When Casey first meets Kiera, a small slight girl whoβs just lashed out at a fellow pupil in assembly, she immediately senses somethingβs wrong. Something in Kieraβs eyes alerts Casey that this is an βold head on young shouldersβ, and with Kieraβs constant tiredness and self-soothing habit of pulling her hair out, she follows her instinct and takes Kiera under her wing.
At first the answer seems simple enough; Kieraβs parents arenβt together and they donβt get on, which makes life hard for Kiera as sheβs so close to her dad. But as the weeks roll on, Casey begins to understand that thereβs something much darker going on behind closed doors. And when she finally learns the truth, sheβs terrified she wonβt be able to save Kiera from it.
Casey Watson, who writes under a pseudonym, is a specialist foster carer. She and her husband, Mike, look after children who are particularly troubled or damaged by their past.
Before becoming a foster carer Casey was a behaviour manager for her local comprehensive school. It was through working with these βdifficultβ children β removed from mainstream classes for various reasons β that the idea for her future career was born.
Casey is married with two children and three grandchildren.