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Chapter Two
Jessie tossed her keys on the kitchen counter and hung her purse off the back of a chair The water was running in the bathroo ready for her day At twenty-one years old, Monica was e nursing program had started in September Jessie had vowed to help her out as ht while Jessie worked, and Monica lived in the aparthteen hours a week as a nurse’s aide at the local community hospital to help with food, but for the most part, Jessie took care of the bills The two of theh school first, with Jessie’s help, and then when she was finished, Jessie would do the sa was so Lord knew the profession paid well, but the thought of working with the sick and injured all the ti
Jessie actually liked the service industry Not that she wanted to becoer position in a fancy establish parties The thought of being a wedding planner had a nice, clean feel about it Not like nursing, with all the blood and body fluids
Jessie did e to take one class each semester online to help her out once she started back full-tiure out what she wanted to do for a living
Of course, dating a rich guy couldn’t hurt
Jessie considered the overnight crowd at the diner, especially hiive-up attitude He hadn’t left the restaurant until after five in theWhen he did, he cli lot and sputtered on down the road Before he left, he proed him, didn’t even reveal her schedule when he asked By the end of the evening, she and Jack’s conversation had been reduced to snarky comments and witty comebacks
If she were being honest with herself, she’d have to admit her shift had flown by and left her with a smile on her lips It didn’t suck to know soed her as a woman and not just a mother
The soft patter of feet tapped down the hallway of the apartment Danny sported his race-car pajamas and hair that stuck up in several places He rubbed sleep fro, buddy How’d you sleep?" Jessie knelt down and pulled her son into her ar, but continued to scratch his eyes with the other "Good," he said with a big yawn "Auntie ht after you went to work"
"Did she? Were they good?"
"We didn’t have any nuts to sprinkle on the top, but they tasted good anyway"
Danny pulled away and climbed up onto the stool at the kitchen counter
Jessie reht a box of cereal off the top of the refrigerator "I’ll buy so Next time you can have nuts on your sundae," she told hiain "OK"
While Danny took a few minutes to wake up with his bowl of cereal, Jessie stepped to her bedrooown
The bed was tousled since Monica slept in it on the nights Jessie worked Otherwise, she took the sleeper sofa bed in the living room They really could use a three-bedroom apartment, but that was a luxury they couldn’t afford It was hard enough rubbing her tips together to pay for what they had
Monica slipped into the bedroo her student nurse unifor on most people, but not Monica Her sliood, you’re ho up her clothes froht before
"Day shift showed up on tiood I need to be at the hospital at eight thirty sharp"
Jessie glanced at her watch "Can you still take Danny to school?"
"Yeah, that’s not a problearten a couple of months prior, which afforded Jessie a few hours of uninterrupted sleep Sleep was heaven Only on her days off did she ht, right?" Monica asked
"Right Off toive up the shift, Mo Tiive Danny any Christraveyard on both Wednesday and Thursday nights, leaving a smallof tiainst the dresser "You know Mo us at her place at two"
Jessie rolled her eyes "Yes, I know Has Pat co him off our Christmas card list?" Pat was her er, Jessie and Monica’s er married the many men in her life Instead, she dated them, let them move in for a few months, and then kicked them out when she tired of their crap Pat had actually left her around Halloween Renee hadn’t seen it colewidethe jilted woman Too bad the woman didn’t follow her own advice and er fell in love three times in her life, all with losers, dreamers, or wannabe men