Unwanted Fate

by A. Gorman

  I know that Nate is with us every step of the way too.

  Thank you so much, Nate, for watching over us… I love you.

  Two weeks and two days ago, I didn’t know if I would ever see Emily’s face again, or even this office. To live after being stabbed in the lung, multiple times and being millimeters from hitting my heart… it will be an interesting story for my children, our children, one day.

  My mind goes to the events of that Saturday in that hell hole. I can feel the pain of Victor stabbing me and everything around me slowly goes dark, and then I wake up in the hospital, unable to move. I was scared, but once I saw Emily, her family, and my sister, I knew I had the support to get through whatever lay ahead of me, us.

  I ended up only spending a few days in the hospital. Once I became fully aware of where I was and what had happened, the shock wore off and I was able to move my body. Victor was able to stab me three times before Kenneth hit him with the crowbar, and luckily for Kenneth, he didn’t kill him. I don’t think he could have lived with himself if he did. He’s not that kind man.

  While searching Victors’ place, the police found that all the girls that were from Project Hope that had ran away weren’t actual runaways. They were victims of kidnapping by Victor. So far four of the eight girls have been located and reunited with their families. Emily and I have vowed to assist the police in any way that helps them find the remaining missing girls.

  According to the doctors, Victor should make a full recovery. He will be standing trial for the thirteen counts of kidnapping and human trafficking and one count of abduction, and I will be in that courtroom every single moment of that trial to make sure that he gets everything he deserves. I hope by the time they’re finished with him, he wishes he were dead.

  That’s cold hearted of me, but what he did to Emily and all of those other girls is beyond fucked up and he needs to pay. I’m sure he’s someone’s bitch in prison when he gets there.

  “Are you sure you’re ready to be here?” Emily asks as she pulls me back to the present.

  I pull Emily into me before she leaves, to do whatever she’s doing today, and I inhale her citrus scent, letting it consume me, calm me.

  “Yes, I feel pretty good and I need to finish a few pending projects so I can leave the company on good terms. They’ve been good to me for the past six and half years, so I want them to know I appreciate them giving me a chance when they did.”

  “You’re an honorable man, Mr. Matheson.”

  “Thank you, I will take that as a huge compliment coming from you.”

  “Oh, it is.” She smiles and I kiss her. “I’ll see you at four. If you need to come home before then, call me.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine, Ems, Kristin will make sure.”

  “I love you, babe.”

  “I love you too,” I say as I kiss her again before she leaves my office.

  I sit down and start flipping through all the papers Kristin has placed on my desk for me to go through, and I chuckle because I’m going to miss her organization. Emily is in no way this organized with my stuff, her stuff, yes, crazy organized. I turn on my computer monitor and pick up my phone to listen to voicemails while my login screen on my computer pops up.

  There’s nothing important in my voicemails, and login to my computer and wait for the startup screen to load. There’s a soft knock at the door and I look up to see Kristin entering the room.

  “Patrick, it’s so good to see you back to work. You’re looking a lot better since I saw you at home last week,” Kristin says as she smiles warmly at me.

  “Thank you. It feels good to be back, but before I make anything official, I would like to speak to you…off record.”

  “Oh? Let me shut the door.”

  “Thank you.” I stand up and sit down in a chair in front of my desk, waiting for Kristin to sit beside me. “Emily has asked me to be the CFO at the foundation…and I have accepted. I’m putting in my resignation today.”

  She gasps and covers her mouth, not saying anything.

  “Do you think it’s a good move? I’m asking you not as my assistant, but as the woman who basically has been a mother figure to me for the past four years.”

  She looks at me, tears welling in her eyes. “I think it’s the perfect move I knew the moment that I saw you and Emily together that she’s your forever, Patrick. Take the opportunity and make it amazing like you did here.”

  I place my hand on hers and squeeze it. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.” I clear my throat. “What would it take to convince you to come and work for us at the foundation?”

  This time she can’t even move, she’s shocked I’d even ask.

  “Well?”

  She takes a deep breath and a smile adorns her face. “I’d be honored. I would love to work for you… I was thinking maybe it’s time to retire, but I’m not ready to. I guess it’s on to our next adventure.” She smiles.

  “You are so correct. Well, I guess I better get busy and get everything in order for our departures. Give me your letter whenever you’re ready. I’m turning mine in later today.”

  “Will do, Patrick. Thank you for thinking of me.”

  “You’re the only person I thought of. You’re amazing at what you do and you keep me in line.”

  “I try.” She gets up, and I get up with her and pull her into a hug. “Thank you for everything you do.”

  She blushes slightly. “You’re welcome. If you need anything, please let me know. Make sure you don’t overdo it, or Emily will be mad at us both.”

  “I know. I got the same lecture before she left.”

  “I’ll let you get to work and will talk to you around lunch time if not before.”

  “Sounds good. Thank you, Kristin.”

  She smiles and nods before she shuts my office door.

