Page 107 of Prodigal Son

When he reached the house, he found Gracie sitting at the table with Dane by her side. The boy hid his face in his arms resting upon the surface as if sleeping, while Gracie’s hand coasted over his hair in an act of comfort.

“How is he?”

“How would you be?”

Like everyone else, she blamed him. Because of Cain, Gracie had lost her young companion. It didn’t matter that he’d acted on Dane’s persistence. Cain was immortal and aware of God’s law. He should have known better.

Cybil added purpose to Gracie’s days and their lessons gave his sister a sense of value that was now gone. So much had been lost and there was no readily available solution to quicken this time of grief for any of them.

CHAPTER 31

Destiny waited at the same Tuscan restaurant she always patronized on first dates. This would be the eleventh blind date since last winter and there had been no thaw in her cynicism. Life could have been so much easier had she only been born a lesbian. Instead, she was chugging along on her hetero way, through a murky swamp of boys playing at being men.

The bartender placed a tall glass of pinot on a cocktail napkin and she slid him a twenty. “Enjoy.” He was cute.

Her gaze went to his ring finger. Married. “Thanks.” She sighed and took a long sip.

They probably thought she was a call girl, coming here every few weeks dressed up to meet a different man. If only her life were that interesting. At least call girls had sex. Destiny lost count of how long it had been.

Tonight she was meeting Eric. Five foot eleven, nice physique, and glasses. He seemed like a decent guy, according to his dating profile, but experience taught her that in terms of literature, dating profiles usually qualified as fiction.

Deciphering the facts from falsehoods required a certain level of skill and determination. It was no longer about swiping left or right on looks alone. She was mining for truth and weeding out the lies as efficiently as possible. She preferred the bad news upfront so she’d be less disappointed in the end.

Eric filled a low level position at an IT firm, had a civil divorce under his belt that didn’t involve an insane ex, and a six-year-old son. According to his profile, he wasn’t interested in having more children but acknowledged that his feelings could change with the right woman.

Overall, his stats were decent. And he liked curvaceous women—a plus for him since she was a plus-sized beauty herself.

Taking another sip of wine, she searched the restaurant for her date. This was always the awkward part.

Pedro, her last date, had been awful. He’d been sexy and funny when they spoke via text, but when they met in person, the vibe was gone. He spent the entire meal staring at her chest. After dinner he insisted on walking her to her car, where he proceeded to kiss her. Turned out, Pedro was an irredeemable chin licker. Slobber everywhere. She would have gotten away cleaner if she’d made out with a Saint Bernard.

After Pedro came Sal. He was great. Gorgeous, toned body, spoke with a lovely Italian accent. He was a carpenter and built beautiful furniture. When he mentioned living with his parents, she didn’t judge him. If her parents weren’t in Portugal, she’d still live with them. Fiscally, it just made more sense than having a big, empty house.

She thought they hit it off, until he postponed their next two dates. At first, she chalked it up to coincidence, because sometimes freak things happen. She admired his loyalty to family and respected how he was always there for them in a pinch. Also, she admired a man who took good care of his mother, assuming such behavior hinted at attentive husband traits—until he mentioned bathing his mother.

“Oh, is she physically limited?” Destiny had asked, assuming the woman might have an illness.

“No, Mother just prefers I help her. She has since I was young.”

Recalling the moment she realized she’d been on a date with Norman Bates, she shivered. That was the end of Sal.

Searching the bar for her date again and seeing no sign of him, she debated ordering another drink. She always chose this restaurant for her first dates because she loved the food. That way, even if the date bombed, she still got to enjoy a good meal.

“Destiny?”

She turned and recognized Eric’s handsome face. “Hi.” She smiled, taking a quick scan of his appearance. Everything looked accurate with no signs of catfishing.

“Sorry I’m late. There was an accident right before the exit. Were you waiting long?”

Accidents happened, so she didn’t deduct any points. “Not long at all.” He smelled really nice.

He settled onto the stool next to her. “Let me get your next one.”

Flagging down the bartender, he placed an order and left a generous tip. Point.

The hostess informed them their reservation was ready, and they carried their drinks to a small table by the back wall. Destiny had decided somewhere on the ride there that she would order the chicken and asparagus with that yummy sauce they made, but she glanced at the menu anyway, pretending like she didn’t eat there almost every week. It was a shock the staff didn’t know her by name yet.

Once they placed their order, they settled back into conversation. “So, what did you do today?” he asked, and Destiny bullet pointed the highlights of her day. Nothing outstanding to report.

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