Page 106 of Fierce-Dane

She left the room after that feeling much more confident than she’d thought she’d feel.

“How are you doing?” Vanessa asked her. “Hanging in there?”

“By the skin of my teeth,” she said. “But I’ve done worse. Can you make sure that I’ve got an hour break between clients between three and five? I don’t care when it is or how it falls. After school care is open until five, so I’ve got to justget there by that time. I think the rest of the week I’m fine to sneak out.”

“Not a problem,” Vanessa said. “Do you want me to just go in and block you off from four to five each day but with a note that you can roll into four as long as you’ve got the time to leave?”

“That’d be great,” she said. “I’ll make sure everyone knows what is going on. Things are going to change a little. I can’t be here all the time until eight, but it’s still my business. I’ll get it figured out.”

“It’s great you’ve got a boyfriend now,” Vanessa said. “Maybe he can help.”

“I can’t and won’t ask him,” she said. “He’s got his own crazy life to work around.”

Dane was going to be on call starting Saturday. He didn’t have the kids this weekend and they normally would have spent it together. She was sure they still would, but it’d be at her house.

She went back to her office and saw Shiloh quickly drop something to the floor.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Shiloh said.

She moved closer and noticed the empty granola bar wrapper.

She squatted down to pick it up. “It’s fine, honey. If you’re hungry, then eat. I told you that when we got groceries yesterday.”

“I’m not supposed to take food without asking,” Shiloh said.

“I’m not that way,” she said. “If it makes you feel better to say you want a snack, then go ahead. I’m not going to tell you no. I want you to feel comfortable enough to eat whenyou want, but there are rules. Sometimes I’m going to say dinner is coming soon and not to fill up on snacks.”

“I know,” Shiloh said.

She’d packed the girl’s lunch today, but maybe she was too light with it. “Did you eat enough at lunch?”

“Yes,” Shiloh said. “But they have a snack in the morning and I didn’t have anything so I pulled it out of my lunch box. That is what a lot of kids did. I didn’t want the teacher to give me a few crackers like she did for those that didn’t have anything.”

Which might be embarrassing for a child on their first day.

“I can just pack more for you each day or we can put more food for your snack in your backpack. I’ll make sure there is something there so you can have a snack in the after-school program too. How is that?”

Shiloh nodded, but then her game started and she went back to that.

She’d let it go and do a bit more work and then they’d leave before dinner and talk about school and try to get in a routine.

If that was even going to be possible at this stage of her life.

31

TESTING THINGS

It worked out well that Shiloh could get an appointment in his office to see him. First thing in the morning on top of it. She’d only go to school an hour late, if that.

Sloane had a few hours off this afternoon and he took half a day himself.

Dane needed to make sure his girlfriend was doing okay and it was hard to find that out when she was working or at home with Shiloh, or he had his kids.

She hadn’t balked when he’d asked if they could spend a little time together and that told him she might need the comfort as much as he did to see how she was getting along.

He walked into the exam room and saw Shiloh sitting on the table. Her hair was combed and shiny with ponytails on each side. She was wearing jeans and a red T-shirt and the sneakers they’d bought her last weekend.