A Bolder Version of Me (The Destiny Clark Saga Book 3)

by Cindy Ray Hale

  More than okay with it. But I wished I didn’t have to keep everything so secret. It wasn’t my style. I didn’t enjoy hiding things. I had to show Destiny that she didn’t need to hide our relationship from the world. Eventually, she’d see that everything would work out for us.

  Dad pulled out the chair next to me and sat down with a steaming plate of scrambled eggs. I eyed his food hungrily but served myself another bowl of cereal instead.

  “How are things going with Destiny Clark?”

  I set the box down and poured more milk into my bowl. “What do you mean?” I worked to keep my voice neutral. Had Aunt Bethany said something to him about us dating? Destiny wouldn’t be happy if that were the case.

  “I understand you have been spending a lot of time with her for practices and such, and I want to make sure you know to keep your distance.”

  “Why would I need to keep my distance?” I fought hard to keep the edge out of my voice, but I heard defensiveness creeping into my words.

  “We’ve been over this. If you don’t watch your emotions, she can entice you. I’ve seen it happen time and time again with these Mormons. They get a hold of you, and before you know what’s happened, they’ve pulled you right into their web of lies.”

  I swallowed hard. Was that what Destiny had done to me? At this point I wasn’t so sure I even cared if she had. All I cared about was being with her. We’d figure the religion stuff out.

  Dad glared at me. “You haven’t answered my question.”

  “What question was that again?” I shoved another spoonful of cereal into my mouth.

  “How are things with Destiny?”

  “Oh. Yeah.” I finished chewing. “Things are great, Dad.” Well, that was about as honest an answer I could muster up for him. I pressed my mouth closed to keep from laughing.

  “What do you mean by ‘great’?”

  “We’re getting lots of practice in.” All kinds of practice.

  Before Dad questioned me further, Josh shuffled into the room, wailing about how he couldn’t find his homework sheet he’d worked hours on last night. He tore through the kitchen, shoving aside stacks of mail, dumping papers all across the floor.

  Dad turned angrily to Josh. “How many times are you going to lose your homework? I can’t keep making excuses for you. Eventually, you’ll realize that your choices have consequences. If you’d been more responsible with your homework and put it away properly last night instead of playing video games until who knows how late you wouldn’t be having this problem right now.”

  “I’m sorry, Dad. I’m trying my best,” Josh shouted back, his face red.

  “Then your best isn’t good enough. How do you expect to have a future if these are the choices you keep making? I can tell you right now that no university will put up with this kind of behavior from you.”

  “I’m only a freshman. I don’t think they care, yet.”

  “Oh, they care. Every grade you make will end up on your permanent record from now on. The good schools will pick the students who really prove to them they can apply themselves. Any day now they’ll be lining up to offer Isaac scholarships. Mark my words.”

  Josh’s face hardened, and he turned away from Dad and stomped out of the room and up the stairs.

  Dad shook his head in exasperation. “I don’t see why he isn’t getting it.”

  I kept my eyes on my cereal and chewed steadily, hoping he’d forget to bring Destiny back up again.

  Later that morning at school, I met up with Destiny at her locker. Her face broke out into a smile when she saw me like, for just a second, she’d forgotten that she wanted to keep our relationship status quiet. When I got close to her, she turned her gaze from me, looking around at the crowded hallway.

  “Hey,” I murmured.

  She looked up at me with a stack of books clutched to her chest. “Hey.”

  “I’m, um, stopping by to talk about setting up practice and stuff,” I stumbled over my words with a big goofy grin.

  She licked her lips and returned my smile. “Oh yeah. We’re still meeting at my house tonight, right? For practice and stuff.”

  I bit my bottom lip. She looked good enough to kiss right there in the hallway. I was having the hardest time not taking her in my arms. I leaned closer to her. “Yeah. Tonight. Six o’clock.”

  She stared into my eyes, transfixed, and my breath stopped in my throat. I clenched my fists at my sides to keep from running my hands through her hair.

