Man at Work by Chanta Jefferson Rand

you missed each
other.”
    “ Well, you got that part
wrong.”
    “ Did I?”
    Her grey eyes locked with his. The impact
was more forceful than any words she could have uttered. He
shrugged. His head wasn’t ready to admit what his heart already
knew. Yeah, he missed Candace like crazy. It had only been a few
weeks, but he was having withdrawal symptoms bad. Even his reaction
to seeing a man he thought was her date told him all he needed to
know. He still had feelings for Candace. The question was, what was
he going to do about it?
    “ So, what’s the next step
in your plan?” he asked Toye.
    She huffed. “My plan ended the moment you
walked through the door. If you want Candace back, the rest, my
friend, is up to you.”

ELEVEN

    Candice groaned into her pillow. Her skull
felt like it had been bashed with a sledgehammer. She squinted at
the beams of sunlight filtering through the blinds of her living
room. She’d fallen asleep on her sofa, still fully clothed. Old
photo albums surrounded her. Snatches of memories stared back at
her. Marlowe, Ronnie, and her posing in their Easter dresses. Mama
and Daddy’s wedding picture. Toye sitting on Santa’s lap. The four
of them roller skating. Those were better times. Where had they all
gone?
    Last night, she’d sat here, crying her heart
out. She’d been so angry, heart-broken, and frustrated. Crying
seemed like the only option left. Betrayed by her own flesh and
blood. How many times had Mama said never choose a man over your
family? Too bad Mama didn’t follow her own advice. She’d brought
home too many losers to count.
    Candace’s heart still ached from the
betrayal. Was there something going on between Gabe and Toye? She
tried to be mad at him. She tried to hate him, but those feelings
wouldn’t come. She wasn’t a hateful person. Worse, she still wanted
Gabe. She missed him. His smile. His touch. His sense of humor. She
longed to talk to him again. Longed to have him look upon her
without an accusatory glare. What made him so damn
irresistible?
    What’s wrong with me?
    I’m back on the dick-whipped
merry-go-round.
    The worst part was Roland Edwards saw the
entire confrontation. That shit was so embarrassing. She would have
to call him today and try to explain what happened. She couldn’t
have him thinking she was bringing a bunch of drama into the mix.
Yeah, she would call him—as soon as she thought of a lie to cover
what happened. ‘Cause she damn sure couldn’t tell him the truth.
Her cousin and her man were sleeping together. She shook her head.
She could hardly believe it herself.
    The sharp barking of vicious dogs
interrupted her pity party. The doorbell was Marlowe’s idea of a
joke. Whenever someone pressed the button, sounds of ferocious pit
bulls resonated in the air, scaring the shit of any wanna-be
burglars. Candace had no pets, but she’d kept the doorbell as a
crime deterrent. A woman living alone could never be too
careful.
    She glanced at her reflection in the hall
mirror.
    I look like hell on a good day.
    Eyes smeared with mascara stared back at
her. She spit into her palms, rubbed them together and then
smoothed the wild tufts of her bob back in place.
    Whoever was on the other side of that door
would be smart not to tangle with her this morning.
    When she opened the door and saw Toye
standing there, Candace was tempted to slam it in her cousin’s
face. She would have done it if she weren’t concerned that the
force of it would shatter the oval, frosted glass panel nestled in
the wooden slab.
    “ What do you
want?”
    “ I’m sorry,” Toye said
simply. “I was wrong. I was stupid. I have no excuse for my
behavior.”
    Candace stared back at the woman she’d grown
up with, shared secrets with, laughed and cried with. A cyclone of
emotions stormed through her. “What do you want me to say, Toye? I
forgive you? Everything’s gonna be all right? Even I have my
breaking point, cousin.”
    Toye gave a helpless shrug. “I don’t