Fates' Destiny Read online

  “Dave Reece.” Her father accepted his hand with his pleasant smile.

  “You have a wonderful daughter Sir.”

  Awe. That was sweet of him.

  “Yes.” Her dad laughed. “And I’m sure she’s been driving you crazy every since she walked in the door.”

  She laughed but it was quickly extinguished by the sharp pain it produced. Her dad knew her all too well.

  “Well, she’s certainly kept me on my toes.” Adam shot her a grin and again she laughed but had to cut it short.

  “That’s an understatement.” She told her dad.

  Suddenly…

  “What did you do to my daughter?” Her mother scowled at Adam. “Tell me now!”

  Almost instantly Destiny snapped, “Mom!” At the same time her dad snapped, “Grace!”

  “What?” She asked them both. “I want to know right now what they did to you.”

  She glanced over at Adam expecting to see his face hard from the anger he held back but that’s not what she saw. He was completely blank as if he didn’t know what to say or do.

  “Adam.” She pulled his attention to her. “How about you and my dad go hang out in the kitchen and let me talk to my mother for a moment?”

  Adam nodded, relief filling his dark eyes.

  “This way Mr. Reece.” He motioned for her dad to follow.

  “Dave, please.” Her dad insisted as he crossed the floor. “Mr. Reece makes me sound old.”

  “Come on Anna.” Adam laughed as they walked out of the room, followed by Anna.

  The second they were gone Destiny snapped on her mother.

  “I can’t believe you acted like that!”

  “What?” Gracie retorted. “My daughter is in his care and now she’s laid up, clearly in pain. I want to know right now what they’ve done to you.”

  Destiny rolled her eyes at her mother’s demand. “They didn’t do anything. I did it to myself.”

  “Ok.” Gracie folded her arms over her pale pink blouse. “What did you do?”

  Once Destiny told her she gasped.

  “I can’t believe you did that! What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “It was just a baseball.” Destiny defended her stupid action once again. “I didn’t know it was going to do that much damage.”

  At that moment she heard, “You had to go to the hospital?”

  She swiveled her head to see Jason standing at the bottom of the stairs, his young face marred with horror. Before she could stop him and explain he turned and darted back up the stairs.

  “Damn it Mom.” She snapped as she tried to maneuver off the sofa and then yelled, “Adam!”

  ~ ~ ~

  “Nice place.”

  Adam glanced at Dave who sat at the bar as he pulled open the fridge.

  “Thanks. I worked hard for it.”

  “That’s nice to know.”

  Adam retrieved two beers out of the fridge and headed to the bar. He handed Dave one and twisted the cap off his own.

  “So,” Dave struck up conversation after taking a swig of his beer. “How much trouble has she given you?”

  “None.” Adam lied. “She’s the perfect employee.”

  Dave erupted with laughter. “Come on Boy. You can be honest. I know my daughter and she can be a bit of a handful.”

  “Honestly?” Adam asked and he nodded.

  “She’s got a mouth on her. And stubborn as hell.”

  “I’m sorry Mr. Fates but she gets her stubbornness honest and from both me and her mother. Double stubborn.”

  “Adam.” He insisted. No reason to be so formal.

  Dave nodded. “Well, Adam. Would you like to tell me what she did to put her down on the couch?”

  “The stupid girl.” Adam muttered as he shook his head. “She let my 13 year old son throw a baseball at her to prove to him that it wouldn’t hurt her.”

  Dave damn near fell off the stool laughing. “You’re shitting me?”

  Adam shook his head. “Sadly, no. I wanted to strangle her when I found out what she did.”

  “Well,” Dave shrugged. “is he still afraid of the ball?”

  Adam shook his head as he lifted his bottle to his lips.

  “Then she did exactly what he needed. Even though it was really, really stupid. How bad is she hurt?”

  “I took her to the hospital last night because I thought she’d broken a rib but thankfully she’s just bruised up.”