  The bell rang, knocking me from my stupor.

  “Hadn’t you better get to class, son?”

  I whipped my head around to see Dad scowling over at me.

  “You too, Miss Clark.”

  Destiny’s face paled, and she backed away from me and fled down the hall.

  I looked over my shoulder to where Dad had been standing, but he’d already stepped into a nearby classroom with his attention pulled away by a teacher.

  I tightened my jaw. Hopefully, this encounter wouldn’t make Destiny more skittish than she already was about going public.

  The front door to the Clark home swung open, and Destiny greeted me with a smile that sped up my pulse.

  “Come on in!” she said.

  We stepped from the foyer into the adjoining formal living room. An upright piano stood against the wall to the right. A large portrait of Destiny’s family hung over the couch. I kept expecting to see something weird or cultish, but everything seemed normal. Homey.

  I slid onto the piano bench, and Mrs. Clark came into the room. “Do you guys need a pianist?” she asked.

  “Do you play?” I asked.

  “Don’t you remember? I used to play at Bethel sometimes when you were little.”

  “That’s right. That was a long time ago.” I stood up, and Mrs. Clark scooted onto the piano bench in my place.

  “Do y’all have two more copies of this?” Mrs. Clark asked, pointing at the sheet music on the piano.

  “This one’s Michael’s. I have mine right here,” Destiny said, bending to unzip the backpack at her feet.

  “Sorry, I forgot to bring mine,” I said.

  “Don’t worry about it.” She waved a hand in the air. “You two can share.”

  When Destiny flipped open her folder, a small, torn scrap of paper fluttered out onto the floor. I bent to pick it up, flipped it over, and chuckled at the girly handwriting.

  “What’s so funny?” She leaned over and saw that the paper was littered with tiny hearts and our names written together.

  “Oh, my gosh! Give me that!” she shrieked, snatching it from my hands.

  “What is it?” Mrs. Clark asked.

  “Nothing!” she said, wadding it up in her fist.

  “Oh, she just had the name of some guy from school written on there.” I winked at her with suppressed laughter. “It was actually a pretty worn-out looking piece of paper. It must have been really old.”

  “Shut up.” She shot me a disapproving look. “You were not supposed to see that.”

  I shrugged. “You’re free to like whoever you want. It doesn’t bother me.”

  She stared at me, her brow furrowed in such a cute way. I gave her a crooked smile and gave her a reassuring shrug. I was only doing my part to keep our secret like she wanted.

  She must have understood because she grinned back. She ripped the paper into tiny shreds and shoved the mess into her pocket.

  Mrs. Clark gave her a strange expression.

  “Don’t even ask, Mom. We’re so not talking about this.” She glanced sideways at me. “Let’s sing our song and forget that ever happened, okay?”

  I stepped close to her, closer than she liked with her mom in the room. I gripped my side of the music folder and murmured so that only she heard, “Not a chance.”

  She blushed furiously. How fun.

  We ran through our song three times. Singing with Destiny was magical. I felt so close to her as our voices blended. The music carried me to another place. After finishing t
he third time, Mrs. Clark said, “You two sound fabulous together!”

  “Thanks!” I said brightly. “It’s much easier for me to focus on singing now that we have you to play the piano. You play well.”

  “Hey, Isaac.” Michael stood in the doorway with Preston. My jaw tightened. One look at the two of them, and the pleasant moment soured.

  A timer buzzed in the kitchen. Mrs. Clark called over her shoulder, “Olivia, would you mind pulling the lasagnas out of the oven? They should be done by now.”

  I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “Smells great. Y’all look like you’re about to have dinner, so I should probably head out.”

  “No, stay for dinner,” Mrs. Clark insisted. “You, too, Preston.”

  Preston said, “Sure” at the same time I said, “Oh no, I wouldn’t want to impose.” Well, that was awkward.

  “You wouldn’t be imposing. We have two giant lasagnas. There will be plenty for everyone,” Mrs. Clark said.

