Page 99 of Fierce-Dane

The rest of the pictures were of her mother and Shiloh or just Shiloh alone over the years.

“I think this is a great thing to take,” she said. “We can put this in your room.”

“Thank you,” Shiloh said and hugged her again, then ran to the dresser. “Mom has a blanket I like. Can I bring that?”

“Of course,” she said. “You grab everything you want and put it on the bed and we’ll bring it to the car.”

“Hello?”

They turned their heads to see a woman standing in the doorway to the room. “I’m Casey. Hey, Shiloh. Come here, baby girl.”

Shiloh ran to the woman. “I’m going to miss you. I wish I could stay with you.”

She wouldn’t be hurt by those words. “I know, sweetie.But you’re going to be with family and that is what you need,”Casey said.

“I’m Sloane,” she said, reaching her hand out. “This is my boyfriend, Dane Grey.”

“He’s a doctor,” Shiloh said.

“Fancy,” Casey said. “Nadine said you turned out well. I live next door.”

Her mother would know nothing about who she dated. She imagined it was just a figure of speech.

“Can you tell me anything about my mother?” she asked. “Has she been sick? Or any man that might have been in her life?”

“No man,” Casey said. “Never. They’ve only lived here two years. I watched Shiloh at night when your mother took extra shifts on the weekend. It wasn’t a big deal to have her sleeping next door. I’ve got a teenage daughter and it kept us entertained. My Trina was hardly home. She’s working now or she would have come to say goodbye to Shiloh.”

“Why don’t you and Shiloh finish gathering what you need?” Dane said. “I’d like to hear anything you can tell me about Nadine in terms of her health.”

Sloane nodded and returned to the room with Shiloh after she’d heard that her mother always seemed to be battling some kind of ailment.

Sounded like nothing changed there, but Dane could sort through it better than her.

She and Shiloh found the blanket her sister wanted. It was nice and soft, looked somewhat new. There wasn’t much more other than a box with some jewelry in it.

It was odd to her to see a silver locket necklace. She managed to pry it open and there was a picture of her and Sabrina on each side.

“Mommy never wore that,” Shiloh said. “She said it couldn’t be touched either.”

“Do you know where she got this or when?” she asked.

“A friend gave it to her.”

“Do you know the friend’s name?” she asked.

“It was a coworker,” Casey said, moving into the room. “She showed it to me when she moved in. I knew about you and...Sabrina.”

“My friend?” she asked, looking at Shiloh.

“I don’t know much about that situation other than who she is,” Casey said. She’d leave it at that. It didn’t concern her right now what happened with her mother and sister.

“Did she say who gave her this?” she asked. “A guy or girl?”

“No. I think she got it before Shiloh was born. I always suspected it might have been a man but have no idea.”

She nodded her head to have Casey leave the room with her. “Do you think it was Shiloh’s father?”

“I don’t know,” Casey said. “I wish I could help. Your mother was very private about her life. She said she’d moved here from Virginia before Shiloh was born. She never said why. No one asks a lot of questions around these parts.”

---