Destiny Undone: The Complete Series Box Set (34 page)

Now, where was that list?
I retrieved it from my purse, then pushed my cart up and down the aisles while I looked for the things on it. I picked up a few extra things, too—just for me—like yogurt and granola since I loved to eat healthy. It was what helped me keep in shape.

I had a busy day planned and after shopping and tennis, I was going to stop by Sea Lab and spend some time with my dolphin, Singh. Gabe had mentioned that he’d teach me how to use the scuba diving gear. Apparently, I’d need to learn that if I planned on working with other animals that lived in deeper tanks.

I pulled the cart over to the freezers and thought about the previous night—how we’d stayed up and talked about the future. I’d told Gabe I wanted to go to school and study to be a marine biologist. His eyes lit up and he was very encouraging when I told him that—genuinely pleased that I’d made that decision. Now, I just had to register and I’d do that tonight. Gabe was going to talk to his parents, so if he came over to the boat, he’d be late. He wanted me to stay with him in the guest house, but being the responsible and courteous guy he was, he wanted to get their permission first.

I kind of hoped they’d say no, because then I could stay on his beautiful boat forever.

“I could live there!” I’d declared, but he’d just laughed.

“You say that now, but what about when the ocean swells hit ten feet or higher? You’ll be reeling and rolling around and it can be dangerous out there at the marina when the storms roll in. May not be the best place to be for you to live then. Now
after
you take a boating class, maybe...”

“You’re right. I could totally see myself freaking out if it got too bad. So I won’t see you tonight, right?”

“Probably. I just don’t know what time, but Ill text you when I find out. When you get to the boat, go ahead and lock the cabin when you’ve got everything stowed below. I’ve got another key I can use, but I’ll call you before I come over, if I can.”

“Okay. Thanks for this,” I’d said to him and smiled into the sunshine of the beautiful day. I felt like I’d been reborn—out of my old broken life and into this brand new, shiny relationship. We were two people who loved one another and I was excited to see where that would take us. I wasn’t hoping to get married or anything but—no, that’s not true—I’d love to marry Gabe, but I wasn’t about to tell him that yet. Didn’t want to frighten him off.

I read through the list again and walked as quickly as I could up and down the aisles. “Excuse me, coming through, pardon me.” I hated it when people stopped in the middle of the freakin’ aisle to chat with their friends. I didn’t have time to spare—I had a tennis game to get to. I’d found about half of the items and decided to make one more sweep to find the rest. I’d hate to have missed some things, especially as they were for Gabe.

As I rounded the corner to start again in the produce section, I spotted the store manager and decided to cut this thing short by getting some help. I walked towards him and said, “Excuse me, can I get some help, please? Do you know where these are?” He looked at me and I slid my glasses up over my head. It was obvious he recognized me immediately when he looked at my face, and then he turned his attention to my breasts and I rolled my eyes. I tried to attract his attention back to my face by introducing myself. “I’m Pepper Anderson and this is the first time I’ve been to your nice store. I can’t find some of these things.” He still stared at my breasts and I’d had enough.

“Hello? Sir? Up here, please?” Embarrassed at being caught, he finally brought his gaze back to my eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Of course. Let me help you find what you’re looking for. Where’s your list, Miss Anderson?”

“Why, please call me Pepper.”

“Okay. Where’s your list, Pepper.”

“It’s right here.”

“Okay, please follow me to aisle seven. You’ll find this there.” He smiled and pointed to something on the list then he stared at me as he walked down the aisle next to me. I’d slid my sunglasses back onto my face, but I felt uneasy that other people may have recognized who I was by now.

Within a few minutes, I had everything I needed for the boat and made my way to the register, checked out and went back to the car. The store manager followed me out, anxious to help load the groceries into the trunk.

“So, Pepper. I hear that sometimes celebrities get lonely. Is that true?”

“Um, no, I don’t think they do. Why?”

“Because my name is Sean…like Sean Bean, or Sean Penn, whichever you prefer. Hey, do you know either of them?” he asked nervously.

“No, I can’t say I do.”

He looked at my face, then back down to my breasts and said, “You can call me Sean. Would you like to have dinner sometime?”

The guy was young and not bad looking, but for the first time in my life, I wasn’t lying when I said, “No, I can’t. I have a boyfriend.”

“He’s one lucky guy, Pepper.” Then I climbed into my car and rolled the window down as it was a very hot day.

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m the lucky one. Bye!”

I waved and drove away. After that fiasco, I figured I’d leave all future grocery store trips to the housekeeper. I had no idea what I was doing.

When I got to the marina, I was happy to see that the waters were calm and getting the lock open was easy. I placed the groceries next to the steps then carried them downstairs, two items at a time. I needed the cardio—not that I hadn’t had good cardio last night, twice! And once I’d got everything put away, I settled down below on the couch to call Dad, but before I could push
‘Send’,
my phone rang.

“Pepper?” It was Mills and she was crying and talking at the same time.

“Hi, Mills. What is it? Do you want me to come see you?” I couldn’t help but imagine the worst.

“No! I can’t talk here. Uhm…where are you?” she sniffled and sobbed—this was serious.

“I’m on Gabe’s boat at the Destiny Harbor Marina. Slip four. You can’t miss it.”

She sobbed again. “I’m on the way. Please don’t leave—I have to show you something.”

Desperate to know what was wrong, I asked, “All I want to know is, are you okay? Should I be calling the police or something?”

