by Natalie Ann
“I don’t have any,” Chloe said, wiping her hand under her nose. “We didn’t have any pictures at our house.”
“I bet Landon has some from when your mother was younger. I’ll talk to him about it if you want. But for now, let’s try to get through your clothes while dinner is cooking. Tell me, is he a good cook or does he burn a lot? Should I have brought over some medicine for my belly?”
Chloe giggled. “He’s okay. It tastes fine. He only makes the same things though.”
“If there is something you want different, then I suggest you tell him. Or offer to help him cook. He won’t know if you don’t speak up.”
“Maybe,” Chloe said.
By the time dinner was done and Chloe was in her room reading more books that she and Landon had picked up at the library a few days earlier, Kristen felt like maybe some progress had been made.
Chloe talked at dinner tonight. She talked about a meal her mother used to make and Landon actually said he loved tacos too. That he’d make them one night next week.
“So how did it go with the clothes?” he asked her as they cleaned up dinner.
“Pretty good. She is going to need a lot, but I don’t think you should have to buy it all tomorrow. She’s concerned that she is costing you money and if you can’t afford her, you’d send her away.”
“What?” he said, turning sharply.
“Landon. She doesn’t have much. You can see that. What was it like when you picked her up?”
“Yeah, money was an issue. I get that. But it’s not for me.”
“She doesn’t know that. I think your sister might have made her feel bad about wanting or needing things. You are all she has right now. She is terrified of upsetting or angering you. She will do anything to not be sent away.”
“Why is she telling you this and not the counselor?”
“I have no idea. I think she feels so much more comfortable with me. I’m glad she opened up with me. I’d like to spend more time with her if you want.”
“I’d like that too. I’d like you to spend more time with me too,” he said, pulling her in and holding her close. She didn’t expect tenderness from him and that toasty heart of hers was a roaring fire.
“Then you won’t have a heart attack when you see the list of what you do need to buy her this weekend.”
“I hope not. And as for money. There was a life insurance policy for Chloe. Not a lot. I put it in a college fund for her. She does get social security monthly. Or she will until she is eighteen. I had no clue. It wasn’t until I talked to the lawyers that this all got worked out. That money will start soon. Money isn’t an issue. Should I tell her that?”
“That is your choice. That money is probably to help with raising her.”
“It is, but I don’t need it,” he said.
“Then handle it any way you want. Maybe she should know it’s there to make her feel better, but she doesn’t need to know you aren’t using it. That is for you to figure out, but you two are going to have to start to talk more.”
“Yeah. You’re right. And enough about this tonight. She’ll be in her room for a bit reading like she does every night.”
“Do you watch TV together at all at night?”
“Sometimes. It’s like pulling teeth to get her to tell me anything. I feel like I have to sneak to her room to see what she is watching there. That is why I gave her a TV so she didn’t feel like she didn’t have a choice.”
Sweet again. She wasn’t sure how many men would have gone to these lengths for a stranger thrust on them. “Has anyone told you that you are a complete sweetheart?”
He snorted. “Nope.”
“Then consider it said.” Her lips started at his neck and moved up to his ear. “I happen to like men that have a sweet side to them.”
“I thought you liked the side of me that had you against the door of your apartment.”
“Oh, I most definitely like that side of you. I’m hoping to see that side of you again in the near future.”
“Babysitter,” he said, his mouth devouring her. “I need to find a damn babysitter.”
“Then I think you should work on that this week.”
A Little Authority
Landon was really dreading the trip to the mall. Not because of the fact he was going to spend a small fortune on the full page of things Chloe needed.
Not even that he’d have to go into multiple stores and stand around while Chloe decided what she would let him buy.
No. It was because he was dying to get his hands on Kristen and wouldn’t be able to do it until later. Probably not even today since they were meeting at the mall when it opened rather than him picking her up and bringing her home.
He would have liked to go shopping yesterday, but she had to work on Saturday and he had classes to teach himself. Chloe was loaded down with books to read and coloring books that he’d picked up the week before on a whim.
When he had a chance he’d glance over and see her watching him in the class, but they’d yet to talk about her wanting to participate.
He was thinking he was just going to sign her up for it regardless. Didn’t the counselor say that at some point he might have to show a little authority? That Chloe needed to know that he still had the final say.
If Chloe didn’t like the class or really fought him on it, he’d let her drop it. But he could tell she had a huge interest in it.
So Sunday shopping it was and then he’d treat them to lunch. Maybe they’d only be shopping a few hours. He hoped.
He didn’t get that wish though. Not when two hours later they still had only managed to get her sneakers, a few pairs of pants and some shirts. She still needed underwear and socks, Kristen had told him, and he told her the two of them could do that without him. Not to mention a jacket and at least one pair of shoes.
It was bad enough that he was standing around while Kristen helped find clothes for Chloe and brought her into the dressing room to try things on. How was he supposed to know it would be hard to find her size?
