Bad Karma (39 page)

The next morning, Cassie lay in bed, having no will to arise.

Zach had taken them to a nice family-style restaurant with a huge buffet the previous evening. Though she’d had no appetite, she’d eaten and tried to take part in their conversation, but she’d been distracted.

It was as though she observed herself from far away, like a scientist watching a lab rat run a maze.

Rat A is reeling from the pain of having her boyfriend dump her and she’s pretending to exist here on earth, but her brain has gone to live someplace else.

She clutched her pillow, seeking comfort, finding none.

She hadn’t cried, couldn’t cry, wouldn’t cry, because if she did cry it would mean that her heart was broken and she knew that a heart couldn’t break. It might arrest, or fail or become arrhythmic, but it couldn’t break anymore that a liver or pancreas could break.

She sat up and drew her knees to her chest.
I might as well say, Javier broke my spleen.
She heaved a sigh.

But, he didn’t kill me.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and onto the floor, searched for her cross-trainers and headed for the bathroom.

In record time, Cassie brushed her teeth, drew her hair into a haphazard pony-tail and pulled on shorts and a knit top.

The place was empty. She surmised that Zach had driven Sky to the hospital for her shift. She locked the house and engaged the security system before pausing on the top step to study the churning surf.

She smiled when she saw a surfer dancing in and out of the crest of a wave. He made it look so easy.

Cassie loped down stairs and set off for a long run.

Concentrating on her breathing, she inhaled the sharp tang of salt water. Gulls screamed, circling the shrimp boats working near shore. The churning waters crested and crashed on the beach, sending frizzling fingers to reach for her feet as she dashed by.

Today there was no red truck parked close to the dunes. No broad-shouldered fisherman to cast his rod into the surf.

Cassie struggled to retain her footing, when she would have fallen to her knees. Her throat was raw with unshed tears. She picked up the pace and ran until she was gasping for air, her ribs heaving with the effort.

Slowly, painfully, she regrouped and returned the way she had come at a more sedate pace. The sound of the surf in her ears helped to anesthetize her misery.

As she neared the house, she saw that more surfers had joined the group gathered earlier. Only a couple of girls in the assemblage, already tan and gorgeous in their bikinis and thongs.

Cassie went up to the deck and raided Zach’s galvanized bucket, ice long since melted, groping for a bottle of water. She returned to sit halfway down the stairs and watch the circus taking place in the surf.

~*~

Sky had more than butterflies in her stomach. It felt like a herd of buffalo stomping around.

When Zach had dropped her at the front door of the hospital for her shift that morning, he’d kissed her and asked her to inform the hospital administrator that she needed to take an extended leave of absence.

He’d told her they were going to look for rings when he picked her up. If that wasn’t enough to tie her stomach in a knot, her assignment was in the nursing home wing of the hospital.

She both loved and dreaded working on the extended care unit. She knew it would be easy to become attached to the residents and have her heart broken again and again as they passed away. She could deal with trauma and she could deal with post-op. It was the long goodbyes that were torture.

She took a short break and made her way to the office. Filling out the paperwork for a leave of absence was not the difficult part.

The Administrator’s secretary peered at Sky over her red glasses frames, a stark contrast to her steel gray hair. “You haven’t worked here long enough to have any accrued vacation time, Miss Danforth.”

“
I understand. I’m not asking for paid leave. This will be leave without pay.”

“
Is there a family emergency?”

Sky shook her head. “No emergency.”

“
Are you or a family member ill? We have emergency medical leave?” The secretary pursed her lips.

“
No. Everyone is quite well, thank you.”

“
I have to put something down as the reason for your request. I can’t leave this blank.”

“
Oh, well, put down that I’m entering into a state of matrimony and going on a long honeymoon.”

The secretary fixed her with a dark glare from across the desk and then busied herself with writing.

Sky had only been back on the unit a short time when Lucy, one of the LVNs called her name. She came strolling down the highly polished hallway with her hands in the pockets of her scrub pants. “I just heard the news. I’m so happy for you.”

Sky closed the chart she had been working on and returned it to the chart rack. “News?”

Lucy grinned. “The news. About your marriage.”

“
How did you know about it” she asked.

“
Silly, it’s all over the hospital.” Lucy threw her arms around her and hugged her. “It’s so sudden.”

Sky nodded. “I guess it was kind of sudden, but when the right man asks, you have to jump on it.”

Lucy gave her a conspiratorial smile. “Of course, Doctor Rick is devastated. He’s had a crush on you since the first day you stepped foot in the hospital.”

Sky shook her head. “You must be mistaken. We’re just colleagues.”

