Page 5 of Hartley

“Ava, this is Jordan Altair Sr.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said.

“And you as well. I see you’ve already met Tahoe. He probably gave you far too many licks.”

She put her hand on her cheek. “I liked them.”

“Then be sure to get on his level and he’ll do it all the time.” God, this sweet side of Jordan, one most didn’t see, made me fall for him even more.

For so long, Jordan thought he was a terrible father. He was the best he could be for JJ. The best he knew how to be. Now he was trying to do better, trying to mend the broken relationship they had. It was working too. JJ called more, texted. Soon he’d stop by without being invited. At least I hoped he would, for Jordan’s sake. Jordan would enjoy seeing his son more.

“Are you hungry?” I asked Ava.

She shook her head.

“All right, how about I show you to your room?”

“Okay,” she whispered as she glanced around nervously.

Walking behind her, I picked up her bags and motioned for her to follow me up the stairs. Jordan had texted me, letting me know which room they had decided on for her. Ihoped it was the right choice. Would she want to be that far from us, or would she prefer it? I also knew nothing about twelve-year-olds. My sister’s kids were little, so I was way out of my depth with Ava. I hadn’t even told Cat yet what was going on.

The room was warm when we entered. Even though it was mid-April, the chill still hung in the air outside. Winter tried to hold on for longer. The furniture was dark and sleek. Straight wooden lines for a modern room, very Jordan.

“We can order you new everything if you’d like,” I told Ava. “You don’t have to keep what’s in here if you don’t want to.”

“Could I have my stuff from my old room?”

I nodded. “We can get it moved here. Would you like to go with me to pick out what you want to bring?”

Fresh tears shimmered in her eyes. “Can you just bring my whole room?”

“Of course.” Jordan could have his men pack up everything in the apartment. Whatever wasn’t moving into this room could go into storage or even into the basement of my house as a place to store it for Ava until she was ready, if ever, to go through the belongings her mother had. I wouldn’t dare throw a single item away until she decided what she would like to part with, if anything at all.

Tahoe had followed us up the stairs and sat beside me, waiting for one of us to pet him again. I had a feeling he was going to spend a lot of time with Ava, which would be good for both of them. Animals had a way of providing comfort in times we needed it most, and sometimes when we didn’t even realize we were struggling.

“There you are,” Irene said, entering the room. “Hello, dear, my name is Irene, and I work for Mr. Altair. You’ll see me around the home daily, cooking and cleaning. If there’sanything you need, don’t hesitate to ask me. Do you have any food allergies or allergies of any sort?” I was given information about Ava but wanted to give her the chance to answer.

“Not to food. Sometimes I get allergies when I go outside.”

“Good to know. I’ll make sure the filters are always changed on time, so you don’t have to breathe in any of that nasty pollen. It’s that time of year. Pollen drops from the trees. Green and yellow stuff everywhere. Except in here. There will be none of that, thanks to me.”

Ava twisted her hands. She wasn’t just moving in with us and had me as her guardian. She was being introduced to a lot of new people.

“Any requests for dinner?” Irene asked.

“Oh, I’m going to make something,” I told her. Irene had already prepared dinner but that was before we knew about Ava. Meal prepping was one of Irene’s many strong suits.

“No, you aren’t. I’m here. I’ll do the cooking.” She turned to Ava again. “What are your favorite foods?”

“I like chicken. And my mom used to make broccoli with it. I always ate it. My friends don’t like it but I do. I like almost everything.”

“That’s excellent. I’ll get dinner started then.” Irene left as a fresh wave of sorrow hit me. Ava wasn’t near her friends any longer.

She was set to return to school next week, but with her here, I’d need to contact the school. Maybe I could work it out so I could drive her to and from her old school every day. Jordan would want her homeschooled, so she was safer, but the longer I spent with her, I knew we had to keep some things the same to help her through this. Having her friends would be one of them.

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