  I glanced at Preston and caught him staring at Destiny. I cleared my throat. There was no way I was leaving my girlfriend alone with him. “All right. I’ll stay.”

  Panic flashed across Destiny’s features. Was she worried I might bring something up about the fake boyfriend thing to him? It had been hard for her to admit it had been a lie. She’d been brave enough to tell me the truth.

  We’d had too many secrets between us. I needed to tell her the truth about Green’s plan to dig up dirt on the Mormons. He still thought I was carrying the plan out. Once we made our relationship public, he’d really think I was launching into the plan. If even a hint of that plan got back to Destiny, it could be over between us. Unless, I explained it to her and beg for forgiveness. The whole thing had been such a stupid mistake. After spending so much time with Destiny and being in her home, I wasn’t convinced Mormons were even all that bad. They just seemed so down-to-earth. How could these people be in a cult?

  Destiny bustled around the kitchen to help her mom set the table and put together the last-minute items for dinner.

  “You need some help?” I asked.

  Destiny gave me a breathtaking smile and asked, “Do you want to mix up a pitcher of lemonade?”

  “Sure. Where do you keep the pitchers?” I looked around. The kitchen was huge, with oak cabinets and black granite countertops. There were so many cabinets I had no clue where to start.

  Preston opened the cabinet next to me and handed me a pitcher. “Oh, thanks,” I said, feeling lame.

  “You know where we keep the pitchers?” Olivia asked Preston. “You really do come over here a lot. Maybe you should move into Michael’s room since you’re probably here more than your own house.”

  “He already has,” Michael joked. “He has his own pile of junk in the corner of my room.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to take that stuff back home. I’ve been busy, okay?”

  “Yeah, mowing lawns like there’s no tomorrow,” Olivia said.

  “Once the grass dies in a couple of weeks, what are you going to do to earn money?” Destiny asked him.

  “He’s got it figured out,” Michael said.

  Okay, now to find where they kept the lemonade mix. I walked over to the pantry door and scanned the shelves inside.

  “I have several tree work jobs lined up,” Preston explained.

  “How are you going to do tree work?” Destiny asked. “You don’t even have a chainsaw.”

  “I do now,” he said with the broad smile of a little boy who’d just gotten a shiny new toy. “I’ve been setting aside money for a while now, and Michael and I got one today.”

  She smiled back at him like his happiness had infected her. I frowned and sidled up next to her. “Can you help me find the lemonade mix?”

  “Sure,” she said as she stepped up to the pantry and opened the door. “Here it is.” She handed it to me.

  “Thanks.” I gave her a tight smile.

  “Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” She studied me with a worried expression. Had I appeared jealous?

  Olivia gave her a wry smile. “Quit flirting with Preston and pay attention to your guest who’s trying to help.”

  What was that supposed to mean?

  Destiny glared at Olivia, turned around, and placed the last two cups on the table without a word.

  “Okay, everyone, get in here and take a seat,” Mrs. Clark called.

  We crowded around the table, and Mr. Clark emerged from the nearby office.

  “Hey there, Bishop,” Preston said.

  “Oh hey, Preston. Are you eating with us again?”

  “Yup,” Preston said.

  Mr. Clark saw me and extended his hand. I shook it, and he said, “How are you? It’s Isaac, right? My wife said you were over practicing today.” Was it my imagination, or was there hostility in his eyes?

  He took his seat at the head of the table.

  I gazed around the room and asked, “Where should I sit?” to no one in particular.

  “Anywhere you’d like is fine,” Mr. Clark said.

  I sunk into the empty seat next to Destiny. She looked at me with an unreadable expression. All this hiding was getting on my nerves. It wasn’t my style.

  “Why do I have to sit at the bar?” Elijah whined. I remembered Destiny saying that he was eleven.

  “Don’t be rude. We have guests,” Olivia said.

  When the food had been blessed and the scramble to fill plates had slowed, I cleared my throat. “I have a question.” The conversation stilled, and the group turned their attention toward me. “If I wanted to learn more about your church, how could I do that?”

