Robin Alexander - Murky Waters

Her tirade was interrupted by a knock on the door. Tristan’s heart sank into her stomach. With everything going on the night before, she had forgotten about her ritual Sunday morning breakfast date.

She opened the door to Cameron Hughes and his wife, Lucy.

She hugged them both as they entered. They exchanged glances as they appraised Tristan’s lack of apparel. “Why aren’t you dressed yet, Tris?” Lucy asked.

Tristan began to stammer. “Well, I, umm ...” At that moment, Claire stumbled into the kitchen, wearing Tristan’s robe. Her eyes grew wide, and her mouth moved without making any sound.

Tristan looked at Claire and the couple with a sheepish grin.

“I’m sorry, Cam and Lucy, I just forgot,” Tristan said with a shrug.

Lucy seized upon the moment to make the girl she had come to accept as a daughter squirm. “Tris, honey, we’ve had the same date for the past three years. What on earth have you been up to that you would forget?”

Claire’s face turned crimson; she dared not look Cameron in the eye. Tristan, overwhelmed with the situation, just began to laugh.

Lucy held a straight face for as long as she could before falling into a fit of laughter of her own.

“You must be Claire,” Lucy said as she took the embarrassed blonde into her arms. “Cam has told me a lot about you already, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” Claire returned the warm embrace, stealing a glance over her shoulder at Tristan, who stood grinning.

Lucy made her way to the coffeepot. “Well, Cam, it looks like there will be four of us for breakfast this morning.”

Claire began to object. “Oh, I don’t want to intrude ...”

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Before she could get another word out, Cameron spoke up.

“Nonsense, Claire. We would love to have you. Matter of fact, we insist.” Claire accepted the invitation as gracefully as she could under the circumstances, relieved that she had forsaken her earlier plan to walk into the room naked.

“Tristan, honey, go get in the shower, and let us have a cup of coffee with Claire,” Lucy said as she grasped a very nervous-looking Claire by the hand and led her to the table.

“Oh, no! I’m not leaving her alone with you two!” Tristan objected. This in turn made Claire even more nervous.

“Do as I say, missy,” Lucy said with mock indignation.

After she was sure Tristan was in the shower, Lucy spoke to Claire. “Sweetie, I know you are embarrassed, but don’t be. Being your boss, Cam here cannot discuss this with you, but I sure can.

We don’t make our relationship with Tristan public knowledge.

We don’t want anyone at Valor to think she gets preferential treatment. She has earned her position with the company.

“Though she is not our flesh and blood, we consider her our baby, and we love her very much. We were at the hospital the day she was born. Her father, Mitchell, grew up with Cam, and when her father died, we became her adopted parents, in a manner of speaking. The reason I am telling you all this is because we do not want her hurt. She has never brought anyone to her home, so you must be extremely special to her. If she doesn’t mean the same to you, please let her down gently and quickly.”

Claire suddenly realized that even though Tristan was not Lucy’s daughter, she had gotten her bluntness from Lucy. Claire looked Lucy in the eyes and chose her words carefully. “I feel exactly the same for Tris. I won’t do anything to intentionally hurt her. I realize how this must look to you both, especially with me just starting with the company.”

Lucy interrupted. “Darlin,’ Cam and I met at Valor. No need to explain that to us. We just want to protect Tris from being hurt, even if it is not our place.”

At this, Cam interrupted. “I’m sure we seem overprotective.

After all, she is a grown woman, but she’s had a very rough life.”

Cam hesitated and looked at Lucy, searching for the right words.

They both looked down the hall to make sure the coast was clear.

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“What Cam is trying to say is that Tris had a very tumultuous relationship with her mother. That woman has beaten her down all her life. She has told Tristan from the time she was a baby that no one would ever want her. Tristan is just now starting to get a sense of self-worth.” Cam reached over to calm his wife, who was well on her way to a tirade. Lucy would never forgive Mallory for the abusive treatment of someone she held so dear.

“She told me that her relationship with her mother was terrible but has not gone into detail. I’ve been afraid to push her; I can tell the wounds go very deep,” Claire said with concern. “I know she is doing her best to cope with what has been dealt to her, and I will be there for her as long as she will allow me.”

Knowing that Tristan would be back soon, Lucy reached across the table and took Claire by the hand. “I believe you will be good for our girl. I didn’t mean to pry, but she is very special. Thank you for putting up with us.”

As if on cue, everyone at the table began talking about the weather when they heard Tristan coming down the hall. Tristan entered the kitchen with a suspicious look on her face. She got herself a cup of coffee and joined the group at the table.

Lucy focused her attention on Tristan. “What took you so long, baby? Did you have to shave both of those long legs twice?”

“As a matter of fact, just once,” Tristan shot back with a grin.

“Did you ever tell Claire the story of the weekend you stayed with us and decided to shave your legs for the first time?” Lucy asked laughing.

“I cannot believe you are going to bring that up!” Tristan said as her cheeks blushed.

“Oh, Claire, it was so funny. Tris came to stay with us one weekend when she was around ten. Cam and I had no children, so we really didn’t know how to childproof our house. Anyway, Tris was having her bath and decided to shave her legs. She grabbed my razor and lathered up. Poor baby was covered with so many cuts she could barely rinse her legs, but that wasn’t good enough.

She decided her arms needed to be done, too. Not the armpits, mind you, but her forearms,” Lucy said chuckling.

Tristan looked at Claire with a grin. “It was awful. The hair grew back thicker on my arms, and I looked like a woolly mammoth. I 98

Robin Alexander

had to go through high school with arms that were hairier than most of the boys. Thank God for laser hair removal.”

Cam joined in on the conversation. “Remember when you got on that pork and beans kick and that was all you wanted to eat?”

Tristan buried her face in her hands. “Don’t listen to them, Claire, it’s all lies,” she said as Cam and Lucy teased her mercilessly.

“She came to the house one weekend, and all she wanted were the beans. Of course, we obliged her. They upset her little stomach so bad that the dog wouldn’t even sit next to her!” Cam said as they all burst into a fit of laughter.

“Claire, if you have any feelings for me whatsoever, have mercy and go shower while I deal with these two,” Tristan pleaded, refusing to look Claire’s way.

Claire excused herself from the table and went to bathe. She was still chuckling as she made her way down the hall. Tristan narrowed her eyes and tried her best to glare at the two sitting across from her. “The first woman I ever bring home and you two have to tell her stories of how I farted on the dog.” Cam and Lucy tried to apologize, but the chuckles belied their sincerity.

Tristan did her best to maintain her scowl, but a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Try to behave yourselves at breakfast, and if you dare tell her the story of me getting my Easter dress caught in my stockings, I’ll kill you both.”