Page 61 of Wanting You

“And you, my sweet Chloe,” he went on. “You are preparing our greatest treasures for so many things. You are the foundation of everything they’re going to learn in school. Your mother is so proud of you and everything you’re doing, and no matter how big a martyr she may think she is, she isn’t the kind that would feel good about taking you away from your students.”

Honestly, Chloe wasn’t so sure about that, but she kept it to herself.

“Dad, we all really appreciate what you’re saying and what you’re doing, but…we’re skeptical, okay?” Billie said.

Finally, he nodded. “And I understand that. I’m not suggesting tough love or anything, just…have a little faith that things are going to work out.” He paused before nodding again. “And maybe…have a little faith in me.” The last words were a mere whisper, but they packed a punch.

No one spoke for a few moments, but Reid broke the silence. “Between Ronan, her friends, her physical therapist, occupational therapist, and the visiting nurses that are going to be coming in to check on Marie, she might actually prefer having some time to herself. I’m not saying it’s wrong to have a plan in place for an emergency, but maybe we need to wait a bit and take our cues from her once she’s home.”

“It just feels a little wrong not to be prepared and ready to step in,” Billie admitted. “I feel like we’re being bad kids.”

“But we’re not,” Chloe argued, surprising herself. “We all took turns at the hospital. We slept in chairs or chairs that turned into beds and brought meals up to her. And when she moved to the rehab facility, we all went up to see her almost daily. They didn’t allow us to sleep there, but we’ve been showing up and loving on her. How could that make us bad kids?”

“Chloe’s got a point,” Jade said. “Everyone that’s come into Books & Beans and asked about Marie has marveled at how much time all of you have been spending with her. And you know your mom has loved all the support and care and love you’ve given her.”

“I know I think it’s been enough,” Ashlynn commented dryly. “Some days she’s just not in the mood to even be social, but I still sit there and chat away with her. I think she’s going to love coming home and having some time to herself without people hovering all the damn time.”

“Maybe,” Bille said.

“I think we’ve beaten this topic practically to death,” Ronan said. “How about we change the subject for a little while so we can relax?”

“That sounds good,” Levi agreed. “How about we move all the snacks in here and just eat and talk and catch up?”

Everyone got up and helped move all the food to the dining room table before refilling their plates. Levi refreshed all the drinks, and Silas ran in to say hello to everyone and give Ronan a hug before running back to his room to play video games.

When everyone was settled and there were multiple conversations going around, Chloe leaned back and felt Tanner’s arm go around her. “Sorry about all the craziness. I knew we were going to talk about my mom’s situation a little, but I hate that you had to sit through all of that.”

He placed a soft kiss on her cheek. “It really wasn’t a big deal. Plus, it’s been kind of cool listening to your father. You’ve never really mentioned him before, so…”

“Yeah. Long story,” she murmured. And it wasn’t one she particularly liked to talk about, so hopefully he’d be willing to leave it at that and not want to bring it up ever again.

As if reading her mind, he reached over and picked up a tortilla chip and scooped a bit of guacamole on it. “As usual, the guac is delicious.”

She felt herself blush. “Thank you.”

“So Tanner!” Ronan called out. “Tell me about this Alpine skiing. Do you think I’m too old to try it, or is it a younger man’s game?”

Chuckling, Chloe got comfortable and simply enjoyed listening to her boyfriend diplomatically explain all the reasons why her father should not take up skiing.

It was after nine when he and Chloe left Jade and Levi’s, and Tanner had to admit that he had a great time. Watching the family dynamic had been riveting.

His brother passed away so long ago that he kind of forgot what it was like to be in that kind of setting. For years, it was simply him and his parents so he’d never had the opportunity to witness a gathering like this. It was intimate and emotional one minute, loud and boisterous the next, and then, when you least expected it, things got heated and almost instantly resolved.

Yeah, riveting.

Everyone was very welcoming to him and there wasn’t ever a time where he felt like an outsider. However, he had been wildly curious about Ronan Donovan. He could tell that it wasn’t something Chloe wanted to talk about. The whole, “Yeah. Long story,” spoke volumes. Fortunately, he and Reid had stepped out into the yard at one point, and that’s when he got the scoop.

“About a year ago, it sort of all came out that Marie had kind of pushed Ronan out,” Reid explained. “She wasn’t having an affair, exactly—at least not sexually. It was more of an emotional affair at that point. But once Ronan was gone…”

“Then it turned…?”

“Exactly. Unfortunately, she couldn’t explain that to her kids, but she really painted Ronan as the bad guy. And to be honest? He was in a small way. Just not motivated to take care of his family. He loved them, just not enough to buckle down and actually work hard at supporting them. For years, they all accepted that he was a deadbeat and the fact that he never came around just made it all plausible.”

“So he just took off?”

“Basically. It finally came out that he stayed away because Marie told him it would be best for the kids and he listened. It’s all fairly recent that they’re working on repairing their relationships.”

“And now he wants to come and help take care of Marie?” he asked incredulously. “Am I the only one that doesn’t think that’s normal? Are we sure he’s not going to torture her or something?”

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