Destiny Calls (31 page)

Every night Cain’s last thought that night, like every night, was of Destiny. He wondered about her often. Worried if she was doing well. Contemplated if she had taken a trip to Portugal lately and hoped if she had, the trip had been safe.

Every once in a while he thought about her dating other men. He hoped whoever she was spending time with was treating her nicely and not taking advantage of her submissive nature. When he thought about her dating others, Cain usually ended up breaking a piece of furniture, so he tried not to let his mind travel down that road too often. However, Cain was no fool.

Destiny was a beautiful woman. She was in the prime of her life and had no memory of him. It had been a year, and while Cain thought of her almost every minute of the day, she would never think of him again. There was a chance she was, at this point in time, married and on her way to becoming a mother. That thought made him both happy and sad. Happy that she would be getting something she had always wanted, but sad because it wasn’t with him.

In the last year he had spent as much time as he could on becoming a better man. He went out of his way to be nice to his younger sister for the first time in his life. He offered to sit with the babies to give the women a break. He spent time trying to be more like Adam, rather than resenting him for being a better male. He got to know sides of his father he had never known. He talked long into the night with his mother and for the first time saw her as a friend. He came to terms with the fact that Anna would never be his, and when he finally stepped back and saw what she and Adam shared, he knew she had never been meant for him at all.

It had taken him nearly a year of circling memories and regurgitating events only to come to the same conclusion he had started with. He was going to spend eternity alone.

Chapter 27

Destiny waited at the same Tuscan restaurant she always patronized on first dates. This would be the eleventh date in the past eleven months. She was strongly considering becoming a lesbian, because every good man out there was either married or gay. The rest were all sad excuses, boys playing at being men.

She sighed as the bartender placed a tall glass of white wine on a cocktail napkin. He was cute. Her gaze went to his hand. Married. “Thanks,” she said, placing a twenty on the bar.

They probably thought she was a call girl, coming here every few weeks, dressed up, to meet a different man. But call girls had sex, and Destiny didn’t. She sipped her wine.

Eric seemed like a decent guy. He worked every day in an IT firm, had a civil divorce under his belt that didn’t involve an insane ex, and his son was six. According to his profile on the dating site he had contacted her through, he was interested in having more children. Everything was looking pretty decent, so tonight would likely be the night she discovered the major flaw that left him single.

Not that if one was in your thirties and single they were necessarily flawed. She was single. There wasn’t really anything wrong with her, except for the fact that she wasn’t the size-six blonde every man was looking for, but there were men out there who preferred curves. Not everyone wanted to date a surfboard.

She looked around for her date. He had brown hair and brown eyes. She saw one man, but he was sitting with a date, so that definitely wasn’t him. She hoped tonight would go better than the last time she was here.

Reno had been awful. He was sexy and funny. Whenever they talked online, she found herself laughing out loud. When they met in person the same vibe was there. Sort of. Reno had a problem with staring at her chest a little too long. He also adjusted himself frequently and publicly, to the point she thought it might be some kind of nervous tic.

When he had walked her to her car, she predicted he was going to kiss her, and she wasn’t really sure how she felt about that. Destiny figured sexual chemistry was as important as emotional and physical chemistry, so an investigative kiss was necessary.

The investigation had defected. Reno was a chin licker. Kissing him was like having a run-in with a Saint Bernard by the end of that date.

Then there was Sal. He was great. Gorgeous, built, spoke with a lovely Italian accent. He was a carpenter and built beautiful furniture. When he mentioned living with his parents, she didn’t judge him. If her parents weren’t in Portugal she’d probably still live with them. There was no point in paying a separate mortgage when a family was close and you were single.

It wasn’t until the second date that Destiny told Sal it wasn’t going to work out. He had postponed their dates twice. At first she thought it was just a coincidence that freak things kept coming up. She admired his loyalty to family and how seriously he took his obligations as son. She had always heard women should judge a man by the way he treated his mother. It would likely be the best gauge of how they would someday treat a wife.

Well, Sal would be a very attentive husband. And if there was a woman out there looking for Mr. Attentive and Creepy, Sal was the man for her. Destiny shivered. She would never forget the evening he had mentioned helping his mom bathe. He slipped it right in between “went to the car wash” and “it was a nice afternoon.”

Destiny had stared at him, speechless, waiting for him to say he was joking. He didn’t. He just went on and on. Mother really needs a new dress. Mother has this lovely new coat. Mother can’t wear high heels like she used to. Destiny wondered what Father had to say about all this and suspected Sal sometimes dressed in Mother’s fancy coat and high-heeled shoes. She had dropped cash on the table somewhere in the midst of the main course and left. She was sure he told Mother how unmannerly his date was to leave him in the middle of a meal.

Destiny looked around for her date again. No sign of him. She always came to this restaurant because it was her favorite. If her date bombed, at least she got a good meal.

“Destiny?”

She turned and faced the handsome man who was her date. He looked nervous. “Eric?”

“Yeah. Sorry I’m running a little behind. There was an accident at the exit I had to get off at. Were you waiting long?”

Her mind automatically tallied points and weighed the sincerity of his words. Accidents happened. He had been coming from about three towns over and the exit closest to the restaurant was a dodgy one. She decided it was an honest excuse for being tardy. Point for honesty.

He smelled nice. As he took the stool next to her, she breathed in his clean, bottled scent. His cologne was light, probably included the word “aqua” in the title, and he wasn’t swimming in it. Point for good smell.

