My Destiny

by J. L. Perry

  We had some coffee and talked for over an hour. When she started getting the food out of the fridge so she could prepare dinner, I asked her if I could help. I knew this was her job, but having her wait on us all the time still didn’t sit well with me. I explained how I loved to cook and that I missed it, so she reluctantly let me help.

  Logan came back from the hospital and said that his uncle was doing well. The doctors said he would make a full recovery. He gave me a kiss, then sat down at the breakfast bar to watch us cook.

  “You know you should be resting,” he said to me, but I just rolled my eyes at him. “If you keep rolling your eyes so much, you will get dizzy,” he said teasingly, and we all laughed.

  I had been trying to block out the fact that Logan’s uncle was my father because I still had a lot of mixed feelings about it. My heart still broke for my mother when I thought about how his actions had ruined her life. It also made me wonder how different life would have been if he hadn’t said the things he did. It was just too much to take in for now. I hoped I could find the strength to sit down and talk to him one day, but I couldn’t right now.

  Once dinner was nearly ready, Jill asked us to go and sit at the table and she would bring it out in five minutes. We walked out of the kitchen and Logan put his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “How are you feeling?”

  I put my arms around his waist. “I’m fine.” I got up on my tiptoes and brushed my lips against his. Logan pulled me tightly against his body and deepened the kiss.

  Thankfully, he was holding me tightly; otherwise, I would have been a puddle on the floor. He had such a strong effect on me, and his kisses were to die for. I could kiss him forever and never get tired of it.

  I could feel his erection pushing against my stomach so I pulled away from the kiss. “You better sit down before Jill comes out here to serve dinner,” I said with smile, as I brushed my hand against his erection.

  He gave me one of his heart-stopping smiles. “We will continue this after dinner,” he whispered.

  I gave him a wink. “I am looking forward to it, hot stuff.”

  Logan

  After kissing her like that, I wanted to skip dinner altogether and carry her off to the bedroom. Right now, I needed to make love to this woman more than I needed air.

  We sat down at the table. I picked up her hand and pulled it up to my mouth to kiss it. “I love you, Brooke Ryan,” I said. “With all my heart.”

  She leaned across the table and brushed her lips against mine, and then paused before sitting back in her seat. She looked me in the eyes and said, “I love you, too, Logan Cavanagh.” The deep love we felt for each other was something I never thought I would experience. She made me so happy!

  I couldn’t take my eyes off her while we were eating, and my cock was so hard it was starting to hurt. The way her fork slid between her lips as she ate was slowly killing me. Changing places with a fucking fork was something I never thought I would want to do, but I would give anything to be her fork right now. All I could think about was all the things I was going to do her when I finally got her upstairs.

  After dinner, I gently grabbed her hand and led her up to our room. I kicked the door closed with the back of my foot and pulled her into my arms. She grabbed the back of my t-shirt, pulling it up and over my head. Then she unbuttoned my jeans and I helped her pull them off. I wanted to rip the clothes off her body, but she was injured so I needed to take it easy.

  As I helped her take her top off, she pushed me back onto the bed. She started to get undressed seductively, so I sat up on my elbows and watched her. She was so fucking sexy!

  When Brooke was completely naked, she slowly climbed over my body and straddled me. I wanted to flip her over, but I didn’t want to hurt her. As she started to kiss and suck on my neck, I could feel my cock throbbing.

  I put my hands gently on either side of her face and pulled her down for a kiss. She sucked my bottom lip into her mouth, then gave it a little nip. She was driving me fucking wild!

  Once she was positioned over my erection, she sunk down on to me and we both moaned. Brooke pulled out of our kiss and sat up, putting her hands on my chest and throwing her head back.

  “Fuck, baby,” I groaned. She started to ride me hard. She had never looked as beautiful as she did right now. I was one lucky fucking bastard!

  I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Her body was amazing, and she was mind-blowing. I slowly moved my hands up her stomach and over her soft breasts. I sat up and captured one of her tits in my mouth. She let out a sexy little moan and started to ride me harder.

  “Take it easy, baby,” I said because I didn’t want her to hurt herself. She put her finger to my mouth to stop me from talking so I bit it lightly, then moved my hands down to her hips and started to pump into her.

  Fuck, she felt incredible and I was ready to blow. “Are you ready, baby?” She nodded as she started to moan loudly, and I could feel her clenching around my cock. That’s all I needed to come in her. Fuck! Sex with her was amazing, and I knew I would never tire of it.

  She gently rolled off me, and lay down beside me. Brooke turned her head to look at me. She was smiling. I looked deep into her eyes, and I could see how much she loved me. She didn’t need to say it because it was written all over her face.

  That night when she was lying in my arms, I heard her whimpering in her sleep. I pulled her in closer to me and held her tight. Thankfully, the whimpering stopped. I was so worried about her. It just confirmed that she wasn’t coping as well as she said. I needed to get her away from Sydney for a few days.

  There was no need to hide inside anymore so we’ll pack up tomorrow and get away from all this for a while. My parents owned a cabin overlooking the lake. I’ll take her there so she can relax.

  When she woke in the morning, I asked, “Hey, Brooke. Want to get away for a few days?”

