Destiny Undone: The Complete Series Box Set

by Heartley, Amanda

  My heart stung and I wondered what it would take to get back to normal again with Pepper.

  Probably a lot more than a round of interviews and a nice benefits package…

  Chapter Ten — Pepper

  After I left Sea Lab, I had no idea where to go. It didn’t feel right going back to Gabe’s, and I hadn’t been back on board the boat since the night of the accident. Mills was at a doctor’s appointment with Fallon, getting another scan and more pictures of their growing baby. Aven was away visiting her boyfriend and his son for the rest of the week. Doug and Charlotte were on yet another vacation and Evangeline… we hadn’t spoken since her suicide attempt. I’d sent her a long letter, apologizing for my harsh words and asking her for a fresh start—but apparently, her publicist hadn’t found the time to write me back.

  I was all alone.

  I drove around aimlessly for a while, admiring the beach while my mind wandered. How was I going to fix things with Gabe? Was it even possible?

  In some ways, I still wasn’t even sure what all the fuss was about. All I’d been doing was trying to help. Couldn’t he see that?

  I’d mentally written—and rewritten—half a dozen apology speeches in my head before I was interrupted by the Bluetooth chirping through the car speakers to let me know I had an incoming call. It was the bakery and I pinched my eyes closed for a moment. I’d forgotten all about the appointment.

  “Hello, this is Pepper,” I said as cheerfully as I could.

  “Pepper, darling! It’s Kenneth over at Charming Cakes. I was calling to let you know we have a bit of a cake emergency. I’m sorry, sweetie but I can’t make it to the shop for your appointment today. I wanted to see if you’d be willing to meet with my assistant, Chelsey, instead. Otherwise, I can package the samples for you to try at home or we can re-schedule.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if the wedding was even still a thing. Gabe had been so furious with me back at his office and I didn’t know if we’d recover—but, I also didn’t want to cancel anything and end up with it being splashed all over the tabloids prematurely. I was about to inquire about the next available dates, when I had an idea.

  “You said I could take the samples to go?” Kenneth and I arranged the details, and then I ended the call and flipped an abrupt u-turn in the nearest driveway and headed towards his shop.

  Half an hour later and with two pink boxes balanced on one arm and a bottle of champagne gripped between my knuckles of the other hand, I knocked on Gabe’s front door. I heard some shuffling behind it and the latch turning, then it popped open to reveal Gabe standing there, in athletic shorts and a bare chest. He looked exhausted.

  “Pepper!”

  “Hi.”

  He took the champagne from my hand and ushered me inside. He looked nervously around. Neither of us apparently sure what to say until I broke the silence.

  “Do you mind if I put these down? They’re getting kinda heavy.”

  “Oh, yeah… sorry. Sure thing. Let’s go through to the kitchen.”

  I followed him through to the kitchen and settled the boxes of cake samples on the counter.

  “What’s all this?” Gabe asked.

  I spun around and braced myself against the counter. I looked down with my eyes stuck to the tops of my shoes for a moment before I looked up and met Gabe’s stormy eyes. He looked just as confused and uncomfortable as I felt.

  “Well, I thought we could practice our toast and cake cutting,” I explained with a tentative smile and I peeled back the lid on one of the boxes to reveal dozens of little cake pops. Each one was coated in a glossy frosting with delicate designs piped on top and my heart jolted to a frantic pace when Gabe returned my smile.

  “Aha. So, there will still be a wedding, then?”

  “I really, really hope so.”

  Gabe took my hands and ran his thumbs over my knuckles, paying special attention to my ring finger where my engagement ring glittered away in the soft pendant lighting over the kitchen island.

  “I’m so sorry, Pepper. I shouldn’t have yelled at you in my office. I understand you were only trying to help—

  “I really was, I swear!”

  “Shh, I know, I know,” Gabe said. He pulled me against his chest and I let my fingertips slide over his smooth, firm skin. God, I’d missed him. And to think, it had been less than twelve hours since I’d seen him.

