SHE ANSWERED MY call with a whisper. “Wyatt?”

I exhaled, calming at the sound of her voice. “Where are you, Chloe? Are you okay?”

“I’m in the closet in my room. I’m okay. I’m sorry if I made you worry.”

“Don’t apologize. You can always call me if you’re scared, even if your mom is home. I’m on my way. Just stay put.” I put the phone down in my lap to grip the steering wheel with both hands. I loved Chloe and I owed it to her, and to her father, to protect her at all cost. I picked up the phone again. “I’m almost there.”

“Okay. I’m okay. Just a little scared.”

“Don’t be scared. No one will hurt you. I promise you that.”

The headlights beamed against the evening dusk. Cars parted in front of me as the cruiser whistled down the highway. I exited onto a side road and killed the sirens once I turned onto Grace’s street.

“There’s a key hidden under the orange flower pot on the back porch,” Chloe whispered.

“Did you text your mother?”

“No, I didn’t want to freak her out, and the hospital is on the other side of town. You were closer.”

“Good. I don’t want her freaked out either. I’m pulling up now.” I slammed on the breaks and jumped out the door, running around to the back of the house. “Are you still in your closet?”

“No. I’m in the bathroom.”

“Did you hear something in your room?”

“No. I had to pee.”

I bent over and lifted the potted plant from the ground and kicked out the key from under it. After placing the plant back down, I inserted the key and unlocked the door.

“I’m inside,” I informed her as I entered the house. “Let me check things out. I’ll knock in a second.”

After I hung up, I turned off the lights inside the house and flicked on the floodlights outside. A frightened deer darted past the trees and into the woods. My first thought was the guy in the mask must have been a hunter; even though, it wasn’t hunting season. I turned the living room lights back on and closed the blinds over all the windows. My second thought was that Grace should quit keeping the blinds open at night. I knocked on the bathroom door and heard the toilet flush. Chloe opened the door a moment later and smiled.

“So, there’s a strange man lurking around outside your house and you just casually walk out of your closet to use the bathroom?”

“Don’t be silly. I army crawled to the bathroom just like Dad taught me.” Chloe brushed past me and went into the kitchen. I couldn’t help but to laugh as I walked back into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, worn out from the surge of adrenaline.

“Do you want a beer?” she asked, poking her head in the fridge.

I glanced at the time. A little before 5:00. If work needed me, they’d call.

“Sure. I’ll take a beer.”

Chloe came back in, handed me a beer and sat next to me, sipping a Coke.

“I thought y’all were low carbing it.”

“Don’t tell Mom.” She grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

“Maybe we should cook your mom dinner,” I suggested.

Mid-sip, Chloe’s eyes widened. “That’s a great idea! We were just going to have taco salad anyway. Cooking ground meat can’t be that hard, right?”

We moved off the sofa and headed into the kitchen. Chloe opened the door to the fridge and pulled out meat wrapped in butcher paper. She handed it to me and headed into the pantry to fetch an onion and a bell pepper. She placed the onion on a cutting board and began chopping away while I dug around for a pan in the cabinet, and then placed it on the stove. Once I turned on the fire, I dropped the meat in a pan, breaking it up with a spatula.

“Wyatt, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about,” Chloe said, not tearing her eyes away from her task.

I took a sip of beer and watched the meat sizzle in the pan. “What’s up?”

She exhaled. “I think you should date mom.”

I almost spat out my beer.

“What makes you say that, Chloe?”

“I see the way she looks at you.” Tears rolled down her face. “You’ve been so good to her, and to me. I know Dad would be okay with it. Sometimes I think he might be the one pushing y’all together anyway.”

“Aww, Chloe.” I stepped closer and rubbed her back. “Don’t cry.”

“Oh, it’s just the onions. I’m okay.” She sniffled and quickly moved the chopped pieces into a bowl, pushing them away from her.

“I don’t know how your mom feels, but it’s nice to know that you would be okay if something were to happen. You’re my first concern.”

“I’m totally okay with it. I love Dad and I miss Dad, but I know deep down he would want this. He doesn’t want mom to be alone and neither do I. You’re already in our lives and I don’t want mom to be with anyone else.”

“I love your mother, Chloe.”

“I know you do, and somewhere under her many layers, I know she loves you, too. I know you’d never try to replace Dad because no one can do that, but I want you here for Mom. I want you here for the both of us.” She teared up again and I knew it wasn’t because of the onions this time.

“I don’t want to lose either of you, though. These aren’t things you can force. I have to wait for her.”

Chloe nodded and turned back toward the cutting board. I gave her the space she needed as I silently pushed the ground meat around in the pan and then drained some of the fat into the sink. Chloe tossed the chopped bell pepper and the bowl of onions in with the meat.

“We have a date for New Year’s Eve,” I said, breaking the silence.

“I know. She already bought a dress. She’s really excited about it.”

My ears perked up as I turned toward her. “She is?”

She nodded, grinning as she threw all of her sadness into the trash along with the scraps.

“Want to see the dress?”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “I’d like to be surprised.”

