So Right With You (18 page)

Pulling out her laptop and purse, she climbed out of the car, walked up to the door, and pressed the button. She was actually a little nervous. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she hoped for the best.

Within a few minutes, a bubbly blond teen with purple nail polish popped the door open. “You must be Chloe. Come on in. I’ve been so stoked since you called. This is going to be so totally awesome.” She led the way into a family room and switched off the TV. “Have a seat.”

Chloe sat and pulled out her laptop.

“Mom,” Gabby yelled. “She’s here. Hurry up.”

An older version of the blond teen rushed into the room. “Hi, Chloe. I’m Marilyn. My daughter told me what you’re planning. I think it’s so great. Many of us felt so bad after Kali got sick and left the school. I think you’ll be surprised by how many of us want to help.”

“Yeah, I’ve been on the phone since you called,” said Gabby. “I even called some of her old equestrian friends. They all want to come. I must have at least fifty kids coming. We’re also willing to help with anything else you need. We were so sad when she got sick. Some of her friends didn’t know what to say or do. Kali’s been my friend since kindergarten. I’m glad you’re doing this for her.”

“I’ve a friend working on the theme for the party. If you have any friends who would like to help create the backdrop, that would be great. Do you have the list of the kids and their contact information?”

This party was becoming bigger than she’d ever imagined. What had she started? It was great, but a bit overwhelming.

“Sure, let me go get it.” Gabby left the room to retrieve the list.

Marilyn turned to her and said, “I would like to help, too. I could talk to some of the mothers from the PTA. I’m sure they’d be more than willing to pitch in. Maybe we could sponsor a bake sale to raise some more money.”

“That would be great. We could also use some help with food. I have a caterer. But with the number of people that may be attending, it would be good to get some additional help. The bake sale would be a really great idea. That way more money can go to the kids.”

“Have you thought of having an auction?” Marilyn asked.

“What would that entail?” Chloe asked.

“It’s a great way of raising money. People donate items and services that others can bid on. It’s really a win-win situation. People are more likely to give if they think they can get something out of it, and often businesses are willing to donate for the free advertising.” Her eyes lit up. “Hey, my husband knows the governor. I bet we could receive a lot of news coverage with him attending. There’s also my brother—he works for the fire department. They’re always willing to help a good cause. I could see if the fire department would be willing to donate one of their spaghetti dinners. The lucky family would be able to have dinner at the firehouse. There are some other people I could contact for some additional donations, if you want.”

“Those all sound like great ideas.” Chloe thought about Harper, Ree and Leighton. She bet they would be more than willing to assist with the auction, too. Perhaps, Harper would be willing to donate a painting. She knew a lot of people who would want an original by Harper Sheridan, and Ree might be willing to donate a spa day. Leighton had many of her own connections due to being the daughter of Andrew McCall, a senator, and through her work at her law firm. Maybe she could call on some of them. However, she wouldn’t dream of asking Leighton to impose on her father. Things were pretty tense between the two of them.

Gabby returned with the list, handing it to Chloe. “Here it is. Most of them are on here. I can get the rest.”

“That’s fine. Please e-mail the ones you don’t have.” Chloe pulled out a piece of notebook paper, wrote down her e-mail address, and handed it to her.

“Of course, before anything is decided, I’ll need to okay it with my boss.”

“Sure,” they both said.

“Thank you. I wasn’t expecting all this. You both have done so much.” When she’d decided to reach out to the community, she’d had no idea how large the outpouring of support would be.

“We’re happy to help. It’s such a great cause. Now, I made some sandwiches and pastries. Would you like some?” Marilyn asked.

“That would be great. I’m starved.”

*~*

Chloe arrived home and found her two men huddled in front of the fridge, looking for something to eat. Garrett was hunched down, smelling a container to see if what was in it was still edible. Patches sat parked next to him, hoping to receive any leftovers his owner didn’t want. Garrett was barefoot as usual.

Chloe decided the best way to approach him about the news on the gala’s expansion was to butter him up first by feeding him.

