Touching Fate

by Brenda Drake

  “Mom?” Aster tore off running, and Reese took off after her.

  They bounded down the deck steps to the beach, the sand slowing them down. In the surf, her mother tried to drag something out of the water. She slipped and fell several times, losing hold of whatever it was. As they got nearer, Reese could see it was a body. He picked up speed, passing Aster and making it to her mother first. She was holding on to a girl. He swiftly lifted the girl up in his arms and waded out of the water with her.

  He laid her on the beach, and her head flopped to the side. Aster’s mother dropped to her knees beside her and checked to see if she was breathing.

  Aster stopped beside Reese, panting heavily. “Violet? Oh no.”

  Her mother started CPR. “Call 911.”

  Aster tugged her phone out of her pocket and called, answering several questions. Reese held her in his arms while they anxiously watched her mother work on Violet.

  “Come on, baby,” her mother pleaded between breaths.

  Several agonizing seconds passed as they waited.

  Violet gasped, coughing up water.

  Her mother buried her head in Violet’s chest and cried. “Oh, thank God.”

  The wail of a siren got louder as it approached the house. Before long, a man and a woman in paramedic uniforms rushed to their aid. When they assessed it was safe to move Violet, they strapped her to a stretcher. Reese, Aster, and her mother helped the paramedics carry Violet across the beach and up the deck steps.

  Roselyn met them on the driveway, holding her belly. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s Violet,” her mom said with a shaky voice. “She almost drowned.”

  Hunched over, Roselyn tried to take a step forward but stopped, grabbing her stomach. Her face scrunched up in pain. “Whoa…that one’s a doozy.”

  Reese caught Roselyn’s arm, supporting her.

  “Are you in labor?” her mother asked.

  She nodded and said between pants, “Early stages.”

  “Mom, go with Violet,” Aster said. “I’ll get Aunt Roselyn to the hospital. Where’s Daisy?”

  Her mother headed for the ambulance. “She’s at Abby’s house. Iris is out with Josh. Can you text Iris and have her pick up Daisy, please?” She climbed in with Violet, and the medic shut the double doors.

  Aster stood in the middle of the driveway, watching the ambulance disappear around the corner. She didn’t move from her spot until they couldn’t see the lights ricocheting against the neighborhood houses any longer.

  She worried her lip and muttered something under her breath that Reese couldn’t hear. He slid his arm around her shoulder and she shrugged him off. “You should stay far away from me,” she said. “I’m the worst person in the universe. I’m not worthy of you.”

  “And what does that say about me, exactly? That I’m a horrible judge of character? I’m actually known for having exquisite taste.” He wrapped his arms around her, planting a kiss on her temple. “You are one beautiful mess, Aster Layne.”

  Roselyn let out a drawn-out groan. “I hate to interrupt such a cute scene, but I think we should get to the hospital.”

  …

  Reese sat, not so patiently, in the hospital waiting room. He shook his leg and drummed his fingers on his thighs, wishing Jan and Leah would hurry up and arrive with Daisy. They agreed to pick her up when Iris hadn’t responded to Aster’s texts. Aster had gone into the delivery room with Roselyn, and her mother kept vigil over Violet in her room.

  He was about to give in and get another cup of awful hospital coffee when they finally arrived. Shortly after, Aster barged through the double doors adjacent to the waiting room, wearing a broad smile.

  “He’s here,” she proclaimed as if she were heralding a new king.

  He’s here? He’s here. She had a boy. He and Jan gave each other a staggering look. Fuck it all.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Aster

  The sunlight coming from Aster’s bedroom window teased the satin ribbon securing the top to Tillie’s hatbox. Her thoughts were centered on Reese. He hadn’t texted or phoned her in days. She hadn’t heard from him since Violet’s near-drowning and the birth of her new cousin. After she’d announced Nathan’s birth in the waiting room, he and Jan had quickly left.

  She’d thought he was just trying to be respectful and expected a call from him the next morning, especially since they’d had sex that afternoon. But no text or call had come. The thought upset her, and when Leah came to visit the baby, she had told Aster that he was just giving her time to deal with family matters.

