Project Detour (Castle View Book 3) (9 page)

“I. Am. Not. Jealous.” Destiny paused between each word, making the single word its own sentence for emphasis. “I just want you to realize how lucky you are.”

Her words hit Brad like a slap in the face. “Lucky? Do you see where I’m sitting? Do you know what it’s like not to even remember the car crash that put me in that freaking bed for most of my day? Do you know that the braces make my legs itch in places I can’t reach?”

She didn’t answer so he went on.

“I’m lucky to be alive. I get that. I just want to make sure you realize how lucky you are not to be in my place. You have everything going for you, Destiny. You’re beautiful, you’re intelligent, you’re funny. And you started your own business. I just don’t want you to throw everything away because it’s hard or it’s not what you imagined.”

She drained her wine glass, stood and paused in front of his chair. She appeared to be ignoring everything he’d said. “Do you need me to help you to bed?”

“Please.” He wanted to tell her to go jump in the lake, but he knew he couldn’t handle his own body’s needs without her help. “I’ll need to use the restroom first.”

“I’ll clean up the kitchen after I get you settled.” She pushed him toward the makeshift bedroom. As they finished up the evening routine, he watched her leave the room, her back ramrod straight.

The book she’d been reading aloud sat on his table. He put his hand on the cover as he thought of Aragorn, the reluctant king. He’d always pictured himself as that character, the misunderstood bad boy waiting for someone to bring out the good inside. But maybe he was more like the fires of Mordor, just plain bad. He pushed the book aside and turned on the television. Tonight, he’d have to be content with network shows to ease him to sleep. But he wasn’t able to settle into anything until he found a movie channel. One that was playing Harry Potter reruns. Not quite the fantasy he craved, but for tonight, it would have to do.

He turned down the volume and listened to the sounds outside his room. He could hear her moving around in the kitchen. Dishes clicking, pans clacking. She was still mad. At least tomorrow his sister and mom would be here to buffer the anger. And maybe she’d be over it by then.

He turned back up the television and watched as Harry and Ron tried to get dates for the big dance. Sure, Harry could save the world, time after time, but neither Harry nor Brad understood the workings in a woman’s head.

“Sorry we’re late. The traffic back from Spokane was murder.” Maggie set bags down on the kitchen table. “Why are you out of bed?”

“Doctor’s orders.” Brad wheeled over to the kitchen cabinet and took down one of the bags. “You got any fried mushrooms in there? I’m starving. Destiny and I typically eat close to five.”

His mother looked around the room. “Where is Destiny? I was hoping she’d at least eat with us if she didn’t want to play cards. I miss having her around.”

“She’s in her room. Apparently, she’s looking at jobs for the future. Why didn’t you tell me her shop closed down?” Brad found a container with chips and salsa and put the sack back on the counter. Then he wheeled himself to the table and started eating. “Throw me a beer out of the fridge.”

Maggie and his mother looked at each other. “Can you drink?”

“Call Destiny and check if you want, but yeah, I can have a beer. I just can’t go crazy.” He was probably lying. She’d let him have a glass of wine, but now he wanted a beer. He knew he shouldn’t imbibe while he was taking the medication, but tonight, he didn’t care. The day with Destiny had been brutal. She avoided being in the room as much as possible. And when she was there, it was all business. No chit chat, no laughter, just what do you need and how can I help? He'd seen her looking at the book they’d been reading, but if she wasn’t going to offer, he wouldn’t beg. Just a few more weeks and she would be gone. At that thought, a pain shot through his heart and he slowed down his eating. Heartburn, nothing more. But the thought of Destiny leaving kept him in a foul mood all day.

“I guess one won’t hurt.” Maggie grabbed two beers and looked at her mother. “What do you want?”

“A glass of iced tea would be lovely.” Their mother paused at the doorway. “I’m going upstairs to chat with Destiny and see if she wants to eat with us. I’ll be right back.”

Maggie sat down at the table and snatched one of the breadsticks from in front of Brad. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Not really.” He sat the half eaten stick down on a napkin. “Tell me about the wine festival. How’d it go?” He’d been trying to follow the social media tweets and posts about the festival, but he knew that only gave a narrow perspective. “Did we get a lot of tasters? What about sales; did we make any?”

Maggie walked him through the entire day from when she’d arrived at the gaily decorated convention center at seven to the time when she’d left Jose to box up the unsold wine and pack it all home. “I think you’ll be happy with the results.” She pulled out a business card from her pocket and slid it across the table. “A Sheila Martin stopped by and wanted to know where you were. She said you were supposed to call her. She was drop dead model gorgeous and seemed very concerned about your accident when I told her. Have you been holding out on us, brother?”

