Angels Fall

that?"
    "She's in love with me." Pete slid dishes into the sink. "She can't help herself."
    "It's true. It's a constant battle of control back here, every shift."
    "You bought candles," Linda-gail pointed out. '"And cloth napkins. And fancy wine."
    "Jesus." Reece didn't know whether to laugh or cringe. "Are there no secrets in the Fist?"
    "None I can't unearth. Come on, give me some dish. My own love life's been as sparse as Pete's hairline lately."
    '"Hey! My hair's just taking a little rest between growing seasons." Pete slicked a hand over what hair he had left. "And I can feel my scalp starting to tingle in anticipation of a new crop."
    "Need some more fertilizer. Is he a good kisser"" Linda-gail demanded.
    "Pete? Amazing. I'm a puddle at his teet. Order up." Reece said when she'd finished plating the burgers, fries, and the little tubs of coleslaw she already knew would go to waste on the high-school crowd.
    "I'll get it out of you sooner or later." After gathering up the plates, Linda-gail sashayed out.
    "I am an amazing kisser," Pete announced. "Just FYI."
    "I never doubted it."
    ""Guys like me—you know, compact guys—pack a hell of a punch. We… fuck me."
    "I really don't think I can take the time for that right at the moment." Amused, Reece glanced over.
    Then everything inside her went woozy and sick. Blood dripped from the hands Pete gripped together and splattered on the floor at his feet.
    "Teach me to pay attention to what's in the water, goddamn it. Sliced it good. Hey. Hey. Hey!"
    She heard Pete shout as it he stood on a mountaintop and she in the valley below. Then the shouts went to buzzing, and the buzzing to silence.
    The quick taps on her cheek brought her around. When Joanie's face swam into her vision, nausea rolled in Reece's belly. "There's blood."
    "Is she all right? Christ, Joanie, she went down hard. I couldn't get to her. Is she all right?"
    "Stop breathing down my throat, Pete. She's fine." But Joanie was already running a hand over the back of Reece's head, checking for bumps, "Go on down to Doc's. Get that hand stitched up."
    "I just want to make sure she's okay. She might be concussed or something."
    "How many fingers?" Joanie demanded of Reece.
    "Two.
    "'There, she's fine. Now go get that hand tended to. Can you sit up, girl?"
    "Yes, Pete." Fighting nausea and the shakes. Reece sat up on the kitchen floor. "Is it bad? Your hand."
    "Aw, Doc'll sew it right up."
    He had a cloth wrapped around it. but Reece could see the blood seeping through. "I'm sorry."
    "My own fault. You just take it easy now." He patted Reece's shoulder with his good hand before he straightened up.
    "Got a knot coming up on the back of your head here. I'll get you some ice."
    "Its okay." Reece gripped Joanie's fingers. "I just need to get my breath back. Someone should go with Pete. That's a bad gash."
    "Sit still a minute." Joanie got up. "You there. Tod! You drive Pete down to the doc's. Your burger'll wait five minutes, and it'll be free. She turned back. "Satisfied?"
    "There's blood."
    "I can see that. A man's bound to bleed when he slashes his hand with a knife. That's all there is to it. Accidents happen in kitchens all the time."
    "I'll clean it up, Joanie." Lind.i-gail stepped in. "Juanita's covering my tables."
    Saying nothing. Joanie got a small ice pack from the freezer, wrapped it in a thin cloth. "Hold that on the knot," she ordered Reece. "Once you get your feet back under you, you can go on upstairs. I'll take over here."
    "No, I'm okay. I can work. I'd rather work."
    "Fine. Get up then, and let's see how steady you are on your feet. Dead pale," Joanie pronounced when Reece gripped the counter to haul herself up. "Take a break, get some air. Drink some water." She pushed a bottle into Reece's hand. "You get some color back, you can go on back to work."
    "Air would be good. Thanks."
    When Joanie jerked her head, Linda-gail nodded and followed Reece out the back.
    '"You want to sit down?" she asked Reece.
    "No, I'll just lean here for a minute. You don't have to watch me. I'm just feeling a little queasy and a lot stupid."
    And shaky, Linda-gail thought as she took the bottle of water from Reece's unsteady hands and uncapped it herself. "Spiders do that to me. Not just the big fat ones—you know the ones that look like they could carry off a good-sized cat if they put their mind to it? But even the little bitty ones give me the serious creeps. I once ran straight into a door and knocked myself