  Yeah, right. Even she didn’t believe that nonsense. He’s avoiding me. He got what he wanted, and now he’s moved on.

  But she couldn’t stop thinking about how it felt to have his strong arms around her. Or how passionate their kisses had been. Or the heat his touch caused inside her. It consumed her.

  Asshole.

  Aster plopped down on the floor with the hatbox, angrily untied the knot, and tossed the top to the side. A small journal sat on top of a stack of parchment-like papers held together with twine. She removed the journal and papers and placed them on the floor beside her.

  Next, she pulled out several photographs of families and couples. On the back of one photograph of a young woman and man was written Tillie and Renaldo, 1950. She flipped the photo back over. Tillie had been beautiful, her skin flawless, her hair dark and full of curls. And Renaldo had been a total hottie.

  Aster searched the rest of the things in the hatbox. There were several crystals of varying colors lining the bottom of the box. She stretched out her legs, supported her back against her bed, and opened the journal.

  The pages were full of information with equations, drawings of crystals, and instructions passed down through the ages from one fate changer to the next. She read a paragraph from Tillie that wasn’t a translation but her own thoughts. She spoke of coming to America as a seven-year-old girl and how excited she had been to cross the ocean and see the Statue of Liberty. Her mother feared Tillie’s abilities and had wished to hide the little girl and shield her from the sorrow that came with the power. Some changers chose suicide over controlling fates, and others were condemned to death by religious fanatics. The journal recounted several of them—beheadings and crucifixions.

  The information would have been lost if Tillie’s mother hadn’t saved the hatbox that had belonged to a cousin of hers who had the gift. It contained research notes her cousin had kept as she searched for a way to end the curse. Fearing someone would discover the notes during their travels, Tillie’s mother had sewn the parchment papers into the layers of her dress.

  A gust of wind blew in from Aster’s open window and turned the pages. The wind stopped just as suddenly as it started. In the middle of the page, four double underlined words stood out.

  Protection from a Calling.

  “Tillie?” Goose bumps prickled Aster’s skin. It was silly for her to think Tillie’s ghost had caused the wind that would shuffle the papers to land on that exact page. Aster shook her head and read the entry. For a tarot reader to stay connected to a fate changer, the reader must obtain the changer’s fate card, and the remainder of the deck must be in the changer’s possession.

  Miri. Tillie believed the reader had Aster’s fate card.

  I have to get it back.

  She slipped on her flats and grabbed her purse. Before leaving, she removed her tarot cards from her purse, placed them on top of the pile in the hatbox, and hid it under her bed.

  Her mom was rustling through drawers when Aster entered the kitchen. “Hi,” Aster said. “What’s going on?”

  “Have you seen my deposit bag?” she asked, not looking up as she slammed the drawer shut.

  Her mother hadn’t been to the shop since Violet’s incident. Iris and Aster had been filling in for her with their other two employees.

  “I can’t find it. I dropped it the night Violet…” she said, her words trailing off as she opened another drawer.


  “I haven’t seen it,” Aster said. “Sorry. But I’m sure it’ll show up. Did you go over your steps from the shop to the last time you remember seeing it?”

  “Yes. I was on my way to the bank when Daisy called and needed a ride. I picked her and Abby up and brought them here. I fixed them a snack, then Iris drove the girls to Abby’s house. And then I spotted Violet…I can’t remember anything else. I must’ve left it on the counter.”

  Aster searched her thoughts, trying to remember if her mother had mentioned the deposit bag that night. All she could recall was her mother saying that she’d been at the kitchen window when she’d spotted Violet going down the deck steps dressed only in her bra and panties.

  “I must be losing my mind. It’s probably still in the safe,” she said, trying to stay positive, but Aster could see the worry in her eyes. “I must get to the shop. We have a wedding to do.”

  “Do you need help?”

  “No. Iris and Emily are working today.” She smiled at her. “Besides, aren’t you going shopping for your graduation dress with Leah today?”

