Page 53 of One Kind Goal

“It’s one of the best ideas I’ve had in a long time.” Sawyer shook Austin’s hand, and Morgan loved that sweet answer.

Apparently so did Austin because he arced an arm into the house. “Come on in. Charlie has ordered up a feast of goodies from Cups Café, and I’m almost out of willpower to not dive into them.”

“I love goodies,” Sawyer said, trailing in after Nia.

Austin put his arm on Morgan’s to stop her from slipping past him. He squinted when she met his gaze.

“What?” she finally asked when he didn’t say anything.

“Checking to make sure you’re Morgan and not Claire,” he said. “I can maybe picture her hanging around with a kid, but not you. You guys aren’t playing a trick on me, are you?”

Morgan huffed out a breath and unlooped the scarf she had around her neck. Moving her sweater aside, she exposed the freckle she had on her collarbone—the one that was placed in the same spot as Austin’s. Neither Claire nor Brooke had a freckle in that location so it was a bona fide way to prove her identity.

Not that she should have had to.

“It’s me, you stooge,” she said. “And I told you I was on a quest to be a grownup, didn’t I?” She waved a hand to Sawyer and Nia who chatted with Charlie. “Maybe those two are a part of my master plan.”

“Fair enough.” Austin released his grip on her. “And for the record, before I pissed you off with my question, you looked happy standing there with those two.”

“Does that mean you’ll spare Sawyer the third degree?” She raised her eyebrows hopefully.

Austin shut the front door. “Probably not.”

“Austin . . .” But he’d walked into the living room to join the others.

Morgan squared her shoulders and followed behind him, hoping the presence of a child might keep Austin in the civilized range.

Charlie came over to hug Morgan. With a tight squeeze, she whispered, “He’s yummy.”

“You see why hockey is now my favorite sport, right?” Morgan released Charlie.

“Definitely.” Charlie tugged on Morgan’s hand. “Come help me in the kitchen.”

“I don’t know if I should leave Sawyer and Nia alone with Austin,” Morgan said warily.

“Good point.” Charlie held her free hand out to Nia. “Want to help us in the kitchen, Nia?”

“Yeah!” Nia skipped over and grabbed Charlie’s hand.

Charlie moved them toward the kitchen, but Morgan threw a glance to Sawyer. “I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t worry,” Charlie said. “We cut a deal. I said I’d get Austin some alone time with Sawyer if he promised to be nice about his interrogation.”

“Oh, man. You two are double-teaming us.”

“One of the perks of marriage, lady.” Charlie looked over her shoulder at the guys. “They’ll be fine. Sawyer faces hockey players knocking into him and pucks flying his way while on skates. He’s tough.”

“Well, he better still be out here when I get back.”

“He’ll be there,” Charlie said. “We have his kid.”

Morgan looked at Nia who had run over to a set of French doors that offered a sublime view of the snow-covered backyard. “Wow, you and Austin really planned this all out. Using the kid as a hostage.” She didn’t know whether to be impressed or afraid.

“I see the helicopter!” Nia shouted then turned to look at Charlie. “You know how to fly it?”

Charlie walked across the room to stand beside Nia. “I do.” She kneeled next to her. “Is this your first trip to Vermont?”

Nia nodded.