downstairs.”
Danica’s face fell a bit. “Without Dalton here, you’ve become the youngest of the boys once again.”
“Sorry, Dani.” Tristan pulled her into a hug. “I’m sure he’s fine.”
When she stepped back, she said, “I wish I could be sure too, but I’m praying God keeps him safe.”
“We all are,” Gabe said, his tone surprisingly serious.
“Well, I think we’re going to grab some food and head downstairs to join the fun,” Danica seemed to be trying to make an effort to restore the light-hearted mood. “We’ll come back up for the New Year’s countdown.”
Tristan remained on his feet as he watched Danica, Les, and Sierra walk from the room. Once they were gone, he sat back down beside Shayna but didn’t pick up his plate from the end table.
“We had hoped Dalton might be home for Christmas, or, at least, that he’d call, but we haven’t heard from him.” Tristan cleared his throat. “We’ve all taken it hard, but Danica and Sierra hardest of all. The three of them grew close when Sierra became a part of the family after Ethan and Makayla got married.”
Shayna wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She was happy Sierra had found friendship in Danica and Dalton, but she was sad to hear that they were separated from a family member at this special time of year.
“I’m going to get some dessert.” Tristan leaned over to pick up his plate. “Can I get you something as well?”
“Should I come with you?” Shayna asked.
Tristan lifted a brow. “Do you trust me to bring you something?”
“Oh. Sure. I’m not too fussy.”
“Then it’s settled.” He held out his hand and took her plate and added it to his. “I’ll be right back.”
“He’s such a sweetheart.”
Shayna shifted to look at Hannah after Tristan had walked away. “Yes, he seems to be. Timothy really likes him.”
“What’s your son like?” Maya asked. “He’s eight, right?”
“Yes. He’s in the third grade and doing well. He’s quite smart, so he is in some advanced classes, but I want him to be kept with his grade. He’s already smaller than a lot of the other children.”
“That sounds like something a good mom would do,” Hannah said. “Not everyone would consider that.”
“Timothy is my world.” Shayna rubbed her hands together. “I just wish he enjoyed school more. The kids don’t seem to know what to make of him. They tease him a lot.”
“Tris was just like that,” Gabe said. “Smart and on the smaller side. Kids used to tease him too. Well, at least until Sammi showed up.”
“Sammi?” Shayna asked.
“Yeah. They were in the same grade, and she stuck up for him when the other kids would tease him.”
“I wish Timothy had someone like that. It might make it easier for him if he had at least one friend to stand up for him.”
“Maybe you should consider another school,” Maya suggested. “Like the one you guys went to, Gabe.”
“Things did get a lot easier for Tristan once we changed schools, that’s true,” Gabe said. “And I don’t think Dalton was ever teased there.”
“What school was that?” Shayna asked.
“Lighthouse Academy.”
“The one attached to the church?”
Gabe nodded. “We all ended up graduating from there.”
Well, that definitely wasn’t a place she could transfer Timothy to. After he’d had a particularly bad day at school, she’d logged onto the website to see if Lighthouse Academy was an option but had quickly realized that it wasn’t. She couldn’t begin to imagine how Tristan’s family had been able to afford to send so many children to the school.
“I don’t think I’d be able to send Timothy there,” Shayna said. “For a variety of reasons.”
“I think they offered some financial aid to our family,” Ryan volunteered, as if understanding her reluctance. “We got a deal for sending so many from the same family.”
Shayna hadn’t seen anything on the website about financial aid. Was it possible that she might qualify? Of course, she’d have to qualify for total financial aid because she really didn’t have any money to spare for school beyond what she already paid for supplies and clothes. Tuition and uniforms would be quite beyond her budget.
Maya laid a hand on Shayna’s arm. “Would you like me to look into it? I know the woman who heads up the finance department of the school.”
Shayna knew she should say no, but on the off-chance that they would offer her a full scholarship, she just couldn’t. “Do you mind? I hate to impose.”
“No imposition at all. I’ll give her a call next week. Would you want him to transfer right away or finish out the school year where he is?”