“
If you weren’t so starry-eyed about your hunky fiancé, you would have noticed the way Rick’s always pining away for you.”

“
I’m sure that you’re mistaken.”

As Lucy left the unit, Sky had to wonder how the news got around so fast. She was glad she hadn’t mentioned that she had a stalker.

~*~

Cassie remained seated on the stairs, leaning back on her elbows with her eyes closed. She’d grown bored watching the antics of the surfers, but lingered in the sunshine for a while before getting cleaned up for her delivery runs at The Net.

A shadow fell over her, blocking the sunlight.

She opened her eyes, her body tensed in case the stalker had presented himself to have his ass kicked all over the beach.

In place of the stalker, a tall, tanned and muscular person of the male persuasion stood before her, grinning. He had piercing blue eyes and his sun-bleached, blonde hair almost touched his shoulders. He looked like he might have been her age or a couple of years older.

“
Is there something you want?” she asked, aware that her tone wasn’t exactly warm and friendly.

A wide dimpled grin was her answer. He stood staring at her with his faded, loose-fitting swim trunks riding low on his hips. “I, uh, thought you might like to toss the Frisbee around with me.”

Cassie shaded her eyes with her hand. “Thanks, but I have to get ready for work.”

He gave her a one-sided smile. “Too bad. Maybe I’ll see you later. Do you surf?”

She shook her head. “Never had the pleasure.”

“
When you get home, put on your bathing suit and I’ll give you a lesson.”

Cassie grinned at him in return. “Thanks. It looks like fun. I’d like to try it.”

He leaned toward her, placing his splayed fingers on his lean, muscular chest. “I’m Sean, by the way.”

“
Cassie.” She rose to stand on the step above him, making them of equal height.

He gazed into her eyes. “See you later, Cassie.” He loped off toward the water, then turned and waved at her.

She waved back and went to change for work. He wasn’t anywhere close to a Javier Rios, but he wasn’t all that bad either.

She made her delivery runs, sighing when she saw that the last delivery was to the Fire Department. She pulled onto the wide concrete driveway, cringing when she spotted Javier’s truck parked on the side of building. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the bag.
I can do this. This is a small town. I’m bound to run into him wherever I go.

A couple of the fire fighters stood by one of the fire trucks, watching her approach. Javier’s cousin, Jorge, was among them.

“
Hi, Cassie!” Jorge came to greet her. He handed her a wad of cash and relieved her of the bag. “How are you doing?”

She tilted her head to one side, looking up at him. “You mean, since Javier dumped me? I’m fine. Never better.” She turned on her heel and strode back to the car.

“
Wait!” Jorge ran after her. “I just wanted to say, I’m sorry that things worked out the way they did.”

Cassie forced her mouth to turn up in a sad excuse for a smile. “It was all my fault. I’m entirely to blame.” She shrugged. “I’m an idiot.”

Jorge gave her a wide grin. “Funny--Javi says he’s the idiot.”

“
Nope.” She swallowed hard. “It was all me.”

~*~

Javier sat, drumming his fingers on a table in the break room, an unopened soft drink in front of him.

Jorge placed the order from The Net on the table and pulled up a chair beside him.

“
How did she look?”

Jorge shrugged. “Like she always looks. Blonde, hot, legs up to her neck.”

Another razor sharp thrust into Javier’s chest. He took in a slow, deep breath. “Yeah, she’s all that.”

Jorge unwrapped his sandwich. “And sad. Did I mention that she looked sad? Those big blue eyes really tugged at my heart. Made me want to put my arms around her and...” He glanced at Javier, grinning. “Why don’t you call her, man? Put you both out of your collective misery.”

Javier shook his head. “No, you were right. We’re too different. Nothing in common.”

“
Javi, you will never meet another girl as fine as that one and you know she loves you.”

“
She deserves someone better.” Javier experienced a pang of remorse.

Dave entered the break room and selected a soda from the machine. He popped the top and took a long drink before crossing to the table where Javier and Jorge sat. Dave slapped Javier on the shoulder. “So, it’s already over with the sweet-assed little delivery girl?”

Javier shot him a cool glance, his eyes narrowed. “We’re not seeing each other now.”

Dave took the seat across from him. “Then you won’t mind if I ask her out, will you?”

Javier felt his jaw tighten. “You don’t stand a chance with her, Dave. Cassie will never date a man with no teeth.”

“
But I have all my...oh!” Dave sobered when he caught Javier’s cold stare.

Jorge threw his head back and laughed raucously. “Good one, Javi.”

Dave cleared his throat. “Just how long does this ban last?”

Javier leaned forward, speaking slowly and deliberately. “Until one of us is dead.”