When She Falls (8 page)

A check of the time, told her she needed to move on. There was one more stop to make. Goodbyes were said
into thin air. Then, she climbed back into her car which luckily started this time. Running two fingers under her eyes while looking in the rearview mirror removed most of the evidence that she had shed any tears.

Her last stop, and by far the easiest of the day, was the crusher. The beat up, well-used car had served her well. Yet, it was too constant a reminder of desperate times and hopelessness. With fascination, she watched as the employee loaded the car into the heav
y machinery. He pulled the lever and that’s when she turned around. A cab had arrived to take her home. For some reason, she felt badass for not watching or weeping for the old hunk of metal.

She gave the driver a hefty tip, knowing that the worker had probably had a rough day. Something on the porch caught her eye. Bright blues, yellows, pin
ks, and orange splashes of color that she couldn’t quite make out. Her eyes were squinted as she stepped closer. A beautiful bouquet had been placed carefully on the welcome mat in front of the big white door.

“Logan….” She whispered out loud as she picked up the flowers.

The card read:

To my soul mate,

I am nothing without you. Thankfully, you are with me in my dreams.

With boundless love,

Logan

Candice opened the door, grinning broadly as she arranged the flowers in the vase on the dining room table. The whole house appeared brighter. As hard as it was to be apart, she’d never loved him more than in that moment of great distance.

That evening, Logan caught the first flight back to Candice that he could get. It took a thousand dollars in bribe money to convince a lone traveler to forsake his seat. Every so often, he’d pat the
inside chest pocket of his suit to make sure the engagement ring was still there. He was nervous. Harworth’s didn’t get nervous. They did what needed to be done and then some. It was a family trait, or so his father had always said.

Logan
arrived in town early the next day after several excruciating flight delays. His decision to fly commercial instead of arranging to leave in his father’s personal jet was purely out of necessity. The sooner he was out of the city, the better… especially without Maxwell Harworth’s knowledge.

A few times, Logan started to call ahead to tell Candice he was on his way, but he resisted. This was supposed to be a grand professing of love and
a surprise. She’d open the door, he’d fall to his knee, and they’d rejoice when she answered yes to his question. That was the plan, at least. It had to be perfect for her.

He rang the bell and Candice opened the door. She’d obviously been asleep. Her eyes were half open, her hair a mess, and
she probably had morning breath. His vision of the moment hadn’t been quite so… normal. Surely, she would not appreciate him proposing like that.

“You’re back!” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I told you I was going to try to come back early.” Gently, he rubbed her back and kissed her cheek. “How’d you like the flowers?”

“They were p
erfect.” The word had barely slipped from her lips when the phone rang. “Who would be calling the house phone? It never rings.” She looked around. “I’m honestly not even sure where it is. I know I’ve seen it.”  

He laughed, yaw
ning into his fist. It was a result of the jetlag. “Follow the sound. Telemarketer would be my guess.”

Candice found the phone hanging in an obscure corner of the kitchen. “Hello?” She asked as Logan watched on, trying to figure out the
right moment to pop the question.

She was silent for a
minute, obviously listening to the person on the other end of the line. “That’s despicable. I would never accept an offer like that.”

“What are they selling? Porn?” Logan snickered, clueless as to what could be that offensive.

Suddenly, the phone was slammed down on the receiver. Candice’s entire face was red. That’s when the joking changed immediately to concern.

“Really, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“This guy offered me money if I would break up with you. I mean, it could have been a prank, but he sounded pretty legit. He knew all about you. Said I was bad for the family. Are you in the mob? He said
family
like that.”

A deep sound of frustration escaped Logan. It was definitely a bad time to propose. “Don’t be ridiculous. People are stupid, including most of my family.”

“I guess they didn’t like you leaving early from the grand opening events.”

As furious as he was, for his sake and hers he shrugged it off. “That’s how people I know have conversations. They toss money around. Don’t worry about it.”

Candice frowned deeply. “You sure? That made me pretty pissed.”

“Positive. On a better note, I have a surprise for you tonight. Sort of a special date.”

“Ooh, I’m excited now. I never quite know what to expect from you. I was happy enough you were home!”

“Never leaving you again.” He stepped close and planted a kiss on her lips, morning breath and all.

Candice rummaged through her large closet which had been filled with new clothing in the time she’d been dating Logan. It was date night and she had no clue what to wear. How could she decide when she didn’t even know where they were going or what they were doing?

“Wear something comfortable.” Logan stepped by her, grabbed her favorite hoodie,
and handed it to her.

“That’s actually kind of a relief. Means I don’t have to wear high heels.”

“Ha! Like you can wear heels.”

“I can.”

“Without falling?” He added.

Candice mumbled. “I never said that.” They both started laughing.

“I’m ready. You didn’t peek out back, did you?” He eyed her with suspicion.

“Nope. I was tempted, though.”

Logan took her hand and led her downstairs. He pulled back the curtain covering the sliding glass door at the back of the house. A large tent had been set up and a small campfire was burning a short distance away.

“Backyard camping.” She ran toward the set up. “Wow. This is going to be fun.” Her head tilted a bit to the side and she lowered her voice when he walked closer. “Isn’t it illegal to start a fire in a neighborhood like this?”

“I took care of it. Don’t worry. You really like it?”