  “That’s the plan.” Aster grabbed an apple from the basket on the counter. “I have to run an errand first.”

  Gram shuffled in the kitchen, rocking Nathan in her arms. “And what errand is that?”

  “Um…uh—”

  Aunt Roselyn burst into the kitchen, letting Aster off the hook. “Herman will be here next week. His papers were approved and everything.”

  “Finally, good news for once,” Gram said, placing Nathan in his infant seat.

  “Well, I’ll catch you later.” Aster took a big bite of the apple and darted out the back door before anyone else could ask where she was heading.

  Her mind was spinning, thinking of everything bad that had happened lately because of the fates she had changed. She ran the list through her mind. Leah chose Jan over Henry the first time she changed a fate—the star card reversed—which transferred to Iris, causing her to forget sweet Wade and go back with her jerk of a boyfriend. Aunt Roselyn’s husband missed his son’s birth courtesy of Aster fixing a woman’s travel delays by touching the chariot card.

  Because Aster had flipped the three of swords for a woman with lung cancer, Gram fell ill. Daisy was running around with the wrong crowd soon after Aster reversed the six of wands for a delinquent boy. Violet got depressed and almost killed herself because she was hit with the sun card reversed that belonged to the depressed girl with a million piercings.

  And now, her mom had lost a deposit for the shop, and Aster suspected it had everything to do with her flipping the reversed wheel of fortune card for a man who was having financial issues.

  Aster wanted to wring Miri’s neck for leading her down this destructive path. She wished everything would go back to normal. It seemed like whatever she touched turned out terribly wrong. The cherry on top of it all? Reese had used her for sex. She’d thought he was special. That they were falling in love.

  Obviously happy to see Aster, Miri rushed her inside. The people in line voiced their protests. “Quit griping. She works for me. I’ll take the next in line momentarily.”

  Aster searched the room, wondering where Miri had hidden her card. “I came to tell you that I won’t be changing fates anymore.”

  An angry look crossed Miri’s face. “Why not? I pay you well, don’t I?”

  “Not enough to endanger my family and anyone else I come in contact with,” Aster said. “Did you know that the bad fates go with me and transfer to whoever I touch next? My sister almost killed herself and my grandmother almost died because of them.”

  “I didn’t know that would happen,” Miri said. “How do you know these things happened because of the fates you changed?”

  Aster searched Miri’s eyes. There was so much concern crinkling them that Aster believed she was telling her the truth. “Another fate changer—a tenant of my grandmother’s—told me. I kind of knew before that, though. The things that happened to my family matched the cards I touched perfectly.”

  Tears glistened in Miri’s eyes. “I’m so sorry. If I knew…”

  “It’s okay,” Aster said, spotting Miri’s candy dish. On the first day, the reader had placed the golden pin Aster had found stuck to the carpet in it. Reese had a similar pin. She marched over and removed the top. Her star card was inside with the pin piercing through the woman in the picture. The pin was identical to the one Reese wore—a family crest with a lion and the initials RAVB across it.

  Aster gasped and took a step back. Reese Armand Van Buren.

  “I can explain,” Miri said, stepping toward her.

  Aster held her hand out to stop her. “Don’t come near me. You don’t have to explain. I know what you did. You used me and called me here against my will. Tell me, what does Reese have to do with all this? Why do you have his pin? Why was he here?”

  “Sit and I will tell you everything I know.”

  Aster hesitated, looking down at the card. She removed the pin and tossed it on the table, then slipped the card in her purse. “I’ll stand, thank you. Just tell me.”

  Miri went on to tell Aster about Reese and his curse. A jilted lover had given herself to a royal man in the belief he would marry her, but he took another as his bride instead. The woman cursed the man and his descendants—Reese’s bloodline—fating all the firstborn sons to die on their eighteenth birthdays. It was similar to what Tillie had said about the curse she had changed for the boy. It had killed Aster’s grandfather. And it would take Reese, too.