Footsteps sounded in the doorway and he looked up to see Destiny standing by his mother, Destany’s face an ashen gray. He picked up the card and put it in his pocket. Why was he suddenly feeling guilty? “Just someone I dated casually before the accident.”

“Well, your idea of casual and hers looked a little different based on her reaction. She was hot when she stormed up to the booth. Then when I explained why you weren’t there, I swear she was on the verge of tears.” Maggie sipped her beer, then looked in the direction that Brad’s gaze had gone. “Crap, I forgot your tea. What can I pour you, Destiny?”

She walked to the fridge. “I can get my own beer.”

At the same time, Brad said, “Sheila’s a bit of a drama queen. We weren’t serious.”

Brad saw the shrug that Destiny had given him, like she didn’t care one way or the other who he dated. And if they’d been alone, she’d probably have broken her professional demeanor for a second while she told him exactly what she felt. But they weren’t alone, so he only had her body language to read, but that was enough. She was livid. Maybe the kiss had meant more to her than she wanted to let on? Brad’s lips curled. For some reason, that realization made him very happy.

“Who’s Sheila?” His mother started putting out plates and silverware as Maggie poured her a glass of iced tea. Destiny stood in the corner of the kitchen sipping on a beer and watching the scene. She appeared totally out of place. Sandy noticed that immediately and called her over. “Destiny, come help unpack the food. I swear, Maggie always brings enough to feed an army.”

As they unpacked the food, Brad explained again who Sheila was and how’d they met. “Anyway, I’m probably not seeing her again so it’s not a big deal.”

Sandy sat down at the table next to Brad and motioned Destiny into the chair near her. “Come sit, dear, you look ragged. Has my son been running you around too much?”

“No, I’m fine.” Destiny sat in the chair Sandy had indicated, even though Brad noticed that her normal chair was the one his mother had claimed for her own.

“Well, you can see from Brad’s answer about this woman Sheila why I’ll never have any more grandkids than Becca. Not that she isn’t enough of a handful all by herself.” Sandy looked at Brad. “She wants to paint the walls in her new bedroom purple. And not just purple, royal purple. That color is going to be hard to match for furniture or decorations.”

“I had a lime green room for about two years before I gave in and let my mom re-paint.” Destiny smiled at the memory. “I figured giving in was losing, and I never wanted to lose.”

Sandy laughed. “Typical teenage thinking. My husband and I raised three of them, and now, I’m fostering Shane all on my own. I’m not sure what I was thinking going back into the hell years. People always complain about the Terrible Two’s, but that year’s a cinch compared to what should be Sweet Sixteen.”

“You didn’t need to take him in. Social services would have found a home for the kid. And you realize two of your kids are sitting right here in the same room and we can hear you.” Brad caught Maggie’s gaze. “I don’t remember any of us being hard to deal with except Mark.”

“Your older brother was the best of the lot. He came home on curfew, got amazing grades, and even looked out after the two of you.” Sandy passed a container of salad. “You could have been more like him. It would have made your high school years much easier.”

“Him not ratting me out for every little infraction—that would have made my teenage years easier.” Brad took the salad and filled up a bowl. “What else do we have for dinner?”

“Seafood fettuccine. Josh is trying out a new fish monger from Seattle. So far, the product has been excellent quality. Although he does have to be at the airport at four every morning for our drop off time.” Maggie nodded to the oven. “It’s warming in the oven, so eat your salad. Veggies make you grow big and strong. Don’t you want to be a big boy when you grow up?”

Destiny choked on a bite she’d just taken and the others at the table turned to look at her. Once she’d taken a sip of water, she held up one hand. “Sorry, I’m fine. I just… swallowed wrong.”

“My children make horrible dinner companions, it’s no wonder you’re having trouble eating.” Sandy Castle focused on Destiny. “So how are things going with closing up the business. Clarisse from the bank told me you’ve already made arrangements to pay off your small business loan early. Do you think that’s wise?”

Brad and Destiny’s eyes met and then she turned her attention to Sandy. “I don’t want anything hanging over my head from this. I prefer making a brand new start, no matter where I land. I’ve gotten offers from several Boise facilities already. It’s just a matter of where I want to wind up living. I’m thinking that if I’m going to make a move, why not go big and move to California or somewhere back east?”

“Oh, to be free of responsibilities and able to do whatever you wanted.” Maggie shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong. I talk a big game, but when Josh wanted me to go off on a perpetual road trip, the thought of being so unstructured drove me crazy.”

“Actually, I believe I was the problem there.” Sandy smiled at her daughter across the table. “Destiny probably doesn’t remember that drama. That was right when I broke my hip and she had just come to take care of me.”