“No, nobody did anything, except me. Please, let me come see you.”

Now I was worried and I said, “Come on over, girl. I’m here.”

“See you in about ten minutes.” Then Mills hung up and I stared off into space.
What was going on?

I tidied up the place then went topside to sit and look at the ocean while I waited for her car to arrive. A few minutes later she arrived, and barely got the car stopped before she grabbed a bag from the back seat, locked the door and ran towards me. “Mills! Over here! I’m here!” She spotted me, waved and ran down the pier until she got to the boat and leaned against it to catch her breath.

“Pepper! Please don’t be angry with me. I need you to be my sister right now, not my mom, okay?!”

“Okay, Mills. Just tell me what’s happened?” I gave her a look that said,
“Tell me the truth right now!”

“Promise you won’t yell and scream…or hate me?”

I gripped her shoulders to let her know I was there and I was calm and ready to listen. “How can I promise you anything if you won’t tell me what’s happened? What is it?”

“I think, I mean, I might be….”

“Yes?”

“Oh, I can’t say it. Here!” She pulled something out of the bag and it looked like a glucose stick, the kind that you use to check someone’s blood sugar, but when I got it in my hand, it was obvious what it was and the tell-tale blue indicator left no doubt. I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing.

“Whose is this, Mills? Yours?”

“Yes! Why would I bring you someone else’s pregnancy test? It says I’m pregnant.”

I laughed out loud from the ridiculousness of it all. Mills? Pregnant? She couldn’t be. She didn’t even have a….oh snap! I’d forgotten all about her and Fallon.

“It’s Fallon’s baby, isn’t it?”

“Yes, of course it is.”

My eyes widened at a thought I had. “What did Dad say when you told him?”

“I didn’t tell him. I just took the test this afternoon. I’ve been suspecting for a while, but I wasn’t sure.”

“How late are you, Mills?”

“Just three months.”

“Three months! What did you think was happening, girl?” That sounded meaner than I’d intended, but I could hardly believe she’d let this go on for three months without saying anything. That would mean that she was already pregnant at the dinner party, but by just a few weeks at most. “Never mind. What did Fallon say?”

“I haven’t told him, either,” she said honestly.

“Oh, dear.” I rubbed my forehead.

“Please, just be my sister. Don’t try to think right now, just be my sister.” How could I do anything else? I held my arms out and hugged her tight.

“Sister…always. No matter what.” I leaned back on the banquette bench and held her next to me. She’d stopped crying, but I still sensed her fear and worry about her situation. I’d be fearful and worried, too, though not over telling my parents. I’d be more afraid that I wouldn’t be a good parent but, somehow, I knew my little sister would be a perfect mother—the best mom ever, but she had college ahead of her and so much in life she wanted to achieve. I sat in silence for a long time while it sank in then I said, “Who should you tell first, besides me?”

“I think since it’s his baby, Fallon should know next.”

“Okay, where is he at today?” I tapped my finger on the table.

“Just chilling, playing video games at his house, I guess.”

“So should we take a trip over and talk to your baby’s daddy?”

She rolled her light blue eyes. “Please don’t say that. I don’t want to call him that just yet. He’ll have a choice and if he doesn’t want to be involved, that’s fine with me. I can have him sign the baby over to me completely, in that case. I don’t care.”

“I thought you two were doing so well?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.

“We are, but we’re kids, Pepper. He’s not ready to be a father.”

“And you are? A mom, I mean. That’s a big responsibility.”

“I know, and I know I have to go to the doctor and get pre-natal stuff handled. I’m scared, Pep.” She leaned her head down on my shoulder again. I wanted to help her, but what did I know about raising children? She’d have to talk to Dad—and Charlotte. They’d know what to do.

“You have to tell Dad and Charlotte. If you’re three months along or so, you’ll need vitamins and baby stuff.”

“I’ll go talk to Fallon first—alone, today. Okay?”

“Okay, and if you need me to be with you to talk to Dad and Charlotte, I will. Just let me know.”

“What about you leaving home? Is this permanent? Are you moving out?”

I shook my head. “No. I mean, I don’t think so. Well, maybe. I’m not sure. Right now, I’m just on a little vacation. You know, kind of like a late summer-spring break.” She nodded, like she understood. “I’m twenty-three now and it’s been pointed out to me recently by someone that I’m not getting any younger. It might be time to fly the nest, my dear, so I can stay out of the fight between Dad and Evangeline. Might be the only way I get some peace, now that I know I’m adopted—and, I’ve decided to go to school and get my degree in Marine Biology.”

“That’s amazing! You mean like a real college degree?”

“Yep, real one!”

She smiled wistfully, probably thinking about how tough it would be to take care of a baby and go to school. This scenario reminded me of Virginia Danielle all over again. Well, that wasn’t going to happen to this baby, not as long as Aunt Pepper was in his or her life! I didn’t want to postpone my decision to go back to school, but what else could I do? I couldn’t think of that right now—there’d be plenty of time for thinking later.

But in the meantime, I heard Mills on the phone with Fallon. “I need to talk to you…no, I don’t plan to break up with you. I just need to talk. Can I come over? I’m on the way, and Pepper is coming with me.”

She’d changed her mind, and I was glad. I silently prayed that this guy didn’t act like a dick and try to deny that he was the father. Everyone knew my sister was a virgin until she met Fallon and while she talked to him as evasively as she could, I stepped out on deck and called Gabe.