Free Don't Read After Dark: Keep the lights on while reading these! (A McCray Horror Collection) by Carolyn McCray Page B

was able to open the door before all the apples he bought tumbled out into the hallway.
    As he entered the apartment he announced, “Honey, I’m home.”
    He chuckled to himself as he passed by the hamster. “And imagine, Herbie, everyone is amazed that I’m still single.”
    After putting the groceries away in the kitchen and cutting Herbie a few slices of apple, Jake actually got down to work. He pushed the power button on Evie’s computer and sorted through her bills as it booted up. Besides making some crab soufflé tonight with caramelized cinnamon apples, he needed to get Evie’s routine down.
    The bills were in perfect order by due date, and her checkbook was immaculate. She was up to date to the penny. “Well, if I save you, maybe you can balance my checkbook.”
    Behind the computer screen, Jake found a digital camera. He flipped through her most current pictures. Herbie, Herbie, and more Herbie the hamster.
    “Okay, your life is about as exciting as mine.” That Nancy had been right. Evie really didn’t get out much.
    Finally, the computer booted up. The first thing that Jake noticed was a file on her desktop labeled, “Internet Dating Profile. Version 8.”
    Jake opened the file and read it aloud.
    “Down-to-earth, financially stable girl seeks down-to–earth, financially stable guy.”
    The “financially stable guy” was highlighted and in a bright red font. Guess the girl had dated enough slacker/writer/actor types. Although he didn’t think that she was necessarily highlighting those words—it looked like it was a track changes bolding.
    “Alright, let’s see what the original title of your profile was.”
    “Down-to-earth girl seeks a guy…any guy (non-serial killer types preferable, but not a deal breaker).”
    Jake chuckled until Herbie started on his wheel again. “Okay, so not so funny now, but our girl’s got a sense of humor. Jake went back to skimming the profile.
    “More of a stay-at-home kind of girl. Not sure about starting a family.”
    He remembered Brad’s description of her fiancée leaving her once she became pregnant. Clearly, she had wanted to keep the child, then lost it not a few weeks later. He could understand why she might be conflicted about starting a family. He had far less trauma in his past and wasn’t sure himself.
    Jake went back to reading. “Collects antique perfume bottles.”
    Leaning back in his chair, Jake shook his head. “Now why can’t I ever find a profile like this?”
    Oh crap! Jake looked to his watch.
    “Crap, crap, crap,” he muttered as he dialed the phone. A woman answered. “Hey, Candace.”
    “Jake, what’s going on?” the woman asked. “I’ve been waiting at the restaurant for fifteen minutes.”
    “Yeah, I’m so sorry that I’m late.”
    “So you’re just late, you aren’t standing me up?” Candace asked.
    “Standing you up? No way. No how,” Jake said, yet the sad truth was that he had totally forgotten about the date. Of course, it would be horribly rude to say that. He needed to find a way to cover, although he wasn’t necessarily quick on his feet in situations like this. “I was… I was in a meeting with the DA?”
    Okay, maybe he shouldn’t have made that sound so much like a question as a fact. Although Candace did seem to be buying it.
    “Really? The DA?”
    Alright, maybe he’d shot too far with that one. “Yeah, it ran over, but what can you do? Tell the DA, ‘I’ve got to go?’”
    “No, of course not,” Candace said.
    “So I’m super sorry, but I’m across town. So I’m not going to be able to make it.”
    He heard an audible sigh on the other end.
    “But let me make it up to you. Let me take you out to dinner. How about Chez Appetit?”
    “Chez Appetit? You don’t have to. That place is so expensive.”
    Yes, it was, but he really didn’t want to lose the one person he’d been able to stand since his injury. “Tonight, then.”
    “Are you sure you aren’t just trying to delay our