“I don’t think either of you want to try that. It’s been there for a while. Here, let me.” She took the container from Garrett, tossed the contents in the trash, and put the container in the sink to deal with later.

Garrett stood and smiled. “Good thing you’re home. I’m starved.” He turned to kiss her, landing a quick peck on her lips before she squeezed past him to take out a loaf of bread, cold cuts, cheese, and condiments. She hoped a sandwich on such short notice would suffice. She took out two slices of the bread, resealed the wrapper, and started to spread mayo on one of them.

Deciding to make himself useful, Garrett took out the lettuce and tomatoes to add to their plunder. Glancing over, he noticed she was only making one sandwich and said, “You’re not going to have one?”

“No, I already ate. How was your day?”

“Fine, but Anders is holding out. He wants us to cut him a discount for being a repeat customer. I might give him ten percent, but not more than fifteen. He’s good business but not that good.” He exhaled, frustrated.

He pulled off some of the lettuce and rinsed it along with a tomato, which he began to slice. Looking up, he said, “So, what have you been up to? I thought you’d be home sooner.”

This was her opportunity to tell him about the changes to the fundraiser. She should have talked to him about it sooner, but it was hard to say no when people were being so generous and kind, and after all, it was all for the kids. Chloe swallowed. “How would you feel if I told you the party might be a little bigger than we’d originally planned?”

“How much bigger?”

She knew he could tell she was hedging. “Ah, I’m not really sure. Maybe about five hundred people.” She paused a second. “Possibly more.”

“What?”
He slammed the knife down on the counter.

She closed her eyes. Just as she’d surmised, Garrett was not happy about it. She still hoped to convince him of how much more could be accomplished by a party of this scale. “I haven’t actually said yes to any of them. But, Garrett…”

“No.” He shook his head in disbelief.

“Now hear me out.”

“This was supposed to be a simple dinner gathering with about a hundred people.”

“I know. But you said to call Teresa and when I did, she said she could probably have some kids come, with their parents, of course.”

“Okay.” He ground down on his teeth.

“Then, I got to thinking about Kali. I thought it would be nice to invite some of her peers and maybe some kids from the local school districts.

“Uh-huh.”

She could tell he was still angry, but she had to try. “I called her friend Gabby. I didn’t realize that once I called, she and her mother would act so quickly and contact their local community. We might even have the governor come, and the fire department might provide a spaghetti dinner to a lucky family.” She knew she was rambling, but she had to make him see how willing everybody was.

“Oh, God,” Garrett swore.

“Now, Garrett. I know you really did not want a lot of publicity surrounding this. But how can we say no?”

The veins in Garrett’s forehead were prominent as he held his temper in check.

She was surprised he hadn’t exploded yet.

“I like my anonymity. I never wanted my association with the Foundation made public. I thought I made it clear to you.”

Chloe blinked. She knew he had a short fuse. She’d seen it before, but he had never been like this. He was completely closed down. “I know, but if you would just hear me out.”

“Chloe, I can’t. I just can’t.” His eyes reflected not only anger but incredible pain.

It was the pain that broke her, bringing tears to her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’ll cancel everything. We’ll do a simple social dinner party. You’ll see, it will be fine.”

He didn’t respond.

“Please, Garrett, say something.”

“I need some time to absorb all this. I’m going to be in my study for a while.”

Chloe could see Garrett was weighed down by whatever was tormenting him. She’d never seen him this way. What had she done? “Okay.” She released the breath she’d been holding. “Do you want the sandwich?”

“Maybe in a little while.” He turned and walked out of the room dejectedly.

Crap.
That had not gone as planned. Chloe finished putting together the sandwich, wrapped it in cellophane, and set it in the refrigerator for Garrett to have later. Setting the few dirty dishes in the dishwasher, she left the kitchen and headed up the stairs to her room. Weariness and heartache accompanied her each step of the way.

