Soul Mates by Jeane Watier Read Free Book Online Page A

her lugging clothes to a laundromat on her rare days off. The following day after work he went to a used appliance store, bought the best washer he could afford on credit, and paid to have it delivered to his mom’s place. When he got home, he put a for-sale sign in the window of his car. Defeated, he sat down on the front steps of his building and with his chin in his hands let out a solemn breath.
    “Does it feel like life is beating you up again?”
    He turned to see his elderly neighbor walking toward him. Nodding a reply, he turned away. He wasn’t in the mood for her pie-in-the-sky advice.
    “I have a proposition for you.” She stood at the bottom of the stairs, her face level with his. “I’m not as spry as I used to be, and I don’t get around easily anymore. I’ve been thinking of getting a car, but I don’t drive now.”
    “Are you…asking me to drive you?”
    “I’d pay you, of course. I don’t go out much—two or three times a week.”
    Jace contemplated her offer. She hadn’t mentioned an amount, yet whatever she paid him would be a bonus. He could certainly use the extra cash. Ready to jump at the opportunity, he forced himself to relax. She didn’t know how bad his situation was, and he didn’t want to appear desperate. “Sure, I guess I could do that for you,” he shrugged, trying to act indifferent but knowing deep down that she was doing him a favor.
    The old woman started to go past him up the stairs. Before she entered the building, he jumped up and grabbed the door for her. “Um…thank you, Mrs. Langdon.”
    “Call me Sophie.”
    She smiled her sweet, grandmotherly smile, and Jace noticed for the first time that she looked pleasant for her age. Her white hair was full of tidy curls, and her skin was like silk with soft, delicate wrinkles. Her fingernails were manicured, and her clothes looked as though they’d been bought at a respectable store, not a bargain department or thrift store. Now it seemed she had money to buy a car.
    In his apartment, Jace pondered the situation. Something about the old woman didn’t add up. The furniture and china spoke of wealth, but that could be from the past. If she has money, why does she live in a place like this? he continued to speculate. Why would she buy a car just to have someone drive her a couple of times a week? It would be much cheaper to take a cab. Try as he might, he couldn’t sort it out.
    CASSANDRA REMAINED unsettled after returning from Port Hayden. She was sure it had to do with her aunt’s prediction. She’d had a mild yearning, a faint desire to do more with her life than she was doing. Something bigger was definitely calling her. The unsettling part was not knowing what it was.
    “That’s all she told you?” Tanisha asked after listening to the voice recording. “What does it mean, anyway?”
    “I’m not sure; it’s all new to me,” Cassandra answered. “I mean, I understand what she’s saying about energy, but this connectedness and the order and perfection she talks about…”
    “Is she talking about God?”
    “She’s not the religious type, and this isn’t the kind of message you’d hear in church. It’s deeper than that. It’s like a puzzle, I guess. I’ll know more once I have all the pieces.”
    “What does she want you to do with it?” Tanisha inquired. “Besides write it down, I mean?”
    “I don’t know; she didn’t say.” Cassandra shook her head. “She’s mysterious. Sometimes she seems like a sweet, little old lady who forgets, and I have to remind her what day it is. Other times she looks right through me like I’m not even there and tells me stuff no one else could possibly know. I really think she’s psychic.”
    “Why? Because she told you you’re going to meet a guy?” Tanisha laughed. “You meet guys all the time. You do realize you could have any guy you wanted, right?”
    “I don’t want just any guy,” Cassandra contended.
    “So what do you want?”
    “I want a guy