Chapter 43
EVAN
The moment Chloe and I landed, I dropped her at my rental home and raced to Lydia’s, where Effie had been staying with Katerina.
Chloe had no desire to meet my ex, so I figured I’d let Effie be surprised to see her back at the house later.
Hopefully that would cheer her up after what I knew would be a tough day.
When I pulled up, I had no idea whether Katerina had broken the news to our daughter that she was leaving. But after I knocked and Katerina opened the door, I looked past her to find a stoic-looking Effie. And then I knew.
I rushed over and bent to take her in my arms. “I missed you so much, baby.”
“I missed you, too, Daddy.” Her sweet voice tugged at my heart. I’d never gone so long without hearing it in person. I couldn’t even look at Katerina.
“Can I have a couple more moments with Effie in private?” she asked from behind me.
No way in hell I was gonna leave my baby alone when I’d just gotten back unless she told me it was okay.
I looked at Effie. “You want me to stay or wait in the car for you?”
“You can wait in the car, Daddy.” She pursed her lips. I could tell she was trying to be strong, even if she was broken inside. My brave girl waited patiently for her mother to crush her heart for the umpteenth time.
“Okay, baby.” I kissed her on the forehead and stood.
Anger settled in my chest as I stalked back to the truck. I could only hope Katerina wasn’t feeding Effie any lies about coming back again soon. We all knew damn well she wasn’t a woman of her word.
After Effie exited the house alone and ran to my truck, I couldn’t turn the ignition fast enough.
“Are you okay, honey?” I asked as she buckled in.
She shook her head no but didn’t say anything.
We drove in silence for a bit before I turned to her. “I know it’s late, but Chick-fil-A is still open. Should we pick up some chicken and fries on the way home?”
“That’s okay. I’m not hungry,” she said as she stared out the window.
“Okay. If you change your mind and get hungry later, we can always make waffles.”
The rest of the ride back was quiet.
But when we walked in the door, Effie gasped as she spotted Chloe waiting for us.
“Chloe!” Effie ran to her.
“Hey, girly! It’s so good to see you.” Chloe opened her arms wide and bent to meet her.
Effie burst into tears the moment she landed in the safe space of Chloe’s arms. I suspected it was a combination of joy over seeing Chloe again and the release of her emotions about her mom leaving. I felt my own eyes well up.
When they moved back to look at each other, Effie said, “Daddy told me he loves you.”
Chloe’s mouth curved into a smile. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes.” Effie wiped her eyes. “Because I love you, too.”
I closed my eyes tightly, basking in the relief I felt.
“I love you, Effie.” Chloe wrapped her arms around my daughter again.
“Are you coming back to live here?” Effie asked.
“I’m gonna work something out so I can be here as much as possible,” Chloe assured her. “But no matter what, I’ll be here for Christmas, okay?”
Effie sniffled as she nodded.
I probably should’ve been wary of a woman promising my daughter anything at this point, but it felt different with Chloe.
She was a woman of her word, and I believed she truly loved me—loved us.
So instead of worrying about whether Chloe might change her mind, I decided to just be grateful she was here to diffuse what happened with Katerina while also offering Effie much-needed hope for the future.
I clapped my hands together. “How about I make us some waffles?”
Effie looked up at Chloe and turned to me. “I think I’m hungry now.”
“Me, too.” Chloe ruffled her hair.
I nodded at them. “Cool.”
Chloe and Effie disappeared into one of the bedrooms, and I could hear the muffled sounds of their talking as I prepared the waffle batter. I couldn’t stop the smile on my face. It felt so good to have both of my girls under the same roof again.
As we sat down to a very late dinner of waffles and bacon, Effie grilled Chloe on her plans.
“When can you move here for good?”
Chloe wiped her mouth. “I have to talk to my job and find out if they’d be willing to let me work fully from home. I don’t know if that’s going to be an option. And if they don’t, I may have to wait a bit to see if I can find something else closer to Wyoming.”
Effie tipped her head to the side. “But you used to work from home all the time. Why wouldn’t they let you if you’ve already done it?”
“Well, that was only supposed to be while my mom was sick.”
