–WFI–Chapter 24 Saturday, August 28

Saturday morning, before Logan and Rory had gotten out of bed, Rory's phone started ringing. She rolled over and looked at the caller ID. "Hello, Katie, how are you?"...They came in yesterday. We all ate supper together last night….I'm sorry she didn't call you…...Katie,...no, we haven't… Katie, tell me why you do not want me to tell her… Give me a good reason and we will discuss it… Okay. School starters back soon. She will have to report to the school Wednesday. I will tell her before she starts school…..Katie has a grandmother and an aunt that is wanting to meet her. Tristan said they just found out about her and want to meet her. I can not hold them off much longer…..Okay, Bye Katie. You do what is best for you." Rory hung up the phone.

Rory was up and in the bathroom. Logan sits up in bed, waiting for her to return. He heard the shower going. Guess she is getting up. Logan threw the covers off and joined her in the shower. When they were dressed and headed to breakfast, Rory stopped Logan before he exited the bedroom. "I think we should tell them today. Call Tristian and see what time he can meet us." Rory told Logan. Logan pulled out his phone.

When they got downstairs, everyone was finished with breakfast. Evelyn had a plate apiece in the microwave for them. They warmed up their food and sat down to eat. Logan's phone beeped. It was a text from Tristan. "Is 1:30 okay with you?" he asked Rory. She nodded. When she finished eating she sent Karson a text that she and Logan would like to talk with them around 1:30 today. Karson texted back. OK.

At about 1:20, Karson and Ricky came over to the main house. They met Logan and Rory in the office. They were not seated for very long when the doorbell rang. Tristan came walking in. He nodded at everyone and took a seat. Both Karson and Ricky looked worried.

Logan started. "While you were gone. No, let me start over. Right before the wedding, Tristan contacted me. He was inquiring as to who your mother is." Karson and Ricky both looked at Tristain.

"I was pretty sure I knew your mother when she lived in Stars Hollow," Tristan said. Karson's eyes got big, and Ricky took her hand. "NO, I am not your father".

Karson just stared at him. "But you know who it is?" she asked.

Tristan nodded his head. "Karson, let us start from the beginning," Rory said.

"Tristain started asking questions. He told me who he thought your father was. After talking it over with Rory, we called Katie," Logan said.

"This started right before your wedding. We waited until after you and Ricky left for your honeymoon. We did not want anything to ruin your wedding," Rory said.

"When Katie refused to talk about it. I was ready to drop it." Rory said. "The man that Tristain claimed to be your father died in Afghanistan. He was in the Marines."

"I told her that you have a grandmother and an aunt that knows about you and wants to meet you," Tristan said.

"It seems that you were with me at the club a few times and your grandmother saw you. She said you were the spitting image of your Aunt when she was your age. She then brought your aunt to the club to see. They pulled all of your dad's belongings from storage." Rory said.

"That's when they called me. I went over and found some letters that your mother had written to him. I started investigating. I found you at the beach on Martha's Vineyard. Take some pictures and send them to your Aunt. That is when they decided they wanted to meet you. I contacted Logan." Tristan said.

"After talking with Tristain and Rory, we talked to Katie before the wedding. She told us that she didn't know who your father was and if she did, she didn't want you to know." Logan said.

Ricky had a hold of Karson's hand. He had his arm wrapped around her. "Do they know that she is married to me? Do they want my money?" Ricky asked.

Tristan smiled. "No, they have plenty of money. Your grandmother is Sheila Goodyear. Your aunt's name is Kimberly Mansfield." Tristan said.

"I had Dillon look into this. I wanted to be sure before we told you. After he investigated, the evidence was pretty overwhelming." Logan said.

"Mrs. Sheila has letters that your mother wrote to your father, telling him she was pregnant. It seems the letters were not opened until they were discovered recently. I don't know why he didn't open them. He enlisted in the Marines right out of high school." Tristain said.

"Did he go to school with moma?" Karson asked.

"No, he went to school with me. He and Tristain were running buddies." Rory said.

Karson looked at Tristain. "So you knew about him and moma?" Karson asked.

Tristan took a deep breath. "This is the hard part, Karson. I knew your father was seeing someone. He would tell me about her. I called him a liar. All he would say is that she was beautiful and we would not understand. I accused him of being in love. He wouldn't talk with me for a week. Then he needed me to cover for him so he could go see his girl. I agreed but followed him. He and your mother met at the park right outside of Stars Hollow. The only thing I knew about Stars Hollow was that is where Rory lived. I thought that was who he was sneaking off to see and that is why he wouldn't tell me. I got a good look at her, it was not Rory. The next day, I started questioning him about her. He wouldn't talk about it but was really depressed. I was picking on him. I was a real ass back then. I told him she must have kicked his ass to the curb. He walked off. He never asked me again to cover for him. I think she may have broken up with him that night." Tristan said.

"He never said another word about your mother, until he was in basic training. He called me and wanted me to find her. He gave me her name. Katie Nichols from Stars Hollow. The first thing I did was get in touch with Rory. She was a freshman at Yale then. She told me that she left town to go live with her aunt on the west coast. Next time he called, that is what I told him. He was killed in Afghanistan two years later." Tristain said. "He never mentioned her again,"

No one said anything else for a few minutes. Rory looked at Karson. "His name was Austin Goodyear. I think he knew about you, but couldn't get your mom to confirm it." Rory said.

"What does she say now?" Karson asked.

"I tried to get her to be the one to tell you but she refused. She said it was not going to do anyone any good to know. Tristan feels like because your grandmother knows, she will try to contact you. They agreed not to contact you until after Tristain had a chance to tell you." Rory said.

"Ricky, Karson, you know I will not let anyone try to take advantage of you. We can make arrangements for y'all to meet." Logan said.

Ricky looked at Karson, "I want you and Rory with us when we meet." Karson said.

Logan and Rory nodded. "Just let us know and we will set it up."

Karson and Ricky left, going to Chilton to get Karson's classroom set up. They started this morning. Karson estimated it would take them most of the day tomorrow. Then she would have 2 days to get it ready for the open house. School starts Wednesday.