Free Mini-Story--New Year's with Tristan
I'm back with another mini story, this time about Tristan spending New Year's on Lochguard. There are also plenty of cameos. π Enjoy! (NOTE: I wrote this for fun and didn't pay for any editing. Excuse any mistakes and be aware that any messages or emails about typos, etc. will be deleted and ignored. Thanks for your understanding.)
Copyright 2020, Jessie Donovan / Mythical Lake Press
New Year's with Tristan
Tristan MacLeod glanced at the door to the stone cottage, barely visible in the dark, bloody cold night in the highlands of Scotland, and then looked back at his sister, Arabella. βBram should be doing this, not me.β
She smiled at him as she readjusted her sleeping son on her shoulder. βBram is clan leader and therefore scary. Youβre a lot less intimidating.β
His inner dragon snorted. According to who?
Ignoring his beast, he motioned toward the door. βSo I just knock and walk inside?β
His sisterβs mate, Finn, replied, βAye, thereβs not much to the first-footing. Tradition says if a dark-haired male is the first visitor of the year, it brings good luck.β
Of course it would be a dark-haired male. Finn and his whole bloody family were blond or ginger.Β
Almost. βBoth of your sons are dark-haired. They can do it.β
Arabella snorted. βBut neither canβt walk, let alone stay awake this late. Besides, you agreed to this. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can end with Aunt Lornaβs place and be with Mel again.β
Finn slapped him on the back. βBesides, think of this as building better relations between the clans. Both your mate and Bram will approve.β
There was a reason Tristan didnβt envy Bram, or even Finn, their positions. In general, he liked to interact with adults as little as possible. Children were easier to deal with.
His dragon chimed in. Only because most of them find you scary.
Shut it.
For once his beast merely harrumphed without arguing and curled into a ball inside Tristanβs mind. Probably because heβd enjoy Tristanβs discomfort over the next hour or so.
Sometimes his inner dragon was a bastard.
Wanting to get things going, Tristan gestured toward the basket Finn held, which contained more little parcels than he could count. βAnd those? I know Iβm supposed to give one to each household, but no one told me whatβs in them.β
Finn smirked. βLook whoβs now trying to learn about those βbloody Scotsβ I think you called us?β
Tristan growled. βIβm a teacher, so the more I know, the better prepared I am for questions. Iβm sure my twins will ask about it one day, after a visit with their cousins.β
Finn winked. βIf itβs up to me, Iβll suggest more interesting things for your twins to ask their dad.β
Arabella sighed. βBe nice, Finn.β
Finn shrugged. βWhat? Iβm sure he and Mel will do the same with the triplets.β
Arabella muttered, βYour own cousins will corrupt them long before that.β She gestured toward Tristan. βJust tell him about the parcels already.β
Hoping to hurry Finn along, Tristan put out his palm. As Finn placed a parcel, he explained, βEach one contains a coin, a piece of bread, some salt, a wee bit of coal, and a wee dram of whiskey. Thereβs tradition behind why those things, but Iβll save the detailed explanations for later. If we donβt get started, our ballocks will freeze off soon.β
As another gust of wind blew, Tristan agreed for once with his brother-in-law.
He turned toward the door and knocked. A faint βCome in!β Came from the other side, and taking a deep breath, he braced himself for the possible madness on the other side.
Although once he walked in, he mentally sighed in relief. It was Dr. Layla McFarland and her mate, Chase. Heβd met the doctor before, and she was decidedly less crazy than most of the other Scots. He said, βHappy New Year,β and held out the parcel.
Layla took it and replied, βAye, and same to you, Tristan. Iβd ask how your twins are doing, but youβve got a long night ahead of you yet, so Iβll spare the chit chat.β
Chase hugged his mate against his side. βAnd I have some of my own New Yearβs celebrating to do with my mate, aye?β
Not wanting to deal with the newly mated pair and who knew how many sexual innuendos from the younger male, he merely grunted. βEnjoy.β
Melanie would say he was rude for leaving so quickly, but Tristan had a job to do. So he exited the cottage and shut the door. He put out a hand. βNext. I want to get this done as quickly as possible.β
His sister shook her head. βYou could at least smile while you do it.β
He raised his brows. βShouldnβt you take your son home, Ara? Itβs cold out.β
She opened her mouth, but Finn beat her to it. βI agree, lass. You should take wee Declan home. He may be able to sleep through anything, but I donβt want him to catch a cold. I can help Tristan on my own.β
Arabella looked between them before finally speaking to Tristan. βYou promise to behave?β He grunted his assent and she continued, βOkay, then Iβll take Dec home. But try to be nice to everyone, Tristan. This is my home now.β
He watched as Finn murmured something into Arabellaβs ear, kissed her and then his son, and Tristan realized not for the first time how glad he was that Arabella was finally happy.