“I’m hungry,” Kristen said. “How about you, Chloe? What do you say we talk your uncle into getting us some lunch before we try to get the rest of your stuff?”
“I don’t need anything else,” Chloe said.
“Yes, you do,” he said. “Kristen went to a lot of work to make a list of what you needed. And we barely put a dent in anything. I want to get as much as I can off the list today. But I agree, I could use some food. What do you want to eat, Chloe?”
“I don’t care,” she said.
“It’s your day, you choose, Chloe,” Kristen said.
Chloe looked up at him, he felt Kristen nudge his shoulder and said, “Yep, your day, your choice.”
“I like Chinese,” she said.
He looked around and was thrilled to see they had it in the food court. “Then Chinese it is. Is that what you want, Kristen?”
“It’s Chloe’s day and she is choosing. I say we all eat the same, right?”
“Sounds good,” he said.
They made their way over to the line and when Chloe got to the front she just stood there. “What do you like?” Kristen asked her.
She looked down. “I don’t know the names,” she said, her eyes starting to fill.
Oh man. He had no idea lunch would turn into this. “Can you remember what you liked by what it looked like?” he asked.
She nodded. “Then walk down and point out what you want,” Kristen said.
They got through the lunch crisis and were sitting down eating. Chloe was gobbling up lunch like it was her last meal. “Did you eat Chinese a lot?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “Lynn bought it once.”
He didn’t know what to say to that. “Do you miss Lynn? Do you want to talk to her?” He hadn’t thought of that because Lynn gave no indication of wanting to keep in contact with Chloe.
“A little. I don’t think she liked me much. I mean she did, but she didn’t talk to me a lot. She liked
Mommy more.”
He couldn’t imagine the life his niece led until months ago. “I’m sure she liked you just fine. But she wanted you to be with family. It’s what your mother wanted. I wish I knew about you before,” he said.
She went back to eating lunch and Landon knew the subject would be dropped. When Chloe was done, she asked to go to the bathroom, so he told her to go since they were right by the restrooms and he could keep an eye on her.
“Did you see her eying the pet store when we walked by?” Kristen asked.
“No. And don’t even think about it. I can’t tell if she needs underwear and you think I can figure out if she wants a pet?”
Kristen laughed at him. “That is funny. Maybe it would do her good to have something she could call her own. An animal she can care for.”
“Kristen,” he said, letting out a breath. “How am I going to handle a pet? Chloe has been with me for over a month and I’m just finding out she likes Chinese food and shredded cheese in her mashed potatoes.”
“But you did learn it. And maybe just get her a goldfish.”
“No,” he said. “I don’t know if she is responsible enough to feed it each day and I can’t add something else to my list. What if it dies? Which it will. How do I handle that when she just lost her mother?”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have suggested it. I just thought it might give her something that is just hers.”
“I understand what you’re saying. I do. But it’s not the right time. All I can think about right now is getting the rest of the stuff on this list. Or at least most of it, then figuring out a way to kiss you without her wondering what is going on.”
“Why do you care if she wonders? Why can’t you just do it and not worry? Does she think we are just friends? I kind of thought it was more than that.”
He heard the hurt in her voice and knew he was making a disaster of things. “It is more than that. You tell me. Is it a mistake to let her know we are more than friends?”
“I don’t know if it’s a mistake or not. I don’t know about her life before now any more than you, but I think keeping things from her isn’t good either. If what we have is more than friends, then why not let her know?”
“I suppose,” he said, but he was still having doubts.
A few hours later they managed to finish up shopping and what he really needed was a beer and a burger since the chicken and rice was a far cry from holding him over.
They were in the parking lot and piling all the bags into his SUV. Kristen’s car was a few rows over. He wanted to walk her over to it, but wouldn’t leave Chloe alone.
“Thank you for shopping with us today. Or I should say for shopping with Chloe and letting me off the hook,” he said.
“I hope you were taking notes,” she said, her hand reaching out and holding his. He looked over and saw Chloe watching them. So far so good.
“I tried. I’m sure I’ll need help the next time too. Or maybe Chloe will feel more comfortable telling me what she needs,” he said, angling his head at his niece.
Chloe nodded her head. “I will.”
“That would be real helpful to your uncle,” Kristen said. “Can I ask you a question, Chloe?”
“Yes,” she said, but her eyes were looking uncertain that Landon could see.
“How would you feel if I gave your uncle a kiss?”
Chloe giggled. “How would he feel is the question.”
Landon burst out laughing. That was the first time his niece had ever cracked a joke. Imagine that. “He’d feel pretty darn good about it,” he said.
Trusted the Most
Landon took the first day of school off of work. He wasn’t sure how this was going to go and wanted to make sure he dropped Chloe off and picked her up. Tomorrow she’d be getting on and off the bus at Gabby’s, but today was more important in his eyes.
He’d met with the principal and the teacher the day before. He’d told them about Chloe and her situation and wanted to make sure he was contacted if there were any problems.
