When and if that time came, she couldn’t turn her back on her mother. Just because her mother sucked at parenting didn’t mean Chloe had to suck at daughtering.
She stopped by the community room, where Owen Crenshaw, one of the teenagers taking part in the program, was reading to Samuel Warren. Samuel had first arrived at LOCAL five years ago with his wife, Alma. Samuel had suffered an accident as a child that had left him with limited vision. His wife used to read to him, but she’d passed away earlier in the year. Chloe had made a point of reading to him over her lunch breaks as often as she could fit it in.
When she’d first come up with the idea for the Junior/Senior Program, she’d imagined being one of the teenagers given the gift of an elderly friend who could share some of the wisdom that came with age. That was one of the things she enjoyed most about working with the elderly. She had hoped the program would be well received by both the teenagers and the residents, and she was overjoyed to have heard only positive feedback so far. And based on the smiles on Owen’s and Samuel’s faces, it looked to still be holding true.
On her way back to her office, she made a mental note to stop in and visit Samuel when he was alone, just to make sure her observation was correct.
“Chloe?”
She turned at the sound of Darren Rogers’s voice and found the distinguished CEO heading her way. She had a lot of respect for Darren. He was a fair and tactful man who evaluated all sides of situations before making decisions and took the time to get to know residents and staff. “Hi, Darren.”
“I’m glad I ran into you,” he said kindly. “I wanted to pass along how impressed the board and I were with your ideas this morning.”
“Thank you.” She had told them about the puppetry program she was looking into. “I’ve reached out to a local puppeteer to get more information. If all goes well, I’ll prepare a formal proposal for Alan.”
“Excellent. Your continued commitment to this facility and our residents has not gone unnoticed.”
With a friendly nod, he went in the direction of the executive offices. Chloe headed to her office with a little extra pep in her step.
Shelby waved her down as she passed the reception desk. She put a call on hold and said, “It’s Madigan Wicked. Do you have time to talk to her?”
“Absolutely, thanks.” Chloe hurried into her office and picked up the phone as she walked around the desk. “Mads, hi. I’m sorry for all of the telephone tag we’ve been playing.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry,” Madigan insisted. “I’ve been running all over the place. I’ve got a conference call in about five minutes, and I’ve got to prepare for a show I’m doing tonight, but I wanted to try to catch you. I was thinking, since our days are so busy, would you mind trying to get together in the evening?”
“Not at all.”
“Great. I know this is short notice, but I’m meeting my friend Marly at the Salty Hog later tonight. Do you want to meet me upstairs in the bar after my show? Around eight thirty? Marly isn’t coming until around ten, so we should have plenty of time to talk.”
Chloe’s nerves prickled. The idea of sitting in that particular biker bar after what had happened that awful night all those years ago made her skin crawl. She knew the Salty Hog was owned by Justin and Madigan’s aunt and uncle, and if Madigan was comfortable there, then Chloe should be, too. But it didn’t take away those memories. She couldn’t tell Madigan she’d rather not go to her relatives’ bar, so she agreed to meet her there and hoped for the best.
After ending the call, Chloe pulled up her notes and program ideas and tried to lose herself in those rather than the anxiety prickling up her spine.
LATER THAT EVENING, Chloe changed into skinny jeans and a sleeveless blouse and put on her favorite dragonfly anklet to give herself a little extra courage. Dragonflies symbolized transformations and new beginnings. With a little luck, she and Madigan would have a great meeting and maybe even lessen her bad feelings about the Salty Hog.
She headed out the door with high hopes.
It was a clear night, and as she climbed from her car, she was greeted by music from the bar and the scents