A Million Wishes

  They mostly listened to the kids as they caught up what had been going on in each other’s lives, Noah and Miki only chimed in when they were asked a question. It was apparent how much the siblings had missed one another and the close bond they all shared. Dakota questioned them about their grades and praised them on keeping on point. He even praised his brother for defending his twin and patted her on the back lovingly when he found out just how hard she fought too. There was sadness in his eyes though. It was doubtful the twins saw it, but it was obvious to Miki when he apologized to the twins for not being able to be there to protect them both. Noah and Miki exchanged a knowing look and reached to hold each other’s hand as she directed the conversation to the oldest of the siblings.

  “Dakota, if you don’t mind me prying a little bit, where are you staying once the school year ends in a few weeks? I know you can’t stay in the dorm all summer so are you rooming with a friend?”

  He fidgeted, looking uncomfortable, his big brown eyes darting back and forth between the twins then back to her.

  “No ma’am I’m not rooming with a friend. Not yet. Most of my friends are going back home to stay with parents over the summer so I’ve been trying to find a place I can afford. I only work about 20 hours a week right now at the shop and it’s been pretty slow so the boss hasn’t agreed to give me more hours yet. I’ve been looking for another part time job but nothings come up yet. I’m sure I’ll find something though.”

  “Well, I have a perfect idea Dakota. We have plenty of room and would all love to have you, so you can stay with us. In fact, I think the twins would love it if you started coming on the weekends, at least until schools out. By then we’ll be moving into the new house and we can start the summer by decorating your rooms. If you want another job we have a lot of work that still needs done and we would love to have you help if you wanted too. We’d pay you a fair wage plus you wouldn’t have to pay for rent, food or utilities so you could start saving your money.” Miki reached across the table and patted his hand.

  “I think Miki’s right. You belong with your siblings and we have more than enough room. We’d love to have you Dakota.” Noah was grinning at the shocked look on the young man’s face and the twins were full of excitement encouraging their big brother to say yes.

  “If you let me work it off I will. I don’t want to take a hand out or make it seem like I’m taking advantage of your kindness. I’m a hard worker Mr. Cane and I can do just about anything.”

  “Then it’s a deal son. Soon as school’s out we’ll move you out to the new house with us and once we get settled in you can help me finish the training course I’ve been building with my brother and my brother in laws. So what is your major anyways? I don’t think we asked that yet did we?”

  “Sounds good Sir, I sure appreciate it. I won’t lie I was starting to get real worried the closer the end of the school year it got. I’m a freshman so this year I’ve just done my basics but I’m going for a Doctorate of Physical Therapy. Since I’ve gotten some scholarships and grants, I have to keep my GPA up. Plus…I like being the best.” His grin was one of cockiness and pride. Miki found it absolutely endearing to see him so focused and proud of his career choice that it made him want to work so hard.

  “That sounds great Dakota. I’ve met some really amazing and determined physical therapists that have really changed my life since I was injured in the war. I think that’s one of the most intense and rewarding positions a person can have. How’s your grade’s so far?” Noah asked, pushing his empty plate away and taking a drink of his water.

  “All A’s this year so far. I have finals next week so I’ve been studying hard to keep my grades on point. I expect it of the twins so it’s only fair to expect it of myself.”

  “I think that calls for dessert then! How about we all get a sopapilla smothered in honey!” Miki was smiling when she motioned to the waiter and ordered them all a sweet confection.

  “Well I find it interesting that’s what you are interested in since the training course I’ve been working on is for injured soldiers trying to get back in shape and regain mobility after injuries. We’ve also built a state of the art gym with an indoor pool. Swimming helped me so much with building my strength back up. Being a Navy guy I love to be in the water.” He was grinning as the waiter brought out their desserts and tucked into it with vigor. “God I love these things.”

  Everyone laughed and followed suit, digging into the gooey sweetness.

  “I’d really like to see your gym and what you have built so far. Maybe I can get a ride out to your place this weekend and look it over. Are you going to have licensed therapists there or what?”

  “I haven’t figured out all the details yet, but the way we’re building it is more like a training camp that SEALs get tested on and has a lot of other training stations for wheelchair bound guys. I have some Navy buddies that lost more than one limb that really need the upper body work outs and to be able to push themselves so they see they can do a lot more than they think they are capable of. It would be great to have an on-site therapy center now that we’re talking about it. May have to check into that and see what it entails.”

  Miki watched the guys tossing ideas back and forth, watching the future expand before her and she couldn’t help but smile. Funny how you think your life will be on one destined path, and one incident no matter how big or small, can change the course of your life in ways you never imagined.

