Chapter 41
FORTY-ONE
LARS
A few minutes earlier…
“It’s okay to go to him, you know,” Harper said softly, snapping Lars back into the moment.
“There’s a lot going on,” he said. “I think he needs this time with his family.”
Harper’s brow furrowed. “You are his family, Lars.”
He nodded with a small smile, remembering the last time one of them said the other needed time with family. They had to stop thinking that way. “I don’t know how to help him with this though.”
Aaron was talking to Charlie, but his gaze kept going to his little sister, and Lars knew his friend was wondering what would happen with her now.
After decades of friendship, Lars could read him easily.
There was no way Aaron wasn’t freaking out about her future.
He might have been hesitant about accepting her into his life in the beginning, but he loved her.
She seemed just as attached. It was obvious to anyone who saw them together.
Aaron’s heart had always been so big and worn on his sleeve. He wouldn’t want her to go to a foster home, which left two options.
Lars looked around for Aiden and found him talking to Mrs. Davis and a couple other visitors.
Bri left the table and headed toward Aaron, who stood immediately to lift her into his arms. He gently rocked her while Charlie said something to him, and Lars couldn’t stop his smile from returning.
Aaron had always been great with his daughters, but to see him be the same caring man with this little girl he’d only known for a few weeks…
“Did you hear me?” Harper asked, nudging Lars in the side.
“Sorry, what?” He focused on her.
“I said you know exactly how to help him right now. You have the one thing that would make him feel better.”
Lars raised a brow. He’d caught up with her early, explaining how he and Aaron were together now but not telling everyone yet. Their friends and family knew, and for now, that was enough.
Though, Mrs. Davis had seen them holding hands earlier. She was the town’s biggest gossip, but she had a heart of gold. So, he honestly didn’t know if she would spread the rumor or keep their secret.
Harper shook her head, smacking his arm, and hissed, “Not that.”
Understanding dawned on him. With a smile, he nodded and pulled out his phone. He sent off a text and thanked Harper, giving her a quick hug and telling Colby, Wyatt, and Olivia goodbye. As he headed to the door, his phone rang, and he answered without looking.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Mel said.
“I do.” Lars got in his car and took off toward home. “He’s really struggling right now, and I don’t know how else to help him. I want him to remember that he’s not alone in all this.”
“Okay, but Chloe in that environment?” she said with a nervous chuckle.
He shook his head, even though she couldn’t see him. “I’ll tell her Uncle Aaron is sad and needs her to be calm. She’ll be okay, I think. Besides, it’s not just him. Bri is a mess, and she’s the only kid here.”
“God, that whole situation breaks my heart.”
“I know,” he said with a sigh.
“Okay, I’ll get them cleaned up and ready.”
“Thanks, Mel. I’m sure he’d love to see you too.” He pulled onto the main road that connected Perrington to Summersville and hung up. It took twenty minutes, but soon, he was parking in his driveway and heading into the house.
Mel was rocking a sleeping Maddie from side to side as Chloe and Allie fought over something on the couch. He went straight to them and knelt. “What’s going on?”
“I made a picture for Bri, and Chloe keeps trying to take it,” Allie said, holding a piece of paper above her head. “She wants to color it more.”
Lars could practically feel Mel’s eyes rolling behind him as she said, “I’m going to put Maddie in her carseat.”
“Allie, go on ahead with your mom,” he said. “I need to talk to this one for a minute.”
She jumped up, fixing her dark purple dress before following after Mel.
Chloe crossed her arms and leaned back into the couch with an exaggerated pout. “Not fair.”
He reached for her and stood. “It’s her picture, Chloe. You need to leave her artwork alone unless she tells you it’s okay to help.”
“But my fowers not good like hers.”
Tapping a finger against her crossed arms, he said, “It takes practice. Yours are beautiful too, and they’ll get better the more you try.”
She shook her head, swinging her braid back and forth. She was in a similar dark dress, but hers was green and black plaid, and she wore a matching bow at the end of her little blond braid.
Lars held her close. “Uncle Aaron and Bri are really sad today, so we need to be on our best behavior and make them feel better. No more arguing with your sister please. Aaron’s going to need lots of snuggles, okay?”
That seemed to get through to her. She opened her arms and wrapped them around Lars, resting her head on his shoulder. “Like this?”
“Just like this,” he said, heading for the door. He grabbed her yellow jacket and helped her into it before carrying her to the car. After buckling her in, he finally noticed Mel still wore an old sweater and pajama pants. “You’re not coming?”
Shaking her head, she rounded the car to him. “I need to take care of some stuff. But I…”
“What?” he whispered when she trailed off.
“I talked to my new boss.”
Lars’s stomach dropped. “So, you took the job?”
With a nod, she said, “We’ll talk about this tomorrow. I packed some clothes for you and the girls in case you guys want to stay with Aaron and Bri tonight. I put the bags in the back.”
“Mel—”
“Trust me.” She put a hand on his arm. “Everything will work out. I promise.”
When she stepped away with a smile, he furrowed his brow. “If you have a plan in mind, I’d rather hear it now. Otherwise, I’ll be panicking all night.”
Mel took his hand and started explaining. “This is my dream job. I couldn’t turn it down. But I don’t want to break this family apart. I want to continue co-parenting, even if that means bringing Aaron along for the ride.”
With each following sentence, Lars could see a future as she described it. She really had thought this through. Now, he just needed to see if Aaron was on board, especially when things were up in the air with Bri. Which gave him another idea.
“I have one amendment to this plan,” he said with a smile.