What? Did she have some cooties she didn’t know about? He’d been right there. By her lips. The past two days, it felt like he wanted to kiss her, but he’d been waiting for her to be ready.
Then, when she’d finally been ready, he’d shut her down. Without any reason.
He’d hardly spoken to her on the ride home, only pathetically told her how sorry he was. Right. Whatever.
She’d tossed and turned all night. She had finally given up at five and got out of bed and dressed for the day. It was barely six-thirty, and she was already heading into the flower shop.
She almost laughed, thinking about how this was her spring break and she was getting up early. Then Adam’s eyes flashed into her mind, and she was taken back to last night. To that moment. At the hot springs. She’d even asked him to kiss her. Gah! How humiliating. She’d been totally rejected. Now, instead of being sad and teary, she was just ticked. Yeah, he called her Red. She wished she could see him right now and give him a good slap.
Without really thinking about it, she turned off of Main Street and headed to the hospital. She knew Chase was an early riser, and she wanted to check on him. After all, he really was the brother she could trust. She knew that if she’d asked Chase to kiss her, he would have.
Pulling into the parking lot, she got out and then rushed in, wanting to get out of the biting cold. She thought about how she only had two more days in Snow Valley.
Making a snap decision in her head, she nodded and went to the check-in booth of the hospital. They had moved him from the ER to a hospital room last night, and she didn’t know which room he was in now.
A woman with a curly, grey helmet of hair and a kind smile nodded at her. “How can I help you?”
“Chase Moon. Can I have his room number? He was brought in last night.”
The woman went through a roller deck of cards and then paused. She looked up at Destiny and grinned. “I don’t use those computers, so they still give me the paper name and room number. It’s right here.”
Destiny waited.
The lady hesitated. “It’s quite early. He might still be sleeping.”
“I won’t go in if he is,” Destiny promised.
The lady nodded. “Okay. I trust you. Room two-fourteen.”
Destiny took off, waiting at the elevator. She thought about both of the Moon brothers. Did she like both of them? Yes. That was an easy answer. Chase was easy to be with. With Adam, a nervous twinge went through her. It was … complicated.
She got on the elevator. When she got off, it wasn’t hard to find Chase’s room. His door was cracked, and she slowly pushed it open. When she saw him, he looked like he still was asleep, but then his eyes opened.
“Hey,” she said, feeling bad. “Did I wake you?”
Chase grinned. “Nope. But they won’t let me out of here until Doc Taggart comes at nine, so I’ve just been keeping my eyes closed.”
Destiny eased her way in and sat by his side.
He held his hand out to her, and she took it. “Sorry about last night.”
“Wh—? No.” She wasn’t worried about that at all.
“Fancy always gets me to dance, and I shouldn’t have.” With his other hand, he reached up and touched the back of his head.
“Are you okay?”
Chase nodded to the side table. “Help me sit up, will you?”
She picked up the tiny remote that controlled the bed and handed it to him. Slowly, he moved himself up. Destiny helped him reposition his pillows so he was sitting up and still supported by them.
When he was settled, he turned to her, and even though it strained him, he gave her his mischievous smile. “So, did you have fun last night? I mean … before I passed out.”
It made her slightly nervous that she hadn’t even thought about that because she was so distracted by Adam. “It was fine.”
Chase cocked his head to the side. “Did Adam see you home all right?”
She suppressed nervous flutters. “He did.”
Chase frowned. “What’d he do?”
“What?”
Chase cocked an eyebrow. “Believe me. I can always tell when he did some jerk thing to people. Believe it or not, a lot of people come and tell me, which shouldn’t surprise me anymore.”
“Nothing.” She looked away. “We went to the hot springs, and it was … fun.” Well, before it was awkward and weird.
“He totally piggybacked on my date. After he’d taken you out that afternoon!”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
Chase’s jaw clenched. “Did he kiss you?”
She blinked. “What?”
Shaking his head, Chase let out a breath. “He did, didn’t he? I think he did it just to win.” He huffed. “Sure. Take advantage of the brother who’s flat on his back. Man, he’s gonna get it when I get outta here.”
“What are you talking about?”
Chase snorted. “Sure, you’re here to let me down. You know. He won you fair and square.”
This was insanity. “Chase, he didn’t kiss me.”
“Oh?” This stopped his rambling.
“What are you talking about?”
He looked stunned. He closed his mouth and looked away. “Nothing.”
“Chase.” She squeezed his hand.
He sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I blew it, didn’t I?”
Her thoughts were jumbled. “Does this have something to do with dibs?”
Chase leaned back, closing his eyes. “Man, I’m such an idiot.”
Her heart was racing, but she felt completely still. There was some reason why Adam hadn’t kissed her. “You better start talking,” she warned.
Chase opened his eyes. “Look, since it looks like you know about dibs … I tried to dibs you. Yes, I know it sounds archaic,” he said, noticing her expression. “Anyway, when he wouldn’t let me dibs you … I made him a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“Whoever kissed you first … got dibs.”
She couldn’t believe this. “You made a deal that you would try to kiss me first?” It all made sense now. Adam had showed up and tapped on Chase’s shoulder just as he was about to kiss her.
