Date with Destiny Collection: Angel Romance Series: Books 1 - 4

by Rachel Taylor

  “It’s just, I went to all that trouble to help him, and he’s throwing it all away! And he won’t even answer when I call him! What do I have to do to please him?!”

  “It’s not about you, Rissey; he’s just mad at the whole world.”

  “So now he’s ruining his own life because of it? It’s just so stupid! I don’t know why I care, anyway. Jake Henley is not my problem.” Risse shoved herself off the chair and dumped some candy on Dominion’s bed as she turned to leave.

  “Why do you think he ended up at Sunnybrook, Risse?”

  Risse turned her head back his way. “Rebecca told me his father wanted him to meet her.”

  Dominion shrugged, but his eyes twinkled. “Maybe. But you don’t find it the least bit coincidental that a boy with a cold, hard heart got stuck working with a girl with a supernatural gift of kindness?”

  “You’re saying you think God put us together so I could help him?”

  “Seems pretty obvious to me.”

  “But I’ve tried, Dominion! What more can I do?” Risse threw her hands in the air, her frustration coloring her cheeks bright red.

  “You’ve tried everything in your natural ability, but sometimes it takes a miracle to overcome a lifetime of heartache.” His words were serious, but it was hard to take them that way since his mouth was twisting his face into funny expressions as he gnawed on the chewy candy.

  “Dominion! How can you suggest I do a miracle for a guy like Jake Henley? You know what that means! I’ll fall in love with him!”

  “Aren’t you already?”

  Charisse opened her mouth to deny it, but the words got stuck halfway. Was she already in love with Jake Henley? Sure, they’d become friends, especially since they had so much in common. And she’d realized he wasn’t as terrible as he made himself out to be. He just pretended to be heartless so no one would see how much he was hurting. The way he’d learned to care for the patients made it obvious he was capable of gentleness and compassion. And she was pretty sure he had a thing for her, the way he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. So why was he avoiding her now?

  “You know, back in my day, we didn’t have cell phones. If we wanted to talk to somebody, we actually had to go find them.” Dominion hinted, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Risse jiggled her keys and yanked on the hem of her skirt as she waited for someone to answer the door at the Henley mansion. There was no sign of life, but she was still hoping that Jake was holed up inside. A plump, middle-aged Hispanic woman opened the door, her face lighting up with a big smile at the sight of a visitor.

  “Hi, you must be Maria. I’m Risse, Jake’s friend.” Risse held out a hand and Maria shook it. “Is he… home?”

  “Si, señorita! Let me show you to his room. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” Risse muttered under her breath, but still she followed the housekeeper up the grand staircase.

  “Señor Jacob, you have a visitor!” Maria rapped on his door with her knuckles.

  “Tell ‘em I’m not home, Maria.” The sadness in his voice squeezed painfully at Risse’s heart.

  “Too late! She already heard you.” Maria chuckled.

  “Besides, I think you’ll want to see this one; she’s very pretty!” Her words came out sounding like a song.

  The door swung open, and Jake stood there, looking just as bad as he felt. His clothes and hair were rumpled, and he smelled sour, like sweat and alcohol. “Risse?”

  His eyes wandered up and down her body, amazed that she was standing in his doorway. Her beauty lit up the hall like the sunrise, blinding him with a sudden flash of brightness, burning away the darkness inside him. “What are you doing here?”

  “You wouldn’t answer my calls. I was worried about you.” Her anger had quickly dissolved into compassion at the sight of him.

  “Your calls?” Jake felt his pockets for his phone then looked around the room in confusion. He lifted his rumpled dress pants off the floor and shook them then discarded them again and reached for his leather jacket. He found his phone buried in an inner pocket.

  “Battery’s dead,” he said, when the screen wouldn’t light. He plugged the phone into the charger.

  “I thought you were mad at me,” Risse said, dropping her head.

  “No, Risse! Why would I be mad at you?” He lifted her chin with his finger so he could see her Caribbean blue eyes.

