Page 18 of Fierce-Dane

He and Mel each had the kids every four days. They’d tried everything in the book to make it consistent, but it ended up with the kids being gone from one of them a full week to have set days and every other weekend to allow for them to have a personal life.

Dane hadn’t cared one bit. He just wanted what was best for the kids. A personal life was nothing to him and he hadn’t had one worth discussing in years.

But that meant he was staying the night with his parents for three to four nights a month and it drove him insane. It was that or leave the kids there alone and he didn’t want to do that either.

He was thrilled the hospital was fully staffed and heonly was on call for one full week a month now. And only had the kids three to four nights during that time.

If it fell over a weekend, sometimes he’d bring the kids to his parents’ house late on Saturday, then in the morning take them back to his house and then come back late on Sunday. He didn’t want his parents to feel as if they couldn’t have a life and had to worry about him.

All he cared about was the fact that someone was in the house if he got called out. They didn’t need to do anything other than be there. He wouldn’t even wake them if he had to leave. They heard him half the time anyway.

Most times, he was just taking calls in the middle of the night and not sleeping much anyway. He rarely had to go in in the middle of the night or could push it off until the morning.

“When are you going to change from your favorite being spaghetti?” he asked Tiffani.

She shrugged. “What do you like, Dad?”

He knew this game. Whatever he said, she’d pick it next but make it sound like it was her idea.

“You know I love beef.”

Both the kids did. Steak, burgers, even meatloaf. It’d give them a variety and make life easier for him too. Though he had to admit spaghetti was easy to make.

“Maybe we can have hamburgers next,” Tiffani said. “I like them.”

“So do I,” Tyler said.

“How about since Grandma is doing the cooking, she gets to decide what to make,” he said. He looked at his mother so she knew not to give in. No reason to start something that the kids would expect.

“You know,” his mother said, “Grandpa said he hasn’t had a good steak in a while. That is beef.”

“Dad likes steak,” Tyler said. “Me too.”

“I guess,” Tiffani said, a frown on her face.

It tore into his heart a bit, but he wasn’t going to give in. He knew in the long run he had to put these boundaries up.

He could change the subject though and maybe that would help some.

“I waited to tell you that I used your birthday gift last night and went and got my massage.”

“Yay,” Tiffani said. “Did you like it?”

“I did,” he said, picking his daughter up and kissing her on the cheek. “It was the best gift ever. I loved it so much that I booked another one.”

“That’s great,” his mother said. “I guess your daughter had the right idea this year.”

“She did,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve slept that good...in who knows how long.”

He’d gone home and his body was almost sighing in relief. He thought for sure he’d wake up and everything would hurt, but it didn’t.

He got on his rowing machine and put his thirty minutes in like he did five days a week, then did a bunch of push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups and he was good to go.

His forty-five-minute workout saved his sanity most times.

It allowed him that time to himself without having to stress, worry, or even think.

The kids would sit in an open loft area outside his workout room and watch TV while he did it. He didn’t even care he was working out to the sounds of cartoons half the time.

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