  Aster couldn’t think through the screams in her head. He’d betrayed her trust. Used her. All he’d wanted was for her to save him. Aster could hardly see Miri through the tears building in her eyes. “How did you get my card?”

  “He brought your deck to me.”

  Without a word, Aster snatched up the pin and stormed out of Miri’s front door.

  She would confront him—that’s what she’d do. The pin pressed against her fisted hand. Flinging herself into the front seat of the Bug, she slammed the door and sped off for Reese’s condo, holding the wheel with one hand while swiping away the tears with the other. When she got there, she stared at the sign erected in the entryway.

  A moving sale? What the fuck? He was going to get me to change his fate and leave. Disappear. She pushed open the Bug’s door and froze. Her rapidly rising and falling chest felt like it would completely crush her already-broken heart. Rushing breaths burned in her throat and she let out an animal-like sob. She dropped her forehead onto the steering wheel, the pain registering only slightly.

  When she stopped crying all the ugly tears, she grabbed her sweater from the passenger seat and wiped her face and nose with it. She took a few calming breaths and got out of the Bug. She would make him tell her the truth. He owed her that.

  With each step, reasoning took over her irrational thoughts.

  Reese is cursed.

  He’ll die if I don’t change his fate.

  She was almost to the door.

  He’ll die.

  I love him. He can’t die.

  A firstborn life for a firstborn life. She stopped.

  Baby Nathan.

  A firstborn son.

  I can’t…

  She turned to leave just as the front door opened. It was Reese ushering a woman out who was carrying a box with a picture of an espresso machine on it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Reese

  People traipsed in and out of the apartment, buying up all that was left of Reese’s belongings. He’d owned them for only a few months, but as each piece left, his life with Aster slipped away. In two days, he’d be on a flight back home.

  His thoughts kept going back to Aster, no matter how busy he kept himself. He couldn’t shake the memory of her. The passion in her eyes as they’d explored each other in his room. The softness of her lips on his. Her toned body pressed against his. One night was not nearly enough. He wanted an eternity, but the moment baby Nathan arrived in the w
orld, eternity slipped from his grasp.

  He was leaving for her, because if he stayed, the closer his final hours came, he would falter and beg her to change his fate. Whom would she choose? And if she chose Reese, would she regret that choice one day? Even with his strong will to live, he had no desire to take the life of an innocent baby.

  Jan cleared his throat, twitching his fingers by his sides as the woman examined his beloved espresso machine. Reese chuckled under his breath and shook his head at Jan. The woman’s back was toward them.

  Jan mouthed, “No.”

  Reese nodded his head in the direction of the living room, indicating he wanted to speak to Jan alone. “Pardon me,” he told the woman. “I must check on something in the other room.” Jan followed him out of the kitchen.

  “Honestly, you’re making our buyers nervous,” Reese whispered.

  Jan slumped. “Why can’t we keep the flat?”

  “Who will be here to live in it?” Reese asked. “You’re going to be at university for the next four, possibly six years. And I’ll be…” Gone, he thought. “Besides, I must get home. Spend my last days with my parents.”

  “You should tell Aster. She’d save you.” Jan paced. “I can’t think of life without you about.”

  “I won’t ask her. But in all actuality, I wouldn’t let her do it, anyway.” He picked up the wire sculpture of an owl on a log his mother had ordered for him. “I believe I’ll keep this. It reminds me of that owl bracelet Aster wears to hide her mark.”

  “Just tell her you love her,” Jan said, ignoring Reese’s owl comment. “She’ll do whatever it takes to change your fate.”

  “I won’t have a baby’s death on my hands.” Reese put the sculpture down. “She couldn’t live with the guilt. And because I love her, I can’t put her through that.”

  The woman cleared her throat. “I’ll take it. You said two hundred, right?”

  “That’s a six-hundred-dollar machine,” Jan whined, “and it’s hardly been used.”

  Reese approached the woman. “Pay no attention to him. Two hundred was the deal. Let me get the box for you.” He escorted her to the kitchen, boxed up the machine, and showed her to the door.