Effie stuffed a piece of waffle in her mouth. “But they like you, right?”
Chloe smiled. “They do, yes.”
“Why don’t you ask them if you can work from here and see what they say? Remember when you told me to believe in myself and that my dance teacher would be able to see that and believe in me, too?”
“I do.”
“Well, I think you should try it.” She grinned. “The worst they can say is no.”
I was struck by how clever Effie could be sometimes.
Chloe looked over at me, amused. “Way to boomerang my own advice back to me, Effie.”
***
The following afternoon, while Effie was at school, I came home for lunch to find Chloe pacing in the kitchen. Her eyes lit up when she saw me enter.
“I did it,” she announced.
“Did what?”
“I took Effie’s advice—my advice. Our advice.
” She laughed and paused to catch her breath.
“I spoke to my boss and told him that while I love my job, my life is in Dry River now. I let him know that I plan to move here. I pointed out that I had been able to meet all of my deadlines without disruption while my mom was sick, and I proposed that he let me keep the job and work remotely.”
“What did he say?”
She spoke so fast I could hardly keep up. “He said he needed to speak to HR just to confirm, but he didn’t see why that wouldn’t work, provided I’d be willing to fly to Chicago on occasion when needed.”
Adrenaline rushed through me. “That’s doable, right?”
“Totally doable.” Chloe exhaled.
“Oh, baby.” I took her in my arms. “This is such great news.”
“I still have a few months on my lease. But I’ll eat that if I have to.”
“You do what you need to do as long as you end up here.”
She smacked me playfully. “See, you big dummy?”
“What?” I laughed.
“You let me go, and I ended up with you anyway.”
“There’s that boomerang thing again.” I took her mouth in mine.
A knock at the door interrupted our kiss.
I opened to find a man standing there with a package.
I glanced down at the small box. “Can I help you?”
“I have a delivery for Chloe Cavanaugh? It requires a signature and ID.”
“Okay.” I called over my shoulder, “Package for you that needs a signature and ID?”
Chloe drew in her brows and grabbed her purse. She showed the guy her license and signed a slip he handed to her. When she shut the door, she looked down at the box and said, “It’s from JR Murray Jewelers.”
That was the one fine jewelry place in all of Dry River.
She raised her forehead. “You didn’t order me something, did you?”
Unfortunately, I had nothing to do with this. “Wish I could say I did, but it’s not from me.”
Chloe opened the box and lifted a chunky gold men’s watch with broad links. “What the heck?”
She unfolded a note and read it out loud.
Dear Ms. Cavanaugh,
Your mother, Judy, came in a couple of years ago and purchased this gold watch.
She said it was a gift for her husband. She ordered it to be engraved but never picked it up, nor did she answer the phone number she’d left on file with us after numerous attempts to contact her.
It’s our policy not to release items until the customer signs off on the final product and pays the balance for engraving, but in this case, we couldn’t locate her.
We’ve just been holding the item until further notice.
We recently learned, however, that your mother passed away.
Our manager recognized her name in the obituary posted in the paper.
We are very sorry for your loss. We reached out to the care facility that was listed in the acknowledgments, and they provided us with a local mailing address they had on file for you.
While the watch was paid for in full, there was still a balance for the engraving, which we will gladly waive under the circumstances.
We hope you receive the watch safely and get it to her husband.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
The Team at JR Murray Jewelers
Chloe looked at the back of the watch, her eyes slowly widening. Then she covered her mouth. She finally handed it to me so I could read it.
To Phil, Love you eternally. Yours, Judy
Chloe’s eyes watered. “Based on my mother’s finances, I doubt she could’ve easily afforded this, but clearly she found the money.”
“What was her condition like two years ago?” I asked.
“She was already getting pretty bad, but not yet at the care facility. Their marriage was long over by then. I guess she’d totally forgotten that when she placed this order…”
I handed the watch back to her, and Chloe stared down at it again in awe.
Somehow the love Judy had in her heart for Phil had persevered, despite her condition and despite their divorce. That told me everything I needed to know about what we’re left with when we lose everything else, including our minds.
Maybe that’s because love doesn’t come from the mind. It comes from the heart. Maybe love is the last thing we take with us when we die.