“Yeah, and he used every opportunity to get to you.”
The stillness had evaporated. Rage built inside of her, making her limbs shake. How dare he? How dare they?
Chase sat up even more, leaning toward her. “Look, Destiny, I just … with Fate and everything, I just wanted to know if kissing you…would be like kissing her.”
After he mentioned Fate’s name, all she could do was slap him across the face.
Chapter 26
Adam got off the elevator, feeling grungy and on edge. He had studied the rest of the night and then done the stupid chores—the chores that he’d paid his brother to do over break. Then he’d decided he might as well come and be here when Doc Taggart came. That way he’d know if Chase was coming home today.
The thing he wasn’t expecting to see as he pushed Chase’s door open was Destiny Morningstar slapping his brother across the face.
“Ouch!” Chase whined.
Destiny’s hand flew to her mouth, as if she couldn’t believe she’d just slapped him. Then she spun around, stopping short when she saw Adam.
If he’d been grungy and edgy before, now he was alert, awake, and filled with adrenaline. “Destiny?”
Tears pooled in her eyes, and she came for him. Then her hand shot out, and she smacked him across the face. “How dare you!”
The slap stung, and his hand went to his face. He turned to rush after her. “Wait!”
She stood next to the elevator, tears coming down her face, but her eyes seared him like some Greek goddess that wanted to cast a spell on him—a spell that would commit him to earth, forever in her servitude. “I really was just a bet to you?”
His mouth went dry, and he was tongue-tied. “No, no you weren’t.”
The elevator opened, and she rushed into it, pointing for him to
stay. “Don’t.”
“Destiny …”
She shook her head, covering her face and turning away. “I thought I could trust you.”
The door shut, and he thought about running down the stairs and catching her. His mind whirled with the memory of how hurt she had looked. Guilt assaulted every part of him. He was an idiot.
“Adam!” he heard Chase call out.
He went back to Chase’s room, hands clenched into fists. “What did you tell her?”
Chase just lay there. His chest heaved as he took deep breaths.
Every part of Adam shook. “Why did you tell her?”
Chase watched him and let out a light laugh. “Oh my gosh.”
Adam wasn’t amused with his brother at the moment. “Answer me!”
Chase shook his head. “You like her. You didn’t kiss her because you actually like her.”
Of course, his brother, who knew him better than anyone, had hit the nail on the head, but he was still ticked. “And you let your loud mouth tell her stuff you shouldn’t have told her.”
Chase let out another laugh. “I can’t believe it.”
Adam began pacing, trying to think of how to fix this. It wasn’t like one of his regular problems that he could spin around and around in his mind until the solution came to him. It wasn’t a problem he could dissect bit by bit. Women weren’t like that. That’s what terrified him about them.
“This is unreal,” Chase said.
Adam ignored him, thinking of what he could do, of how he could explain. He’d rejected her, and now she knew he’d bet on her.
“Tell her the truth, bro.”
“What?” He turned to his brother.
Chase shook his head, a stupid grin on his face. “When you like a girl, the only thing that fixes things is the truth.” He shrugged. “At least, that’s what I’ve heard.”
Adam walked to the chair next to him and sat, thinking over what Chase was saying.
Chase sighed. “Unfortunately, I told her some really crappy truth.”
“Tell me exactly what you said.” Adam immediately felt defensive for Destiny.
Chase let out a breath and looked down.
“Tell me.”
“I told her I wanted to win because I wanted to know if kissing her … would be like kissing Fate.” A tear slipped down Chase’s cheek.
Adam was stunned. He knew his brother had been upset when Fate had passed, but he hadn’t realized how messed up he still was about it.
Chase shook his head. “I’m such an idiot.”
Seeing his brother so upset took all the anger out of him. He scooted closer to him, putting his hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “It’s … it’s okay, man.”
Chase shook his head. “Admit it. I’m such an idiot.”
“Yeah, you are.”
Chase laughed. “So, am I right? Do you really like her, then?”
Adam moved to the window, thinking he might catch a glimpse of her in the parking lot. He thought of what she’d said about how she hadn’t painted since Fate had died. He thought about how she wanted to go that art school in Paris. “What day is it?”
Chase let out a sigh. “What are you talking about?”
“What’s the date?”
“Um, I think it’s March eighteenth. Why?”
Adam grinned. “Your truck is in the parking lot, brother. I have something I gotta do.”
Chapter 27
Later that night, as Destiny sat at Aunt Faith’s table, surrounded by her uncle and cousins, she found herself laughing out loud at one of Daniel’s jokes. She’d decided that even though the Moon brothers had worked her over, it didn’t take away from the fact that the best thing about being in Snow Valley was having family again.
Grant turned to her. “Wow, Destiny, I haven’t heard you laugh like that the whole time you’ve been here.”
Everyone fell silent, but Destiny only ruffled his hair, feeling far too content and to get upset. “Well, I guess you’ll have to get used to it, because I’m going to be here all the time.” She turned to look at Aunt Faith, who already had tears in her eyes. “I’ll be here so much you’ll get sick and tired of hearing my laugh.” She ended on a whisper, emotion clogging the back of her throat.