  “That’s out of the blue,” Olivia said and glanced sideways at Destiny. Destiny stared back at Olivia with surprise. I looked back down the table toward Mr. Clark.

  “If you’d like to learn more, you need to talk to a set of full-time missionaries. They have a series of lessons they teach. We can set up an appointment with them so you can talk to them at our house,” Mr. Clark explained. My heart soared with hope. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance for us to have a normal relationship. If I convinced Destiny’s parents I was interested in their church, they wouldn’t have anything to say against us.

  “But,” Mr. Clark continued, “I recommend you speak with your parents first. I’m not comfortable setting anything up behind their backs.”

  “Oh, okay. Thanks.” Yeah, right. I wouldn’t be talking to my parents about any of this. The less they knew, the better. Mom might be okay about it, but Dad would overreact.

  My heart pounded, and a new hope lit within me. There was still a chance for us. Everything would work out. I looked across the table at Destiny for the briefest moment. But it was just long enough to see her eyes softening.

  Across the table Michael and Preston shoved forkfuls of lasagna into their mouths, neither of them speaking, neither of them meeting my eye.

  “So, Destiny,” Olivia said. “Did you ever decide who to go to the Homecoming Banquet with?” She gave Destiny a sneaky smile and jerked her head toward Preston.

  I tightened my grip on my fork and studied Destiny. She stared at her plate for a moment and then said, “I’m just going with Shanice this year.”

  Preston looked away with a pained expression, and something clicked in my mind. He’d thought he’d had a chance with her. She was my girlfriend. It took an intense amount of willpower to keep from telling him off. I was done with the whole secret romance thing. I couldn’t wait until Homecoming, so I could show everyone how I felt about Destiny.

  3

  Isaac

  I scanned the entrances to the dimly lit gym. Destiny wandered in the south entrance next to Hannah and Evan. I strode across the gym, and when she spotted me, her eyes brightened. Her attire for the evening made her look like a Greek goddess. Her hair was loose and wavy, and she wore a white dress tied with a blue sash.

  “Isaac!” Hannah called. She had on a knee-length black dress.
>
  I lifted a hand in greeting and grinned. Finally, we could drop the act and show our true feelings.

  Destiny stood near me, and as I breathed in her floral perfume, I wrapped my arm around her waist, not caring who noticed. If people would hate on us, let them hate. “You look fantastic,” I said to Destiny with a grin.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered. She pushed my hand down, but I spun her so she faced me.

  “You promised we could stop hiding tonight, remember?”

  Destiny’s mouth opened slightly, and her brow furrowed in worry, but she didn’t pull away.

  “We need to get pictures together!” Hannah said, whipping out her phone. “Shanice! Can you take a picture of us?” Shanice and DeShawn came over to where we were standing. Shanice took the phone that Hannah had been brandishing. I stood near Destiny and put my arm around her shoulder.

  Shanice snapped the photo and handed the device back to Hannah, who immediately began fiddling with the screen. “We look so awesome!” I glanced across the room. Aspen posed with Will to get her picture taken. She was standing tiptoe on one foot with her ankle in the air behind her, kissing him on the cheek. For the first time, it didn’t bother me. They deserved each other.

  “You’re sitting with us, right?” Hannah asked me.

  “Of course,” I said.

  Just then, Jessie Larsen and Sophie Atwood bounded up to me. “Isaac, can we get a picture with you?” Jessie piped.

  “Uh…” I gazed in Destiny’s direction, but she turned aside to urge Hannah to find a table. “Sure.”

  Jessie wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned in close. Too close. Jessie was as subtle as a thunderstorm. As we stood there, more girls showed up, asking for pictures.

  At the first chance, I slipped aside from the growing crowd of ladies who were looking for a photo opportunity with me. I sank into the empty chair between Destiny and Hannah.

  “It’s nice to see you made it out of there alive,” Hannah joked. “I take it the female members of the student body have noticed that you’re not with Aspen anymore?”