His dragon spoke up. Which is why you should be nice.
Fine, Iβll try. Although if anyone starts blowing some bagpipes, Iβm running out of there.
Agreed. I hate them, too.
Arabella finally waved goodbye and Finn turned toward Tristan. βAye, well, letβs get a move on. Now that Iβve eased you into it with Layla and Chase as the most recently mated couple, weβll start with some of the older families first. Theyβll pretend they can still stay up all night, but most of them are probably taking wee naps as we speak.β
βShow me the way and Iβll finish this in record time.β
And as they headed toward the next house, Tristan yearned to be with his mate and children.
At least heβd been able to kiss Melanie right after midnight. Anything else would have to wait until he finished.
Right. With the motivation of being able to strip his mate and claim her, Tristan quickened his pace. Time to see how quickly he could finish his task.
~~~
When they finally reached the penultimate house, Tristanβs face hurt from trying to smile at those who smiled at him first.
Heβd lost track of how many houses there were, but there had to be at least a hundred of them, if not two hundred.
Some had been better than others. A fellow teacher named Alistair and his mate, Kiyana, had been rather calm. The complete opposite of an old granny named Meg, who had two males hanging off her the entire time.
Even without asking about it, Tristan suffered Finnβs long explanation of the thruple. It was definitely more than he wanted to hear about the sex life of people older than his parents.
Well, at least his father since his mum had long passed away.
His dragon spoke up. You havenβt talked much to Dad.
Ara is more forgiving than I am.
Someday youβll have to accept him, for Jack and Annabelβs sake.
He mentally grunted. Weβll get to that when the time comes.
Finn stopped in front of a semi-detached house, on the side with a better looking garden. It was one of the few homes Tristan recognized. He groaned. βNot your cousins.β
βYou should thank me as theyβre all together, in one place. That means only one visit and not three.β
Putting out his hand, he said, βFine. Just give me the parcels.β
Finn handed him the basket. βTheyβre family, so they can just find their own.β
Taking a deep breath, Tristan knocked and did his best not to tap his hand against his thigh. Sometimes Finnβs extended family were fine. Other times, they threw food at each other.
Regardless of the mood, they were the complete opposite of what Tristan had experienced growing up. And far too social for his liking.
His dragon yawned. Stop complaining. Iβd rather be with Mel, too. But this is important to Ara.
At the mention of his sister, Tristan forced his face into an almost smile. Heβd try for Arabella.
A loud, βCome in!β filtered through the door. He entered and was greeted by a loud, βHappy New Year!β
He blinked at all the people crammed into the living area. Fraser, Fergus, Faye, and their mates. Aunt Lorna and hers as well. And off to the side, he found Melanieβs gaze and the rest of the room melted away.
She beamed at him and all his irritation from the night faded. If him being social for an hour or so would make her happy, heβd do that and more.
The curly-haired female cousinβFayeβwalked up to him and plucked a parcel out of the basket. βThere arenβt quite enough, so hurry and get yours, Fraser and Fergus.β
Not wanting to deal with the grown males rushing him, Tristan handed the basket to Faye and walked over to Melanie.
His mate tilted her head and said, βI hope you were a little less grumpy with everyone else.β
He cupped her cheek, loving the softness of her skin. βI did my best. But these lot are family, so I donβt have to pretend.β Despite the house full of MacKenzies, human mates, and even Finn and Arabella, he did notice one absence. βWhereβs my father?β
Placing a hand on his chest, she murmured, βHe was tired. But weβll see him tomorrow.β
He nodded, not wanting to think too much about his dad or the strained conversations they had. Instead, he pressed Melanie against his front, lowered his head, and whispered into her ear, βHappy New Year, love. Maybe we can sneak away and celebrate it.β
She chuckled. βMaybe if we were on Stonefire, but all of these guys will notice. Theyβre the kings and queens of sneaking out on their own.β She kissed his jaw. βBut donβt worry, Aunt Lorna said sheβd watch the twins for us tonight, as a thank you for the first-footing.β
βAnd how long do we have to stay before we can say weβre leaving?β
Melanie stroked his jaw, and his inner dragon hummed. I hope soon.
