That's him.His hair is much lighter than I remember, falling over his eyes under a blue baseball cap. He looks just like Andrew, aside from his green eyes; those are all Jenna.
He's walking toward me with a brave face and a red duffel bag over his shoulder. I step closer and stretch out my hand to shake his. It's been years since we've seen each other. I wonder if he even remembers me.
"Chase," I say with a smile.
"Uncle Camden," he says, his voice cracking. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Harper bite her lip to hide a smile. Chase clears his throat and tries again. "Thanks for getting me."
My heart sinks. This is harder than I imagined. Chase looked nervous. Embarrassed. But he has nothing to be ashamed of. I could slap Andrew for putting his kid through all this.
"Hey, it's no problem," I say, clapping him on the shoulder with a smile. The last time I saw him, he was about a foot shorter. He's really grown up, and I"m surprised by the wave of protectiveness that washes over me. I want him to feel normal again...as at home as he possibly can, considering the circumstances. "Aw, C'mon, man. What's with the Dodgers hat?" I tease. "I know we're family and all, but you've got terrible taste in teams," I smirk, tipping the hat down to cover Chase's eyes. "The Angels. It's all about the Angels, man. You'll see,"
Chase smiles and pushes the brim of his hat back up. "Sorry, Uncle Camden, but you can't change that about me," he laughs. The awkwardness lightens for a moment until I look over at Harper.
And oh, god. Are those tears in her eyes? What the hell...
My eyebrows dip in confusion, but her eyes are clear before I can give it too much thought. Maybe it my imagination. She'd never let me see her cry.
My heart is still pounding with nervousness about my nephew, but suddenly I'm worried about her. I catch her eyes quickly, and I'm surprised when she gives me a small smile to confirm she's okay.
That was unexpected.
"Chase, this is Harper Ryan,"
"It's nice to meet you," she says, smiling at him. Her eyes are bright and her smile is real. Genuine. She's never smiled at me that way. But she's doing as I asked by being kind to my nephew.
She reaches out to shake his hand. "Yeah, you too," he mumbles, looking at his feet.
I smile knowingly. Chase thinks she pretty. Smart kid.
I'm not sure what to call her. My friend? This girl I know?
"Harper's my..." I try.
"We're both in the music production business," she interjects with a smile, nodding at me encouragingly. She fixed it, easily and it wasn't a lie. I guess there's no point in going into any more about it with him. It's all going to be over soon, anyway.
"I like music," Chase smiles and looks up at her again. I'm not surprised at his shyness. Andrew was an introvert except with Jenna. It's clear Chase got some of his personality from his father. But I'll be watching him carefully, just in case got other parts of his parents, too. Scary parts.
"So do you have more luggage or is this it?" I ask, changing the subject.
"No. I packed lightly. It's only temporary. I figured I could buy some clothes out here. I was given some money," he says.
I figure life hasn't been a barrel of monkeys for the kid, but the sound in his voice and the look in his eyes say everything. His life is anything but normal.

YOU ARE READING
All At Once (Completed) - Finding You Book 1
RomanceBook 1 in the "Finding You" series Camden and Harper have been in an extremely casual arrangement for a month when he assumes temporary custody of his teenage nephew. Follow them on a journey as 'nothing' may just turn into 'everything' if they can...