AllFreeNovel
Share Us
One hell of an angry cloud had settled over these two.
“I thought it would be fun to play this tune again,” she offered. She didn’t have the foggiest idea of what was going on.
Landon stared at the floor as a muscle ticked in his jaw.
“We don’t like writing things down. That’s for douche nozzles,” Aria called from her spot on the beam.
That couldn’t be the only thing that had set them off.
“Aria, you can’t talk like that,” Landon chided.
“Harper said it first. She called the snake Mr. Douche Nozzle.”
Oh crap.
“The snake?” Landon repeated.
She waved him off. “It was nothing. There was one crossing the gravel drive. It caught me off guard, that’s all. I threw a couple of bonbons at it and called it a douche nozzle, but I should have tapped out the naughty word.” She glanced at Aria. “Tapping out bad words is a trick my friends and I started doing when we were around your age.” She swiveled on the bench. “I’m going to say the word and tap the syllables.Douche nozzle,” she announced, tapping her foot for each syllable, thinking she’d score points with the little girl.
She didn’t.
“I don’t like writing words, and I don’t like tapping syllables. That’s a stupid trick for stupid people,” Aria snarled.
It was safe to say things had gone downhill fast.
Landon rested the guitar against the wall, then peered at his niece. “Aria, you need to climb down. It’s time to go,” he barked, exasperation coating the command.
“Nope,” the kid countered and crossed her arms. “I’m staying here.”
“You can’t stay at the house. Lolo and Lala are leaving tomorrow for Italy.”
“Then I’m going to Italy,” the girl sassed back.
The man released a heavy sigh. “We’ve talked about this. You’re coming to live with me in the city. I know you’ll miss Lolo and Lala. But we’ll see them soon.”
“Six weeks is not soon, Uncle Landy.”
Six weeks?
“What happens in six weeks?” she asked, studying the man.
“We’re headed to Italy to visit Bess and Tomás. They’re renewing their vows while they’re there at my vacation home in the northern part of the country, and Aria’s staying another week with them.”
Did the “we” include her? Did she want it to?
“Why can’t we live here at Lolo and Lala’s house?” Aria spouted.
Landon pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’ve gone over this. Your grandparents are selling the house. It’s a lot for them to keep up with, and they won’t allow me to pay for a housekeeper. They want to move to the city into a smaller place when they return from Italy. Then we’ll all live in Denver. This is how it’s going to be. My house is close to your new school. This is not a debate. I know you’re unhappy, but this is what your mom and dad wanted. They wanted you to live with me if anything happened to them.”
“Well, they’re dead, and they’re stupid to make me live with you, and I’m not leaving,” Aria hollered and hugged the beam. “I won’t live in your big stupid house in Denver, Uncle Landy. I won’t do it.”
Pain rolled off uncle and niece in heart-crushing waves as the two went back and forth, Landon telling Aria she had to live with him, followed by Aria shooting him down.
She had to do something. She had to say something to make it stop, to help them.
There had to be a middle ground.
And there was. She had the solution.
