Page 122 of Already At Risk
“Wow.” Chloe grinned at that, softer than usual, a tenderness in the gaze that matched her mother’s. “She is kind of like a superhero, isn’t she?”
“She sure is, Champ.”
“Maybe we should get her something at the store,” Chloe said, giving me a funny little side-eye. “Like flowers.”
“Flowers sound like a great idea,” I said, ignoring the curious way that Chloe was looking at me, like she was putting things together in her mind that I should really be dispelling. But I couldn’t turn down the idea of doing something for Natalie, not after the stress on her face earlier.
“Yeah?”
Chloe looked a little too excited about the idea of flowers, but I just nodded.
“Yeah, I think I have the perfect ones in mind.”
“Hey, Cam?”
“Chloe?”
“Is your mom okay now?”
My throat tightened. “My mom is great, kiddo. That was many years ago.”
“Oh, good.” Chloe surprised me, looking visibly relieved. “Should we get her flowers, too?”
I chuckled. “She lives in New York. But next time I visit her, I’ll be sure to bring her some flowers.”
Chloe gave an emphatic nod, as if she approved.
“Perfect.”
And that was exactly how it felt.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
cameron
CHLOE AND I HAD a busy evening. After a trip to the store, we threw together our scratch pizzas, and Chloe had asked if we could dye the crust blue—a nod to Percy Jackson, whose mom always made blue food for him, his favorite color. I couldn’t exactly say no to that, so after a quick look in the cupboards and procuring some food dye, we made homemade pizzas with blue crust.
While they were in the oven, we went back to the front patio and planted a row of sunflower seeds in the empty garden bed. And since Chloe had been slightly appalled in the store when I told her how long it would take before any flowers might actuallyappearfrom the seeds, we also arranged some fresh cut sunflowers in a vase, placing them on the counter for Natalie when she got home.
“She’ll like those,” Chloe said decidedly as I slid a slice of pizza onto a plate for her. It was a little misshapen because the dough hadn’t quite cooperated with me the way I’d hoped—probably because of the dye—but it tasted good, and who really cared what shape the pizza was in, anyway?
“I think so,” I agreed. “Your mom has always seemed very…sunny to me.”
Chloe cocked her head in thought. “Lately, she has been.”
I hesitated before handing Chloe a napkin, noting how the sauce burst from the edges of her mouth when she took a bite of the pizza.
I dove into my own slice, trying to withhold the question that wanted to claw its way out of my throat. But it wasn’t my place to dive into Natalie’s past by using her daughter.
“Maybe it’s because you call her Sunshine,” Chloe added, causing me to freeze again. “I think she likes that.”
Fuck.
I should really clarify something here. Natalie wouldwantme to clarify things with Chloe so she didn’t get the wrong idea and end up getting hurt. Even ifI’drather live in a world where hope lived, too. Chloe and I could be hopeful together.
In another world, at another time, maybe.
“Chloe, you know I really like your mom,” I started tentatively. “But we’re not?—”