  “I love you,” I whispered.

  “I love you, too, Dolphin Girl. I don’t want to do any of this without you, but, you need to let me lead sometimes. I know you’re fiery and passionate, and the kind of woman who will do anything for the people you love. It’s one of the first things I fell in love with.”

  I looked up at him and felt my eyes starting to mist over. He always had the sweetest way of putting things. I could only imagine what his wedding vows were going to be. I’d probably need an entire box of tissues to make it through.

  “Things at Sea Lab are going to be all right. In fact, there’s a new job opening I was hoping to discuss with you,” he said.

  I smiled, knowing instantly he was talking about Bobbie Jo’s position. “I have been missing Singh.”

  Gabe returned my smile and leaned down to me, our lips melding easily together in a searing kiss that once again bonded us together with tingles and sparks, but also a deep love that would get us through whatever life would put in our path. When we finally broke apart, we dug into the tiny cakes, and cracked open the champagne. We talked until dawn and it was a night that I’d remember for the rest of my life, filled with laughter, some tears, and a lot of big dreams for our happily ever after.

  And that was sure to be full of even more lovemaking and laughter on the ocean waters of the Gulf.

  It was going to be glorious.

  Amanda Heartley

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  © 2015 Amanda Heartley

  Published by Heartley Publishing

  Chapter One — Gabe

  The sky obliterated the sun and left me clueless as to which direction I should swim. I struggled to keep my head above the cold and choppy waters and gasped and sucked at the air before the next wave crashed over me.

  My arms were tiring and felt like they were made of lead. I feared that each stroke might be my last, but I had to keep moving. I couldn’t see any sign of the boat but oddly, instead of feeling panic at my predicament, a strange sense of calm washed over me when I realized this is how it would all end.

  I was like a cork in the ocean, an insignificant speck bobbing in the vastness that surrounded me. Soon I would sink for the last time and there would be no trace that I was ever here. I’d just be… gone.

  The panic did come, however, when I felt something brush my feet. I kicked harder, hoping the effort would scare off whatever was lurking in the waters. Instead, my ankles were gripped by something with a strength greater than my own, and I was pulled down under the surface.

  I was freefalling through the depths, and the water grew darker and colder as I descended. I knew the air in my lungs would be the last I’d ever breathe. I looked to see what was dragging me downward. I wanted to see the face of the entity that had conquered me.

  Through the murky water, I could make out long strands of hair, like seaweed forming an aura around her face. Her lower torso was sheathed in a smooth, dark fin. Her claws dug into my ankles, sinking into my flesh as she dragged me still deeper, past the point of return.

  She released my legs and swam up toward my head, embracing me. It was Pepper! She smiled as she wrapped her arms around me and leaned in for a kiss. Her lips fastened onto mine and she inhaled, sucking the very life out of me!

  I bolted upright, gasping for air and clawing the sheet away from my body.
<
br />   “Gabe, what is it?”

  I stared at Pepper, lying beside me, huffing and puffing as I tried to shake myself loose from the nightmare. As I came out of it, my initial shock at the sight of seeing her slowly dissipated. When she slid her arms around me, my body welcomed her warm touch.

  “You had that dream again, didn’t you?”

  I nodded, catching my breath. “Wow. That was pretty vivid.”

  “You poor thing,” she murmured, drawing me down to her, comforting me as she would a child. “That’s so unfair. It’s bad enough you had to go through the real thing—rescuing me, I mean—but to have to relive it night after night….”

  “It’s okay,” I said, gently prying myself from her arms. “Eventually, it’ll fade, I’m sure.” She looked up at me, not understanding why I’d pulled away. “I’m soaked,” I said, looking down at the beads of perspiration on my chest and stomach. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand. It was 4:30. I leaned down to kiss her cheek. “I’m going to shower and go in early. You go back to sleep. I’ll be quiet.”

  Pepper pulled the covers away. “Nonsense. If you’re starting your day early, so am I. That way you can be as loud as you like. Sing in the shower, if you want! But let me pee first.”

