Soul Mates (7 page)

“I don’t want just any guy,” Cassandra contended.

“So what do you want?”

“I want a guy who’s everything that Nick wasn’t.”

“Okay, you want a poor, dumb, unsophisticated slob who won’t cheat on you,” Tanisha teased. “Maybe the guy at your aunt’s apartment would qualify after all.”

“Definitely not!” Cassandra shuddered at the outrageous suggestion. Having recounted the incident to her best friend, they’d laughed about it. She wasn’t as angry as she had been. Still, she hoped she’d never see him again. “I think I’m giving myself tangible examples of what I
don’t
want in a relationship, so I’ll know more clearly what I
do
want and be able to recognize it when it comes along.”

“Or maybe it’s one of those situations where the guy is the exact opposite of what you think you want, and he turns out to be your dream come true,” Tanisha suggested.

“You watch too many movies.”

“I wonder what he’d be like under different circumstances,” her friend mused. “What if you met him at a bar or nightclub? Is he good looking? How tall is he?”

“For starters, we’d never go to the same clubs.” Cassandra was getting annoyed with the teasing. She didn’t know why the guy irritated her so much. It was unusual for someone to affect her in such a negative way, especially someone she’d only met twice. “And good looking? I really don’t know. His personality was unattractive; I guess I assumed his physical appearance was too.” She tried to recall what he looked like, wanting evidence to support her assumption. She found none. The image that came to mind was a pleasant-looking man about her age, and that annoyed her even further. “It doesn’t matter, anyway,” she added defensively. “I’ll be happy never to see him again.”

“You’re going to Port Hayden again this weekend. You’ll be visiting your aunt,” Tanisha continued teasing. “Maybe the fates are setting you two up.”

“I don’t believe in fate,” Cassandra replied curtly, putting a stop to the conversation by signaling their server to bring the check. She needed to put the experience behind her, lock it away somewhere. The very thought of him perturbed her. It bothered her much more than she’d expected. She felt violated in a way she didn’t understand. Whether it was him or merely people like him that put her on the defensive, she wasn’t sure. Whether she saw him as a threat to herself or to her aunt, she couldn’t tell. It was a big, indiscernible knot of emotion, and it didn’t feel good.

In the days to follow she tried to erase him from her mind, but his image remained. The image was connected not only to thoughts of her aunt but to the inexplicable knowing that something big was about to happen in her life.

AS JACE RETURNED home from work, he noticed a car parked in front of his building. Shiny black and gleaming in the sun, it looked as though it had just been driven off the showroom floor. He admired it as he walked past. It was the exact vehicle he’d buy if he had the money.

Not lingering to dream, he went up to his apartment and began making dinner. He turned on the TV and was enjoying his meal when he heard a knock on his door. He opened it to find Sophie with her coat on, her purse on one arm and a grin on her face.

“I wonder if you’d mind driving me to the market. I need to pick up a few items.”

“I…um…” Jace hesitated as questions filled his mind.
Is she expecting me to take her in my car?
He hadn’t told her it wasn’t running. Moreover, he was surprised she would make that assumption.
Does she expect me to be available whenever she needs me?
He wondered if he’d made a mistake agreeing to be her driver.

His thoughts came to a halt as she pulled a set of keys from her purse and handed them to him. Staring at the distinctive “H” on the key, he responded awkwardly. “That new Accord…it’s yours? I mean…you got a car already?”

“I bought it today. I asked Peter to get me one that wasn’t too big,” she smiled in her sweet way. “It seems like a nice, practical vehicle, don’t you think?”

“Peter?” Jace asked, suddenly curious about his elderly neighbor. “Is he your son?”

“No dear,” she shook her head. “Peter looks after my affairs—has for over twenty years.”

Jace forgot about the remainder of his meal and followed the old woman down to the street. She was becoming more of a mystery every day. Not only did she have the money to buy a new car, it seemed she paid someone to look after her financial dealings.
I guess, if she doesn’t have family,
he reasoned,
it makes sense that she’d hire someone to look after her finances.
He couldn’t help but wonder what it must be like to be that old and have no family to call on.

As he neared the vehicle, the car unlocked automatically. Smiling at the new technology, he stepped ahead of Sophie to open the door for her.

“Thank you, dear,” she said, settling into the passenger seat of the two-door coupe.

He tingled with anticipation as he rounded the car to the driver’s side. Being a chauffeur to an old woman wasn’t something he’d brag about to his friends. But being behind the wheel of the very car he’d been dreaming of, was.

The car didn’t disappoint. Loaded, it had a six-speed manual transmission, leather interior, and power everything. It even had a push-button start and a large LCD display. Jace was in heaven. He longed to take it on the highway and see what it could do. Instead, he drove with extreme care. He was eager to play with the interactive touch screen but resisted the urge, hoping he could remain with the car while Sophie did her shopping.

“I’ll be at least half an hour,” she informed him as they pulled up to a small grocery store Jace wasn’t familiar with. “Peter mentioned that a new engine could use some highway miles to break it in. Why don’t you take it for a drive? No sense you sitting here waiting for me.”

