A wave of nausea swept over her again, and she wished there was something she could grab onto. But there wasn’t anything close, except Nate, and he didn’t need to support her while she did this. This she would ask for, standing on her own two feet. So she balled her hands into fists and squeezed tight.
“I checked, and it looks like schools around here start after Labor Day.”
“True story.”
His confirmation made her heart fly. He’d checked, too. Of course he had.
“I know it’s ridiculously short notice, but is it…is it too late for us to move here so Chloe can start school on time?”
“By here, you mean…”
“I mean here, in your apartment. The three of us,” she blurted, clutching her midsection, her hands getting wet from the raindrops still clinging to her coat. “Is it too late for Chloe and me to move up here to live with you, and for the three of us to give this a try for real? I know you have to work, and I’m throwing a huge wrench into your life, and I’m sorry because I could’ve done this weeks ago, and we would’ve had more time, and now it’s going to be a stressful mess, and—”
Her voice had started to shake, and her whole body felt as though she was going to shudder right out of it. She couldn’t stop talking, even though she likely wasn’t making any sense anymore. Nate must’ve been able to tell that she was close to just fucking losing it, because he took another few long strides, closing the gap between them and taking her in his arms.
He hugged her, so tight that she stopped trembling. She let herself rest her head on his shoulder, and it melted her heart when he kissed her forehead.
“Hey. Ruby. It’s never too late. Never.”
That was when she started to cry in earnest, the hot tears rolling down her face and soaking Nate’s shirt. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried before Nate came along. She’d never been one to cry at movies or news stories, but after she’d had Chloe, she’d locked her emotions up even tighter because someone else was depending on her and she couldn’t afford to be weak. To need, because she was needed by someone.
But here was Nate, with his strong arms wrapped around her even though he was no doubt getting soaked by the rain on her coat and the tears that were still flowing. Letting her need him.
Epilogue
Four Months Later
Nate stirred the concoction in the slow cooker and then measured out the rice and the water into the rice cooker beside it and flicked it on.
“Hey, Nate, what do I do with this negative exponent again?”
He looked down at Chloe’s paper. The school had put her in advanced math and she was doing great, but it wasn’t easy for her. He did his best to help her work it out on her own and not just give her the answer, and after a minute, she was writing out the correct answer and looking up at him for confirmation.
“You got it. Nice job.”
Chloe shot him a quick smile before leaning over her homework again, scratching her temple with her eraser. Homework assistance given, he returned to his side of the counter to chop up some carrots and tomatoes for the salad.
Keys jangled in the door, and he smiled. Ruby was home.
She strode over the threshold, snowflakes melting in her hair. Dropping her backpack on the floor, she kicked off her boots and hung up her coat before coming over to the island to give Chloe a kiss on her cheek that the eleven-year-old promptly wiped away. After leaning over and checking Chloe’s progress on her homework, Ruby came around and slid an arm around his waist. Gave him a squeeze and a cheek-kiss of his own. He wiped his hands on the dishtowel he had tucked in his pocket and turned his attention to her. Slid his fingers through the belt loops on her pants and pulled her in close for a kiss on the lips.
It wasn’t that long, and there was no tongue involved, but they got an “ew” from Chloe nonetheless. Tough noogies. He was gonna kiss Ruby when he hadn’t seen her all day.
“How was school?”
She nodded, looking away from him, not avoiding, but thoughtful. “Good. I think they’re finally realizing that they want me on their team. Even if I’m ‘just a girl.’”
Ruby was going to make her classmates so sorry for ever saying that. He’d been a little surprised when she said she wanted to go to trade school to be an electrician, but hell, she could be anything she wanted, and if that’s what she wanted to be, she’d do it. She’d already started a business plan about how to reach single moms like her and other women who might feel better about having another woman in their homes to do repairs than some strange dude. When she wasn’t at school or studying, she worked part-time at a family ski and sports shop where they’d been thrilled to hire her with her years of experience at Landry’s, and they were cool about changing her shifts around her school schedule. Probably because she could already double as their go-to fix-it person, and she’d only be gaining more skills.
He was back at his office, and they worked it out so someone was home every day when Chloe got out of school. It wasn’t always easy—there were growing pains whenever a living situation changed, and given how harried their change had been, it was impressive that they’d got things relatively squared away as soon as they had.
