Page 34 of Fierce-Dane

“Don’t feel that way,” he said. “You’re successful in your own right. More so for what you accomplished getting there. You should be proud of yourself.”

“I am,” she said smartly. “I did it all on my own. Which brings me to my mother and sister. Sabrina didn’t like that I left home at nineteen and she was seventeen. She was still in school, but she and my mother didn’t get along much. Even though my mother pulled us away, she regretted doing that and having to work and support us. I worried she’d go back and I wasn’t having any part of that.”

“Did that happen?” he asked.

“She was thirty-five when I left. Your age.”

“That just puts so much in perspective in an odd way.”

“I know,” she said. “Which is why I said it. But no, she didn’t go back, though it was hard on her when she didn’t know how to be on her own. When Sabrina turned eighteen and graduated, she left right away. She was dating someone who became a truck driver and she went on the road with him and said she didn’t want to have any contact with my mother again.”

“But she had it with you?”

“For a period of time,” she said. “I respected her decision to move on from our past, but she has my number. I promised never to change it.”

Her sister had disconnected her number and the only way she would reach her was hiring someone to find her. Sabrina had said she’d change her name at one point, but Sloane didn’t know if that happened.

As Dane had said, sometimes you’ve got to let people go for them to be happy.

“You understand some of what I’ve said.”

“I do,” she said. “As for my mother, when Sabrina left she spiraled out of control. She was clingy and wanted to move in with me. It’s horrible to say, but I told her no. It was more drama than I wanted.”

“Because you wanted to put it behind you too and having her live with you would only keep it in the present.”

“Yes,” she said. “So I carry some guilt there. We stopped talking years ago and I hope she’s happy. She has my number too. But she hasn’t reached out.”

Her mother’s number was disconnected a few years ago so it was the same situation as Sabrina’s.

Did she think of her mother and sister at times? She did.

But she’d moved on and she hoped they did too.

“Wow,” he said. “This made for an interesting date.”

“It did,” she said, laughing.

Both of them were done with their sandwiches and picking at their fries.

Nicole came over with the check and set it down and Dane reached for it first and handed over his credit card.

“I guess the next question we both have to answer is about that second date. I’ve got my kids starting tomorrow.”

“Which means you have them until Monday morning?” she asked.

“I’ll drop them off at the babysitter that morning. I won’t get them again until after work on Friday. And of course I’m on call starting Saturday, so you know, fun times at Mom and Dad’s.”

She rolled her eyes at the look he gave her.

“I find it sweet,” she said. “How about we try for Monday after work?” She pulled her phone out. “I happen to be done with clients at five.”

“That works,” he said. “Do you want me to pick you up there?”

“I don’t live that far. How about I give you my address and you can pick me up at my place at six thirty? That should give you time if you are held up.”

Nicole came back with his card, he took the slip, filled out the tip, signed and handed it back.

“Works perfectly for me. And we aren’t even the last ones here.”

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