Put the pretty pink shirt on,” I yelled from the other room. “The one Grandma Betty got you last week.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Bella yelled from her room.

I smiled at the sound of her tiny little voice. I knew that she was growing up much faster than a normal five-year-old, but it was just me raising her, and I really didn’t know what I was doing all the time. She was my life, and thank God for my mother. I don’t know what I would do without her. Having lost my dad at sixteen, my mom became my best friend and guide in this crazy life, especially when it came to navigating single parenthood. Bella was starting Kindergarten in the fall and I felt like she was a little behind on the basics, something I didn’t want to be a worry for her in any way when she went to school. She was so smart, but I hadn’t been able to spend the time teaching her things like I wanted to. Putting out the ad for a tutor was the only solution I could think of, and I was shocked at how fast it had gotten a reply. I figured in this town, it would either be answered by completely unqualified people, or no one would respond. I definitely wasn’t expecting to hear from an NYU graduate.

I tossed several toys into the living room toy bin and folded up the fleece blanket Bella had fallen asleep on the night before. Lacey would be there any minute to meet me and Bella, and as much as she was probably hoping to impress me, I was hoping to do the same thing for her, especially if she was perfect of a fit for this job the way she sounded like she was going to be. Just as I laid the blanket over the edge of the couch, there was a knock at the door and I walked over, pulling the door open and looking down at a dark-haired woman standing on the steps.

“Hi,” she said, smiling. “You must be Caspian. I’m Lacey, here for the interview.”

“Lacey,” I said surprised. “Nice to meet you. Please, come in.”

I stepped to the side and watched as she entered the house, walking gently through the entryway. She was petite and fit, with curves in all of the right places. I glanced down at her ass, perfectly shaped beneath the tight black pencil skirt she was wearing. This girl was absolutely gorgeous, and I stood there watching her look around, at a loss for what to say. Bella’s giggles from the other room tore me from those thoughts, and I pushed them down, remembering what Lacey was there for in the first place.

“You have a beautiful home,” she said, turning and smiling at me. “I live just five minutes up the beach.”

“Thank you,” I said. “And that’s great. I was hoping it wasn’t a long drive for you.”

“Not at all, I could probably walk if I wanted to,” she said smiling.

“Please come in and have a seat,” I replied, walking her to the kitchen table.

“I brought my resume and references,” she replied, sitting down and pulling out a stack of papers. “I also had a background check done just six months ago at the school I interned at, so I brought that in case you wanted to see it.”

“That’s awesome,” I said, taking her papers.

Everything was immaculate, and I could tell she was a very careful person, her papers crisp and white, her appearance neat and put together, and every reference stating how awesome of a person she was. Her background check was completely clear, which didn’t surprise me, and I figured it would be good enough, especially with the raving reference the school had given her at the end of her internship. Everything seemed to line up perfectly with what I wanted, though her lavender perfume, mixed with the glow of her blue eyes was a tad bit distracting to my masculine sensibilities.

“What brings you to Blue Hill from New York?” I asked.

“My grandparents lived here all their lives, and I really wanted to get away from the city,” she said. “It’s a beautiful place, but I have to be honest, it’s not really for me.”

I laughed. “I can understand that. I’ve never been one for the city, either. I need the ocean close by.”

“It’s a healing thing,” she said, looking out the window.

“Yeah,” I replied, not knowing if healing was how I would describe it anymore. “So, all of this looks fantastic. Why don’t we go in and you can meet my daughter Bella, see how you two get along?”

“That sounds perfect,” she said, putting her things in a neat stack on the table and standing up.

We walked down the hall and stopped at the doorway to the playroom. We both peeked around the corner and watched as Bella pranced around the room, wearing her dress-up shoes and talking to the stuffed animals she had set up like students in a classroom. I watched as a warm smile moved across Lacey’s lips, and she leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms and listening. Lacey gave me a good feeling, and I was hoping that the next few minutes would cement my decision to have her stay here and tutor Bella.

“Bella,” I said gently. “I want you to meet Miss Lacey. She is a teacher.”

“A teacher?” Bella turned around smiling. “I am teaching my bears right now!”

“I see that,” Lacey said, smiling and walking into the room. “You are doing such an excellent job. What are you teaching them?”

“Science,” Bella said so matter-of-factly that I could help but chuckle.

“Science is my favorite subject,” Lacey said.

“Mine too,” Bella replied. “I watch all the science and space shows on Netflix with Daddy.”