  “Well, that’s a relief. Just ignore her mother. She’s a little…”

  “Overprotective?” Adam suggested when he paused as if searching for the right words.

  “I was going to say crazy but sure, we’ll go with overprotective.”

  Both men laughed but it was cut short when Adam heard Destiny yell for him.

  He bolted for the living room, Dave not far behind. When he entered he saw her mother on her feet, helping Destiny as she desperately tried to get up.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  When she looked at him he could see nothing but pain and worry marring her pretty face.

  “Jason heard me telling my mom what happened. He ran back to his room. I need to go talk to him and tell him that I’m fine.”

  “Lay back down.” He took her forearms and helped her lower back to the couch. “I’ll go talk to Jason.”

  “No.” She tried to fight his grip. “I need to go and show him that I’m fine.”

  “Damn it Destiny.” He snapped. “Lay down. I’ll bring him to you.”

  “Ok.” She backed down with a sigh and lowered to the couch. Once he was certain she wasn’t going to try to chase after him he made his way to his son’s bedroom.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Hey. You ok?”

  He’d knocked on his son’s door and when he didn’t get an answer he pushed it open and stuck his head in. Jason sat at his computer, clicking away on his keyboard, playing a game.

  He didn’t answer and so Adam walked in and closed the door behind him.

  “Jason, look,” He started even though he wasn’t sure he had his son’s attention. “It’s ok to be afraid of things. It’s ok to worry about getting hurt.”

  Jason surprised him when he said, “I’m not afraid anymore.” Without missing a beat on his game.

  Ok, Adam was lost. “Then what’s wrong? Why did you storm back up stairs when you heard Destiny say she went to the hospital?”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt her Dad.” He paused his game and swiveled around in his chair to face him. “I didn’t and when I heard her say that she went to the hospital I…” His eyes lowered to the light blue carpet under his feet.

  “You were mad.” Adam guessed as he lowered onto the edge of his son’s bed.

  Jason nodded and lifted his head. “But not at her. I was mad at myself. I knew it was a stupid idea. I knew it but I didn’t stop it. I don’t hate her Dad.” He defended. “I don’t. I did at first but now… She’s not like the others. She listens to us. She wants to help us and not order us around. She even appreciates a good prank. None of the others has ever been like that. She’s fun.”

  “Yeah,” Adam smiled. “I like her too.”

  One of Jason’s dark brows rose. “Is she hurt badly?”

  Adam shook his head with a chuckle. “Just bruised. Doctor said she’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

  “Will you tell her I’m sorry?”

  Adam shook his head as he pushed up off the bed. “You’re going to tell her.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “I don’t like this Destiny.” Her mother paced the floor in front of the TV. “You’ve only been here four days and look at you.” She accented with a wave of a hand to her.

  Destiny rolled her eyes. “I like it here Mom.”

  Her mom stopped pacing and turned to her, her green eyes pleading. “Baby, why don’t you go back to psychiatry? This is getting a little ridiculous.”

  Oh god. Not this again. “Mom, I’ve already told you I don’t want to continue practicing psychi
atry. I’m very happy where I’m at.”

  “Happy?” Her mom snorted incredulous and started pacing again.

  Destiny looked at her father who sat at the end of the couch, the picture of relaxation with his ankle resting on his knee, for assistance with her mother.

  “Don’t look at me.” He held up his hands. “I don’t know how to help you.”

  Fine. She was on her own. “Mom, listen. I am happy. This family is wonderful. I’m completely in love with the children and Adam has been great to me.” Other than the few times he hasn’t been. “I’m learning a lot about not only them but myself as well. This experience is great and I don’t want to give it up.”

  Her mom froze again and turned to her. “But look at you!” She shrieked.

  “And it’s my own fault.” Destiny told her. “I did this to myself and I don’t regret it one bit. I helped Jason and that’s all that matters to me.”

