PULSE

Chapter Seven

[ AUGUST 9 ]

I wasn't even able to reach the front door before Candace's voice found me. While she always went to work early on the weekends, I hadn't been sure exactly how early she left, and clearly I'd miscalculated. I have hoped that by five A.M., she'd be long gone, but by the way she was seated on the couch in her blazer and skirt, still sipping coffee and sorting papers on the kitchen table, I knew that she still wouldn't be leaving for a while.

"What are you doing up so early?" she asked, smiling over her reading glasses. "You've been out late these past few weeks, so you should sleep in a bit."

I sighed, folding my wallet in my hands and stashing it in the pocket of my jeans.

"Do you need any cash? I don't get paid until next week, but I can spare a bit, if you need some spending money today."

Without answering, I heading toward the hall near the front door, where I found a hooded sweatshirt and zipped it up over my tee shirt. Candace followed me out of the kitchen, sipping her coffee quietly as she watched me.

"Where are you off to so early?"

"Where are you off to?" I countered, raising a challenging eyebrow at her. "Should I start micromanaging your every move? Maybe I'll tag along with your next date with whoever the hell will put up with you."

She looked toward the ground, pursing her lips. "I haven't dated since your accident. You know that."

Of course, I knew that well, but I wouldn't let her know. I was fully aware that, since I'd stolen her boyfriend's motorcycle and wrecked it on the road before he knew it was missing, she hadn't attempted to date anyone. She'd hardly tried to reconcile with the guy; she'd paid the bill to cover up the scratches I'd put in the bike, and had let him go quietly.

"Accident? You people all keep saying accident. When did I ever tell you it was an accident? Maybe I meant to wreck that thing," I snapped.

Candace breathe in a shaky breath, as if the implications of what I was suggesting were almost too much for her to take.

"It's good, anyway," I said, glaring down at her. "Don't date anyone. Stay alone and remember my Dad. You destroyed my family for him, so he's the only one you're allowed to love."

She covered her face with one hand, her coffee much trembling slightly in the other.

I left her in the hallway. I had somewhere to be.

***

Ava greeted me with a smile before I could even knock on the front door of the soup shop. By the time I arrived at roughly 6:30, the lights were already on inside the shop and movement was visible through the glass front wall.

"You're early," Ava said, slightly breathless. I suddenly wondered how hard she'd already worked before seven in the morning.

I shrugged. "I made good time this morning. Your aunt said that there was a lot to be done."

She nodded quickly, ushering me inside. "There is. We aren't open on Sundays, so there's always a lot to do in preparation for the rest of the week. We need to do all the shopping, clean the kitchen, and handle any catering orders that have been called in during the week. Today, Auntie and I have a huge order for 100 people that needs to be ready by four."

She suddenly blushed, touching the back of her neck a she looked toward the ground. "And, well, I'm not a very good cook, so I can't help with that."