Finding Rory

Chapter 43: Your Hot Girlfriend

Tristan got out of the pool and walked over and sat down next to Rory, handing her a bottle of water. She was still sitting on the chaise lounge next to the pool, and Kayla was asleep in her lap. Abby had joined Greg and Marcus in the pool.

"I thought you might like a drink. You're a little tied down here. You want me to carry her into the guest room and put her in bed?" Tristan offered.

Rory ran her fingers through Kayla's hair and shook her head. "No, she's fine. It's actually nice - she's totally stolen my heart," Rory admitted.

"She is a pretty cool kid," Tristan agreed as he watched Rory and his niece.

"She asked if she could call me Aunt Mary, and your sister told her yes," Rory whispered.

Tristan looked up at Rory and saw the emotion in her eyes. "You'll be a great aunt," he said quietly.

"I'm actually really excited. I've never really gotten to do this before. I want to make sure that I get to spend time with her while they're here."

"We'll make sure it happens then, babe. And we can always go visit them in DC, too. It's just about an hour and a half flight, and we can use the family jet. I'm sure they would love for us to visit once they get settled," Tristan assured her.

"Yeah, that would be really nice," Rory agreed.

"Well, I'm going to start grilling the burgers. You just let me know if you change your mind and want me to take Kayla to the bedroom, or you can start waking her up. It won't be long until dinnertime," Tristan said. He leaned over and kissed Rory sweetly and then stood up and headed for the kitchen.

Rory watched Tristan walk off and turned her attention back to Kayla. She rubbed Kayla's back and spoke to her softly when she started to stir.

"Hey there, sweet girl. It's time to wake up. Uncle Tristan is grilling the burgers now, so it will be time to eat soon."

Kayla opened up her eyes and looked up at Rory. "You let me sleep on you," Kayla said as she yawned.

"Of course I did, silly. You were comfortable, and I enjoyed having you close to me."

"Thank you, Aunt Mary. You're the best," Kayla said softly. She stretched her body and then stood up and walked over to the dogs and began playing with them.

Rory took advantage of being able to move now and got up and walked into the kitchen. She brought all of the fixings for burgers out to the table on the patio along with chips, a salad, and plates. She brought the last of the food out just as Tristan brought the burgers over to the table.

"Marcus and Kayla, you need to go wash your hands and then come to the table to eat," Abby called across the yard. The kids walked into the house to wash their hands and Abby turned to Rory. "So Rory, Tristan said you guys might come join us all in Boston for the fourth of July?"

Rory looked up and frowned. "Umm...I'm not sure yet," she said evasively.

They all looked at her and she shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Tristan took Rory's hand and rubbed it soothingly. "Can I tell them, Mare?" he whispered.

She nodded her permission and looked down at her plate as Tristan began to talk.

"Mary dated Logan, our cousin, for three years at Yale. He proposed at her graduation and she turned him down. They'd run into each other a couple of years ago and began seeing each other until a couple of months ago. She broke it off when she found out about Odette," Tristan confided. "We're going to great lengths to ensure that we stay out of the Huntzbergers' line of sight for as long as possible."