Destiny Calls (35 page)

Her chest rose and fell as she caught her breath. “I spoke with Larissa. She told me about your father.”

His lips pressed together. He didn’t want everyone to know his business. He didn’t care that Larissa told Grace, but he didn’t want her telling everyone else. “It doesn’t mean anything,” he said, tired of the news already.

“What do you mean? This changes everything. You’re like us.”

“No, I’m not.” She jerked back at his words. He didn’t know why the idea of Gracie suddenly seeing him differently irritated him, but it did. “I’m still the same guy, Grace. This changes nothing.”

“But…you’re immortal,” she said quietly.

“Only half.”

Her blue eyes flashed at him. She didn’t have the same green flecks as Maggie. Gracie’s were more silver. She scowled. “Who’s Maggie?”

“What?” He slammed down a wall on his thoughts. “She’s just some girl we went to talk to today. Her dad was mortal.”

Her chin shot in the air. “Oh, Magdalene. And I suppose
she
is just like you then.”

He frowned. “Don’t be catty, Grace. Maggie’s a nice girl.”

“Oh, it’s Maggie then, is it?” Her dark lashes flickered over her blue eyes. “Well...I am sure the two of you will be great friends.”

“Why are you being like that?”

“I am not being any way,” she said stiffly.
“Ferleicht
you and
Maggie
can join us for supper sometime this week.” Her voice rose, and her lashes fluttered wildly. “We can all be great friends!” She turned and briskly stomped away, but not before he noticed the way her eyes glazed. Her emotions had left her thoughts wide open. She was upset.

Sighing, his traipsed after her and grabbed her arm. When he turned her to face him, twin trails of tears ran down her cheeks. Crap. “Grace, why are you crying?”

“I am not crying, Dane Foster,” she said, swiping her palm roughly under her eyes.

He stepped closer and wiped a tear from under her lashes. Softly, he whispered, “Yes, you are. Why are you so upset?”

She swallowed and stomped her foot impatiently. Blinking back more tears, she pressed her lips together and glared at the sky. “Because I am a foolish girl. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get upset.”

He stepped a little closer. In a low voice he said, “But you are upset. Why?”

Her pert mouth formed a straight line. She shook her head. “It is nothing. I just thought…I just…” When she couldn’t complete the statement, he looked into her mind. Visions of him and her together poured out of her, many flashing back to his birthday.

“But I’m not your mate…”

More tears fell. “I know. It’s just…Eleazar was over five hundred when he was called.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever be called, Gracie. I’m different. My blood is the only thing remotely similar to you. I don’t want to be second choice to your destiny.”

“You wouldn’t be.”

He shook his head. It had taken a long time, and he didn’t know when it finally sunk in, perhaps it was when Maggie explained everything with such acceptance. Either way, he had realized that Grace was right. It was foolish for them to get involved when she would someday be called to another. “Yes, I will, Grace,” he told her softly. “Someday you will be called, and another male will come along and claim you.”

Her lips trembled. “But what if that never happens?”

“It will. I don’t want you for a short time.”

She sniffled. When had her feelings toward him changed? Suddenly she leaned up on her toes and pressed her mouth to his. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close. The kiss was chaste. As far as he knew it was only the second time either one of them had ever kissed someone, the first time being the kiss they shared on his eighteenth birthday.

Her body was warm, and she trembled in his arms as he pulled her flush against his front. His head slanted, and she made a small little moan. He tasted her. She was as sweet as he remembered.

When he eased away and broke the kiss, her tears had dried and her cheeks were flushed. She peeked through her lashes at him nervously. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he said the first thing that came to his mind. “I’m going to ask Eleazar to let me build a house on the farm.”

Her slightly swollen lips curled sweetly. She was so incredibly pretty. “You’re staying?”

He nodded. “For a while.”

Chapter 33

Destiny sat in a bar, sipping the last of her watered-down iced tea and vodka. Her hair was loose and clinging to her bare shoulders. She crossed her legs and admired her black dress. It had been a beautiful wedding, even if her date was a tool bag she would never be calling again. She should have left hours ago, but going home alone seemed the last nail in her coffin.

Constance, the bride, had been the last of her single friends. It was only Destiny now. Everyone else was having babies and buying homes and minivans and contributing to the bigger picture in some way or another. Not Destiny, though. Nope.

The bartender came over and asked if she wanted another. She nodded and reached for her purse. The small clutch slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor. She groaned.

“Let me get that for you.”

Her spine stiffened as chills raced up her neck. Bracing herself for something hideous, because there was no way, according to her luck, that that deep sexy voice was connected to something actually decent looking, she turned. The man was tall with dark hair. He had a strong jaw and bright blue eyes. His hair was a little long for what she considered trendy, but he managed to pull it off.

“Mind if I sit down?”

Words, Destiny, use words!
“Sh–sure.”

He sat down beside her and smelled nice. Not like her wedding date who had taken a bath in drugstore cologne. This man smelled clean, spicy, with a trace of leather.

The bartender delivered her drink, and she waited for the man to say something. She fidgeted when he still hadn’t said anything for some time. Finally, he cleared his throat.

“You
are
Destiny Santos, the reporter from
Channel Six
, correct?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

He smiled and looked toward the bar. Was that it? Did he have nothing else to say? Was he a fan? Did he maybe work for some competing channel and not like her? He said nothing. Finally she sighed and dropped a twenty on the bar. “Nice talking to you,” she mumbled under her breath.

He swiveled in his seat. “Are you seeing anyone?”

