Page 87

A sweet woman with big blond hair greeted us as we walked in. “Hey, you two! Looking for anything special today?”

Maya nodded, and I said, “We need an extra cute first-day-of-school outfit for her!”

“How fun. Our little girls’ section is over there. Let me know if you need anything!”

Maya smiled and I thanked her before we walked over to the racks of clothing. There were all sorts of styles, and before I knew it, Maya had picked so many outfits to try on I could barely hold up all the hangers.

“Let’s take these to the fitting room before we look for more?” I suggested.

She nodded, and we walked toward the dressing room, but she froze in her tracks, almost making me bump into her.

“Those boots are totally cute!” she said, looking at a pair displayed on the wall. Theywerecute, light tan with pointed toes and pink cutouts up the sides. I picked one up, glancing at the tag.

“They’re a little pricey. Maybe we can save up for them?” I suggested.

She looked disappointed but nodded anyway and continued to the dressing room. I got her set up, pants on one hook and shirts on another and then stepped out while she started changing. As soon as the door was shut, I hurried to the saleswoman at the front desk of the small shop and said, “Can I order those and have them shipped?”

She grinned. “Girlfriend has great style.”

“I totally agree.”

The woman got out a card and said, “Fill this out with your address, and I’ll ring it all up when you check out.”

“Perfect,” I said. I set the card on the glass counter and began filling it out, but then a hint of silver caught my eye.

There was a stunning heart locket and, next to it, a bigger, matching bracelet. Instead of hearts or a cutesy design, it had metal ridges running across it in a simple pattern. “What is this?” I asked her.

“Oh, that.” She smiled at the pieces. “It’s a daddy-daughter set. I thought it was adorable, just got it last week at an auction.”

My heart completely melted. “I’ll order those too.”

“Perfect.” She grinned.

“Livvy?” Maya called. I turned to see her stepping out of the dressing room in a denim skirt and a graphic black T-shirt.

“Oh my gosh, is that Taylor Swift I see?” I gushed, going up to her. “Give me a spin!”

Grinning, she did a turn with her socked heel kicked up, the flared denim swinging around her. “I like it!”

“Me too... Is this the one or do you want to have a whole fashion show?”

She got a cheeky smile and said, “Fashion show!”

* * *

A couple hours later—andmy wallet significantly lighter—we went to the veterinary pharmacy in Fort Worth, getting medicine in a Styrofoam cooler.

“We need to get this back to Rhett, but first...”

Maya smiled. “Ice cream! Can we please go to Sugar Rush?Please?”

A worried feeling hit my gut, but I couldn’t say no to her when she just wanted to feel close to her mom again.

“Okay, we’ll go.”

I followed the map directions until we were in a fancier part of town with high-end stores in the same shopping center. I felt a little out of place in my cutoff jeans and dollar-store flip-flops with my hair thrown up in a messy bun, but Maya was so excited, so I smiled like I was the most confident woman in the world. After all, clothes didn’t make the woman—her heart did.

As we walked on the sidewalk, Maya hung on my arm, practically bouncing up and down and telling me about her favorite mint chocolate chip ice cream with gummy bears mixed in. It sounded disgusting, to be honest, but her enthusiasm made me smile.