A Little Bit Engaged

Shannon lit another cigarette, took a big puff and said, “Hey, sis.”

Kate nearly choked. Surely this was her punishment for coming into this program for all the wrong motives and maybe for flirting with the priest and not facing up to her problems with Joe.

“What’s the matter?” Ghoul Girl asked. “Scared?”

“Of you? Amused is more like it.”

It wasn’t a promising start, considering she was supposed to help this girl, but what could she do? Politeness wouldn’t get her anywhere, Kate thought, and neither would kindness right away. She couldn’t afford to let the girl think she was intimidated, either.

Time for some tough love.

Or…tough affection, maybe.

Tough help.

“You really do look like you dressed up for Halloween today,” Kate said, testing her theory.

“And you look like an uptight old woman,” the girl returned.

Okay. The girl respected toughness and bluntness. They could communicate on that level and work toward something more civil at a later date.

“Guess we won’t be swapping fashion tips,” Kate said.

“Guess not,” the girl said, then hitched her chin up a notch and flung back, “So, you’re just doing this to impress the director’s old man?”

Oh, great.

The girl grinned. “I heard enough that I guessed that’s what you might be doing. I mean, you don’t seem like the do-gooder type.”

“That’s what got me started,” Kate admitted. “Who twisted your arm to get you here? Because I can’t imagine you coming here willingly, either.”

The girl’s composure slipped for just a moment, and she looked half human. Okay. They were getting somewhere. Kate wondered who had enough influence over the girl to make her do anything—and why that person hadn’t forced her to do something about that awful hair.

“What if I didn’t?” The girl shrugged.

“So, we’ve both got our reasons for being here, and neither one of us can back out. So…we might as well make the best of it? Getting together a few times should be enough to keep everybody happy, right?”

“Yeah,” the girl agreed. “That’ll work.”

If anyone overheard the deal Kate just made, they’d think she was a really lousy person and still trying to impress Charlie, which she was.

But now that she’d met the girl…

She obviously needed help, and she looked like a real challenge.

Kate loved a challenge.

Besides, she liked fixing people. She happened to think she was great at it, although her siblings were starting to complain, something about her advice sounding more like meddling, that her need to have things in perfect order was starting to bug them. Kate was trying to cut back on her advice, but it was a tough habit to break. Maybe she could make this girl her project, instead.

“Why don’t we start over? I’m Kate Cassidy.” She held out her hand, which the girl pointedly ignored. Were they supposed to smack their hands together or something?

“Shannon Donnelly.”

“Want to sit down?” Kate invited.

She got that I-couldn’t-care-less shrug again, but the girl sat on the bench.

Kate sat beside her. “So, anything going on that I could help you with?”

“I don’t think so.” Shannon laughed again. “Anything I can do for you, Kate?”

“I doubt it.” Kate sat there, racking her brain for something else to say. “I was pretty good in school, in case you need any help there.”

“Like I’d care about school? Please.” Shannon rolled her eyes dramatically. “How old are you, anyway?”

“Twenty-seven.”

“And everything’s startin’ to go, huh? The body? The face?”

“Hey?” Kate frowned. “I thought we were going to make this as painless as possible for each other? Could I get a little cooperation, please?”

“Look, I don’t need anything from you,” Shannon said, looking like a little girl for maybe a split second, if that was possible under her disguise. “I don’t need anybody. So, what do we have to do? Look at each other once a week or something? Is that it?”