  I click on the email icon and browse the hundreds of new emails that are sitting in my inbox. One title piques my interest and I click on the email to expand the whole message.

  Hey Patrick,

  Everything is a go with CUGC’s donation to Veterans Homebound Inc. The check is ready to be processed, so please reply when you would like Kane to ink it so you can deliver to the center. A few of the board members would like to be present when you present the check.

  Thanks,

  Christopher Jules

  VP, Accounting

  That couldn’t have come at a better time, one less thing I’ll have to worry about tying up before I leave. I reply quickly to Christopher.

  Good morning, Christopher.

  Let’s schedule a presentation for next Thursday. I’ll get with Amy and make sure that works for VHI.

  I’ll let you know if plans change.

  Thanks,

  Patrick

  I click send and sit back in my chair, thinking about all the changes that have happened in this year. This time last year, I would have never guessed that I would be in a committed relationship with an amazing woman, working on a stable relationship with my father, and leaving the company I’ve loved working at for the past six years.

  The tormenting voice of my father no longer provokes me, fills me with rage, as that’s all in the past and will stay in the past. Thinking of the past, I realize that I need to take Ems to meet the Carlino’s. They gave me a chance when I had given up on myself, and I know they would love Emily and the work we are going to do for people.

  I’m so thankful to be alive, to be able to give back. Kristin summed it up perfectly; it’s time for our next adventure. I smile as I think about my next adventure with Emily and I know might be rushing things, but when I see something I want, I go for it. I want Emily for the rest of my life, it’s time to make her mine…forever, and on to the next chapter in our lives, together.

  Who knows what will happen next, fate has a crazy way of popping into your life when you least expect it…

  Unwanted or not.

  The love that Patrick and Emily have is enough to make a person gag, seriousl
y. Always touching each other, kissing…get a room you two. Kidding. I couldn’t be happier for the two of them. I’m so glad that Emily is in Patrick’s life…all of our lives. She’s the sister I’ve always wanted, and I know she’s the reason my family is together.

  Dad’s doing wonderful and the doctors are even talking about putting a plan in place that includes him returning home within the next four to eight weeks. I can’t be more excited for him. Patrick has been visiting him regularly in hospice and it makes my heart swell with happiness that their relationship is growing.

  Patrick and Dad agreed that it’s time for the house to have some improvements, and together they redesigned the house so it will accommodate Dad with a wheelchair or a walker. I’ve been staying with Patrick and Emily at their house while the construction is underway, and I don’t know if I ever want to leave… Well, except for hearing them bump uglies part makes me want to run for the mountains. Yuck.

  Nineteen almost twenty is too young to be an aunt… Emily and I need to have a lot more fun before she becomes a mom. Thankfully, she spares me the details. Speaking of Emily, she just text me. I gotta go. Time for lunch before I head to class. Geniuses can’t learn on an empty stomach.

  Later gators.

  I want to thank the people in my life who allow me to do this for a living: My husband, Adam, thank you for not throwing me out on the days I forget where the shower is located and how to cook dinner. I appreciate you more thank you’ll ever know. My children, Hunter and Dane, no, you cannot read this… Not until you’re 30.

  Delisa Lynn, I swear we are related… My sister from another mister, you rock. <3

  Donna Dull, thank you for getting my weirdness with covers and blurbs—you are amazing.

  Victoria Escobar, thank you, thank you for not killing me. I know I wait until the last moment to send you my files.

  Connie Gorman, Christina Concus, and Marnie Warren, without you...my words would a jumbled up mess on the pages.

  My personal assistant, Samantha Maren Carpenter, thank you for your undying support, shares, pimping…the list goes on and on. Thank you so much for not giving up on me and my crazy ways.

  This story wouldn’t be what it is without my beta readers: T.J. Loveless, Dulice Currier, Delisa Lynn, Christina Concus, Tanna Britt, Kelsey Fischer, and Andrea Collier. I appreciate all your help and insight to make Unwanted Fate what it is today. Thank you for your kind words and the brutal truth.

  And the most important thank you goes to my readers, thank you.

  A. Gorman was born and raised in a small community in Central Indiana. She left the slow moving life of the country for the fast-paced city life. After spending twelve years in the city and becoming a mother to two wild and crazy kids, she chose to move back to the peace and quiet of the country after marrying the man of her dreams and gaining three more children.

  As an avid reader, A. never set out to be an author since she’s a full-time editor for several incredible authors. However, after editing one day, a voice started talking to her and talking and talking. She decided to sit down and write what she had to say, and it turned out she had a lot to say. Then that one voice turned to two, and another story came to life. Not believing that anything she was writing was publishable, she asked a few friends to critique her manuscript…and now she’s the proud author of the Their Sins series, with several more series and standalones planned.

  When she’s not corralling their five kids and two dogs or out in their garden, you can find her at her desk editing or writing her next novel with a cup of coffee and classical music cranked up on her iPad. While she loves reading, A. is addicted to all things British, coffee, and gummy bears—in no particular order.

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