  “I’m mad at a lot of things, but never you. You’re the only good thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  Risse’s eyes emulated the sea as they filled with moisture. “Why didn’t you show up at Sunnybrook today, Jake?”

  He dropped his hand from her face and shook his head in disgust. “How could I ever go back there, knowing she’s there?”

  “She’s your mother, Jake. Don’t you want to get to know her?”

  “She abandoned me, not the other way around! She had my whole life to get to know me, but she never tried. I was there in her room, hand-feeding her, for God’s sake, and she never once told me who she was!” Jake’s voice crackled with pain and anger, and he squeezed his hands into fists as he shook them.

  Risse placed a small hand on his arm and slid it down till he dropped his fist. “Jake, she didn’t know it was you. You never told her your name was James Henley, she only knew you as Jake.”

  “Shouldn’t a mother be able to recognize her own son? But she didn’t because she hasn’t seen me for 17 years. That was her choice; she never wanted me!”

  “You don’t know that, Jake! She’s obviously got her own problems to deal with. Maybe she thought you were better off without her. Can’t you at least give her a chance to explain?”

  “No way! I never want to see her face again. I wish that blow to the head had killed her.” His face contorted with out-of-control malice, and in that moment, Risse knew she had to make a choice.

  Jake Henley was broken beyond repair, and only a miracle could heal him. Was she willing to give him what he needed when it meant giving her own heart away?

  She stared at him, her eyes soft with pity and compassion, begging him to feel the same, but his face was still twisted with burning anger. What if she gave him the miracle he needed and it wasn’t enough to save him? Could she spend the rest of her life loving a man so full of hate?

  A Bible verse ran through her mind — “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” She was no ordinary girl with a crush on a boy that may or may not be right for her; she was a Celestia Divisa — created to help others, and gifted with the power to do so.

  She knew it was no coincidence that Jake Henley had walked into Sunnybrook Retirement Community, a hard-hearted boy in desperate need of a miracle. God had sent him to her for this reason, and now it was up to her to fulfill it. She couldn’t worry about what would happen afterwards, she had to trust Him to work it out.

  With a small sigh, Risse raised her hands to Jake’s chest and let the power flow out of her as she stared into his eyes. Slowly, the fire inside them began to change from a white hot pyre of rage to a golden flame of compassion.

  “Risse? What are you doing to me?” He choked out the words breathlessly.

  “I’m saving you.”

  Chapter 16

  When Risse felt the last ounce of power dissipate from her fingers, her legs gave out from under her body and she collapsed, almost hitting the ground before Jake’s arms surrounded her.

  “Risse, are you okay?” His voice was so soft with concern that Risse’s heart melted at the sound of it. He slowly lifted her up then guided her to his bed, carefully laying her down again.

  “I’m okay, just a little dizzy.” She didn’t mention the way her heart throbbed inside her, beating out the rhythm of her desire, or the way her skin tingled everywhere his fingers touched. A fine sheen of sweat moistened her brow as he leaned in closer, and she desperately hoped he would kiss her. Instead, he softly traced the curve of her face with
his hand, an action that somehow felt even more exhilarating. Slowly, he lowered his face to hers and grazed his lips against hers.

  The tiny pressure sent her heart rate soaring as her blood rushed to her lips, and her hands reached out to embrace him. He moaned as their bodies converged, every inch touching.

  “I love you, Risse.” His voice was tender and vulnerable, and he pulled away just far enough to look into her eyes as he said it.

  “I love you, too, Ja…” Before the words could fully escape, his lips crushed hers once again, and they tumbled to the bed, kissing and touching, till their breath came in needy gasps.

  Coming to her senses, Risse gently pushed him away, pausing to catch her breath. She smiled as she smoothed her messy hair with her hands and wiped the moisture from her swollen lips. Jake’s were just as plump and red from their kisses.

  “I probably need a shower.” Jake smirked as he ran a hand through his frazzled hair and took a whiff of his underarm.