Her mind quickly thought through everything that would need to work out for this change of school to be possible for Timothy. “I’m not sure that I can organize everything for a transfer to happen right away.”
“I’ll check with her anyway,” Maya said with a smile. “But if Timothy is truly unhappy at his school, I hope that sooner rather than later can be accommodated.”
“What are you figuring out now, Maya?” Tristan asked as he reclaimed his seat. He handed a plate to Shayna. “I got us each a selection.”
Shayna’s eyes widened at the excessive amount of sweets on the small plate. “Did you leave any for the rest of the people here?”
“Oh, there’s plenty still up there. Don’t worry.” Tristan turned his gaze to Maya. “So? What are you figuring out?”
“I just mentioned to Shayna that I thought Lighthouse Academy offered scholarships. She was saying that Timothy has had some issues at school. We just thought that Lighthouse might be an option for him.”
“Really?” Tristan looked at Shayna. “Would you want that for him?”
“Possibly,” Shayna said with a shrug. “I’ll have to think about a few things.”
“I’m going to talk to Shelly next week and see what they offer in the way of financial aid.”
Tristan seemed to consider Maya’s words before nodding. “That’s a good idea. Let me know what you find out.”
“I will.”
“Of course you will, babe,” Gabe said as he leaned close to his wife. “There’s not much Maya puts her mind to that doesn’t come about.”
“Well, it’s Shayna’s call, but I’ll make sure she has all the information she needs to make her decision.” Maya turned to her. “You’ll need to give me your number so that I can get you the information once I have it.”
At Shayna’s nod, Maya smiled and allowed the conversation to move onto another topic. Shayna tried to pay attention, but the subject wasn’t anything that she could contribute to, so she found her thoughts straying to the subject of Timothy changing schools. There was no way she could mention that to Timothy just yet.
While he’d be happy to be away from his current school, he might feel a bit of anxiety at the thought of switching schools. Or worse, he’d get his hopes up and then be horribly disappointed if things didn’t work out.
For the time being, Shayna would keep this possibility to herself. If it came to fruition, she would tell him about it then. A lot of things beyond the financing would need to fall into place, so she’d keep this a secret from him for now.
“How are you doing?” Tristan asked, his voice low. “Can I get you anything?”
She shook her head. “Everything is great, especially these desserts.”
“Did Timothy enjoy the desserts from Shelby’s?”
“He did, and so did I. He ate most of them, but I did try a couple that looked yummy.”
Tristan smiled. “I’m glad you tried more of them.”
Shayna wanted to address the evening, but sitting among his family wasn’t where that discussion should take place. If Tristan was still interested in dating, Shayna also wanted to try again. While people like Erin and Noella might question her decision, knowing how much she and Lorne had loved each other, Shayna knew that for Timothy’s sake, she needed to be open to a future with another man.
It wasn’t until meeting Tristan that she’d allowed herself to even consider the possibility. Shayna wasn’t sure if that was because Tristan was so different from Lorne that she wasn’t worried about him replacing Lorne in her heart, or if it was because of how he’d connected so well with Timothy. Regardless, he was the first man that Shayna was willing to let into her and Timothy’s lives.
Tristan’s gentle nature appealed to her, as did the fact that he didn’t seem determined to take over her life. While she did long for someone to help shoulder the burdens of her life, she didn’t necessarily want them to take it over completely. Lorne had taken charge of most things, leaving Shayna free to take care of Timothy and work her job at the restaurant. He’d paid the bills, found them their apartment and car, and had taken care of any issues that popped up.
Since his death, she’d learned to take care of all those things herself, and she wasn’t eager to give up control to another man. Particularly because she didn’t want to be dependent on anyone the way she’d been on Lorne and, to a lesser degree, Lisa. Having Lisa step out of their lives had made her realize once again how it was better to not be reliant on someone to such a heavy degree.
So as long as Tristan allowed her the ability to retain control of her life, she wouldn’t mind having him as part of it.