Page 55 of Double Trouble

I head past the bustle to the manager’s offices. Candace is on shift today, and when I step inside, she meets my gaze with a frown.

“So… you’re leaving, huh?”

“Figured, I’d quit before any of you managers get in trouble.” I put my badge on the desk and take a seat across from her. The owner of Troublemakers, Mr. Malone, was contacted by the hospital, and Candace filled out an accident report. She mentioned that there would be disciplinary action against the employee, but I don’t want to take any chances on her being too soft on me. So I just bit the bullet and gave my two weeks’ notice… which didn’t last a day.

Her fingers slide across the desk and trap my badge. She pulls it to her and toys with the lanyard. “Have you thought about where you’re going to work?”

“Not really.” My mind’s been stuck on a repeat of Pete’s words at the hospital. I’ve relived them every day since, and every minute I spend with Maddie only increases the power they hold over me.

“There are a couple of positions at my parents’ offices.” She lifts a shoulder. “Not sure how good you are with customer service, or if that’s even interesting to you, but maybe worth a shot.”

“Thanks.” I won’t look into it. A desk job is too stagnant. I can plant my butt in a seat for extended time, but I can’t spend all of that without creating something.

I scratch at the hole in my jeans, right above the knee. Candace usually comments on the ragged state of anyone’s clothing, but she keeps her lips pursed together today.

“How is she doing?” I ask, knowing that’s what we both really want to talk about. I haven’t seen Mad in four days. We text, and I tell her I’m busy looking for jobs, when I’m simply avoiding her and punishing myself for the accident. Pete said I broke the rules just to get her to like me, to notice me, and I wonder just how much of that is true.

“She’s in the cast now.” Candace tosses my badge on her desk. “She insisted on getting back to work, so she’s starting at the farm on light duty tomorrow.”

“You think that’s a good idea?”

Candace lets out a hollow laugh. “Since when has Maddie taken my advice on anything?”

“What’s she gonna do on the farm?”

She lifts a shoulder. “Luke says he’s got some ideas. Most likely she’ll be picking out music to play for the horses while he grooms them.”

“Sounds like a good day’s work.”

She chuckles at my sore attempt at humor, then shakes her head, her smile evaporating as quickly as it appeared. “Why?” She lets out a long sigh and meets my gaze. “Why did you sneak her in, Tanner?”

“That’s a good question.”

“Do I get to hear the answer?”

The corner of my mouth twitches. The answer to that question is easy, simple, but it holds so much behind it and I wonder if Candace will understand. Candace doesn’t break rules. It’s how she got to management so quickly, why she’s so good at it. For the life of me, I don’t understand why she’s not smacking me around for betraying her trust.

She does deserve an explanation, though.

I stop picking at my jeans and blink up to her eyes. “I’d do anything for Maddie.”

Her head tilts slightly. “Why?”

“You know why.”

A smile teases her lips, and she leans back in her chair. “I want to hear you say it.”

An unexpected, jolting laugh falls from my mouth, and I shake my head and push to my feet. “Not before I say it to her.”

She playfully pouts and stands up as well. “I guess that’s only fair.” She walks around her desk and pushes up on her tiptoes. Her arms wrap around my shoulders, her long red-brown hair tickling my nose. “I’ll miss you around here.”

There was a time when I wanted Candace to show an ounce of affection for me. I dreamed about it, played it through my mind, much like I did with every other girl I had an infatuation for.

But as I give her a pat on the back and pull away, I know with one hundred percent certainty that I’ve never loved someone the way I love Maddie.

I reach out and bat the bill of her cap down over her eyes. “Yeah right. You’ll be happy to get someone else trained on the Wheel Zone.”

She wrinkles her nose and fixes her hat. “Or maybe someone who won’t commit a misdemeanor in the name of love.”

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