Page 42 of Sycamore Circle

He stuffed his phone in a jeans pocket. “Me too.”

He opened the front door and stood by as she carefully locked it, then stayed by her side until they got to the driveway. “Bo, you’ve got a BMW?”

“It’s an old one, but it’s held up good.”

“It’s pretty.”

“It is.” He opened the passenger door for her.

“I’m surprised you don’t have a truck.”

“I’ve got one of those too. It’s almost as old as this Beamer.”

After he was buckled in and pulling out, she said, “I guess you really like cars.”

“Not really. Like I told you, I drive a lot of ex-cons around. I’m not going to take them out in this.” He paused. “And I reckon I’m not real eager to have you in that truck. You deserve better than that, yeah?”

She shrugged. “I don’t mind trucks. I am hungry, though. Are you?”

“Always. Now, did you decide where you want to eat?”

“I don’t have anywhere special in mind. Do you?”

“Well, I thought if you didn’t have a preference, I’d take you over to the diner on Claybourne Boulevard. Katherine’s, I think it’s called. Have you been there?”

“Once. I liked it. That sounds good.”

“All right, then.” He shifted and continued to drive.

She watched him, liking how easily he handled the manual transmission. She also liked how easy he drove, even when they came upon a little bit of traffic. Tony was a good driver but also an intense one. He was always commenting on someone else’s driving ability or complaining about traffic.

At a stop light, Bo glanced her way. “You went quiet on me. Everything good?”

“Yes. I... well, I guess I was just thinking about how the traffic doesn’t seem to bother you.”

“It’s just cars, right? No big deal.” When the light turned, he shifted back into first, then second. “What about you? Do you get tired of fighting traffic?”

“We’re out in the country so there’s not that much. But no. It’s part of my job. I meet all my students at a mutually agreed upon place. Some are closer than others.”

“But they’re all public, safe places, right?”

She nodded. “They’re not all places like Sacred Grounds, but most are safe. It’s the nature of the job though. I mean, no one is going to get together with a tutor if they mean to do her harm.”

His jaw worked. “Do you have someone looking out for you? You know, making sure that whoever you’re meeting with is safe?”

“Everyone fills out a form. It’s good.”

“What about your schedule? Someone know where you are?”

“Bo, you’re starting to scare me. Stop.” She laughed.

“I don’t want to do that. I guess it’s my nature to worry. I know what guys can be like.”

“Well, so far it’s all good.”

He pulled into the Katherine’s parking lot. It was more than half filled. “There’s a big crowd for so early, don’t you think?” she said, looking around the lot.

“It’s a popular place.” He parked and turned off the ignition. “I’ll come around for you.”

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