  The sound of someone clearing their throat pulled everyone’s attention to the stairs. Both Adam and Jason stood at the bottom of the staircase, smiling at her.

  They heard what she said. Instantly she felt her cheeks heat up.

  “Jason, you ok now?”

  He nodded and crossed to her. “Thank you so much Destiny.” He wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed. “We love having you here too.” He whispered as he hugged her and she instantly felt the tears form in her eyes.

  She hugged him a little tighter than she should have. The pain that shot through her made her wince.

  “Ok Jason.” Adam told him and Jason released her.

  Then he turned to her mother.

  “Jason Fates.” He held his hand out to her.

  Her brow drew together but she accepted his hand. “Gracie Reece.” She said with uncertainty.

  “Nice to meet you Mrs. Reece.” Destiny was stunned by his politeness but not as stunned as she was when he said, “Could you please stop trying to convince Destiny to leave us? We really do like having her around.”

  Destiny almost laughed. Her dad did laugh. And Adam…

  “Jason!”

  He scowled at the boy but it wasn’t his usual scowl. This one seemed to be masking humor.

  “What?” He asked innocently. “I don’t like it so I asked her to stop. I was very polite about it.”

  “Yeah Adam.” Destiny couldn’t help herself. “He could’ve just dyed her red or something.”

  The room erupted into laughter. Even her dad laughed even though he had no idea what she was talking about. Her mother though… She didn’t find anything funny.

  “Are you all laughing at me?” She huffed and folded her arms across her chest.

  “Oh calm down Mom.” Destiny panted. “We’re just having a little fun.”

  “Well, I’m not having fun at all. Dave,” She demanded. “I think we should go.”

  “No, wait.” Adam stopped her. “I was planning to throw some steaks on the grill tonight…”

  Destiny knew exactly where this was going and shook her head vigorously to try to stop him. She failed.

  “Why don’t you guys stay for dinner?” Then he turned his full attention to her mother. “And that way we can try to convince you that Destiny belongs here.”

  “Well…” Her mother rolled the idea around in her head.

  Please say no. Please say no. Destiny silently pleaded.

  “I do like a good steak.”

  Damn it.

  “Great! Just let me get Destiny and we can all go sit on the back porch.” He made his way to her as he continued. “I have a beautiful backyard Mrs. Reece. I think you’re going to love it.”

  He slid his arms under her and once he had her safely in his arms she whispered,

  “I’m going to kill you for this one.”

  Her threat was responded with nothing but a grin and a wink.

  Chapter 23

  Adam had to admit he really enjoyed meeting Destiny’s parents. Her mother was very inquisitive about everything pertaining to his family and his job and Adam learned real fast who Destiny inherited her mouth from. Her father was the complete opposite of his wife. He cracked jokes and even congratulated Jason on his little ‘dye prank’.

  After meeting them Destiny’s personality made a lot more sense.

  Conversation was lively. Even Ali joined in. He would’ve thought Destiny was enjoying herself if she didn’t keep giving him dirty looks.

  After everyone left Adam helped Destiny to her room. She bitched the entire way about how she could walk and how she wasn’t helpless. He ignored her. He liked caring for her. More than he thought he would.

  Once she was rested in her bed she looked at him.

  “I can’t believe you would voluntarily spend time with my mother.”

  “Awe.” He lowered onto the edge of the bed next to her. “She wasn’t that bad.”

  “The hell.” Destiny snorted. “She’s a nightmare. I just want to choke her sometimes.”

  “Well don’t. I have friends in the judicial system but I don’t think I could convince them to overlook murder.” Adam teased and his effort got the response he was hoping for… A smile.

  “Thanks Adam…” Her green eyes locked his. “… For everything.”

  Her green stare held appreciation and dare he say, admiration. He found himself lost in the emerald depths and he didn’t want to be found.

  “You’re welcome Destiny.” The words were no more than a whisper because his mouth had suddenly gone dry.

