AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Despite Elle’s personal beef with him, she’d turned it off and focused on what really mattered in the face of a crisis. Here she was coming to his rescue again, like she had the night he’d accidentally burned down his grandmother’s house. She’d been the one to tell her mom and grandmother about the fire and Wiladean Boudreau and Zelda Clark had welcomed his grandmother and Aidan, refusing to accept a penny after all was said and done.
Wiladean and Zelda didn’t know it, but Daniel intended to repay their kindness by doing their reno at cost. Or at least that had been his intention, until Aidan’s accident.
Now everything was on hold until he knew Aidan’s prognosis.
He paced the length of the empty waiting room a few times, trying to burn off some of his anxious steam, but it wasn’t helping.
“Aw, hell.”
He decided to check in with Elle and ask how Chloe was doing.
He had started typing the text when someone said, “Mr. Quindlin?”
Daniel looked up to see a guy wearing surgical scrubs and a grim expression.
* * *
Ah, the resiliency of a well-adjusted child.
Elle couldn’t decide if it was heartening or frightening how willingly and happily Chloe Quindlin went with her. All it took was the utterance of the secret word and a promise of ice cream and the Disney Channel and she was in the back seat, strapped into a car seat the school had loaned Elle.
“We had a party at school today.” Chloe’s little voice drifted from the back seat. “’Cause today is the last day of school for the rest of the year.”
Elle glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the little girl in the booster seat, gazing out the side window.
“Are you on vacation now, Chloe?”
“Yes.”
Elle stole another glance in the rearview mirror and saw her clutching a white stuffed kitten, cooing softly to it.
Her curly brown hair and big blue eyes made her look like a porcelain doll.
“What’s your kitty’s name?” Elle asked.
“Princess Sweetie Pie.” The little girl held the stuffed animal up to her ear. “Princess Sweetie Pie wants to know where we are going.”
“Tell Princess Sweetie Pie we are going to my house. In fact, we are almost there. Your Uncle Daniel is going to pick you up a little bit later. But while we’re waiting for him, we can get something to eat and play games. Do you like to play games?”
“It depends on what game it is.”
They kept a good assortment of games and puzzles at the inn for various age groups.
“Have you ever played the game Candyland?”
“No.”
Elle stopped at a red light at Whitaker and Gaston. In the rearview mirror, she saw the little girl hold her cat up to her ear again. “Princess Sweetie Pie wants to know if you have the game My Little Pony? That’s her favorite.”
The light turned green and Elle looked both ways before she accelerated through the intersection. “I’m not sure. We can look when we get inside.”
She made a right turn onto Hall Street and parked in one of the reserved spots.
“This house is big. Is it your house?”
“It sure is. Want to come inside?”
The little girl hugged Princess Sweetie Pie but didn’t answer the question. Elle got out of the car and opened the back door. As she unbuckled Chloe from her booster seat, the little girl asked, “Why are you picking me up from school? My daddy always picks me up.”
Elle knew the question was coming and she supposed she should have been grateful that Chloe waited to ask until they were off the road.
“I’m glad you asked me that question, Chloe,” Elle said. “You know the only reason it was okay for you to go in the car with me was because I knew the code word. Ms. Jensen talked to your Uncle Daniel. He’s the one who sent me to get you and he’ll be here to pick you up later. I’m glad you know it’s not okay to leave with anyone you don’t know unless they know the code or another adult you know says it’s okay.”
The little girl’s eyes got big and her bottom lip protruded. Elle feared she might have scared her with all the “stranger danger” talk. Maybe she was saying too much.
In her experience of dealing with her students, she’d learned to only answer the questions they asked. Not to elaborate or add too much. Since Daniel hadn’t been able to give her any guidance on what to tell Chloe about her father, she knew the only thing she could do was tell the truth. But maybe the less she said the better, since Elle didn’t know much about Aidan’s condition. Although Chloe seemed like a smart, well-adjusted child, she was a little girl.