Jace couldn’t believe it. His pulse quickened as his mind soared with anticipation. Yet thinking practically, he jumped out to open the door for her. It wasn’t like him to be such a gentleman, but he wanted to make a good impression, wanted to prove he was worthy of her respect.

The Dunsmuir bypass was only a few blocks away, so he headed to the nearest on-ramp and drank in the feeling of power as he shifted gears to get up to speed. Once outside the city limits, he turned on to a paved side road and pushed the pedal down.
I could get used to this,
Jace breathed, opening the driver’s window to enjoy the breeze on his face as he sped down the deserted road. With the audio controls on the steering wheel he was able to access internet radio, and soon his favorite music blasted through the premium sound system.

The time flew by too quickly, and he regretted having to go back. He was grateful for the experience, however. It wasn’t likely she’d let him take the car on his own each time. As he returned to the market, Jace reflected on the events that had led up to his being behind the wheel of his dream car. Sophie was a kind and generous woman, that was obvious. She reminded him of his grandmother, who had lived with his family the last few years of her life. Jace was an only child, and she’d enjoyed spoiling him. But it was more than that. While there was something endearing about Sophie, there was a quality that confused and intrigued him at the same time. She lived simply, yet she was a complex woman. Her words, while sometimes confusing, held wisdom that Jace couldn’t deny. She seemed to understand more about life than most people—at least her beliefs served her well. And she was happy. He felt good when he was around her.
I like the old bird,
he admitted.
Driving her around won’t be that bad.

CASSANDRA LOOKED forward to the weekend with an enthusiasm that surprised her. With her parents leaving for the summer house, Sunday, she would only have a day to spend with them, yet she hoped she and her father might continue the conversation they’d begun the week before. It was spending time with Sophia, however, that had her keyed up with excitement. She’d given much thought to her aunt’s predictions and was still pondering her fascinating views. Having done some research, she’d learned that her aunt’s beliefs were far from crazy. The internet was abuzz with the very subject matter they’d talked about. The wisdom her dear old aunt had acquired in her lifetime was a topic of widespread interest.

When Cassandra arrived at the Town House, Saturday morning, her mother was busy preparing for the move to their summer home. She had the new housekeeper, Sarah, running nonstop. They kept a minimal staff in town for the summer. Sarah would be staying on, along with the grounds keeper. Wallace and Mrs. Harper, the cook, always accompanied the family to the beach. The couple had been with them since Cassandra was a little girl. They’d met and married while working for the family and now lived in the servant’s quarters behind the house.

Watching her mother, she realized that managing a household was in some ways like overseeing a company, and she had to admire the way everything ran smoothly. A friend of Cassandra’s, who was married and had a child already, constantly complained that it was a full-time job running a household and managing staff. Cassandra wasn’t sure she wanted that kind of life. She liked her independence, and although she hoped to marry and have children one day, she didn’t see it as a full-time role. She wanted to do more with her life—so much more.

Her aunt’s predictions came to mind, followed by the unwelcome image of her aunt’s rude neighbor. Her thoughts must have been visible on her face, causing her father to question her.

“Everything okay, kitten?”

“Oh, yes,” she fibbed. “I was just…um…thinking about my visit with Aunt Sophia.”

“Is something about it bothering you?” He searched her face. “The look you had a minute ago—it seemed like you were upset.”

Her father could read her well. She didn’t like lying to him, so she offered a toned-down version of what had happened the weekend before. “It was weird running into him twice like that. And both times, getting into an argument over something trivial. It’s no big deal, though. I don’t know why I’m letting it bother me,” she shrugged, hoping to convince him the matter was irrelevant.

“You say he’s a neighbor of Sophia’s?”

“He lives in the same building; I saw him go in and out a couple of times.”

“I wonder…,” her father frowned and then shook his head. “No, it can’t be.”

“What?”

“Well, I talked to Sophia this week. She’s bought herself a car if you can believe it.”

“She shouldn’t be driving at her age!”

“No, she’s not planning to drive, thank goodness.” He nodded his approval of the fact. “She’s hired someone to drive her whenever she needs to go out. I asked who it was, wanting to be sure she’d gone through an agency and gotten someone with proper credentials. She told me she’d asked a young man in her building.”

An icy chill inched its way up Cassandra’s spine. A voice inside told her it was the same man she’d met. “She can’t! Daddy, you have to do something,” Cassandra blurted, surprised by her own fervor. “I mean, we don’t know anything about this guy. What if he’s just being nice, gaining her trust while he’s planning to swindle her? She could be in danger.”

“Hold on, kitten.” Her father held up his hand. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“But how can she trust a stranger?”

“He’s obviously not a stranger to her,” he reasoned. “Besides, you’re overlooking two important points here. Remember what I told you about her ability to read people?”

“Yes, but…,” Cassandra protested. “What if she’s wrong this one time?”

Her father shrugged his shoulders. “The other is that Sophia Langdon is a headstrong woman. Even at eighty-seven, if we try to oppose her she’ll likely do it to spite us.”

“Surely she could be made to see reason.”

“Maybe, but not without proof.” He stared at her for a second, a question forming on his lips. “I was thinking…”