All Of Us (All Series Book 7)

by Natalie Ann

  “Then have a seat. What did you do today? Anything fun?”

  “I read some books and Kristen and I played a few games. Then when Mary came over, she did my nails for me.”

  He looked at her green and blue swirled nails. “So I see.”

  “It’s not as wild as Mary’s. Hers look like fire.”

  He laughed, just imagining what Mary looked like today. “So it sounds like you had a good time.”

  “I did. I am.”

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure,” she said. He liked that she wasn’t shying away from him.

  “Did you have big Thanksgiving dinners with your mom?”

  “Not really. It was just the two of us most times. Mom had a lot of friends and we’d spend holidays with them or their families though. But I don’t know that it was always a true Thanksgiving.”

  “What does that mean?”

  He wanted to ask if it was friends or girlfriends. But how did he ask that and would she know the difference? Then he realized it really wasn’t important.

  “That even though we had some Thanksgivings with friends we didn’t always have turkey. I think we only had it twice that I remember, but it wasn’t big like Kristen and Mary are doing. They are making enough food in there for like twenty people rather than four.”

  “So what did you eat?”

  “Different things. I don’t always remember. It was just kind of friends getting together for dinner. I remember my mother said she didn’t care for turkey.”

  “You know what? I remember that she didn’t like it.”

  “Really?” Chloe said. “What else do you remember?”

  He didn’t want to mention the fighting by any means. When he tried to think of memories to share with Chloe he had a hard time coming up with good ones.

  “Well, I told you that I’m older than her and I moved out of the house when she was ten. So I don’t have as many memories as I wish I did. But they are when she was close to your age.”

  “That’s okay. Was she like me?”

  Maybe Kristen was right all along. No surprise there. “She wasn’t shy like you. Do you remember her being shy?”

  “No. She was much more outgoing than me. She had a lot of friends too. There were always people at our place.”

  Interesting. “Other women and kids.”

  “Mostly. Sometimes guys, but not really. You know Mommy had a girlfriend. I know what that means. She didn’t like men. Not like you and Kristen.”

  He grinned, glad he didn’t have to explain that to her. “Do you know anything about your father?” he asked. “Who he is?”

  “No,” Chloe said. “I asked her once and she said she didn’t know who he was. She didn’t want to talk about it after that. Are you trying to find him because you don’t want me?”

  Her lower lip came out. He jumped up quick and went to sit next to her on the couch. “Not at all, Chloe. You’re here with me and it’s where you are staying. I guess I’m just trying to find out what I can. I need to know if you know who he is. What if he was trying to find you? Or anything like that. The more I know the better it is.”

  “He won’t try to find me. Mommy said she didn’t know who my father was, so I would think she didn’t tell him, right?”

  “Probably.” If his sister was so desperate for money though, wouldn’t she have tried to find out and get child support?

  “I don’t think Mommy liked men though. Not even as friends.”

  “Really?” he asked. If she was willing to talk he was going to let her. “What makes you say that?”

  “Because sometimes at night I’d hear her talking with her friends when I should have been sleeping. She’d say men were all the same. They never stayed around. They never cared. That they always wanted something better.”

  “Not all men are like that, Chloe.” He went with his gut and put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry you have bad thoughts or opinions on men because of your mother. Her experiences are hers and I can’t say much about them because I don’t know what they are. I’m trying to learn more so I can help you. But I’m also here to tell you that what you know of life before you moved here isn’t the same either.”

  “I know,” she said. “Everything is different here. And you aren’t like what my mother said men are.”

  “I won’t leave you. I won’t move on. I do care about you. All those things you heard, they aren’t true about me.”

  She nodded her head. “I see it at school too.”

  “What do you see?”

  “I see a lot of fathers at school here with their kids. And at the studio too. I didn’t see a lot of dads where I was before.”

  He hadn’t thought of that. That she lived in a really poor area and maybe most were single mothers or the fathers were working. It was different here though and he was glad she could see it wasn’t just him. That she had other examples too.

  “Life is different here. I want to say better because I hope it is.”

  “It is,” she said, nodding her head. “I feel bad that it is. Is that wrong?”

  “No, honey. It’s not.” He pulled her closer to his side, almost hugging her, and she didn’t try to move away. “Jennifer was your mother and you loved her and I know she loved you too. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have made sure that you ended up with me if something ever happened to her.”

  “I miss her so much.” The sniffles were coming now.

  “I know you do. And you always will. But I want you to have good memories of her. I’ll try harder to think of things. Maybe I’ll reach out to my mother and see if she has anything of Jennifer’s that I could give you.”

  “I don’t know,” Chloe said, wiping a tear from her eye. “My mom didn’t like your mother. I don’t know if she’d have anything. My mother didn’t even like her father. Do you know why?”

  “I don’t want to speak for your mother or say things I’m not positive about. My mother and Jennifer fought a lot. You know that. As for Jennifer’s father. He left the area permanently when I was in college and I don’t think he had anything to do with Jennifer after that. It’s hard to move past that, I know.”