It was also a good thing that his apartment had already been in a town that had good schools and was close to a few riding stables. Since half a dozen elementary schools dumped into the middle school, everyone just assumed Chloe had gone to one they hadn’t. They were all adjusting and making new friends, not just her. She’d liked the first barn she’d tried and the horse she got to ride there. Ruby helped out at the barn to help defray the costs, even though Nate had said he’d help. But that was one of the things Ruby hadn’t budged on, even if she budged on so much else.
Ruby kissed him again and then pulled away. “I’m going to shower before dinner; I’m all grimy. But it smells good and I’m starving.”
On her way by Chloe, she ruffled her daughter’s hair and said, “Dinner in twenty. I want that page done by the time we sit down.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Nate smiled at his girls, even though they were paying him no mind. Maybe especially because they were paying him no mind. It made him so happy to be with them, to feel as though they were a team. And he’d done something today that would hopefully make it more permanent. It still felt a little like a probationary period, for all of them, and he wanted it settled. No one was going anywhere, at least if he had anything to say about it.
He snuck around the counter and gave Chloe a nudge. “Hey, can you keep a secret?”
Chloe eyed him, same expression Ruby gave him regularly. It was eerie. “Depends on what the secret is.”
A laugh escaped his throat before he could stop it, and it sounded more like a bark than he would’ve liked. Ah well. “Smart girl. But this is a good surprise. I think, anyway. You’ll have to let me know how you feel about it.”
He slipped the box out of his pocket and cracked it open before laying it on the table.
“Nate.”
“Yeah?”
“Mom’s going to kill you.”
It was a tiny thing, but Chloe had stopped saying “my mom” and now simply said “Mom.” So small, and yet somehow that lack of one small word, mere semantics to some, made his heart squeeze. It was just as important to have Chloe on board. He had a lot of learning to do about this dad thing, but he was doing the best he could and he’d had pretty good role models who were around quite a bit. Chloe loved going to Georgie and Grahamburger’s house, and they came up to see her often, too. “I know. But is she gonna say yes first?”
They both stared at the ring on the counter as if it might give them the answer. The round center diamond and the pear-shaped rubies on the sides sparkled in their platinum band, but it stayed silent. Probably better that way. A talking ring would be creepy as fuck.
“It’s really pretty,” Chloe volunteered.
“Yeah? You think she’ll like it?”
“I do. It’ll leave a
nice gash when she finally gets fed up and punches one of those guys from her class.”
“You know, I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. I mean, I hope that’s not the only reason she likes it, but it’s a perk.”
“For sure.”
Anxiety was crawling around in his stomach, as though it was an ant farm. Did Chloe think Ruby would say no? Was it too soon? It had taken everything he had to wait this long to ask her, and he didn’t know if he could wait much longer. But he would, if that’s what would make this okay for Ruby, if that’s what she needed to feel good about it—or for Chloe, too. But Chloe trusted people more than her mom did, probably because her mom had shown up and been responsible and reliable for her own kid, whereas the people in Ruby’s life had failed her until now. Chloe was far more likely to take a leap of faith.
He’d hoped that he’d get her endorsement or approval. Not that she owed him anything, but he’d like to have it. It was important, essential, that Chloe wanted to be part of this team, too. She’d been pretty cool about him walking into their lives, but they butted heads sometimes. Although it wasn’t like Chloe to keep her opinions to herself, so it was unlikely she hated him, but there was a big difference between not hating someone and being okay with them marrying your mom, especially when it had been just the two of you for your whole life. He didn’t want to get in the way of what they had.
There was a bump of a scrawny shoulder against his arm, and he turned his head to see Chloe smiling. “I hope she says yes, by the way. You make her pretty happy.”
Sweet relief.
“And what about you? Are you on board with being part of Team Hudson-Carter?”
She got that thoughtful look on her face, almost a carbon copy of when Ruby was working something out in her head. It was better than an immediate yes, because it meant she was actually considering it, not just thinking it was cool that she could have whatever kind of food she wanted from the grocery store. But she didn’t think about it for long enough to send him into a tailspin of doubt again. Nah, she got a big smile on her face.
“Eh. You’re all right, I guess. We’ll keep you.”
“All right?” He poked her side in the place that was most ticklish. “Just all right? See if I sneak you any more KitKats.”
