Page 64 of Safe With You

“I always have school.”

I laughed as I bent down to help her tie the shoe she’d somehow managed to knot around itself before it ever made it onto her foot.

“I think your teacher would disagree.”

Mila didn’t look convinced, but she finally pushed her foot into the sneaker and stood while I grabbed her backpack from the hook near the door.

By the time we made it outside, the heat had already started settling over the neighborhood, carrying the kind of Mississippi humidity that made the air feel heavier than it had any right to this early in the day. I got Mila settled in the backseat, tucked the baked goods safely on the passenger-side floorboard, and pulled away from the house with enough time to make it to school without rushing.

Mila filled most of the drive with a story about a girl in her class who’d lost a tooth over the weekend and gotten five dollars from the Tooth Fairy.

By the time we reached her school, the drop-off line already stretched past the entrance.

“Have a good day, Bug. Listen to your teacher and be kind.”

“I will.”

She leaned between the seats far enough for me to kiss her forehead.

“Love you, Daddy.”

“Love you more.”

“No, you don’t.”

“We’re not doing this in the drop-off line.”

She laughed as she climbed out.

I waited until she reached the covered walkway before pulling away, catching the wave she threw over her shoulder just before disappearing through the doors.

The truck went quiet without her.

I looked at the clock on the dashboard.

8:04 a.m.

My meeting with Luna wasn’t until nine, which left enough time to stop by the studio before heading to Chapter & Charm. Going home didn’t make much sense, and showing up nearly an hour early definitely wasn’t an option.

At the next light, I turned toward the studio.

By eight forty-five, I was back in the truck with the box beside me, this time headed toward Chapter & Charm.

I pulled into the small lot beside Chapter & Charm at eight fifty-six.

The front windows were dark except for the lamps scattered between the shelves, and the sign on the door still read CLOSED. Through the glass, I could see Luna moving behind the front counter with a stack of papers tucked beneath one arm.

I grabbed my camera bag from the backseat and balanced the bakery box against my hip before heading toward the entrance.

She looked up when I knocked.

For a second, she just stood there.

Then her eyes dropped to the box in my hands, and a smile spread across her face as she came around the counter.

The lock clicked.

“You actually brought breakfast.”