“Where would be the fun in that, beautiful Mama?” He bent down and kissed her on the forehead.
“Maybe save me a few gray hairs,” their mom said.
Aiden only laughed, knowing not to touch that with a ten-foot pole. Their mom and Aunt Holly both colored their hair and were beautiful ladies. They all knew it was the danger surrounding their families that stressed their moms out. At the same time, their moms were as well trained as any of them and had helped train their own children. No matter how prepared the entire family was, it had to be hard on a parent, especially a mom, to allow her children to be in dangerous situations.
“You still fight pretty well, for a lacrosse player,” Aiden shot at him.
“I can at least best a Navy SEAL,” Chandler hurled at his back.
Aiden laughed and walked out of the room.
Chandler knew it wasn’t true. Aiden could thump him with one hand tied behind his back. But at least Chandler could keep taunting him. He sat up, still feeling worn out.
His mom came and sat down on the side of the bed. “How are you really, love?”
Chandler smiled at her. “I’m doing great. We’re headed to the playoffs, as long as I don’t get benched for missing practice.”
“I’m sorry you’re missing practice, and even more sorry that we’ve missed the last few games.”
“It’s fine, Mama.”
“It’s not.” Her green eyes turned as fierce as he’d ever seen them. “You know I’ve never missed a game until this fall.”
“I know.” His mom was as loyal to the Deltas and the secret as any of them, but missing an event for one of her children ranked up there with missing church on Sunday. It wasn’t done unless you were on your death bed. He wouldn’t put it past her to go take King Frederick out herself and eliminate the threat to her family and never miss another lacrosse game. She even tried to get to as many of Hudson’s crazy stunts in person as she could. It was tough as he performed often and usually in faraway locales. They all adored their little brother, but he had distanced himself from the family, even his parents. It was hard to understand or watch. Even though Chandler and Aiden didn’t live close, they tried to keep in contact with FaceTime, phone calls, and texts.
“At least you got to watch this handsome guy on television.”
“That is some consolation.” She looked him over. “I was thrilled that Kylee felt impressed to come to you.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. She’d shared that part of the story with everyone in the Suburban, but he hadn’t heard it before then.
“How has it been … reconnecting?”
Chandler knew she was digging, but he didn’t want to admit it wasn’t going the direction he hoped and have his mom start dropping heavy hints to Kylee. He wanted to win her affections like a man. “Is she still resting?” he asked.
“No.” Her eyes reflected frustration at his lack of answer. “I woke her up when I took her all the clothes and toiletries. She’s helping make side dishes for dinner with Shelly and Thor.”
He nodded. He was excited to see Shelly. His brother’s cowgirl was feisty and fun to be around.
His mom looked him over. “It was a shame to have her change out of that T-shirt and those yoga pants.”
“Mama,” he reprimanded her. “You need to stop.”
“Oh!” She shoved at his arm. “You all can tease nonstop, but I get in on it and I have to stop?”
“Tease me all you want.” Chandler tried to give her a stern look. “But you’ll embarrass Kylee. I want her to feel comfortable here and I sense she’s not … confident about her shape.”
His mom instantly looked repentant. “You’re right, and I’ve worried about the same thing.” She heaved out a sigh. “I can’t imagine how she’s dealt with not only losing her parents but going through her last couple years of high school in Olivet’s custody, enduring that woman’s petty jealousy and, I’m sure, poisonous jabs. To think that snotty, traitor of a woman and Admiral Seamons are the only family Kylee has left.” Her shoulders rounded. “It hit her hard that her grandpa was the one who gave her that necklace.”
He nodded. “For sure. I told her I could take the tracker out and she could keep it, but she wanted nothing to do with it.” He wanted to be careful not to encourage the matchmaker, but he needed some advice from his smart mother. “How do we help her feel good about herself?”
“We can keep giving her compliments and try to open her eyes to her beauty both inside and out, but it’s going to be hard to overcome years of that viper’s poison.”
Chandler winced. He hated that for Kylee. He hated that her grandmother had not only belittled her but now betrayed her as well, and to top it off, actually tried to kill her only grandchild. It was hard to wrap his mind around. Was Kylee’s emotional abuse at her grandmother’s tongue and her inability to see how incredible she was part of her rejection of him? Or was he simply looking for a reason besides the fact she just wasn’t interested?
“Let’s take it to God. He can help her.”
“You’re right.” He would pray diligently for Kylee to see her worth in God’s eyes and in his, and maybe heaven could also nudge the incredible woman to give Chandler a chance.