Save My Soul (12 page)

"You're a very beautiful woman. Why
wouldn't he stare?" Mason said.

"He isn't looking at any of the other
women in here, including his date."

"Maybe he isn't interested in any of
the other women in here, including his date." Mason said
shortly.

"It's very uncomfortable talking about
someone while they are looking at me. Can we talk about something
else?"

"I would be more than happy to not
talk about another man on our date. What would you like to talk
about?"

Great, he was still angry. "Maybe we
can talk about the photos I took of you yesterday. I tried to
develop them, but they weren't on the film that was in the camera I
used. The other shots I'd taken last week were on it, but yours
weren't."

Mason shrugged. "You have that happen
a lot?"

I shook my head. "Never."

"I'm not a photographer, Kendra. I
don't know anything about developing."

Oh well. I hadn't gotten answers to
any of my questions, but I'd managed to change the subject. "How
long have you been a nurse?" I asked after the waiter sat our
entrée's in front of us. Mine looked really good, and I realized
that I was more interested in eating, than talking to my date. I
glanced up again at Adam, but he hadn't been looking at me until
the moment I glanced at him. I looked away. I didn't want to get
back on the subject of Adam again.

"Twelve years."

My fork stopped half way to my mouth.
There was no possible way he could have been a nurse for twelve
years. "How old are you?"

He laughed. "Thirty-five.
Why?"

My jaw dropped. He looked younger than
me. I recovered and shrugged nonchalantly. "I figured that you were
younger than I was, that's all."

"And how old are you?" he asked, still
clearly amused. He had to already know; he had my medical
records.

"Don't you know that it's rude to ask
a lady's age?" I said with an eyebrow raised.

"I figured I'd ask. If you don't want
to tell me, then you don't have to."

He was clever. "I'm
twenty-nine."

"See, and I thought you were older
than me."

My jaw dropped again and he burst out
laughing. "God, the look on your face, I was only joking. You look
younger than your age. I was guessing twenty-seven, which would
make you the youngest woman I've ever dated. I usually date women a
little older than me."

"Cougars?" I said.

He laughed. "No, I prefer women my age
or a couple years older. A lot of women under thirty-five are still
too immature."

I lowered my eyes to my plate and cut
a piece of steak with my knife. "Yeah, well, most men under fifty
are too immature for me."

"Where do I rate?"

I shrugged as I put the food in my
mouth. "I don't know yet."

I caught movement out of the corner of
my eye and looked up. Adam was walking up to our table with Sherri
behind him. Mason and I both stood up.

"We just wanted to wish the two of you
a good night." I shook Sherri's hand again, but when Adam took
mine, our eyes locked, and he gave my hand a little squeeze before
raising it and kissing my knuckles. "Will I see you tomorrow for
lunch?" Sherri shot him a questioning look. He didn't seem to
notice, but I did.

I didn't know if he really wanted an
answer, or if he was trying to piss off his date, or mine. I didn't
want to be in the middle of a fight, but if there was going to be
one, it would be his fight. I would gladly back out of the way.
What if I hadn't checked my answering machine? Would he have gone
into detail like he had over the machine, or would he have just
asked me to check my machine when I got home? "I'll be there at
noon."

He nodded then turned back to Mason.
"See you in the morning, Mase." They walked off, and we sat back
down. All of a sudden, I wasn't hungry anymore, and I wanted to go
home. I figured Mason would be in a bad mood the rest of the night
because of how Adam had acted toward me.

I took another bite then focused
mainly on my Chardonnay.

"Would anyone care for dessert?" the
waiter asked. I shook my head.

"No, but you can bring me the check."
Mason said.

The waiter hesitated. "Was everything
good, Sir?"

"Everything was great. Check please."
Mason said.

The waiter glanced at me nervously
then scurried off.

"Why are you being such a
jerk?"

The waiter came back with the check
and laid it on the table by Mason, then he started to walk off.
"Wait." Mason said calmly, then put a hundred and fifty dollars in
the ticket book without even looking at the bill. He handed it back
to the waiter. "Have a good night."

"You too, Sir," he looked at me and
nodded. "Ma'am," I nodded back and stood when Mason did.

We rode back to my house in silence,
making it the second time that it happened to me in one day. He'd
even turned the radio off. I thought about calling him a jerk, but
I really didn't feel like walking. We were about two miles from my
house and I couldn't stand it any longer. "You knew I was meeting
Adam tomorrow for lunch. Why are you so upset?" I said as I looked
out the window.

He didn't answer for a while. He'd
already pulled up my drive and shut off the engine before he did
respond. He took in a deep breath through his nose, then let it out
through puffed out cheeks. "I'm not upset with you. I'm pissed off
at Adam. He was on a date with Sherri, and you and I were on a
date. If I had suggested that her and I go somewhere and leave the
two of you alone, he would have been delighted with the idea. He
hardly took his eyes off you the whole time we were
there."

I didn't want to tell him what Rhyan
had said about Adam being my soulmate. I thought I would try asking
him for advice first. "What do you think I'm supposed to do about
it? Stay away from him and just wait for the inevitable to happen
on Friday?"

"What do you plan on doing with him?"
Mason asked, meeting my gaze.

"Whatever I have to do to stay
alive."

"And what exactly would that
be?"

I looked away from him.
Dammit, I didn't want to tell him.
"Tell
him, Kendra,"
Rhyan said in my
mind.

"You tell him, Rhyan. Show
your ass and tell him yourself,"
I said a
little angrily.