  “Will you stay?” His eyes pleaded with her.

  Risse nodded, grinning.

  Jake grabbed some clothes and headed for the bathroom, turning once more to glance at her. “I’ll just be a minute, okay? Don’t leave.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she assured him. He had no idea how much she meant it.

  Risse busied herself exploring Jake’s domain, caressing the items she could tell were important to him — several guitars, some football trophies, a collection of paperbacks. She raised his leather jacket to her nose and sniffed, breathing in the intoxicating fragrance of his cologne and the indescribable smell that was all Jake. She fingered the clothes in his closet, smiling at the labels. He obviously cared a lot about fashion. He probably had more shoes than she did.

  His laptop was open on his desk, and she swiped the touchpad, bringing it to life. She chuckled when she saw the tabs he had open — her blog, her Facebook page, her Twitter account, her Instagram. He had obviously been cyberstalking her, and she thought it was adorable.

  She pressed the home button on his phone and was surprised to see her own face staring back at her. It was a candid shot, one he must have taken when they were together at the nursing home. Her face was radiant with happiness, and she wondered what she had been doing at that moment. She didn’t remember him ever taking her picture.

  Just then, Jake came out of the bathroom, happy and smiling. His hair was wet and slicked back, and moisture made his tee shirt cling to his chest enticingly. He smelled fresh and masculine, like spring water and pine forests, and Risse wrapped her arms around him and buried her nose in his chest.

  “You smell amazing.” She sighed, and Jake grinned, glad he had gone for that extra spray of cologne. There was something incredibly sexy about a woman inhaling his essence, especially when it seemed to bring her so much pleasure. He buried his own nose in her hair, catching a whiff of her feminine fragrance.

  His skin blazed everywhere she touched, and he wrapped his own arms around her, wondering if she felt a similar heat. She lifted her face to his and kissed him gently, sliding her hands over his chest and up the sides of his neck, tangling her fingers in his damp locks.

  “Risse, I think you’re right; I think I should give my mother a chance to tell her side of things,” Jake said, a feeling of empathy suddenly overwhelming him.

  A small smile softened her face, and she nodded. “Do you want me to go with you?”

  Jake ran his hands down her arms, tangling their fingers. He dropped his gaze to stare at them intertwined, amazed that somehow he’d managed to find someone who knew the real Jake and still wanted to be with him, especially someone as incredible as Risse Arella.

  “Everywhere,” he whispered, and Risse touched his cheek as she nodded.

  Chapter 17

  They left Risse’s car at Jake’s house and made the trip to Sunnybrook together. It was getting late, but Risse didn’t want to discourage Jake now that he’d made up his mind to talk to Rebecca. He took Risse’s hand as he helped her from the car and never let go of it. They walked hand in hand down the halls of Sunnybrook, garnering a few winks and catcalls from the residents.

  When they reached Rebecca’s room, Risse turned to Jake, a question in her sympathetic eyes. Jake kept hold of her hand as he entered, silently answering it.

  Rebecca lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, but she turned her head at the sound of footsteps and quickly tried to raise herself when she saw it was Jake. He moved to help her sit up, his touch gentle.

  Sighing, Jake pulled a chair up to the side of her bed and sat down. Risse hovered in the background, wanting to support him but not wanting to interfere in such an important moment.

  “I came to hear your side of the story,” he said. No promises, no expectations.

  “Thank you, Jake.” Rebecca reached to touch the hand resting on his lap. She wanted to hold it, squeeze it, but instead she merely brushed her own against it before pulling back.

  She took a deep breath, steadying herself to tell her story. Her atrophied muscles made it difficult to speak clearly, but she forced out the words carefully, grateful he was willing to hear them.

  “I was very young when I married your father. I dropped out of college to be with him.” Rebecca’s eyes glazed over as she stared into the past, her eyes focused on a world beyond the beige walls around her.

  “He was so charming, so full of drive and passion. He started his business in our house, taking advantage of the connections he’d made in school. It quickly consumed him.”

