Page 12 of Shattered Union

Chloe releases a small giggle.

"But, yeah, my mam's the shit. You may meet her."

Her eyes widen. "Really?"

I nod. "My dad works long hours and Mam gets bored at home. She misses us being kids so when I had an opening for a daytime bartender, Mam begged me to let her work during the week."

Chloe's giggles are harder this time. "Really?"

I nod. "Yes," I hiss. "I couldn't say no. God, could you imagine what it would be like at family dinners?"

"Callie, baby!" I hear yelled across the pub.

I close my eyes and groan, much to Chloe's amusement. "I'm twenty-two years old and she still calls me baby."

"My da calls my older sister baby girl," Chloe whispers as Mam gets closer to us.

"What does he call you?"

She wrinkles her nose. "Peanut."

I like it. "I'd prefer that over being called a baby."

"Oh, Callie baby, you went shopping," Mam says, seeing the bags in my hands. "And you brought a friend?" I hear the question in her voice.

"Idid," I reply, silently telling her I'll explain about Chloe soon. "Chloe, this is my mam, Nichola. Mam, this is Chloe."

"Hi," Chloe says softly. "Your daughter's the best. She helped me when some girls were bullying me. She didn't want to leave me alone, so she brought me here."

Mam's eyes soften. "I at least raised one of my kids right."

Oops, seems she's pissed at Mav.

"Chloe, why don't you get a booth upstairs." I point toward the stairs for her to take. "I'm going to go to the office and grab my laptop, then I'll be up to you."

She nods, giving both Mam and I bright smiles. Once she's out of earshot, I quickly relay what happened to Mam and explain about what Chloe said about her own mother.

"God, it really angers me at how callous some people can be. You did the right thing, bringing her here. You never know what those girls would have done," Mam praises me.

"Will you get her some food and a drink, please?"

She kisses my cheek and smiles. "Of course. Do you want something to eat?"

I roll my eyes, like I ever say no to food. "What do you think?"

She laughs as I turn and walk toward my office; I do a quick glance up at Chloe, who's sitting in a booth, her gaze on her phone. She's good.

"Your ma said you own more pubs," Chloe says when I make my way back to the table just as Mam walks back to the bar. "How many do you own?"

Ah, I guess Mam got a little chatty while I was in the office. "Six altogether. I was lucky, my dad gave me a starting point." I wave my hand around at the pub. "This was my eighteenth birthday present. It was a huge success when I updated it and added this upper level. At night, the place is hopping. It helped me be able to buy the next bar and the next," I say with a smile. "What do you want to do when you finish school?"

While walking toward my pub, I found out she's only thirteen. She's been dealing with those bullies since she started secondary school. Six months they've been tormenting her and nothing's been done about it. Not only that, she doesn't really have any friends that will stick up for her.

She shrugs. "I hadn't really thought about it."

She's very unsure of herself and I don't like it. No doubt it's from those cows who torment her.

"Okay, so what are you good at?" I ask as I continue to work. I'm getting the schedule down slower than I usually do, but that's okay, as I'm here earlier than usual.

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