  “So you really are my only family then, aren’t you?”

  “I am. Are you okay with that?”

  “Yes. I don’t thank you enough, but I should. It’s Thanksgiving and we are supposed to say what we are thankful for and it’s you. That you came into my life and you are taking care of me.”

  He felt his eyes fill up a bit and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m thankful for that too, Chloe. We’ve got a lot to learn and a ways to go, but we are getting there.”

  She hugged him back and he turned when he heard a noise and saw Kristen standing there watching them with tears in her eyes.

  ***

  Kristen had been coming out to see if Landon wanted some more snacks and to check on Chloe. When she’d heard the two of them talking she didn’t want to interrupt, then felt bad she stood there eavesdropping.

  But when he noticed her there, he nodded her in, so she walked over and ran her hand on his shoulder and put a smile on her face. “What are you two doing in here?” she asked.

  “Saying what we are thankful for,” Chloe said.

  “That’s a wonderful idea. You know what I’m thankful for?” she asked.

  “What?” Chloe said.

  “That you two are getting closer.”

  “I’m thankful you’re all out of the kitchen,” Mary said from the doorway. “Now I can put together my sweet potato casserole without Kristen trying to steal the marshmallows. Why don’t you three all stay in here and let the pro do all the work.”

  Kristen laughed. “I’ll gladly let you do the rest. Call me in when you want us to set the table and Landon can carve the turkey.” She turned to him. “You can handle that, right?”

  “I think I can handle cutting a turkey without a problem,” he said.

  She walked over and sat on the couch next
to Chloe so that she was sandwiched between them. She’d had some good holiday memories as a kid. Nothing like the sad times Landon and Chloe probably experienced.

  Because her parents were divorced, her mother always tried to make every holiday fun, whether it was just the two of them or they went to another family member’s house.

  Even when she was with her father, her holidays were fun. So she was determined to make sure Chloe had some of that in her life this year too. It seemed like Landon did it well enough on his own though.

  Something Positive

  “Uncle Landon.”

  Landon turned to see Chloe standing in the doorway to the living room. He’d thought she was doing her homework at the kitchen table, but now she was wringing her hands and looking nervous, her feet shuffling side to side in a dance that made him think of kids trying to avoid a trip to the bathroom.

  “Yes?” he said, wondering what rock was going to drop on his head. It didn’t seem to get any easier when she called his name and wanted to ask him something. His mind always went a mile a minute figuring out what was coming. What he’d have to explain or where he’d have to research something.

  “Can I have some money?”

  “Why?” he asked. There went his brain going down one-way streets and trying to find a way home.

  “I want to buy Kristen and Mary a Christmas gift.”

  He smiled over the sweet thought. “We can go do that, but you’ll pick it out and I’ll pay for it.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “You said I have my own money from my mom, right?”

  “You do. I’m putting that away for your future though.”

  “Why can’t I have it to buy a friend something? I don’t want you to have to pay for everything and I’m too young to get a job, right?”

  He laughed. “Yes, you’re too young to get a job. But you aren’t too young to get an allowance if you want to have some of your own money.”

  “Really?” she asked, her smile coming to her face. He liked he was seeing that more often from her, letting him know all those late night ceiling stares were resulting in something positive. “I can do more chores to earn it.”

  “Next week on break we’ll figure out a list of things for you to do to earn your allowance. Every kid should have some responsibilities. I should have thought of this sooner.”

  Why hadn’t he? He knew she was nervous about money. It was a big thing they were trying to overcome. She already put her own laundry away, picked up her dishes, and fed Ace daily. He could come up with some more things for her that were easy enough and let her earn some cash on top of it.

  “But that still doesn’t help me buy Kristen and Mary something.” She dropped her head down again. “I want to get you something too.”

  And, he hadn’t really thought of this, but Kristen was taking Chloe out this weekend to the mall for another haircut and maybe they had this all planned. He should have probably talked to Kristen about it before, but he was still trying to do so many things.

  Like decorating his house for the holidays for her. Something he’d never done before.

  It wasn’t just getting a tree, but buying everything to go on it. Stockings and other decorations so that the house felt like a festive home. He was pretty sure Chloe had never had much of one before and he wanted this first big holiday without her mother to be special.

  “Okay. What do you want to get Kristen and Mary? We have to figure out how much money for you to have. Maybe it’s time you learn about how much things cost.”

  “I know how much things cost. I always had to look at the prices with my mom. She’d tell me stuff couldn’t be more than a certain amount when we went shopping, so if I saw something I couldn’t have it if it was higher than that number.”

  Good Lord. He understood that to an extent, but it shouldn’t be what a kid remembered either.

  “Let’s backtrack. What do you want to get Kristen? Do you have any idea?”

  “She likes pretty clothes. I thought I could get her a sweater. Is twenty dollars enough for one?” Chloe asked and frowned, like she was afraid it might be too much by the blush on her face.