They wanted to set her up with a counselor, but he’d said to hold off. That she had one and the last thing he wanted to do was have her feel overwhelmed or be singled out in her new place.
Everyone was on the same page and now that he’d dropped her off and saw she made it in fine, he was going to go to the studio and get some paperwork done. Everything was getting behind.
Too bad nothing ever went as planned and the minute he was in his office his phone went off. Of course it was his mother. He hadn’t spoken to her after he called her about Jennifer’s death a week after he’d found out.
He would have told her the minute he got home with Chloe, but his mother never answered her phone and didn’t return his call. He wasn’t going to leave a message like that for her.
When he finally told her about Jennifer and Chloe, she’d been more pissed off she had a granddaughter she knew nothing about than to learn her daughter had died.
That phone call with his mother hadn’t lasted long and he hoped this one didn’t either.
“Hello,” he said.
“Landon. It’s your mother.”
“I know. What’s going on?”
“I’ve had time to calm down after learning about my granddaughter.”
“Her name is Chloe. What did you need to calm down about?” he asked.
He couldn’t believe that his mother hadn’t called once to ask about Chloe. To ask how she was doing. To even see how he was doing taking care of her. Let alone remember what her name was.
Then he wondered why he was thinking that when his mother never cared anyway.
He grew up in a house full of fighting and couldn’t leave fast enough. He suspected Jennifer had felt the same way and he was going to be carrying around a lot of guilt that maybe he could have been there for his younger sister more.
His half sister. But she was still his sister and she obviously thought enough about him to list him as her only child’s guardian without even letting him know.
“Everything Jennifer did was to spite me. Do you know why she left home when she was eighteen and never came back?”
“Because you were always on her case?” he said.
“She told me she was gay. That she didn’t like men. I told her it was a phase and she didn’t believe me. We fought all the time. I think she did it because she knew my opinion of that.”
He snorted, not wanting to get into his mother’s view on anything in life. She had her way and it was her way only and everyone else was wrong. He wasn’t surprised she divorced Jennifer’s father after five years and Jennifer had no communication with him either.
“I doubt she was gay to just piss you off, Mom.”
“It doesn’t matter. It was one of many things we fought about. I’d caught her stealing money from me a few times too. Nothing I gave her was ever enough and she’d lie and steal all the time.”
He hadn’t known that. That money was an issue or that Jennifer wanted more. Now he wondered if that bled over into her life with Chloe and now Chloe had this negative feeling toward needing or wanting something.
Just another thing he’d have to deal with.
“Why are you bringing this all up now?” he asked.
“It was just another thing between us. I was ticked off that she’d never have kids. You know my feeling on that. That everyone should have a child.”
He’d heard it again and again. He didn’t agree with that. He didn’t think anyone should have to conform to others’ opinions and thoughts, but he also knew enough to keep those words to himself.
“Your point,” he said.
“That she knew how I felt and she had a child and she never told me once. What, it’s been five years and she couldn’t call me to say I had a grandchild?”
“Eight years. Nine if you count when Jennifer would have been pregnant.” He’d told his mother Chloe’s age, but she obviously wasn’t listening.
“Whatever. Plenty enough time for h
er to reach out to me.”
“You don’t even remember the last time you talked to her and you think she is going to reach out to you?”
“The last time we talked she wanted money. Said she was in a bad situation and needed help. It was a few years after she’d left home. Couldn’t call me once for anything, but then has to call and tell me she needs money. Nothing new there.”
“Did it occur to you to ask her why she needed it?” He was wondering if it was when Jennifer was pregnant. Probably scared on top of it.
“Nope. I was just glad she wasn’t in New York or she’d probably find a way to steal it from me. I figured she was in trouble with the law and needed money for a lawyer. I wasn’t bailing her out.”
He would like to think if Jennifer had been in trouble with the law she would have reached out to him, but the truth was they weren’t the closest either. Which begged the question of how he ended up with Chloe.
“Then you’ve got no reason to get all pissy you didn’t know about Chloe to begin with.”
“I want to come and meet her,” his mother said. “I want to come home at the holidays and spend time with her. I don’t think you’re a good fit for raising her.”
“You’re joking,” he said. “First off, I won’t keep you from meeting your granddaughter if you want to, but to sit here and tell me I’m not a good fit. You’ve got no right when you haven’t seen me in years yourself. You barely talk to me either so you’ve got no idea if I can raise Chloe or not.”
“You’re a single man. What could you know about raising a little girl?”
Beat the hell out of him, but he’d like to think he was doing right by her. “More than you. You obviously didn’t do so well that your daughter left home the minute she could and never talked to you again.”
“That’s no way to talk to your mother.”
“Then don’t call me if the truth hurts. I’m legally Chloe’s guardian and, whatever Jennifer’s reasons for naming me were, I suspect I was the person she trusted the most if this situation ever happened.”