AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Khloe stared into the dining room from her seat next to me as the boys’ shouting got louder.
“I can’t be the one to carry this family just because I’m the oldest! You need to step up, now! It’s your turn!” I heard Chase yell.
“I can’t carry the shop all on my own! The three of us worked our asses off when Dad got sick. How am I supposed to do that alone?” Tanner shouted back.
“I can’t blame him for wanting to go,” Beverly confessed. “I never want to be remembered as the mother who held her son back from greatness. I just wish the timing was different.”
I nodded in agreement. “I know how torn he is between wanting to go, and wanting to stay to help his family. I feel the same.”
“This call might be his one and only shot.” Beverly looked down at her lap.
I turned to Khloe, who was quietly taking everything in. “What are you thinking?”
Her big, round hazel eyes peered up at me, her eyebrows furrowed. I could not read her expression, until I saw her bottom lip tremble as she tried to hold it in. It was no use; the giant teardrops began to roll down her puffy cheeks.
I wrapped my arms around her, and she sprang into my lap, burying her face in my chest.
“Merry, please don’t leave me,” she wailed. “I don’t want you and Chase to leave me!”
The tears I had been keeping at bay now spilled over my eyelids. I squeezed my eyes shut as I held her tiny body in my arms, rocking her back and forth. She lost her father, and now she would be losing me and her brother. I wanted to tell her that we wouldn’t go anywhere – that we would stay here with her – but I knew that would be a lie. There was nothing I could say to console her.
Tanner and Chase’s shouting match came to a stop when they heard Khloe’s cries.
Chase came into the room and sat beside me on the couch, stroking his sister’s golden locks.
Tanner remained standing, his arms crossed over his chest. He finally sat when Beverly wiped her eyes. He put his arm around his mother, and hugged her to him, kissing the top of her head.
“Tanner is right,” I opened. “This is the worst possible time to leave. If we are going to keep the shop up and running, we need time to interview new hires.”
“What are you saying?” Chase asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
“Why don’t you go without me, and– ”
“No, no,” he interrupted. “I’m not going without you.”
“I could stay here to help until everybody got back on their feet. Then I could meet you out there.”
“We just won’t go then,” he stated. “I’m not going without you.”
“Why not?” I searched his eyes for a reason for his stubbornness.
“Because he doesn’t think you’ll actually go,” Tanner answered.
Chase’s eyes tightened, but he said nothing to deny it.
My mouth opened, but no words came out.
“Enough,” Beverly said. “Family is about working together as a team, and we can’t do that if we’re fighting against each other.” She looked at Chase. “You are not responsible for saving this family. You need to live your own life – truly live it – chasing after your own dreams.” Then she looked at Tanner. “This business was mine and your father’s. It is up to me to think long and hard about what should happen next. This shop is not the end all be all of your life.”
“I don’t want you to hate me for leaving,” Chase said. He was looking at his mother, but I knew his statement was directed at Tanner.
Khloe popped her head out from under my arm. “We don’t hate you, Chasey. We love you. That’s why we’re so sad that you’re leaving.”
He held his arms out for her, and she curled up in his lap.
“So, you’re leaving.” Tanner stood.
“Yes. He’s leaving. Now sit down so I can tell you all something.” Beverly waited for Tanner to reluctantly sit. “All four of you need to hear this, so listen good.”
