Page 32 of Fierce-Dane

“How long ago was that?”

“Three years or so,” he said. “How often do you date?”

She’d be honest. It was only fair. “I have probably had the same amount of dates in that time.”

“I find that hard to believe,” he said. “You’re stunning. You’re nice and friendly. I won’t say open because I haven’t gotten all that much out of you except bits and pieces. You do have a sense of humor too.”

“Well, if we are casting stones,” she said. “You’re pretty good-looking.”

“I’ve been told more than pretty good-looking, but we’ll let it pass.”

She laughed and Nicole came back and put their food down, asked if they wanted more to drink and then left.

“You’ve got a sense of humor too,” she said. “You're successful.”

“And I’ve got baggage,” he said. “Not everyone wants that. Or at least I don’t think so. Or they don’t like that I’ve got a good relationship with my ex. It could be a jealousy thing though she is in her second relationship since we split.”

“I’m sure it had to be hard to find that out,” she said. “But you’d be more concerned about how your kids felt about it.”

“I was and still am. It’s one of those balancing acts of not sounding jealous myself because I’m not.”

“I believe that. I believe that you might not be someone that gives a second chance.”

“No,” he said. “That is a fault of mine. I put myself out there and see where the chips fall, but this is one of those burn me once, shame on you, don’t worry about burning me twice, because it’s never going to happen.”

She wondered if that had to do with him being adopted or not.

“I have a bit of that mentality. If I could have done something with it earlier on in life I would have. The minute I was an adult though, I was trying to distance myself. Sabrina did. Go on,” she said. “Eat. We can eat and talk.”

He picked up his sandwich and took a bite.

“Did I answer enough questions for you now?”

“Enough,” she said. “I guess I needed to weigh things in my mind before I went further. Well, one more question.”

“Shoot,” he said around a mouthful.

“Do we get a second date? And mind you, that’s saying a lot for me to even bring it up.”

“I’d like that. I know you work a lot. I work a lot. I’ve gotmy kids. I suppose this is my way of putting it out there and seeing if it’s something that could even be managed.”

“I close at six on Mondays and Saturdays. I’m open from nine to one on Sundays but rarely schedule any appointments. I use that day for paperwork and inventory. But that doesn’t mean I have to work, just that I don’t have much more going on in my life.”

“That’s good to know,” he said. “I have my kids every four days. I’m on call one week a month. The other days I go in early. My last appointment is at five and I normally stay an hour or so to finish up notes and make calls. Other times I do it at night if I have to. I can make time if you can.”

“Good enough for me. I was born into a cult,” she said.

There, it was out and she wanted to see his reaction. He didn’t even blink. “And?”

“Nothing to say about that?”

“Where or who you were born to doesn’t make you who you are or that you even had any control over it. I guess some things are making more sense though.”

She laughed and shook her head. “No one has ever reacted like that before that I’ve told. And I don’t tell many.”

“I’d ask how they react, but I can guess. But in my profession, I’ve seen a lot of things.”

“You have,” she said. “My mother ran away from home when she was fifteen and ended up in this cult in Tennessee. She became a ‘wife’ to the leader for a short time. Not legally, mind you. She birthed him two children to add to how many more he had. I don’t even know and don’t want to know. That’s why I said what I did about family in Tennessee. Depends on your definition of it.”

---