"You know I cannot do
that. I'm sorry, but you have to end this with him. He is only a
distraction, and not a good one."
Fine. I
knew that he was right. How the hell did my life get so damn
complicated?

"Coen made your life
complicated."
h
e
said.

"I wasn't talking to you, I
was talking to myself."

"Don't do that, people
will think you're crazy."
I could hear the
smile in his voice, and I knew he had tried to make a joke to cheer
me up, but it didn't work.

"Maybe I am." I said out
loud.

"What?" Mason said.

I sighed. "Sorry, I was having a
conversation with my guardian angel."

His eyes got wide like he didn't
believe me. "And just what did your guardian angel have to
say?"

"He wants me to tell you the truth. He
wants me to tell you what I have to do about Adam, but I don't
think I have the energy for this fight any longer. I'm going to
bed." I got out of the truck, being careful not to break my neck on
the long trip down. I heard his door shut, then my gravel driveway
under his shoes as he walked around the truck to me.

I looked up at him. He had calmed
down, but I knew if I told him what I had to do, he would be angry
all over again, or he would tell Adam what my intentions were. I
didn't need him causing any more problems than I already had. I
didn't figure Adam would enjoy being told that I was going to try
and make him fall in love with me so I could stay alive.

"I think you may be right
on that one, Kendra. Don't tell him, just get rid of him."
Rhyan said.

Mason didn't say anything; he just
took my hand in his and walked me to my front porch swing. I sat
down on one end, and he sat in the middle so our hands could still
be joined.

"What is it, Kendra. What do you have
to do to Adam?"

"Do you like me, Mason?" I
asked.

"Yes," he said, sounding a little
leery.

"Do you like me a lot?" I asked
again.

"Yes, Kendra, I like you a lot. What's
this all about?" There was a hint of nervousness in his voice
now.

"Then you don't want to know. I'll
tell you, but it won't be tonight. Drop it, please." I pleaded with
the eyes I gave my daddy when I wanted something. To my amazement,
it worked on Mason as well, because he nodded.

"Tell me you aren't going to hurt him
physically, and I'll let it go," he said.

"I swear I will not physically hurt
Adam."

He nodded again. "All right then,
consider the matter officially dropped."

Even after Adam had pissed him off
earlier, Mason was still worried about the welfare of his
friend.

"He told me today that what me and you
had going on, was a good thing. He said you were a good guy." I
said.

"Why did he act that way tonight
toward you if he wanted us to be together?" He didn't want me to be
with Mason. Adam wanted to be with me. He just didn't know it
yet.

I shrugged. "Maybe he was trying to
piss off Sherri so she would leave him alone, and he thought you
would know what he was doing."

"You may be right. He's been trying to
get rid of her for a while now. She wants something serious, and he
never will."

I yawned. "I think I'm going to head
in and get ready for bed. It's been a long two days." Mason stood
and then helped me to my feet. He looked at me for a moment, then
placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.

"I'm sorry it wasn't a great date. Can
I call you tomorrow?"

"I may be busy, but if I miss your
call, I'll call you back. I'm doing senior pictures all this week
and next." He smiled and nodded, then walked back to his
truck.

It was the same line I had told Aven,
but it was actually true. I was booked solid, starting at nine in
the morning. I had a three-hour break from eleven till two, but the
rest of that week and the next, I was betting on no sleep. That
was, if I made it to the next week.

I took my heels off and let them
dangle from my fingers as I watched Mason drive away.

I sighed. Two days down, five to go,
and praying for another miracle.

I woke up on Monday morning
surprisingly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as my daddy would say. No
bad dreams, hal-le-lu-jah. I quickly showered and carefully applied
my makeup. I had to get ready before my first appointment showed
up, just in case my last appointment made me run in to my midday
break. I had to meet with Adam for lunch, because I'd already told
him I would be there. The smart thing to do would be to cancel all
of my appointments for the week. I did actually die, twice, the day
before yesterday. No one really expected me to work this week, but
if I didn't do it, the kids would go somewhere else, and that would
be bad for business.

My first client showed up about
fifteen minutes early. If all three did that, I wouldn't have to
worry about being late for lunch. She was very easy, and my camera
loved her. She had a pretty smile and eyes that shined.

Sometimes a photographer gets people
that, no matter what the hell you do with them, it just isn't going
to work. That's where my unique skill comes in handy. I can make
the un-photogenic look photogenic. Don't ask me how; everyone has
their secrets.

I was done with my first appointment
in record time, and as she was pulling out of my drive, my second
appointment was pulling in.

This client was a guy, and guys were
always easy. They don't care where you put them or how you arrange
them. I can put them in a field, on the road, or in front of a
backdrop, and say "smile", and that's what they do. Most of the
guys like the more serious shots where they don't have to smile at
all; that's fine with me too.

It didn't take long to finish him up,
and he was out the door. I checked my watch. It was ten o'clock. I
fixed myself a cup of coffee. By the time it was cool enough to
drink without scalding my tongue, my last appointment of the
morning rang my door bell.

I've always heard that bad things
happen in threes. I guess good things only happen in twos. I opened
the door, and the girl was a mess. Evidently, she didn't have a
sister or even a mother, by the looks of her. She was wearing
mismatched clothes, her foundation was four shades too dark for her
skin tone, her eyeliner was too heavy, her hair was in a ponytail,
and she had bright blue eye shadow on. What the hell had happened
to this girl, a train wreck? A friend or even a teacher should have
helped this girl out.