“Absolutely. Oh my gosh. You even got marshmallows and sticks to put them on.” She was examining the items in a bag near the entrance to the tent. “Graham crackers and chocolate!”

Heavily, Logan plopped down on the ground in front of the tent and picked up one of the sticks. “I think the chocolate made you squeal more than everything else I’ve bought you.”

Candice sat down beside him and hugged his arm. “It’s not the things you buy that make me squeal, it’s the things you do.”

He poked her side and she jumped. “Stuff like that?”

“Not what I meant!”
She smacked playfully at his hand before grabbing the bag of marshmallows and sticking one on the end of the stick he was holding. Then, she took the stick and held the white puff over the fire. Very quickly it was ablaze.

“I think you’re roasting that a bit much.”

She shrugged, pulling the flaming marshmallow out of the fire. A deep inhale followed by a blow put out the fire revealing a no longer squishy, sugary puff, but a burnt and blackened snack. “I like them like this.” The food went directly into her mouth.

Logan was hysterically laughing. “You’re a weirdo.”

“I know.”

“Hold out your stick and I’ll put another one on there.” He’d snatched the bag of marshmallows from her.

She held her stick toward him as she stared up at the clear night sky. “Under the stars again, like our first date.”

“Do you think you could live like this forever and be happy?” He whispered, following her gaze briefly. When she didn’t look at him
, he took the engagement ring out of his pocket.

“Forever isn’t long enough.” She closed her eyes and smiled.

Logan carefully placed the ring on the stick securing it on the fork at the end. “Look.”

Candice opened her eyes and gazed into her boyfriend’s before following the direction he was pointing. There wasn’t food at the end of the stick. No, this was shiny and sparkly. Her hands shook as she fished the
precariously perched ring closer.

This is happening
.

Finally, it was in the palm of her hand and she extended it slowly toward Logan without saying anything.

“So? Think you want to become Mrs. Harworth?”

“I don’t think so.”
The silence was beyond awkward. Candice took Logan’s hand and placed the ring in it. Her mind went blank so it was a moment before she could compose her words and extend her hand with fingers outstretched. “I know so.”

“Scared the shit out of me, Candice.” He grinned, shaking his head as he slipp
ed the engagement ring onto her finger. “This is the happiest moment of my life. Aside from the day we met and every day since that I’ve been able to spend with you.”

There w
ere no more words she could say. Instead, she pressed her lips to his and toppled him over onto his back with the force of her body. Consummating the engagement in the backyard and under the stars was her best response.

While the rest of the world kept turning, the teenage boy, whose name would become synonymous with small town tragedy, loaded the last of his father’s guns. His backpack held most of the collection, aside from the one he planned to conceal underneath his coat. He knew what he wanted to do and he was ready.

Growing up had been hard. No harder than many others
he knew. He was normal. His father had been hardcore and ex-military, but supportive of his son’s pursuits.

The shooter, named Carson after his father, didn’t fit the stereotypes on the outside. He played sports, dated, and had mor
e friends than he could count. But something had always been off. Then, when he began to see all the coverage of shootings and attacks in the media, what can only be described as hollowness began to consume. He wanted the same notoriety as the others. No. He wanted more. Perhaps, he would begin to feel something. And if he didn’t, well, he’d have at least made the effort.

Carson lay in his bed. The house was empty for t
he weekend. He tossed and turned unable to sleep. It wasn’t his conscience, but an eagerness to spill the blood of the cattle he secretly despised. He refused to be herded any longer like a dumb animal. School, church, the mall, and even the grocery store made him feel like he was being ushered from point A to point B.

Yes, tomorrow was the day. He would destroy the organized pathways. Chaos would reign in his hometown, if only for a short time.

Tomorrow, they will all open their eyes
.

It was his final thought before he fell asleep for the last time.

Logan smiled across the breakfast table at his fiancé. “I must be getting old. My back is killing me from rolling around on the ground all night.”

“You’re not getting old. I wore you out.” Candice grinned, stabbing her fork into a piece of strawberry and popping it into her mouth.

“And yet, you are still seducing me with those
pink lips. I have no complaints.” He stole a piece of cantaloupe from her plate. “What do you want to do today?”

Her hand rested on her chin as she thought about it,
still chewing the fruit slowly. “We should go by your store and pick out our wedding bands for when we decide to elope.”

“I didn’t know we were eloping.”

“I mean, I have no family and yours hates me. Seems like a good plan.”

“They don’t hate you. They don’t know you, but I think I like this plan. It’s supposed to be our day and about us.” Logan agreed.

Candice cleared off the table when they had finished and followed Logan to the car. “Where do you think we should get married?”

“Doesn’t matter to me. I know some pretty secluded islands or we could travel to a foreign city like Paris. Whatever will make you happiest.” He opened the passenger side door for her and closed it before heading back around the car.

“Man, that’s a hard decision. Both sound amazing. I’ve never been out of the country.”

“We can go globetrotting. Need to get a passport for you.”

She sighed softly and leaned against the head rest, watching Logan. “We will have the best time ever. I won’t even be afraid of planes or crowds. I know I’ll be okay with you there.”

“Always.” He removed one hand from the steering wheel and held onto hers.

They entered the
mall, once again entwining fingers. A laugh was shared as they passed by the food court where they’d first awkwardly met. Their worlds had aligned that day, but fateful gunshots were about to shatter their dreams.