  All of a sudden a vision of Liz fluttered from the recess of his mind shattering the spell he was under. He had to get out of there. He had to get away from her before he did something that he wouldn’t be able to live with.

  Without a word he rose from the bed and made his way out of the room, hoping like hell whatever he was feeling for Destiny would go away.

  ~ ~ ~

  Destiny stared at the door for a moment after he was gone thinking that was odd. He just got up and left. No goodnight or anything.

  Shrugging his strange behavior off, she snuggled into her pillows and grabbed her book.

  As she opened it to the place she’d left off her cell phone blared from the nightstand.

  She smiled when she seen Kenna smiling at her from the screen.

  “Hey girl.” She answered.

  “Hey. Are you ok? Luke told me you were viciously assaulted by a baseball and had to go to the hospital.”

  Destiny laughed. “Yes I’m fine. Just a little bruised and sore.”

  “Oh good. I’m going to stop by tomorrow and check on you.”

  “Ok.” Destiny scooted back against her pillows to sit up a little more. “So, you’ve talked to Luke today?”

  “Several times.” Kenna answered cheerfully. “He misses me.”

  That comment right there made Destiny turn serious. Luke was obviously the type of guy who enjoyed women, not one woman. She felt compelled to say something. To warn her.

  “Kenna, I know you like him but you need to understand something. Luke doesn’t strike me as the settling down type. You may want to keep that in mind while you two are dating.”

  “I know Destiny. I get the same vibe. I just like being around him. He makes me feel good.”

  “Ok.” Destiny hoped like hell she didn’t lose her heart to him. God knows Kenna’s been through enough hurt in her life. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “I know Destiny and I appreciate it. Oh,” She went silent for a second. “This is him.” She announced excitedly. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Ok Hun.”

  After Destiny laid her phone on the nightstand she turned back to her book.

  She wasn’t through the first paragraph when she felt her eyes close and not open back up.

  Chapter 24

  Sunday went by quietly. Destiny was a mixture of surprise, relief, and disappointment that Adam wasn’t there to baby her when she woke. Despite her protests she really did like his attention.

  He�
�d spent most of his day barricade in his office. When he did come out he asked her how she was and that was it. No barking orders. No conversation. Nothing. And she had to admit it kind of worried her. It was true she didn’t know him all that well but she did know that a mood swing like that was usually caused from worry or anger. The only thing that she could think of that would cause it was the issues he was having in Miami.

  The kids came around periodically. Well, all but Ali. She, too, had confined herself to her room. That really didn’t worry Destiny considering she’d only really seen the girl at meal times since she arrived.

  Kenna showed up early in the afternoon and stayed most of the day. She talked of nothing but the conversations her and Luke had been having and Destiny was happy for her. Still worried, but happy.

  Richard and Dela returned early in the evening. They were both shocked to learn of Destiny’s stupid helping method and asked her the same thing everyone else has. “What the hell were you thinking?”

  Once Dela got done lecturing Destiny about taking care of herself and not letting 13 year olds throw baseballs at her she told her all about their visit and how her daughter couldn’t wait to meet her.

  “She can’t wait to have a conversation with someone who will know what the hell she’s talking about.” She told her.

  After all the children were in bed Destiny decided to check on Adam before she turned in for the night.

  She went to his office and asked if he was ok.

  “Fine.” He replied without taking his eyes off a stack of papers in front of him.

  He was far from fine but Destiny left him alone. Something had him troubled and she really wasn’t in the mood to be on the receiving end of his temper tonight.

  Monday came and even though it was bright and beautiful outside in the Fates’ home the atmosphere was far from bright.

  “I’ll get home as soon as I can.”

  Destiny watched as Adam gently tucked a strand of Anna’s hair behind her ear in an attempt to stop the flow of tears that streamed down her face.

  “I don’t want you to go Daddy.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I know Baby.” He buried his head into her shoulder. “But I have to. I can’t leave your Uncle Luke alone for too long. There’s no telling what will happen.”