Page 112 of Sycamore Circle

“Here you go, honey. Fresh from the washing machine.”

“Oh my gosh, Mom. Thank you!” Chloe hugged her tight.

“Of course. Now go break a leg, Cinderella.”

“We’ll see you in the theater!” Alice called out.

“Okay. Thanks.” Looking panicked again, Chloe looked around. “Bo?”

“Right here, girl. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

She ran out the back door. It slammed shut just as he approached.

All six women laughed.

“She’s giving you a run for your money, Son,” his mother called out.

“Don’t I know it.” He walked into the garage, stepped over yet another pair of forgotten shoes, and strode out to the driveway. Chloe was carefully unlocking a six-year-old Chevy like it was a Porsche.

He walked to the Chevy’s back seat and tossed her bag inside. Still standing next to the car, his stepdaughter smiled up at him. “I guess I’m ready now.”

“Let’s double-check. Now, do you have your purse and your license?”

“Yes.” She smiled.

“Money?”

“I don’t need any.” At his look, she nodded. “I have the twenty you told me to hide in my wallet.”

“Good. Your phone?”

She held up her purse. “It’s in here.”

“All right then. Since I already saw you have half your closet in there, I guess you’re ready to go dance the lead tonight.” He winked. “Get ready, your momma’s likely going to take a hundred pictures.”

“She always does.”

He winked again. “Drive careful now.” Wagging a finger, he added, “Don’t you speed. If you’re late, Miss D can just have a conniption fit without you.”

“I won’t speed.”

He stepped back. “Off you go then.”

She didn’t move. “Hey, Bo?”

He turned back around. “Yeah?”

“You’re going to be there too, right?”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he murmured, “Do you really think I’m going to miss seeing my best girl be Cinderella?”

Her smile broadened. “Thanks for helping me with the keys and Mom... and everything. I’m really glad I have you, Bo.”

He was really glad about that, too. Afraid he was going to get emotional, he tapped her door. “Get on, girl. It’s time.”

He leaned against the garage door’s frame as he watched Chloe get in, buckle her seat belt, then put the car in reverse. In no time, she’d backed out of the drive and headed down his street. And then she was gone.

He stood there a moment, thinking about how much he adored that girl. He wasn’t her father—Tony did a good job with that—but Bo knew that he’d become an integral part of Chloe’s life. Just as she’d become an important part of his.

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