“Never.” Aunt Faith grinned, wiping her eyes.
Uncle John cleared his throat, and Destiny turned to him, seeing his eyes were misty, too. “It’s been so fun having you here, Destiny. I wish you weren’t going back tomorrow. You could stay for church services on Sunday, ya know? The weather is supposed to be clear on Sunday.”
“No,” she answered quickly, thinking of seeing Chase and Adam at services. “No, I’ll leave after I close up the shop tomorrow.”
There was a knock at the door. Uncle John got up to get it.
Aunt Faith turned to her. “So, how is Chase?”
She shrugged. “I … think he’s okay.”
“Destiny!” Uncle John called out. “Chase is here.”
“Oh.” Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Aunt Faith stood, giving her a sly grin. “I guess you were holding out on me.” She winked at her and told the boys to help clear the table.
“Don’t kiss him.” Grant rushed out of the kitchen, laughing at his joke.
“Grant!” Aunt Faith moved toward the sink.
Destiny moved toward the front door, but Uncle John had already seated Chase in the front room.
“So your head’s fine?” her uncle asked, looking skeptical. Of course he would be skeptical, after everything that had happened to Fate.
“Yep,” Chase said, grinning at him. He turned to Destiny when she walked in.
Her uncle moved toward the kitchen. “I’ll let you two talk.”
She hesitated, not committing to staying in the living room, and watched her uncle go.
“Your uncle’s a good guy,” Chase said.
Her eyes turned and met his, but she didn’t respond.
“I’m sorry.” He shrugged. “I realize now that I needed to be with you … for closure.”
She’d actually thought about that at the store earlier, when she’d been so mad she could hardly focus on doing anything. She’d thought about what Chase had said, and it’d actually made sense. “It’s fine.”
“It’s fine?” He sounded surprised.
She couldn’t stop herself. “If anyone gets missing her … it’s me.”
He nodded, and she saw the redness around his eyes.
“So, are you okay?”
Chase leaned back into the couch, crossing a heel over his knee. He shrugged. “Doc Taggart wants me to go to a specialist.”
“What?” She moved into the room, taking the rocking chair across from him. Even if she was mad at him, she didn’t want anything to be wrong with him.
He let out a sigh and shook his head. “So I’m quitting.”
“Really?” She couldn’t believe it.
“Yep.” He nodded. “I know that getting hit at the game and getting dizzy last night could be coincidences, but they’re probably related to hits I’ve had before.” He shrugged. “I finally realized it’s not worth taking a chance.”
“Why?” She had to know.
The side of his lip quirked up. “Even though I didn’t get the girl, you reminded me of what it felt like … to want a girl.” He let out a light laugh. “I’ll admit … I wanted to win the bet, not just because I wanted to win, but because I liked you. But seeing Adam today, it made me realize, it made me remember, how I really felt about Fate. I want that again.” He put his hat back on and stood.
She stood too. It was weird, but it was kinda awesome too. “I’m glad, Chase.”
He moved to the door and turned back, cocking an eyebrow. “Are you?”
She grinned. “You deserve to be happy.” She sighed. “But your brother hurt me.”
He frowned. “I know. I’m sorry.”
Emotion surfaced, but she swallowed it back. “I just thought it was real
. That’s all.”
“I know my brother’s not easy, but I have never seen him this torn up over a girl. Remember that.” He gave her another grin. “He’s not the lady-killer I am.”
Destiny laughed.
Gently, he kissed her cheek and grinned. “See ya on campus. Maybe this time I’ll actually say hi.” He pulled open the door.
“I’d like that.”
She watched him go, his truck roaring into the distance. Then she went up to her room—Fate’s room—their room, she decided, liking how that sounded.
Moving to the easel, she thoughtfully took out all the colors she needed to complete the painting, picked up a mixing tray, and began working.
When she finally finished, she had no idea what she would do with this picture. She just sat there, looking at Adam Moon in all his football glory staring back at her.
Chapter 28
Adam had been up until the wee hours of the morning, but he didn’t care. The website was finished. It was perfect, except he didn’t have the main part—the part that would make it great. He’d created many websites for people as side jobs to pay his way through school, but this one meant more to him than any of the rest had.
He got out of the shower and took care to find clean clothes. He actually pulled out his own cologne from the back of the medicine cupboard. Checking his phone, he saw that Destiny should already be at the store. After quickly doing his hair and grabbing his computer, he rushed down the stairs.
“You don’t even ask if I am okay?” His brother sat at the barstool by the kitchen counter, sipping on a protein shake.
Adam rolled his eyes, but paused mid-stride. “Are you okay?”
Putting down the protein shake, Chase nodded. “I’m quitting rodeo.”
What? Adam moved into the kitchen area. “Since when?”
Lifting his eyebrows, Chase took another long sip of the shake. “Since Doc Taggart wants me to see a specialist for all the concussions I’ve gotten. He wants to check for repetitive head injury syndrome.”
Spring in Snow Valley: A Snow Valley Anthology Page 38