  She smiled. “Oh, that sounds wonderful!”

  “Okay. After breakfast, pack a bag. We’ll leave around 10:00 a.m.”

  After I got out of the shower, I packed some clothes, then went down to my office to call Claire because I wanted make sure everything was running smoothly before we left.

  Brooke

  Logan was in his office talking with Claire so I quickly scanned the obituary section of the newspaper. I was looking to see if I could find anything about Jake. As I was reading the notices, I saw it.

  JOHNSTON, Jake. Loving son of Gregory and Pamela Johnston, brother to Amanda, and husband to Brooke. His funeral will be held tomorrow at Saint Margaret’s Church at 11:00 a.m., and the burial will take place at Macquarie Park Cemetery, North Ryde. Friends and family welcome.

  Tears started to fall down my face. I don’t know why, but I felt incredibly sad. I think it was partly for Jake and what had become of him, but it was mostly for his parents and his sister. They had been a big part of my life once, and were lovely people. I knew how much they would be hurting right now.

  Even though I had already decided that I wouldn’t be attending the funeral, there were so many things I needed to say to his parents. I wasn’t feeling strong enough to call them so I grabbed a piece of paper and pen out of the drawer in the kitchen and started writing them a letter.

  Dear Pam and Greg,

  I am writing you this letter because I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. I am not sure if you want to hear this from me, but I felt it needed to be said. I know how much you loved Jake, and how hard his death must be on you all.

  I am sorry that I couldn’t help him and, as his wife, I feel like I let him down when he needed me most. I swear to you that I didn’t know he was taking drugs until long after I had left him. A lot of things happened in the two days before I left Jake, and I hope I get the chance to explain everything to you one day. I know the kind of person Jake was before all this happened, and that he was a good man. For that, you should be proud. I also know that leading up to his death, he was not the same Jake that we all knew and
loved, and that saddens me.

  I am sorry that I wasn’t able to come to his funeral but, under the circumstances, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. I know how much Jake loved you both, and he told me many times when we were together that you were wonderful parents to him. I want to thank you for all the kindness you both showed me when I was part of your family, and I wanted to let you know that I think of you both often. I will miss having you in my life.

  Love always,

  Brooke. x

  When I finished, I put my head in my hands and started to cry.

  Logan

  As I came out of the office, I noticed Brooke had her head in her hands. I couldn’t hear her, but I could tell by the way her body was slightly shaking that she was crying. I quickly went to her and knelt down, wrapping her in my arms.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” I asked. I glanced at the table and noticed that the newspaper was open to the obituary notices. She didn’t need to tell me now because I knew exactly why she was crying. I held her tight and just rocked her in my arms.

  Honestly, it was hard to comprehend why Jake’s death was affecting her so much after everything he had put her through. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but I would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt.

  She lifted her head and looked at me, and my heart was hurting for her. I wiped her tears away with my thumb. “What I can do to make your pain go away?” I whispered.

  “I am sorry,” she sniffled. “I don’t mean to cry. I was writing a letter to Jake’s parents and just got a little overwhelmed, that’s all.” She continued to explain how she was hurting for them, and that losing a son under such terrible circumstances would be hard.

  I had to agree. I loved how caring she was towards others. Brooke always saw the best in people. I cautiously asked her if I could read the letter, and she sat up and passed it to me. I didn’t like it when I read that she was still feeling guilty about not helping Jake, but that’s just the kind of person she was, I suppose. I needed to keep reminding myself that Jake and his family were her only family for over five years. She had a whole other life before we met. Reading the letter helped me understand why she was feeling like this.

  I hugged her again and she put her head on my chest. “The letter is lovely, baby,” I said. “You have such a big heart, Brooke, and I am proud of the way you care so much about others.”

  When the tears dried up, I kissed her softly on the head and asked her if she was ready to go. I needed to get her away from here.

  I went up to the bedroom to grab our bags, then went back to the table and gently pulled Brooke up off the chair. I laced my fingers through hers as we walked over to the elevator.

  Once we were down in the basement, I put our bags in the trunk of the car and helped Brooke into the passage seat. “Nice car,” she said as we pulled out into the street. I looked over at her and smiled. “It suits you, hot stuff!” We both laughed.

  “I need to drive to my parent’s house to pick up the key to the cabin.”

  “Oh, good. I want to see your mum.”

  When we arrived at my parent’s house, I went around Brooke’s side of the car and helped her out. As we walked up to the door, my mum came out to greet us. She hugged Brooke first. “How are you, sweetie?” Then she hugged me.

  We followed mum inside and into the kitchen. I noticed my dad sitting at the table, reading the paper. Brooke hadn’t met him yet so I said, “Hi, Dad. This is my girlfriend, Brooke.” He stood up from the table and held out his hand to shake hers, but she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Cavanagh,” she said. By the look on my dad’s face, I could tell he was shocked. My dad was definitely not a hugger!

  I was waiting for him to get angry, but was surprised when he hugged her back. Fuck, he even had a smile on his face. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Brooke.” He let go of her and sat back down, cleared his throat, and picked up his paper again. I looked over at him in shock, and noticed he was still smiling. Brooke just had this way about her. If anyone could melt the ice in his veins, it would be her.