  Sometimes Pepper would sleep in panties and a t-shirt, but last night we fell asleep in each other’s arms after we’d made love. The sex was good—very good—and when our passion was extinguished, we’d fused together into a single, satisfied being.

  As she walked to the bathroom, my eyes took in her back, her beautiful butt and her long, smooth legs. Her body never failed to excite me, no matter how early in the day. I’d only been conscious for two minutes, and already I felt a jolt in my cock just looking at her.

  God, I loved her! But what was up with the nightmares? I didn’t put a lot of stock into interpreting dreams the way some people do, but the dreams were definitely trying to get my attention, and their message was pretty obvious.

  The toilet flushed and after some splashing sounds in the sink, Pepper emerged, smiling, and I fell in love with her all over again. Her face radiated such beauty and goodness—it constantly caught me by surprise.

  It was real love, I guessed.

  “All yours, sweetie,” she chirped. “I’ll get the coffee going, unless you’d like a blowjob first.”

  She’d said it so matter-of-factly that I almost didn’t catch it. It was like, ‘Would you like me to lay out your gray tie, or the black one?’ I froze in the bathroom door and turned.

  “Seriously? You’d do that?”

  “Try me,” she replied with a cheeky grin. “Call my bluff, darling, if you dare.”

  “That’s good to know,” I winked. “Rain check?” Hot as Pepper was, I still felt a little rattled from my dream.

  “Tired of me already, eh?” she taunted as I ran the shower water. “Look at me—twenty-three and I’m over the hill. Couple of years and you’ll be trading me in for a new one, mark my words.”

  I cocked my head in the doorway and gave her one last look before entering the shower. “Nah. You’ve still got plenty of miles left on ya!” I teased and ducked into the shower in case she decided to throw something at me.

  “You’re so sweet to me,” she sang in a goofy, fawning tone, and I heard her whistling as I washed. She could take as well as she could give, in banter as well as in the boudoir. I loved Pepper and I loved having her around. But my dreams… they were totally taking over my sleep. They started soon after our engagement. Sure, I’d had a lot of back-and-forth, some soul searching about whether I was ready to take the plunge, but there was never a doubt about Pepper herself. I was certain that no other woman could hold a candle to her, as they say, not for me anyway. But perhaps my enthusiasm to prove my commitment to her so she didn’t slip through my fingers had been too… zealous?

  Did I feel she was drowning me… suffocating me? Was the dream telling me that I was getting in too deep… over my head… out of my depth?

  “Gabe!”

  Pepper’s voice snapped me out of my musings.

  “Mills is at the hospital! Her water broke last night and she’s in delivery! I’m taking the Escalade! Meet me there when you get dressed!”

  “Where?” I shouted, rinsing the soap from my ears.

  “Cedar!” she shouted back before slamming the door behind her.

  I found myself nodding. “Sure,” I muttered. “I’ll be there as soon as I’m done. And dressed. And had a cup of coffee.” After all, no one, not even the baby, would want to see me before I’d had a cup of coffee. What a rude welcoming that would be!

  With the Audi in for repairs again, I’d borrowed the work vehicle—a 2000 Ford pickup. It was ragged, but right, and my folks didn’t mind me bringing it home as long as I kept it hidden in the garage. I chuckled to myself, God forbid the neighbors to think that anyone actually worked for a living around these parts.

  The air was a little chilly as I walked from visitor parking to the main entrance. Fall had arrived in Florida and I wished I’d brought a jacket, but knowing the weather here—it’d be in the 90s by noon.

  I found Pepper and Fallon in the Labor and Delivery waiting area. Pepper squeezed my hand as I shook Fallon’s. The four of us had socialized several times, mostly for dinners.

  “Hey, kid,” I said. “How are you holding up?”

  He looked away as we shook hands. “Okay,” he stammered. “Didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “Get used to it, buddy,” I grinned. “Say, shouldn’t you be in there with Mills?” Pepper squeezed my hand again. Hard.