“You do? That’s what a big girl does! Are you a big girl?”

“Daddy says I think I’m bigger than I really am,” she said proudly, not understanding the statement.

Lacey laughed and glanced over at me before kneeling down on the floor and listening to Bella talk all about space and what she learned on television. I could see the bond between them immediately develop. It was the first time I had seen Bella with any woman other than my wife, which brought a bit of a pain in my chest, but I was happy to see my daughter so comfortable. I knew instantly that Lacey was the girl for the job, and I even thought about the fact that she may lend more than just studies to our little household. It felt good to have a woman figure in the house again, better than I actually thought it ever would. It was something that Bella desperately needed and something my mom tried to provide, but she couldn’t be there every single day.

“Why are you here?” Bella looked at Lacey.

“Well,” Lacey said, looking up at me. “I might be coming to see you and teach you each day, if your daddy likes me enough.”

“I like her,” Bella said with big eyes looking at me.

“Do you?” I asked.

“Yes,” Bella said, nodding.

“I do too,” I replied. “Lacey, we would love to have you be Bella’s tutor if you are comfortable with it.”

“That would be fantastic,” she said excitedly.

“Could you start tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow would be perfect.” She smiled, looking back at Bella. “We could start with our ABCs.”

“I know most of them,” she said, pointing at the letters on the wall.

“Well, that’s great,” Lacey replied. “And I will help you know all of them.”

“Daddy,” Bella said, walking over to me and tugging on my shirt.

“Yes, sweetheart,” I replied, kneeling down in front of her.

“Can Bella stay and have dinner with us?” she asked. “I promise I’ll eat all my carrots.”

“That would be lovely.” I chuckled. “But remember, we already have plans with Grandma Betty tonight.”

“Oh, yeah,” she said, turning to Lacey. “One day, you will meet Grandma Betty, and you will love her. She is the best grandma in the whole world.”

Lacey giggled. “I would love to meet her one day. But I am going to get out of the way so that you can get ready to see Grandma Betty. I will be back tomorrow, and we can learn some fun stuff, okay?”

“Okay.” Bella smiled, leaning forward and hugging Lacey.

It melted my heart to see Bella talk to Lacey so quickly, and I knew I had made the right choice. Lacey and I walked back out into the living room to gather her things and finalize everything. I grabbed my cup of coffee from the counter and turned back around, forcing my eyes to stay on her face and not go roaming farther south like they were trying desperately to do.

“So, I was thinking of having you here from eleven to one or two in the afternoon, if that is good for you,” I said. “Unless you have more than one job, and then we can work around things.”

She smiled. “No, you are my only one. And that sounds perfect to me! I can actually incorporate lunch into my lessons with her, so she is learning the entire time we are together. I will draw up some preliminary instruction outlines for you, and we can change them as we go, depending on where Bella is and where we want her to be when she starts school.”

“That sounds perfect,” I replied, walking with her to the door. “Thank you, it’s really refreshing to have someone around Bella that understands children.”

“I’m just glad we are such a perfect fit,” she said, smiling up at me.

“Me too,” I replied, locked in her gaze. “So I’ll see you tomorrow at eleven?”

“Sounds great, and you have fun with Grandma Betty,” she said, laughing as she walked to her car.

I shut the door and smiled, feeling more than good about Lacey. I walked into the kitchen, poured the rest of my coffee down the drain, and put the cup into the dishwasher. Bella was singing in the other room, and I walked over, watching her from the door again. She was so sweet and carefree all the time, just like her mother was with that beautiful brown hair. Her face, though, was a spitting image of me, green eyes and everything.

“Daddy,” she said, dancing. “I really like Miss Lacey.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, I am excited to have her come teach me things,” she said, picking up her bear and twirling it around. “It’s really nice having a girl here. I like it.”

“I’m glad you like her.” I smiled. “I like her, too. I’m going to go get ready for Grandma Betty, okay?”

“Yep,” she said, turning back to her toys.

I walked down the hall and to the bedroom, pausing for a moment in the hall and looking at the pictures of my wife holding Bella when she was a baby. My old business was in the background, and part of me missed working there. I owned a surf shop and gave lessons to the locals and the tourists during the summer seasons. However, like usual, as the good memories played through my mind, the bad ones crept up behind them, and I shook it all from my thoughts. I needed to stay on course, taking care of Bella and making a beautiful life for her the best way I knew how. Lacey was definitely going to be a great addition to that plan, especially for Bella.