  I shook my head, and when I looked over at my mum, she was smiling, too. I could tell she was just as surprised as I was. “Will you both stay for lunch?”

  “We really want to hit the road, Mum.”

  “Okay, well, will you come over for dinner on Sunday night when you get back?”

  Brooke spoke before I had a chance. “We would love that,” she answered in her sweet voice. My mum told us she would walk us out to the car.

  Brooke said, “Goodbye, Mr. Cavanagh. We will see you on Sunday.”

  He looked up from his paper and smiled at her before giving her a nod. Fuck, two smiles in one day? That was a miracle for him. “Goodbye, Brooke,” he said. “I look forward to it and, please, call me Robert.”

  My mum and I just looked at each other and smiled. I knew she was just as surprised as I was. There was hope for the old man after all, I thought.

  It was a two hour drive up the coast and Brooke insisted on playing the music on her iPod all the way. She was so cute singing along to all the songs. She looked happy, which made me happy. I would have rather talked to her on the drive up, but knew that while she was singing, she wasn’t thinking. By the time we arrived at the cabin, I was singing along, too.

  Brooke

  These few days away with Logan were exactly what I needed, and on the drive up the coast, I could already feel myself relaxing. When I met Logan’s dad earlier, I was surprised because he didn’t seem as bad as Logan said he was. He was very handsome for an older man and had Logan’s height and built, but his dad’s hair was light brown and slightly greying, and his eyes were blue. Logan looked a lot like him, but he had his mum’s dark hair and eye colour.

  We arrived at the cabin. It was beautiful. I expected this tiny little wooden shack, but was surprised to find it was massive. It was tiny compared to the mansion his parents lived in, but it was still huge. It had a large wooden veranda running all the way around it, and was situated right on the lake. There was a small private jetty in the water in front of the house, and the water was blue and so clear that you could actually see tiny fish swimming in it.

  Logan grabbed the bags out of the car as I stood there admiring the view. It was amazing! I could have just stood there all day looking out over the water. I inhaled a deep breath, and I could already feel my body relaxing.

  From what I could see, there were no other houses around. It was very private and secluded. When we had arrived at the property, we drove about a kilometre through bushland before reaching the house.

  Logan put the bags inside, then came back out and stopped behind me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on the top of my head. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” he asked. “I spent a lot of my childhood up here. I always loved this place.”

  “I’m in love with it already,” I replied. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

  “Come on in and take a look around.”

  On the way up the front stairs, he said, “We need to go to the shops later and pick up some groceries. I am taking you out for dinner tonight, but we will need some food for breakfast.”

  The inside of the cabin was beautiful. When I first walked in through the foyer, I had to walk down two wooden steps, which led me into the huge sunken lounge room.

  It had beautifully polished wooden floors. The top half of the walls was painted in a dark cherry red colour, the bottom half was covered in wooden panels, and there was a lot of colourful artwork hanging. There was a huge open stone fireplace in one corner, and a large wooden bookshelf along one wall. The lounge was dark chocolate leather, and there were matching comfortable chairs spread throughout the room. In the centre, there was a large red shag rug.

  On the other side of the room was a large wooden kitchen, with a dining room table just off to the side. Logan told me the bedrooms were at the back of the house, along with the main bathroom. He said that
there were five bedrooms, and they all had their own en-suites.

  On the way to his bedroom, he told me that it was the room he slept in growing up. It had a large wooden king-sized bed in the middle of the room, it was decorated with dark wooden furniture, and the walls were a deep smoky blue. It was lovely.

  He put our bags down. “Do you need to rest before we go to the shops?”

  “No. I’m feeling fine.” I smiled. Before we left, I helped him open some of the windows so we could air out the house while we were gone.

  We went back outside and made our way to the car. Logan came around my side to open the door for me. Such a gentleman! Before I got in, he kissed the side of my head where my stitches were. “Is it hurting?”

  “Not at all.” I brushed my hand softly down the side of his face. “Stop worrying about me.” I pressed my lips on his because I loved the way he cared so much for me.

  As I watched Logan shopping for groceries, I was amused. He didn’t have a clue what to do, and I could tell he had never done this before. When we were finished, we loaded everything into the car and headed back to the cabin.

  We unpacked and put all the food away, and once that was done, we decided to go for a walk so Logan could show me the area. He threaded his fingers through mine as we walked along the lake, and he recounted lots of funny stories about all the mischief he had gotten into when he had stayed here as a child.

  His childhood had been totally different than mine because he had grown up with money and all the privileges that came with it. Don’t get me wrong. I loved my childhood. Being with my mother was all I needed, but we had never gone on vacation because we just couldn’t afford to. If I could change one thing, though, it would be that my mum wouldn’t have had to work as much as she did.

  When we got back to the cabin, we took a nap…not that we got much sleep. After that, we got ready to go out to dinner. Logan took me to this beautiful restaurant overlooking the water. The food was delicious. We both had lobster in a butter sauce, and shared a salad. That was the first time I’d had lobster, and I loved it.