  “You can definitely find a pretty top for twenty dollars this time of year, but we’ll do something a little nicer if you find something you like better. How about Mary?”

  “Mary likes wine. Can I get her some wine?”

  He started to laugh. Mary did like her wine. “We can do that too. I’ll have to buy it, but we can pick it out together. Maybe find a bright bag to put it in.”

  “Can I get her some nail polish too?”

  “You can do that,” he said, liking that she was thinking of them and the things they liked. Special things they’d enjoy. For as hard of a life as Chloe had until now she had a pretty huge heart.

  “And I need money for you, but I can’t tell you what I want to buy you.”

  He stood up. “Get your jacket and we’ll go to the bank. I think you’re too young to know how much money is in there right now, and I really want to save it for you for college when you’re older, but I understand there are going to be times like this too.”

  She ran forward and gave him a hug. “Thank you.” He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and gave her a hug back. He was still nervous about being aggressive with affection with her. She really made the first move and he knew she wasn’t used to men.

  After he’d taken a hundred dollars out of the ATM, he ran to the mall in town and figured it would be a good time to pick out Kristen’s and Mary’s gifts. It should be quiet since it was after dinner on a Monday night and Kristen had to close Olivia’s store and wouldn’t be home until after eight.

  They went into a department store and he let Chloe walk around looking at tops for Kristen, trying to find something that caught her eye.

  Who would have thought it’d take this long though when he’d been standing there for close to twenty minutes?

  He was starting to wonder if maybe Kristen and Chloe were spending too much time together because he was seeing a trend now. Chloe shopped just like Kristen. Pulling something out, looking it over, putting it back, checking the price tag. Repeat. Check twice, and go back to the one you just discarded two minutes ago.

  “How about this one?” he said when she put one back. “It’s a pretty purple and Kristen wears that purple ring all the time.”

  “She told me she likes purple. You don’t think it’s too dark?”

  Landon looked at the eggplant shirt with black collar and cuffs that dipped low in the front and would fit perfectly to her body. He wasn’t thinking of the color but the way it’d look on her body.

  “Not at all. If you like it, I think she’d love it.”

  “It’s not too much?” she asked quietly. “I said twenty and it’s thirty-five. That’s almost double.”

  “It is, but it’s on sale from fifty,” he said, hoping Chloe would understand that. “That’s a good deal and it’s a really pretty shirt.”

  “It’s not a shirt, Uncle Landon,” she said, giggling. “It’s a blouse. Kristen said they are called blouses. And if you like it then we’ll get it because I do like it the best.”

  “I think it’s great,” he said, grabbing it fast and going to the counter to pay before she changed her mind or saw something else she liked better.

  He was getting ready to leave the mall when Chloe pulled his arm toward the hair accessory store he avoided like a test tube bottle of yellow fever. What the heck was he going to do when she got older!

  “I need to get Mary’s stuff,” she said.

  He took a deep breath and turned in there. Thankfully it didn’t take her long to find a bow for Mary’s wild hair and a package of glitter nail polish. He thought it was all tacky but knew Mary would love it.

  “Let’s stop and get her wine on the way home and then we can put these in your room and wrap them later.”

  When they got home, she asked, “How much money do I have left for your gift?”

&nbs
p; “You had a hundred and you spent thirty-five on both of them. So what is left?”

  He could see her frowning and concentrating. “Thirty. That’s not enough for you,” she said.

  How did he know she was going to say that? “How much do you want for me?” he asked, knowing there was no use arguing.

  “I don’t know what it costs. What I want to get you.”

  He couldn’t ask, as he figured she wouldn’t tell him. “How about I get you another twenty. That will give you fifty. Whatever you want to get me has to stay at fifty. Is that a deal?”

  She smiled and said, “Yes. I can do that.”

  “Are we all good now?” he asked. “Are you ready to get in the shower and relax for the night?”

  “Yes. Thank you, Uncle Landon. This is going to be the best Christmas ever.”

  “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

  She started to run up the stairs, then stopped and turned around. “Is that wrong of me to say that?”

  “Because your mom isn’t here?”

  She nodded. “And it’s so different than I had before.”

  “It’s okay to think that. It’s okay to remember how things were with your mother too. I’ve told you that before. I know this is your first big holiday without her and I want you to be happy and not sad, but I know that is asking a lot.”

  The tears came to her eyes. “It’s hard, but I am happy.”

  “That’s good. Now go get in the shower.”

  A Little Crazy

  Landon heard feet outside his bedroom and turned to see his door pushed open by Chloe. “Can we open gifts?” she all but squealed.

  Kristen laughed in his ear. “Yes. Give me a minute to get dressed before you start though.”

  “I’ll just look at everything under the tree,” Chloe said, dashing away, her feet sounding like a first-time drummer thinking they were Ringo Starr.

  He sat up and looked at the clock to see it was barely seven. He supposed it was later than he expected Chloe to get up. Thankfully he’d snuck down a few hours ago and turned the tree lights on for her and put her gifts from Santa under there.