Which was when they heard a door close down the hall. Nate scrambled to get the ring back in his pocket and darted over to the other side of the island to pull plates and glasses down from the shelves. Chloe took up her pencil and bent over her homework.
Ruby walked out, toweling off her hair. “What’s going on out here? Thought I heard a ruckus?”
“Nope. We’re behaving.” It was only a tiny lie, right? And surely she’d forgive him that if she knew why. Maybe. But before or after she murdered him was really the question.
Ruby gave them both a narrow-eyed glare. “Okay. I’ve just gotta dry my hair, and then we can eat. Sound good?”
“Perfect timing.” He gave her his best innocent smile, and though he knew she wouldn’t believe it for a second, she still turned on her heel and walked back toward the bedroom.
When the door had closed, he reached a fist over the island without taking his eye off the beef curry he was stirring. And was incredibly gratified when a small fist bumped his and then they both blew it up.
“Team Hudson-Carter for the win,” Chloe said.
They were going to be okay.
Nah, that was selling them all short. They were gonna be great.
Thank you!
Thanks for reading Love, All. I hope you enjoyed it!
➢ If you’d like to know when my next book is available, you can sign up for my new-release mailing list at www.tamsenparker.com, follow me on Twitter at @TamsenParker, or Like my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/tamsenparker.
➢ Reviews help readers discover books. I appreciate all reviews and the time it takes to share your thoughts.
➢ You’ve just read one of the books in the 2018 season of the Camp Firefly Falls continuity. If you missed any from this season, or the 2016 or 2017 seasons, you can find them all at http://campfireflyfalls.com, including In Her Court, Van and Willa’s book.
Other Books by Tamsen
The Compass Series
Personal Geography
Intimate Geography
Uncharted Territory
True North
Due South
The Cartographer
The Snow and Ice Games Series
Love on the Tracks
Seduction on the Slopes
On the Edge of Scandal
Fire on the Ice
On the Brink of Passion
The License to Love Series
Thrown Off Track
(originally published in the Exposed anthology)
Hot on Her Tracks (Summer 2018)
The Inside Track (Fall 2018)
Camp Firefly Falls
In Her Court
Love, All
Standalone Novels
School Ties
His Custody
If I Loved You Less (Fall 2018)
Novellas and Short Stories
Dedication of a Lifetime
(originally published in the Rogue Affair anthology)
Craving Flight
Looking for a Complication
(originally published in the For the First Time anthology)
Needs
(originally published in the Winter Rain anthology)
Anthologies
Rogue Desire
Rogue Affair
Rogue Hearts
Acknowledgements
I am so thankful to be able to write another book in the Camp Firefly Falls universe—who after all, hasn’t wanted to go to grown-up summer camp? Zoe York and Gwen Hayes were the originators of Camp Firefly Falls and I can’t thank them enough for letting me play in their sandbox.
Thank you to AJ for insisting that Nate couldn’t actually be perfect as much as I wanted him to be, and to Emma for another one of her on-point and always insightful beta reads.
To my editor, Christa, for using her sparkle magic editing in the service of Ruby and Nate’s story. I am so grateful to be one of your duckies. I am also thankful to Rebecca, my copy editor, for her careful attention and being able to use her skills to make my characters sing. And my cover designer Lori, who made Nate look as smitten on my cover as he is in the pages of my book.
This story was difficult for me to write in some ways, but in others it was cathartic and wonderful. Even though my dad was around a lot, my mom was still a single parent. And before my step-mom and my dad got married, she was a single parent for several years. Some of my best friends are single parents. I have the utmost respect and admiration for single parents, especially single moms, and it has been my privilege to bring a fictional one the kind of happy ending I wish for all single parents, in whatever form they might want it to take.
And last, but certainly not least, to my readers and reviewers: I hope you enjoyed another trip to Camp Firefly Falls. Thank you for spending your time on my words and for all your support. I couldn’t do this without you!
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Love, All: © 2018 by Tamsen Parker
Editing by Christa Desir (http://editorchrista.com/)
Copy Editing by Rebecca Weston (http://rawestoneditorial.com)
Cover Design by Lori Carter
ISBN 13: 9781942427155
All rights reserved. Where such permission is sufficient, the author grants the right to strip any DRM which may be applied to this work.
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Love, All (Camp Firefly Falls Book 19) Page 17