  Jake nodded in understanding. His father was still obsessed with it.

  “I got pregnant right away. What else was there for me to do but raise children? I was so happy when you came…” Rebecca turned back to Jake and smiled, for once her lifeless face illuminated with happiness.

  “Then my symptoms started — clumsiness, weakness, slurring. Your father accused me of being drunk; I insisted I wasn’t. Sure, I drank a little. A cocktail when I went out to lunch, a glass of wine in the evening. I went with him to a business dinner one evening, and my behavior embarrassed him. He had his assistant, David, drive me home. He was so compassionate, so caring. The complete opposite of your father. When James got home, he lambasted me for humiliating him.”

  Jake knew exactly what she was talking about. He’d been on the receiving end of his father’s rants more times than he could count. James Henley had no sympathy for anyone.

  “David started checking up on me, encouraging me to see a doctor. He even took me to my appointments because he didn’t think I should be driving. He cared more about me than my own husband. One thing led to another…” She let their imaginations fill in the details.

  “When your father found out, he was furious. I think it hurt his pride more than anything. Our relationship had already disintegrated. But he couldn’t stand the thought of me with another man, especially his own employee, someone who was supposed to be on his team. He filed for divorce and full custody, hiring lawyers to prove I was an unfit mother — drunk and unstable.” Her face twisted into a vengeful grimace as she remembered.

  “He left me with nothing, and he took my baby. I was getting sicker, and I didn’t have the strength or the resources to fight him. I went back to my parents for a while and tried to focus on getting better, but the doctors finally diagnosed me with ALS and told me I would be lucky to live 10 more years. I gave up after that — gave up on getting you back, gave up on getting better. I just existed.”

  Jake’s heart began to clench with sympathy for this woman he had resented for so many years.

  “I needed full-time care, so my parents put me in a nursing home and spent every dollar they made to pay for it.” Tears dripped from her eyes and she bent her head, letting them fall to her lap.

  “After a few years, they were about to bring me back home because they couldn’t afford it anymore, but the director told me there was a charity that could help people like me. Eventually, I was able to move to a much nicer place, Sunn
ybrook, and I’ve been here ever since, waiting to die. It just hasn’t happened yet!” She barked out a strangled laugh.

  “God kept you here so you could meet Jake and get to know each other,” Risse said confidently, moving from her spot against the wall, coming closer. She wrapped one arm around Jake’s shoulder and took Rebecca’s hand with the other.

  “I spent my whole life thinking you didn’t want me,” Jake mumbled, not making eye contact.

  “I’m so sorry, Jake. I wish things would’ve been different. I don’t know that your childhood would’ve been any better with me in it, but I wish I could’ve been there for you. I thought about you all the time. I’m so glad you came back to see me.”

  “Me too.” Jake’s voice was rough with unshed tears.

  “Can I… hug you?” Rebecca asked, her face hopeful.

  Jake nodded and leaned across the bed, taking his mother in his arms, her frail body collapsing against him. She began to shake, and Jake squeezed her tighter.

  “I’m so proud of you.” She beamed as she pulled away to look him in the face.

  Jake snorted. “You don’t know me very well, or you wouldn’t be.”

  “I know you were kind to me when I was just another grouchy resident. I know you managed to win a girl like Risse. I know you’re here, willing to listen. That’s enough to convince me.”

  Jake dropped his head to hide his smile. Only one other time in his life had a few simple words meant so much to him — earlier that day when Risse said she loved him.

  “Don’t be too upset with your dad, Jake,” Rebecca warned. “Turns out he’s not a complete bad guy. That charity that pays for my care? That’s all from him.”

  Jake contemplated that, unsure how to feel about it. On one hand, his father had been cruel and heartless to his mother, and to Jake, keeping her from him. But maybe he thought he was doing the right thing, saving Jake the heartache. He decided to save any judgements about his father for another day. Today had already been pretty monumental.