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“I am up.” His usual answer.
“Come on, I know when you’ve been sleeping.”
“Who are you, Santa?”
She laughed, glad that his sense of humor was still intact. “Sorry I woke you. How are you doing today?”
“I’m fine. I’m always fine. I don’t know why you’re so worried.”
“It’s because I love your crabby old self.” She stepped forward in the line, the smell of the clams practically making a river of saliva in her mouth.
“I love you too.” He paused. “I heard from your mother last night.”
A jumble of emotions rose in her throat, none of them good. “What did she want?”
“What she always wants.”
Money. Riley almost laughed out loud. “Really? Does she know we’re knee-deep in medical bills?”
Her father didn’t say anything, and a clawing panic gripped her. “Dad? What did you say to her?” He never could turn her mother down. Not even after she left him to raise their daughter alone. Not after she kept coming to him, begging to help her out of one scrape after another over the years.
“I told her to stop by.”
“Dad! She can’t come by. I’m not there. You know how she is.”
He didn’t speak for a moment, and Riley knew what that meant. He was getting emotional. Finally, he said, “I can’t tell her no.”
“We don’t have any money to spare. You know this. I’m massively behind on paying the rent. Please, just tell her you can’t help right now.”
“I have a little socked away.” By that he meant the $200 she’d placed in the cookie jar in case there was an emergency while she was gone.
She wanted to yell at him and tell him not to touch that money. Not if he was going to give it toher.But she was now first in line and had to order. “I have to go, Dad. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too, Dad.”
She hung up, too flustered to think about the order. It took her way too long to get herself back together and tell the man behind the counter what she wanted in a take-out bag. Luckily, by the time she got back to Shadow’s room, she had herself under control once again. For the most part, anyway.
The man in the security uniform stepped aside as she approached. She knocked, and Shadow opened the door. After she pulled out the food onto the desk, he inhaled deeply and grinned. “That smells amazing. But this is a lot of food. Are you starving?”
“I thought we could see if your manager wanted some. He was so happy with the food yesterday.”
Shadow froze, a look she couldn’t quite interpret in his eyes. Was he upset? She didn’t ask about getting Jalen food. Maybe he didn’t want her spending money without getting permission. She was about to beg for forgiveness when he cleared his throat. “That’s very thoughtful of you,” he finally said. “Last I checked, he was going to be busy all night, though. He asked that I not disturb him.”
“Oh.” Her face grew hot. “Sorry, I guess I should have checked with you.”
Shadow placed his hand on hers, warmth seeping through his glove. “No. Don’t be sorry.”
“But I wasted food.”
“You were considerate. Never apologize for kindness.”
Something in his voice made her gaze snap to his. He squeezed her hand before letting go. Why did it give her butterflies? She looked down at the food. “Well, I suppose we could put the extra in the fridge.”
Shadow nodded. “Yes.”
They sat down, and Riley’s stomach growled. She’d never smelled anything so good. The taste did not disappoint, either. The clams were so fresh, she couldn’t believe how delicious they were. Delicate, yet chewy in a satisfying way.