They discussed the weather and other awkward topics that always started a date as Eric ordered a drink and she ordered another glass of chardonnay. He paid for her wine. Point.

First dates were awkward. They usually turned into a repeat of all the conversations had prior to the date, but this time in person. It was comfortable, touching back on what you already know about the stranger sitting across from you. Although it could get a little boring, it allowed Destiny to pair his words with the sincerity in his expression. She hated men that lied.

The waitress informed them their table was ready, and they carried their drinks over to a small one set up by the back wall. Destiny had decided somewhere on the ride over here that she was getting the chicken and asparagus with that yummy sauce they made, but she glanced at the menu anyway and acted like she was deciding her choice at the same time as Eric.

Once they placed their orders and their menus were removed, they settled back into conversation. “So what did you do today?” he asked.

Destiny detailed her day. It was nothing exciting. She went to the salon and had her hair trimmed. Gotten a wax, which she didn’t mention. She didn’t want to send the wrong message. She shopped a little and picked up some pictures she had been meaning to develop.

“That’s nice,” Eric commented.

“Did you have your son today?” she asked.

“No, he’s with his mom. I just sort of worked on my EPs.”

“EPs? Is that a computer thing?”

He grinned. He had a very sweet smile, the kind that created a soft little dimple low on his cheek. Eric also had a strong jaw. Point. “No, EP stands for Emergency Pack.”

“Emergency Pack?”

“Yeah, you know, for the end of the world.”

Destiny stilled, her glass tilted toward her mouth, and she looked at him for signs that he was kidding. “Uh, you mean like all that Mayan and Nostradamus crap people keep talking about?”

Eric swallowed a sip of his beer and shook his head. “Oh, it’s not crap. The end is near.” Negative one point. “It’s true. I plan on being completely prepared. As a matter of fact, I found this old house that was part of the Underground Railroad system and I think it could be turned into, like, a fallout shelter.” Negative two. “It’s a lot harder planning for the end and post-apocalyptic survival than people think.” Negative three.

She chugged her wine and snagged the waitress walking by and asked for another. Eric went on. “I have an entire storage unit filled with water. When I move I’ll take it all there as soon as I line the shelter to make sure it’s secure.” Dear God, negative four. The waitress delivered her wine and she chugged it again as Eric went on and on and on.

Somewhere around negative eleven she said, “You know what, I’m not feeling too good. Do you think we could do this another time?”

Eric looked terrified. “Do you think it’s the water? I saw you had a few sips. You know, they say that’s how it might happen, through the water.”

“They?”

He nodded, a severe look marring his once attractive face. “The ones among us.”

She opened her mouth and shut it. Her cash went on the table. “Yeah. I gotta go.”

And that was how she ended up at home on her couch involved in a very raunchy threesome with two men named Ben and Jerry.

Chapter 28

The heavy door opened, and Dane turned. Cybil continued to hiss and rattle the bars at him, but he had become a master at ignoring her. Over the past several months, he had come to realize she would never be the same. He sometimes wished he had let her die. There was nothing but frightening nonsense in her mind.

Larissa’s form came into view, and he shut his mother’s journal. She usually came to check on him when he stayed down in the holding area for more than a few hours. She sat beside him and nudged his shoulder. “Hey.”

He liked Larissa. She had become easier to talk to since having Mariah. She was less intimidating. Eleazar did as well. Watching that little black-haired terror run them ragged really put things into perspective. “Hey.”

“Has she been at it all day?” Larissa asked, gesturing to his snarling sister.

He nodded. “I’m actually glad you’re here. I don’t know if Gracie told you, but we found the last of my mom’s journals.”

She faced him, her expression intrigued. “And?”

He sighed. Life just altogether sucked sometimes. “I was right. We were adopted. My mom was that Daphne lady. I have no idea where she is or why she gave us up. I just know my mom and dad adopted us shortly after Cybil was born. I haven’t read anything from the date of her birth yet, but I was thinking, if I could use a computer in town, maybe I could go look for her.”

She smiled sweetly at him. “You know you’re an adult now, Dane. You can go wherever you want. I wouldn’t let them do anything with Cybil in your absence.”

He frowned. Cybil was the only reason he remained. Well, her and Grace, but that was still as complicated as ever. “I know. I just would feel better with Eleazar’s blessing, I guess.”

“Do you want me to ask him?”

“Would you?”

“Of course. I’m sure he’ll understand. Wouldn’t that be lovely to discover a whole other family you didn’t know about?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t know about my birth parents because they didn’t want us, Larissa. I’m not going to romanticize it into something it’s not.”

“Well, I hope you find them and form a great relationship. Do not waste time on the past at the expense of your future, Dane. Life’s too short.”

He laughed. “Are vampyres allowed to say crap like that?”

She bumped his shoulder playfully. “I’m stronger than you. I can say whatever I want.”

* * * *

When Larissa left the holding area, she went to find her husband. Eleazar was in the den with Adriel, his eldest and dearest friend, when she found him. They happened to be speaking of just the topic she wanted to address with him.

“Good evening, Adriel.”

“Larissa! How are you, my child?”

“Momma!” Mariah called from the floor. Larissa’s skirts lifted slightly from her daughter’s will. She forced them back down, and Adriel distracted her by waving her hand and causing several balls and dolls to roll toward her.

“I’m well, and yourself?”

She smiled, her skin tight under her tight ginger braids. “As good as can be expected. Eleazar was just telling me Dane found more of his mother’s books. That must be a comfort to the boy. Such a sad case.”

“Actually, that’s what I came to discuss with the bishop.”