His mate replied, βAt least long enough to have drinks and maybe play a game. And donβt complain about the game. All of us have children now, so itβs kind of nice to have some fun with just the adults.β
His dragon spoke up. I know a better adults-only game.
Even though Tristan agreed with his dragon, he gently kissed his mate and murmured, βFor you, anything. I love you, Mel.β
βI love you, too, Tristan.β
Not caring who watched, he took his mateβs lips with his own and showed her thoroughly how much he loved her.
After all, he couldnβt think of a better way to celebrate the new year than with his mate in his arms, his children safely asleep, and his sister laughing with her own family now.
49 thoughts on “New Year's with Tristan”
Cute story and a perfect end/beginning of the years. Thank youππΊπβ€π π
This was a great little story! Love these characters!
Love it! I saved it for New Years Eve. A wonderful little treat.
This was a good start to the new year thank you π
Thank you for this wonderful treat. Happy New Year
I loved this series and I want more of them. Loved Faye, Fergus and Fraser
Awwwww! This was so sweet. Thank you.
Love it! I love all of your books!
Thank you, loved it
What a lovely treat. Thank you very much! When my in-laws were still alive, I was the one they sent in first with whiskey and fruitcake because of my black hair. Happy New Year to you and yours.
I loved it!
A fun story, is this an actual tradition? Thanks for sharing, and bringing a little fun to the end of a truly miserable year.
As always I want more! Thank u for the little peak into their world!
Sweet, and perfect for the new year.
To all, Happy New Year! Wishing you a bright, beautiful, peace, love and healthy 2021. I love all your dragons stories. Thank you for your storytelling. Take care.
That's was a lovely end and start between years, took me back to my nan's Scottish traditions on new year's eve. Happy new year.
Thank you for this wonderful treat. I loved it πππ I can never get enough of those dragon shifters π Happy New Year π₯
Happy new year and thank you for the lovely treat!
Perfect little story for NYE, and accurate with the traditions, which I know from old Scottish friends. Lovely
I love it! Thank you so much for this new yearβs gift!!
What a lovely New Year's Eve Treat!! Thank you so much!! Happy New Year!!
Wonderful Jessie, a lovely cute story that leaves you wanting more. Happy New Year to you Jessie
Love it! Love reading about the tradition. Great read for New Year's Eve! Happy New Year's
This was great. Tristan grumpy, Finn laughing and teasing. It was a great short story.
Always fun to read chreck-in scenes! Thank you for sharing and Happy New Year!
Another great mini story! Mini suggestion for a mini story: A mini time jump where the twins and triplets interact with each other. I can see them getting into all kinds of mischief! ππ
Great story i like Tristan it was nice to see him again a great way to start the new year Happy New Year
I love the little story in between books
I loved this story, it made Tristan look not as grumpy as normal. Thank you xxxx
Saved it for New Years Day morning! My first new read in the New Year!! I loved it!!
Beautiful little story I loved reading about Tristan again!!!
Absolute love this short story you provide us for New Years .β₯οΈβ₯οΈβ₯οΈ
Happy New Years, Jessie.π
Ohhhh what a cute story!!!
Happy new Year Jessie!!?
Loved it! Perfect ending for the year!
I love these quick peeks!
I love it. Its a great start to the new year. Thankyou for this short story Jessie. I love Tristan and Mel.
Definitely want more of these.
Happy New Year. Thank you for this treat. I love all your books, especially the dragon books. Great story telling. ππ
Really enjoyed this little snippet of dragon life on New Years. Thank you and please keep them coming.
Loved it! Tristen will always hold a special place in my heart, itβs always good to catch up
Love the update from all of our favorite couples. Thank you for bringing this world to life for us. Happy New Year!!
Loved it nice to have a peek at what they are up to in between books happy New year to you and your family Jessie
This was super cute! I could definitely read more like this.ππ»ππ₯°
Super story, I love the series the characters are great
I love this ! A little slice of life
Loved this story. Beautiful read to start the New Year.
I liked it. I love books that let me revisit the past characters I enjoyed reading about. I hate when a book ends and we never really get to hear about the past characters again, you always wonder what's going on in their lives, even though it's just a story. This was a great little story, would like to read more.
So nice . Well done a wonderful new year. Missing all the dragons. For this different year cames with a message og hope and love.
Thank you
I love the series I hope to hear more about Finn and Arabella and the Triplets .
It was great. I enjoyed reading about the familiar characters, how they evolved, but stayed the same.
Thank you for sharing your gift.