What the hell was with this guy? “Um, no.”

“Good.” He seemed ready to turn back around. She rolled her eyes.

“Did you want to get a drink or talk?”

“Oh, no thank you. I’m married. My wife wouldn’t like that.”

Her jaw fell wide open. Only to her did this kind of stuff happen. “Well, thanks a lot—”

“Adam,” the man supplied.

She plastered on a smile and gritted through her teeth, “Adam.” She turned and left the bar.

* * * *

Destiny awoke frustrated. She really needed to change her diet. She had been having so many off-the-wall dreams lately.

Her dress for Constance’s wedding hung on the wall across from her. She looked at the clock and sighed. If only her dream had been real and the wedding was already over. She might as well get up. She had a whole day of bridesmaid hell ahead of her.

After showering she called Vito. Her dream had left a bad taste in her mouth, and she wasn’t looking forward to her date.

“Hey, little sis,” he answered.

“Hey. You feel like going to a wedding with me?”

“I thought you were taking some guy.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I don’t really feel like going with someone I don’t know. I’d have more fun with you. Constance wouldn’t care.”

“What do you plan to tell the dude?”

“I’ll probably make up something. Maybe use the word menstruation. That usually halts any questions.”

“That’ll do it. I usually go with the explosive diarrhea defense when I need to get out of something.”

“Ew, you’re gross, V.” He laughed, and she plugged in her straightener. “So will you go with me?”

“Yeah, all right. You want me to pick you up?”

“Sure.”

Vito arrived to pick her up around five. He looked nice in his suit. Weddings, well open-bar events, were the only things capable of making her brother dress up. The ceremony was by Constance’s father’s house on a farm in Lancaster and done on the bluff of a mountain overlooking what seemed to be a small Amish village.

After dinner, Destiny needed some air, so she returned to where the couple had said their “I do’s” and sat in the last chair by the altar staring out over the country as the sun faded from the sky.

Vito came out a while later and joined her. “Hey,” he said, handing her a beer.

“Hey.”

“You wanna go?”

She shrugged. “I’m the last of my friends who’s single.”

“It’s not that bad, D. You don’t have to answer to anyone, got no one telling you when to be home.”

Tears suddenly stung her eyes. “I want someone to care enough to want me home, though. I want to answer to someone. How is it everyone else has found someone nice and all I find are assholes? What’s wrong with me?”

“Hey, hey. Don’t do this to yourself, D. There’s nothing wrong with you. It’s all the men you date that are fucked up. You’re beautiful and sweet, and someday you’ll find Mr. Right.”

She sniffled and stifled the girliness suddenly erupting from her. Tears were so not Vito’s specialty. “You wanna know the weirdest thing?”

“What’s that?”

“I feel like I had it and I lost it.”

“With Adrian?” he asked, frowning.

She shook her head. “No, not with Adrian. With no one. I mean, other than Adrian there hasn’t been anyone, but this past year has been different. It isn’t the same. I was used to being single. Single I could do. But now, I feel like I somehow know what it’s like to care, and I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. That doesn’t make any sense, I know. Don’t listen to me. I probably had too much to drink.”

They sat silently for a while watching the sky fade from blue to purple and then a vibrant shade of pink. “It’s so pretty here,” Destiny mused.

“Yeah,” Vito agreed.

“I want to live here someday.”

He turned and scrutinized her for a minute. Shrugging he said, “Sure, if you don’t mind the smell of horse shit.”

She punched him in the arm.

Chapter 34

Dane stepped onto the hay loft and turned to help Maggie up. She climbed up the last step of the old rickety ladder and brushed out her skirts. A small piece of hay clung to the curls that had escaped her bonnet. He turned and surveyed the old barn.

Stepping carefully, he pressed his palm against one of the support beams. “This actually looks like it’s in pretty good shape.”

“My grandfather said it’s a good building. It’s one of the ones they built after first coming to America, so it has a lot of stone supports.”

He had noticed the stone. It wouldn’t be too difficult to turn it into a house. He had talked to Adam about it, and he said he would help with the flooring. There was an outhouse just out back. Larissa had spoken to the bishop, and Eleazar agreed to let him convert the barn so long as Dane took responsibility for the upkeep.

“Thanks for telling me about this, Maggie.”

“Sure.”

She smiled at him, her eyes appearing greener in the dim light of the barn. He reached up and gently untangled the piece of hay from her hair. He showed it to her before tossing it to the ground. A soft shade of pink crested her cheeks.

“Thanks.” Her hand fluttered to her bonnet. “I have terrible hair. It’s bulky and impossible to braid.”

“I like it.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty.”

Her cheeks turned another shade darker. “You know, there’s a—”

Whatever Maggie had been about to say was cut off by a creek and then a loud snap. The ground shifted, and they both lost their balance. The sound of fabric ripping followed by sharp pain in Dane’s leg was met with a view of the world rushing by and the fast sensation of falling. There was an awful clatter. Dust rose high over their heads, and his ass radiated pain from where he had hit the ground.

He coughed. “Maggie?” Particles of old wood, sand, and hay filled the air, making an odd sort of filter for the sunshine peeking through the high windows. The earth smelled musty.

Dane spotted the mauve of Maggie’s gowns under a pile of debris and moved to dig her out. His leg hurt. When he found her, her bonnet was gone and her eyes were closed. There was a smudge of dirt across her cheek.

“Shit. Maggie, are you all right?” Ignoring the pain in his leg, he turned and shook her shoulders. “Maggie, open your eyes.”