  Chapter 24

  Dakota Taylor

  The last few years had been the toughest of Dakota’s life. It had been the end of his junior year of high school that his parents were in a fatal car crash and sent his world reeling at the age of 17. He had to grow up fast and did everything he could to protect his younger siblings, his twin brother and sister. They depended on him to be strong as they were bounced from home to home for one reason or another. The kicker had been when he graduated from high school and “aged out” of the system. The foster parents they had at the time were quick to shove him aside when state funding to help take care of him stopped. It was so hard when he had to leave his little brother and sister, and it ripped him apart when he went to visit them the next weekend and they were gone. The foster parents said that the twins had become unmanageable when Dakota had moved out, so they had called their caseworker Meghan, and had her come get them. That summer he had been lucky enough to have a friend let him sleep on his couch until fall semester started, and he moved into the college dorm, but he had barely gotten to see his siblings. He didn’t really blame Meghan. It seemed like she tried to keep them in contact, but he knew she was busy, simply overloaded with cases like his family’s. It didn’t make it any easier though that the twins kept getting moved around. Every time he found them again something happened and they were shuttled off to a new foster family.

  By the time he found them the third time, and got a visitation to see them, his brother Dom was sullen and moody and Delilah was emotional and crying a lot. It ripped his heart out when she begged him to take them in. When he tried explaining he was living in a dorm with a roommate and that he couldn’t take them in, they withdrew from him for a time. He felt like he was failing them. Between keeping up with his studies, and working his part time job as a mechanic, he didn’t have a lot of time but he tried. Tried so hard to be there for them, encourage them and help keep them on track. He tried explaining that he was working hard to get his degree in Physical Therapy so he could take care of them. He knew in their logical minds they understood that, but it didn’t make it any easier when they missed him. Dakota just hoped they realized how much he missed them too, and that he was doing this for them. So they could be a family again. The mechanic salary he made sure wasn’t enough to support them all. Between it and his scholarship, grants, and student loans he was barely making ends meet himself. Hell, he was worried about being homeless for the summer come the end of the semester in just a couple of weeks.

  Since his parents had died he hadn’t do
ne much praying. Feeling like God failed them and fate was just an evil bitch, faith had left him. His parents wouldn’t like that. They had been very spiritual people. Dakota had tried to find his faith again, they all had really. Going to church services and trying the youth programs with the different foster families they had been with. But when time and time again they were shuffled around and unable to depend on anyone else again, faith went out the window. Now the only thing he depended on was his desire to be successful enough to take care of the twins and help them with their college education. The Taylor kids weren’t going to be a statistic. Not if Dakota had anything to say about it.

  The twins were still in counseling, going once a week to talk about their feelings and work through the loss of their parents. Dakota had been lucky enough to have a mentor in his track coach. He was more than a coach. Mr. Leonard Tankersley, fondly known by all the kids as Tank which fit him to a T since he was nearly six and a half feet tall and built like a tank, was his friend, his confidante. Tank had been raised in the system from 13 years old. He understood what Dakota was going through and the loss he felt from being forced to separate from his younger siblings. Tank had come from a family of 6 kids. His birth parents were drug users that ended up in a long stint in prison. Foster care had to split his siblings up. It had taken him nearly a decade to get them all together again, so he could empathize with Dakota’s desire to succeed and provide for the twins.

  Tank was also the one that encouraged him to let go of his anger and to stop blaming God for his parents deaths. His friend and mentor always talked to him like he was an adult, not a kid. He knew if he went to him with problems or worries he would shoot straight with him and be real. One of their most influential conversations changed Dakota’s life forever. He had been on a down slide. Complaining about this, that and the other when Tank had put his hand on his shoulder and told him to shut up and listen.

  “Bruh, shit happens, sometimes good shit, sometimes bad shit. Stop whining about it do something about it instead. You have a dream. Get it. Work for it. Nobody’s gonna get it for you. You want those twins of yours to have a better life than you and not struggle so hard? Work it out bruh. Only you can make you succeed. I can give you all the emotional support and advice in the world but one thing I guarantee you bruh, is that if you set your mind to it and go after your dream while you have this college opportunity, ain’t nothing or nobody than can hold you down except yourself. Some people are doers and some people aren’t. You are a doer. You got it in you to succeed bruh, but your negative attitude ain’t gonna get you nowhere.”

  Dakota teared up and rubbed his eyes with his fists and looked away. The truth wasn’t easy. He had been whining, feeling sorry for himself for the way his life had been since his parents died.

  “I’m not trying to be a hard ass Dakota. You know I love ya bruh, I’m proud of what you’ve done so far. You could have given up and skipped out on college but you worked hard, kept your grades tight and here you are. Now is the time to get your stride and snatch up every opportunity in your sites. Stop wasting time being mad at them for dying and leaving you with this responsibility you feel and do your damn best to make them proud. You feel me?”

  Nodding his head and wiping his eyes one last time, Dakota stood tall at his full 6’1” height and drew his shoulders back. “I got you Tank. Thanks man. I needed to hear that.”

