Chloe nodded. “I feel as if you and Kathy must have been attached at the hip.”
Devon straightened, shocked that Chloe spoke so casually of Kathy. “I guess. We were high school sweethearts.”
“First love is the craziest,” she stated with a knowing look.
“Why do you say that?” He hadn't felt crazy with Kathy, just very much in love.
“My first boyfriend? We did things that were so out of character for me. I thought if I didn't do the craziest things to impress him, then I didn't really love him. Like I had to prove myself to myself.” She shook her head. “As the chief’s daughter, I should have known better. I could have disgraced her.”
“Wow. It sounds like you were more adventurous than we ever were.”
She grinned at him. “But I learned my lesson. I realized nobody was worth my dignity.”
He raised his brows. “At such a young age?”
Chloe chuckled. “I was twenty.”
“Late bloomer, then.” Based on how long she’d been at her job, he pegged her as being in her early twenties.
“Well, yes. With a cop for a mother, it’s hard to date seriously. They tend to run off at the first sight of her shotgun.”
Devon laughed. “I bet that was hard in high school.”
“Not to mention I’ve known most of the men in my age bracket since they were in diapers.”
“That is a downside to living in a small town. Kathy moved here from Seattle, so she was like fresh meat to everyone else. I didn't place any expectations on her, and it made it easy for us to be friends.” He stopped talking as Hailey walked into the kitchen and right up to Chloe.
“Look at me!” She spread her arms and twirled.
Chloe squatted to her level. “I see you walking all by yourself. I’m so proud of the hard work you put in.”
“And I lost a tooth.” Hailey gave a wide and crooked smile to show off the space where her tooth had been. “I got a whole five dollars from the tooth fairy!”
“Wow! What are you going to spend it on?”
Hailey shot a glance at Devon. “Daddy says I can’t spend it all on candy, but I can get a little. And I want bubbles!”
Chloe chuckled. “That sounds like fun. A bit of candy is a good idea.” Chloe straightened and ruffled Hailey’s hair. “Have you been playing with Brandon?”
Hailey dropped her gaze, causing Devon to speak up in her place. “According to her, Brandon is a baby,” he whispered. “But she’s been very nice, despite her opinion of their age difference.”
“He scribbled all over my unicorn, Daddy!”
“Oh, now, no tears, little miss.” Chloe stroked Hailey’s cheek. “He didn’t mean anything by it. You can put away your unicorn coloring book and pull out another one you don’t mind him scribbling in.”
“Okay,” Hailey said glumly.
They watched Hailey dawdle on her way to the dining room table where Brandon was knocking over a short stack of blocks. He was three, and Hailey had recently turned six. It was hard for her, but she tried.
“She’s such a sweetheart,” Chloe said without looking away from the table.
“I’m pretty sure she’s all Kathy.”
Her gaze traveled to Devon’s face at that comment. “You raised her, you know.”
“With a lot of help,” he pointed out.
“Okay, and? Does that make your part in it any less important?”