  “Uh… it’s optional,” he mumbled, looking down at his smart phone. It looked like I’d interrupted his game.

  “So you opted out,” I said, finishing the thought for him. “Don’t blame you. Messy stuff. Best to maintain the mystery,” I counseled in a confidential tone.

  “Well, I’d like you in with me when my time comes,” Pepper protested.

  “Yeah, baby, we’ll have to talk about that,” I teased, watching as Fallon sat down to immerse himself in his virtual world. I liked the guy, but something about him made me want to rattle his cage to engage him. Then I remembered that he’d been studying to get his pilot’s license. Who knows? Maybe he’d just be content to space out in the flight simulator.

  “So,” I persisted, “how’s the flight training going?”

  “Um, okay. I’ve had to… you know, back off… because of the baby.”

  “Damn, that sucks,” I said with a straight face. “Well, probably for the best. You can probably kiss that dream goodbye.”

  “Gabe!” Pepper screeched.

  Now I had Fallon’s attention. He looked up at me like the proverbial deer in the headlights.

  “Yeah, too dangerous. You’re a family man now, Fallon. A father. The breadwinner. Can’t have you flying around, carefree in the clouds, right? Got to keep your feet on the ground. Unless you were going to be a commercial pilot! That’s different. That’s practical. Stressful, though. Do you handle stress pretty well?”

  “What’s gotten into you, Gabe?” Pepper scolded. “Leave him alone.”

  Fallon’s mouth hung open, but no words came out. I think he was suffering from information overload, or maybe he was just shocked by getting a glimpse of reality. At any rate, he looked relieved when the nurse finally appeared in the doorway.

  “Fallon?” she smiled. “Congratulations. You are the father of a healthy baby boy!”

  I patted him on the back and Pepper hugged him vigorously.

  “Do I have to sign something?” he asked the nurse.

  “Actually, your presence has been requested. Follow me and I’ll take you to them.” She turned to us. “And I’ll come back for you two in just a little bit, okay?”

  We both stared as she left. Out of the blue, I sighed, “Kids having kids.”

  Pepper nudged me in ribs. “I can’t believe the way you were dogging him!”

  “Sorry, baby, but I’ve never b
een very good at small talk. Part of it was an attempt to get his attention.” And part of it was me acting out and rebelling against my becoming domesticated. It was the wild animal inside snarling at the prospect of being tamed.

  “Well, we’ll see how you do when your time comes, mister,” she said. Her voice was stern, but I could tell she wasn’t really mad. “Everybody reacts differently to stressful situations.”

  “Just like war,” I offered. “You don’t know who’s going to be a hero and who’s going to cut and run.”

  “Can you please be less gloomy when we go in Mills’ room?” Pepper pleaded. “I don’t want the baby’s first moments of life to be filled with negativity.”

  A man’s voice interrupted. “Speaking of negativity, I hope I’m not interrupting your domestic disturbance.”

  It was Jonathan Church, clutching a bouquet of flowers and a blue teddy bear.

  “Church! Look at you, all thoughtful and shit,” Pepper beamed. I didn’t like it when she beamed at Church, and I liked it even less when she leaned in to accept his kiss on her cheek, but it was one of those social events where a weasel like Church gets a free pass. He was, after all, a friend of the family, among other things.

  “How’s kid sister doing, Pep?” he asked, totally ignoring me.

  “The nurse said the baby’s healthy and I assume Mills is too. We’re waiting for the okay to visit her room.”

  “How’s Fallon doing?” he smiled. “Did he pass out when they cut the cord?”

  “Of course not,” Pepper replied, without offering any additional details.

  “Alrighty, folks, we’re ready for you.” The smiling nurse said as she led us to Mills’ room. I had a little trouble keeping up. The walk uphill from the parking lot had made the scar tissue on my leg throb. The cooler weather may have had something to do with it, as well. The Doc had told me that sometimes injuries develop a sensitivity to changes in the weather.