*~*

Garrett sat at his desk. It was after ten. He’d gone over the argument with Chloe in his mind again and again. He knew she didn’t understand. How could she? It was hard to explain. His involvement in the charity was actually a double-edged sword, partly as a way of honoring his sister and partly as a way of making amends to her.

Perhaps if he explained it to Chloe, she would understand why it wasn’t possible for him to do it. He understood her position. The event she was trying to plan would probably raise more money and help more kids. But he couldn’t risk it. He wanted to seek her out and explain. However, he wasn’t ready yet to face her disappointment in him.

With hunger getting the better of him, he finally left his study to get something to eat. When he opened the refrigerator, he saw the sandwich she had made. Even after their disagreement, she had finished making it for him. He pulled it out and set it on the island. He also took out a beer. Looking around, he realized she had also taken the time to straighten the kitchen. He sat down at the counter and slowly consumed the sandwich and the beer, contemplating the best way to make her understand. When he finished, he rinsed the plate and stuck it in the dishwasher, threw the beer bottle in the recycler, turned out the light, and headed up to his room. Entering, he noticed she wasn’t there. His bed was empty. It was the first time in almost two weeks they hadn’t shared the same bed, other than the night she had come down with poison oak. That night, she’d been too ticked off and too uncomfortable to let him near her.

After brushing his teeth, he unfastened his jeans, pushed them down, slipped off his shirt and climbed into bed in his boxer briefs. He’d really messed this up. He tossed and turned for about another half hour. Giving in, he climbed out of bed and headed down the hall. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say to her, but he had to try.

He knocked lightly on her door. There was no answer. Opening it, he walked over to the bed. She was on her side, facing the wall.

“Chloe,” he said softly.

She didn’t respond so he spoke a little, more loudly, “Chloe.”

A whimper came from her sleeping form. He realized she was feigning sleep and was crying.

His heart shattered. He had done this to her. He had made her cry. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he reached for her to hold her. A sob escaped her as he pulled her toward his chest. He edged her even closer until he had her cradled on his lap.

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Me, too.” Chloe raised her tear-stained face to his.

He reached down and swiped a tear away with his thumb. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It’s me. I just can’t do it,” he said. His voice was gruff. He hated to let her down.

“I know.” She gave him a half smile.

That should have been enough for Garrett, but he needed her to understand why he couldn’t do it. “You need you to know why this is so hard for me.” Garrett stared across the room over her head as he reflected on a painful period of his youth.

“All right,” she said.

“I became involved with the Foundation not only to help the kids, but because I wasn’t always proud of the way I’d behaved in the past, especially toward my sister. I was fifteen, old enough to know better. One day Lauren came to pick me up, and I pretended not to see her. I knew she knew. I could see the look of hurt on her face.

“I was just so angry. I saw her illness as a burden. Because of it, my parents could not see beyond her and her health issues to me. I never lacked for anything—except their attention. I could never have friends over because there was always the fear Lauren might catch something. I resented her for it.”

Garrett exhaled a weary breath.

Chloe had stopped crying and was quietly listening.

He wondered if she was disappointed in him, like he was in himself, for being so weak. He rubbed her back to comfort himself as much as her. “What was even worse? I was embarrassed by her. She was thin and pale. She stood out from everyone. I started spending more time away from home. Anything that kept me away, I did it. I spent a lot of time with my friends, Craig and Kenny. I wished their families could be mine. I talked my parents into signing me up for anything and everything. The Boy Scouts and sports became refuges for me. My grandparents could see how much pain I was in and would bring me here to escape. My grandfather took me fishing a lot. The ranch became a second home to me. That’s why they left it to me when they died. They knew how much it meant to me.”

He drew in another deep breath. The hardest part was yet to come.

Chloe reached for his hand and squeezed.

“Things came to a head that last year. She was getting so many infections that her lungs had become compromised. My father heard about the work done by Dreams Made Possible and contacted them. My sister could have asked for anything. You know what she wanted?” His voice was filled with pain. “A family vacation.”