Her grin widened and she bounced on her toes. “This makes me so happy.”

“Would you cut it out?” I rolled my eyes. “She’s going to be home any minute and the lettuce and tomatoes aren’t ready.”

We dashed around the kitchen, rushing to make the perfect Mexican fiesta for Grace when she came home. Chloe pulled some margarita mix from the freezer. I threw it in the blender with ice, mixed it up, and poured out some out for her before adding tequila to the mix. Chloe connected her phone into a wireless speaker and cranked up the Mariachi music just as Grace’s headlights shone through the front windows when she pulled into the driveway. I knew once she saw my car, she’d run to the door to find out why I was there. Chloe and I glanced at the table and clinked our glasses together. The door opened.

“Chloe, are you okay? Wyatt?”

Grace stepped into the kitchen. It was hard to say who had the bigger grin, Chloe or myself, but we made an awesome team. I saw a happy future filled with many surprises for Grace.

“What the … what are y’all doing?”

“It’s fiesta time,” Chloe said, gesturing to the table. “Let’s eat. I’m starving!”

Chloe turned away, ignoring us as she scooped taco salad onto her plate.

“Why are you here?” Grace whispered.

“I’ll tell you about it later. I think we should listen to Chloe and dig in because I’m starving too.” I handed Grace her margarita and clinked my glass against hers before taking a sip. She narrowed her eyes at me but I could see the happiness in her eyes as she took a sip. I was glad to be there in that moment, to share in her happiness.

I stepped up to the table and pulled out a chair for her. With playful eyes, she stared at my gesture. If I were going to let things unfold naturally I had to be true to myself. That meant I would be the gentleman my mama raised me to be.

She put her glass down just as I sat at the table. “Are you sure you want to sit by me? I smell like hospital.”

“Are you kidding? I love the smell of antiseptic.” I winked and grabbed my fork, glancing across the table at Chloe concentrating on her salad. I saw the smile cross her face. It struck me again that Mike was the luckiest bastard in the world. I truly hoped Chloe was right and that he would be okay with this.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you here?” Grace started picking at her salad. “As much as I appreciate the surprise dinner, I don’t think that’s the reason for the visit.”

Chloe’s eyes landed on mine. I stared at Chloe as Grace’s eyes shifted between us.

“Well,” I started. “Chloe had a little scare.”

“What?” Grace dropped her fork and grabbed her napkin.

“Chloe spotted a hunter coming out of the woods. She got a little spooked. That’s all.”

“Are you okay now?” Grace turned to Chloe.

“I’m fine. I shouldn’t have called Wyatt.” She turned to me. “I’m sorry for making you come out here.”

“Chloe…”

“You can call me anytime,” I interrupted Grace. “That goes for you too, Grace. I’m always here for both of you. I want to be here … for both of you.”

Grace looked at me, her shoulders relaxing as she exhaled. Our eyes met and I couldn’t turn away.

“Good,” Chloe said, shattering the moment. “Because you make a mean taco salad.”

“You should taste my lasagna.”

“Nope. I’m eating my salad and hearing nothing about carbs,” Chloe said, ignoring us while stabbing a tomato like she wanted to kill it.

“Maybe after New Year’s we can have a cheat day,” Grace said.

“Thank, God.”

“You’re the one who wanted to cut back on the carbs,” Grace said.

“I’m not brilliant all of the time.”

Grace and I burst out laughing, a feeling of warmth flowing over us. Chloe smiled at our amusement and it felt nothing short of perfect. Once we finished our meal, Chloe conveniently left the kitchen before we could ask her to help with the dishes. Standing at the sink, I began loading the dishwasher.

“Wyatt, you don’t have to do that.” She stood next to me, sipping her second margarita.

I waved her off. “I can clean up around here for once. How many times have you cooked me dinner and shooed me away?”

“But—”

“Nope. I’m almost done anyway.”

She sighed with defeat and sat back down at the table.

“Any new developments on the case today?” she asked. I felt good having her asking me about my day.

“Caleb and I questioned Jeremy the bartender at Dixie’s. Lara and I questioned Camille Roy.”

“Lara? Who’s Lara?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Fuck. I’d forgotten to tell her about Lara. I exhaled as I closed the door to the dishwasher. I sat in Chloe’s seat at the table, resting my elbows on my knees.

“Caleb insisted on hiring a new detective. Lara is my new partner.”

“Oh.” Her mouth hung at the corners. All of the happiness that once filled her eyes only a moment ago had diminished into sadness.

“I’m sorry. Today has been so busy and I didn’t even think. That was so stupid of me to forget.” I hung my head, clutching my hands together.

“No, Wyatt.” She grabbed my hands in hers. I looked up into her eyes. “It had to be done. You know Mike. He would be so mad about you going out there this whole time without having someone to cover your back.”

“That’s what I have you for. You’ve always got my back.” And my heart. I swallowed down this last sentiment and winked in an attempt to keep things from getting too somber.

“Of course, I do. And you’ve got mine.”

Our simple words held such a deeper meaning below the surface. I looked down at my hands. She was still holding onto them.