Page 28 of Sycamore Circle

“I am.” She held out a hand. “Are you Chance Tatum?”

The kid looked a little shell-shocked. Bo couldn’t blame him. Joy looked as pretty as a picture in skinny jeans, a gray sweater, and a pearl necklace. Her long brown hair was once again flowing down her back.

“Yeah.”

“I’m Joy Howard. It’s nice to meet you.”

After darting a look at Bo, Chance shook Joy’s hand. “Hey.”

She looked him in the eye while they shook. “If you’re ready, we can get started.” She smiled.

“Yeah. Sure.” Chance took a step, then turned back to Bo. “How do you know each other?” His voice was filled with suspicion.

“We only met the other day. I promise I had no idea this was who you were meeting. This is a real coincidence.”

“Oh.”

“Are you sticking around, Bo?” Joy asked.

“Yeah. I’m his ride. But don’t worry, I’ll stay out of the way.” He pointed to a comfortable-looking spot over by a fireplace that had long since been filled in with plaster. “I’m going to hang over there.”

“Sounds good.” She lowered her voice, saying something to Chance that almost made him smile. Then the two of them went to the table she’d been sitting at.

Feeling left out though he knew he had no call to be, Bo pulled a pair of books off of the new-release section and sat down. Unable to help himself, he looked over their way again, but there was nothing to see. Both Joy and Chance had their backs turned toward him.

He sat and watched them for a moment. Noticed the way she didn’t fuss with her necklace or hair or clothes much. She sat still whenever Chance talked, like the guy had something important to say.

He was glad for Chance to have a tutor like Joy. He was such an awkward kid, so shy and wary. Joy would no doubt help him gain some confidence and give him some tools to read better.

So Bo was real glad Joy was speaking to her student in that soft, kind way of hers. He just couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous that she wasn’t talking to him instead.

And that, Bo reckoned, was why his brother was perfectly justified in thinking that his older brother wasn’t worth much.

CHAPTER 10

Chance Tatum looked like he could’ve been a banker in another life. He had a studious, serious look to his eyes and still carried the last vestiges of baby fat in his cheeks. He was just under six feet and was wearing a pair of jeans that had a hole in one knee, a snug T-shirt that had been washed a hundred times, and designer tennis shoes.

Joy imagined a lot of young girls probably gave him a second look—and a lot of those girls’ mothers likely would as well, but for a different reason. No doubt they would zero in on the scar on Chance’s lip and the wary shadow in his eyes. This was a guy who had been through a lot. Maybe even a guy who wasn’t done with whatever darkness he had seen.

That wary shadow was in full force and currently directed at her. “Did you tutor Bo too? Is that how you know him?”

“Oh, no. Bo and I just happen to be friends.”

“Friends?”

“Mm-hmm. We met in a coffee shop not too long ago.”

Chance looked at her with a furrowed brow. Did he think she’d said something goofy? Maybe she had. She smiled slightly, hoping to show that she wasn’t concerned by his questions, but also that she wasn’t going to just sit there and give him information. Figuring that this discussion was doing as well as anything to break the ice between them, she couldn’t resist teasing him a bit. “Chance, tell me the truth. Do you think it’s strange that Bo and I met in a coffee shop or that he started talking to me at all?”

The boy looked taken aback, then grinned. “Truth?”

“Of course.”

“Maybe both. No disrespect, ma’am, but Bo isn’t really the kind of guy to hang out and sip coffee. Most guys I know try their best to give him space. And you... well, you just look like you wouldn’t have a lot in common with an ex-con. Besides teaching him to read, I mean.”

She chuckled. “I think you’re right. There’s no reason anyone would think that the two of us would meet over coffee. But I guess that’s what friends are for.”

“What do you mean?”

---