  From then on Dakota never looked back. He set his goals and focused on them fiercely. He was determined not to fail. He refused to be a statistic and damned if his little brother and sister would be either.

  Every time he spoke to the twins or saw them he talked to them about their grades. He encouraged them to seek out what they wanted to be and to set goals for themselves. He tried his best to lead by example. While other classmates and even his roommate went out and partied on the weekends or took girls out on dates, Dakota was either steadying or working out if he wasn’t able to see the twins. On occasion he would give in to pressure from friends and go out, but it wasn’t often at all. He had too much he wanted to accomplish to waste his time or hard earned money on unnecessary things.

  So today when Dominique called him and told him about their new foster parents, and invited him to dinner, he had not only been shocked he’d been excited…thankful even. After meeting Noah and Mikayla and being offered a place to stay and work for the summer, he felt even more thankful. No one really knew just how scared he had been that he was going to end up homeless. No one knew just how lonely he was either. He always had a brave face and devil may care attitude, but inside he still yearned for the family life he had grown up with. You never realize just how much you take for granted until that’s taken away from you. He hoped and even prayed that his siblings found a real family now. They deserved it. They needed adults they could depend on and not have to worry all the time that they were going to get handed off to someone else again, especially Dominique. He needed stability, someone to calm his fears and insecurities. Delilah needed someone who could encourage her to overcome her shyness and sadness. She had always been such a bright and joyful kid. Always smiling and laughing. Lately it seemed she had lost her smile so seeing her laughing with the Cane’s and being excited had nearly brought him to tears.

  The fact they embraced him, tried to make him comfortable with them too, and that he was welcome to visit the twins was the icing on the cake. Lying in his dorm room with the music on low he was honestly counting his blessings. He knew it had only been one day, but he just had a feeling about the Cane’s. They seemed so nice and happy. The little bit of background he learned about them he was impressed. The fact that Mikayla was a bestselling author and Noah being a Navy SEAL was impressive, but it was even more impressive that he was overcoming his injury the way he seemed to be. It was inspiring to see that a man lost his career because of losing half his leg obviously wasn’t letting it hold him back any, not one bit. He was strong enough and had a big enough heart that he was using his new found wealth and his personal experience to help encourage others to be the best they could be.

  He couldn’t ask for better role models for the twins to finish growing up with. There was one thing that bothered him though. Something he wouldn’t tell anyone else. It made him feel like the twins wouldn’t need him anymore since the Canes could give them everything, literally. How would he fit in?

  Restlessness kept him tossing and turning throughout the night. Fear of losing his siblings to this great family made him angry and made him feel silly at the same time. Honestly he was so happy they had finally been placed in a safe and happy home. Maybe he was a little jealous. Maybe it was just that he was afraid they wouldn’t want him around anymore. Most likely it was the fact the Cane’s wanted to adopt Dominique and Delilah and that would make him feel like the odd man out.

  He flipped over in his bed one last time and punched his pillow, giving up on sleep and getting out of bed and tossing on his track gear. It was barely 4 am but he needed to do what always helped him clear his mind. Run. Leaving the dorm, hopping the steps two at a time and venturing over to the lawn, he started his stretches. Shame washed over him for his jealously. He felt childish for it. Maybe Tank would have time to talk it out today. He always had a way of putting things in perspective so that he could give him a verbal and mental kick in the ass and get his mind right. But for now, he needed the road beneath his size 12 running shoes. The sound of rubber soles slapping down on the pavement had a way of soothing him like nothing else.

  Chapter 25

  Friday morning was clear and warm already. Noah had left to take the kids to school and turn in the paperwork on the change of foster care. Miki planned on writing up a grocery list and making calls to their families and her best friend Gina to plan a get together on Sunday. As they had laid in bed the night before after finally getting the twins settled down from all the excitement of seeing their brother, they decided to have a picnic with whatever family could come, and introduce them to the kids, all three of
them. While they talked they were in agreement it was a package deal. Just because Dakota was graduated from high school didn’t mean he didn’t need family as much as the twins. The tight bond between them all deserved to be kept together no matter any of their ages.

  There wouldn’t be any pressure from them but there would definitely be love, support and encouragement. She was already planning to arrange a time with him that she could take him shopping for summer clothes too. She had noticed how worn his jeans and sneakers were although he was neat and clean in appearance it was clear he, just as the twins, needed some new things. Once school was out today they’d be picking up all three kids and heading to the furniture store to pick out bedroom suites for the new house. Everything in Momma’s house was getting donated to charity. After that, they would probably go get dinner then bring them home and give them a tour of the almost finished new house. Just a few minor things needed to be done, and the final inspections, before they could move in. School would be out in two weeks so Miki was hoping it would be complete. Saturday there would be some work going on around the property, but she figured the kids would be happy to chip in and help out.