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“Not for breakfast,” I scolded lightly.
“Muffin?” she asked.
“Yes. Of course. Irma will have one for you downstairs,” I grinned. She forgot about the cookies fairly quickly and I was grateful for that. I put the note down as I collected the rest of the groceries. When I’d brought in everything, I closed the door again and picked the note back up.
I just wanted you to know that you have the night off. Consider it paid vacation. Get some rest and enjoy the extra time with your daughter.
It wasn’t signed by anyone, and I stared at it, confused. The writing wasn’t familiar, and it definitely wasn’t Sean’s. I’d had to read through much of his scribble over the last few weeks and I’d gotten pretty used to deciphering it.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and called him.
“Hey, Sean, it’s Leah,” I began.
“Morning, Leah,” he grunted.
“I just got a note saying that I have the night off, but I’m not sure it’s from you and I just wanted to check in,” I started.
“Yeah. It’s right. You have the night off tonight. I’ll pay you of course.”
“Why?” I asked cautiously.
“Last night, Kieran took up a collection for you from everyone in the pub. He collected enough for you to take off an entire week, actually.”
“He… what?”
“He was the biggest contributor. He’s taken a liking to you, lass. I’ve not seen that before from him,” he continued.
I didn’t want to accept the help, but I was honestly grateful for it. I’d been missing Emma a great deal on the nights that I worked, and this would help me fill that void, at least a little bit.
“Okay. Well, I’ll see you in a few days, I guess. Thanks, Sean,” I said.
“No problem. Have a good day, Leah.”
“You, too.”
I hung up the phone and stared at the groceries. There was no question in my mind that Kieran had sent these. I glanced at the clock on the wall and started with surprise. I needed to get moving if I didn’t want to be late to my first cleaning job of the day.
Quickly, I put away the groceries. I was floored by the quality of it all. These weren’t the bargain brands that I was used to. There was whole-grain bread, organic fruits and vegetables, sweets made with natural ingredients, and even a few bottles of good wine for me. My fridge and pantry were completely full by the time I finished unpacking it all.
I was grateful for the groceries and for the nights off, but it made me feel uneasy to accept them. Having more food was a relief. I’d been struggling to get into the food stamps program because none of my jobs were on the books. There weren’t very many resources for someone like me who wanted to keep her existence quiet so that no one could find her and that made my life much harder. A part of me also felt proud and a bit angry. I should be enough to support myself and my daughter.
I also felt suspicious of Kieran’s motives. No one ever did anything for free. There were always expectations. Would Kieran want to fuck me? Would he want something else? Was I putting myself and Emma in danger by accepting his help?
I didn’t know and I was too tired to really think about it hard enough to figure it out. I glanced at the oven clock, almost swearing when I saw what time it was.
I needed to get moving.
Knowing time was of the essence, I grabbed Emma’s hand and led her downstairs. Irma was waiting at the counter with a mischievous look in her eye.
“Good morning, Leah,” she began. I could tell she wanted to ask me something. From what I’d learned, she loved gossip and right now, her entire focus was narrowed in on me.
“Morning, Irma,” I smiled.
“I saw one of the Murphys drop off a few things about an hour ago,” she blurted out, clearly unable to stop herself.
“I met Kieran last night at the pub,” I admitted, and I could have sworn her eyebrows shot straight to the top of her scalp. Her eyes danced with questions. It honestly looked like she was having trouble deciding which one to ask first.
“Kieran Murphy?”