“Mom, you weren’t the issue. It was me. As much as I complain about being stuck here, I don’t think I’ll ever live anywhere else.” Maggie dug into her salad. “Why should I? I have everything I need here.”

“It is a lovely town.” Destiny sighed. “Which is why I wanted to open a business here in the first place. But not all wishes come true, right?”

Not for the first time that night, Brad fought the urge to pull her into his arms and hold her until she felt safe. Of course, that would just make everything worse.  His impulsive kiss had broken any sense of trust or friendship they’d built over the last few weeks. He kept his head down and focused on his salad.

No one spoke as the salads were being finished. Finally, Sandy stood up and started clearing bowls. “Maggie, do you want to grab the pasta? And Destiny? Get us another round of drinks/ This dinner is getting way too serious. We have to get ready to have some fun.”

Brad watched while Destiny brought him his favorite soda and got Maggie another beer. She’d fill Sandy’s tea glass and poured a second glass for herself. With the switch from beer, she was either going out after dinner or was going to be working on setting up her new life. One away from St. Joseph’s and of course, himself.

***

After dinner was over, Destiny excused herself from the card game and went upstairs to her room. She’d planned on leaving the house. Getting her head cleared of Brad and her feelings toward him but she didn’t want to drive anywhere in the dark. Maggie had told her that she would stay overnight if Destiny wanted a real night off, but she’d declined the offer. Now she wished she’d rented a motel room and gone there as soon as the woman had arrived.

She loved sitting and talking to the Castle women. Since she’d lost her mom, this had been the first place she’d felt at home. She’d made friends here. And now, she had to box up her feelings for the place and the people and start over. She hadn’t been kidding when she told her dinner companions that she was thinking about moving far, far away. And now, she opened her laptop, turned on the gas fireplace, and cuddled on the couch, making a list of towns she might want to make her new home.

She narrowed the choices down to upstate New York, California, and Seattle. Then she started sending out resumes to job listings in those areas. After she had sent out at least five to each area, she put the laptop away and picked up the Robert Jordan book. If she timed it right, she might just get through the entire series before she left Brad and his library behind.

A soft knock on her door a few hours later brought her out of the story. Knights, princesses and magic, all set in a medieval world that looked nothing like her current situation, except right here on her reading couch in front of the fire, kept her from thinking about what she had to do. Now, reality had just knocked on her door, pulling her back. “Come in.”

“It’s just me. I’m taking Mom home and Brad’s back in bed. He’s done his bathroom thing and taken his night pills so you shouldn’t need to do anything until morning.” Maggie slipped into the room and sat on the couch next to Destiny. She picked up the book Destiny had just sat down. “I love this series. I can see why you and Brad get along so well. You’re both fantasy nerds.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Destiny wondered why Maggie thought she got along with her brother. “Did he say something?”

Maggie was reading the back cover copy of the book and tilted her gaze toward her. “He says a lot of things, especially when he doesn’t mean to. I think he’s kind of crushing on you. What do you think?”

“I think I’m an employee and I’m out of here in a couple weeks.” Destiny stared into the fireplace and watched the flames dance, calling out her fabrications.

“One, you were never just an employee. The moment you moved into Mom’s house to help, you crossed that line from acquaintance to family. Believe me, hanging out with the Castles is like joining a cult.” Maggie set the book down. “You’re in the family forever.”

“But even that doesn’t change the fact that I’m out of here in two weeks.” Destiny stretched her arms and sat up on the couch. “I appreciate the sentiment.”

“Brad said you started cooking lessons. He said you did great for your first time with a knife. Maybe I’ll have to get you some good pans for your going away present.” Maggie changed the subject as she stood and walked toward the door. “If you do actually leave.”

“Two weeks. You better get shopping.” Destiny followed her to the door. “Seriously, thanks for everything, including tonight. I needed a little down time.”

“My brother can be a handful, but I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. Are you sure there’s nothing going on?” Maggie paused at the doorway. “You can tell me. It will be our secret.”

“From what I’ve seen, Castles don’t keep secrets very well.”

Maggie’s eyebrows raise a bit. “Does that mean…”

Destiny cut her off. “Thanks again for everything. I’ll stop by to see you before I head out of town.”

Maggie hugged her hard. She whispered in Destiny’s ear. “You’ll see me before then, but you better come by before you leave.”

As she watched Maggie go downstairs, she shook her head. The Castles were a touchy bunch. First Brad and his impromptu kiss last night, then Maggie with this sisterly hug. She could get used to being around the clan or cult as Maggie called it. She returned to her room and shut the door.