Page 12 of Chasing the Sun

That won’t be necessary, but it might be kinda fun, Chloe thought even though he wasn’t talking to her.

“Can Chloe read me a story tonight?” Molly asked.

“I’d love to,” Chloe replied before Bryce could answer.

He looked disappointed at first, but he quickly recovered. “Sure.”

It was obvious he was used to being in charge, but if he wanted Chloe to get close to Molly, he’d have to back off some. His expression said he’d come to the same conclusion.

“I’ll clean up while you two are reading,” he said and began clearing the table.

Chloe followed Molly upstairs and into her room. She sat on the edge of the bed while Molly took her pajamas out of a drawer.

“I have to brush my teeth too,” Molly said. “Be right back.”

With that, she crossed the hall to the bathroom. After she shut the door, Chloe got up with the intention of selecting a book from the bookshelf. She became distracted when she saw a picture frame on the dresser that she hadn’t noticed earlier. It was the kind of frame that opened like a book and contained a picture on each side. The one on the right was of Bryce, Molly, and a woman Chloe assumed was Victoria. The three of them were holding hands against a beautiful mountainous backdrop. Molly was smaller in the photo, so it must have been taken a few years ago.

The photo on the left was of Molly and the same woman, and it looked more recent. They were sitting side by side on a merry-go-round, both beaming at the camera. Chloe wondered who’d taken the picture. Did Victoria have a boyfriend? Had Bryce been with them? Maybe the photographer was a friend or grandparent. Why she was so interested, she had no idea. It really didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she did her job well for the next three months. After that, she’d probably never see Bryce and Molly again.

Then Molly reentered the room in her pajamas and caught her looking. “That’s my mom.”

“I thought so.”

“Daddy says I look just like her.”

There was a strong resemblance, especially the blonde hair and blue eyes, but Chloe saw Bryce in her too.

“Your mom is very pretty.”

“I think so too.”

“Do you miss her?” The question had slipped out, and she instantly regretted it.

Molly didn’t miss a beat. “No, because I get to see her all the time.”

“Oh.” Interesting. How often was “all the time?”

“I’ll pick the book I want,” Molly said, going over to the bookcase.

Either this kid was super well adjusted, or she was faking it. Based on everything Chloe had witnessed so far, she decided it was the former. If only she’d handled her parents’ divorce as well as Molly had.

Chloe sat on the bed again and waited for her to choose a book.

A minute later, Molly climbed up and handed it to her.

“This is one of my favorites,” Chloe said. It was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Chloe had read the book to her niece and nephew many times and never tired of it.

She started to read and got so immersed in the story that it took her a moment to register that Bryce had come in. He quietly perched on the end of the bed and waited for her to finish. Molly didn’t look up until Chloe had read the last sentence.

“It’s bedtime now,” Bryce said. “Did you brush your teeth?”

Chloe almost laughed because of course a dentist would be concerned about that. Molly nodded through a yawn.

“Goodnight, Molly,” Chloe said, taking that as her cue to leave.

“Goodnight.”

Chloe was almost out the door when Bryce said, “Could you wait in the hall for a minute?”