Destiny Undone 4

by Heartley, Amanda

  “Fallon? No way. She walks all over him. He’s worse than useless when it comes to her and if you think you two are oil and water—you should see her around Dad. No. It has to be you. Please, please Pepper? I swear I’ll never ask you for another thing.”

  I looked at her out of the corner of my eye and wished I could tell her no, but I already knew I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror if I made her do this alone.

  “All right, all right, but this maxes out your favor allowance for the year. Possibly the decade. And don’t even think about putting me on the spot! I’ll turn and walk away if she starts on me.”

  “Okay, that’s a deal. There’s the office,” she instructed me, like I’d never been here before. Dr. Greenly had been our gyno since we were old enough to need one and he was discreet, well-respected and a good friend of Dad’s. Rather than pull up to the front door and risk being seen, we were allowed to enter through the back of the building—a handy perk in the age of cell phones. That’s all we’d need if we got snapped by a pap—speculation about who was pregnant or who might have some kind of disease. I’d been accused of being pregnant twice before and both times, the reporters had it wrong—and I’d burned the dresses I’d been wearing in those photos. Why risk it?

  A nurse hustled us into the private waiting room where it was just the two of us. We hung out for a few minutes then I sent Gabe a good morning text and smiled when I got one back. Mills was talking to Fallon, who’d had to deal with his very angry, very traditional father. I was proud of her. I could see she was the grown-up in their relationship—which was kind of scary, but I was still proud. She kept him calm even though she was as sick as a dog herself.

  Dr. Greenly came in and greeted us. He inquired about Doug then went to work taking Mills’ vitals and showed her the baby’s growth chart. He measured her stomach then left her to change into one of those humiliating exam robes that open at the front. Mills joked that I should take her picture.

  “You know that’s not a good idea. Hacker, remember?”

  She frowned and flopped back on the examination bed, mad that I wouldn’t snap her photo. The doctor returned and the rest of the examination was fairly boring. A friendly nurse came in to assist with the pelvic and I turned to look away. There were some parts of my sister I didn’t want to see and soon, we were heading down the hallway to the ultrasound lab. Here was the moment of truth.

  “What do you think he’ll look like?” she asked me, smiling nervously.

  “What if it’s a her?” I smiled.

  “No, I’m pretty sure he’s a boy.”

  “You can’t know that for sure.”

  “I can’t explain it but I just know it. You watch and see.”

  Before I could comment, Heather, the tech, entered the room and helped Mills prepare for her first 3D ultrasound.

  “Are you ready to see your baby?”

  “Yes, I am!”

  “Okay, big sister, why don’t you come on the other side of her? You can see better from there.”

  I moved around while Heather turned off the lights. We joked about the noise the gel made as she squirted it on Mills’ tummy.

  “Here we go. I see something! Look, here are the baby’s feet. Nice toes—all ten of them! Now, here’s the baby’s head. Turn around, baby. Let’s see your face.” She nudged Mills’ belly a little and I laughed when I saw the baby respond by moving its hands. It was as if he wanted to push her away. I secretly hoped it was a girl but as long as the child was healthy, that was all that mattered.

  “Look at him, Pepper. He has my eyes!” The baby wriggled and moved his arms again as if to say, Go away!

  I laughed aloud. “Well, he certainly has your attitude,” I joked.

  “Now is the moment of truth. Let’s see if we can determine the baby’s sex, if that’s what you want to know, then I’ll go back to his or her face and take some photos. You ready?” Heather asked, poised with the machine over her barely swollen tummy. Mills nodded, her eyes full of tears. “Okay, kid, show us your goodies. Momma wants to know who you are. Have you picked out names yet?” Heather asked as she nudged the baby into a better position.

  “Not really. I have some ideas, though.”

  “Well, you have plenty of time. I’d say, five more months—maybe six.”

  “Really? I’m that far along?”

  “I’d say so, but I’ll let the doctor give you an official due date. Oh! Here we go! Congratulations—it’s a boy!”

  Mills squealed with delight and we laughed to see the baby respond by pushing up and down with his feet. “Great, now I see why I’m feeling sick. Baby is using my tummy as a trampoline!”

  Heather smiled. “That’s good. I mean, I know it makes you sick but the fact he’s so active tells you he’s a healthy boy. Okay, Mommy. Lie still if he’ll let you. I need to get some photos for you and I have to take measurements for the doctor. Won’t take a minute!”

  Heather snapped away and handed us a stack of photos to take with us. Dad was going to be so pleased—I couldn’t imagine what Fallon would say but no doubt, he’d be thrilled. Evangeline? That was anyone’s guess. In an evil sort of way, I was glad I’d be there to see her find out that she, the great supermodel, would be a ‘Grandma.’

  Mills cried the whole time she got dressed, but she was also smiling, so I chalked it up to happy tears and didn’t comment. The doctor came in and gave her his stamp of approval on the baby. She was almost four months pregnant and my nephew would be here in just five months! Life was going to change for all of us, but I didn’t mind. I loved him already.

  We left the clinic and drove to over to Fallon and Aven’s home, hoping we’d avoid Fallon’s father but, unfortunately, he was there. In fact, he greeted us at the door, which was a surprise. That had never happened before as far as I knew. “Hi, Mr. Yazbek. May I speak to Fallon?”

  “Come in. Wipe your feet, please.” He called for his son and stood smiling at us politely. I couldn’t discern what was happening here and if he thought he’d be a chaperone, he was a little late to the party.

  Aven walked in and beamed when she saw us. “There you are! We’ve been waiting to see the pictures!” Mills dug in her purse and pulled out the baby photos. “Look, Papa. See Fallon’s baby? What is it? A boy or a girl? Oh, never mind! It’s a boy, Papa! You’ll have a grandson!”

  “Yes, yes, it’s a boy and I’m very happy for you all, but I want some marriage here. Who is getting married? This is not how we do it. What would your mother say if she were alive?” Mr. Yazbek fussed, but I noticed a smile creep across his face as he looked through the pictures. “Fallon! Come see your son!”

  Fallon walked in rubbing his damp hair with a towel. “Coming, Papa.” He kissed Mills on the top of the head and stood behind his father. “It’s really true. I’m going to be a father?”

  Mills laughed at him good-naturedly. “Well, did you think I was making it up? I’m not growing puppies in here. Oh, God. I feel sick again. Here take this!” She shoved her bag at me and ran down the hall to the restroom. I sighed and felt so sorry for her.

  “Poor girl. That’s about the fourth time today. She’s going to waste away—I don’t think she can keep anything down at this point.”

  “I’ll go check on her.” Fallon walked down the hall to help his sick girlfriend. I wasn’t sure what he was going to do for her besides hold her hair back, but it warmed my heart that he was trying.

  “You tell them—they need to get married. Be a family!” Mr. Yazbek looked at me hopefully, as if I had some influence over the two of them.

  “Whatever they choose to do, I’ll support them. I guess we just have to wait, sir. Maybe they will.” He patted my arm, happy with my answer. I didn’t feel they had to get married just because they were expecting a child but then again, I’m not a parent. What do I know? The closest thing I’d ever had to a baby was an insecure dolphin.

  Aven and I went in search of something to snack on while our siblings hung
out in the bathroom. “So it appears your Dad is ready to see someone get married? Are you and Dominic talking about that? How’s he doing?”

  We chatted for a while about her new man. She still gushed about him and whispered to me, “Dominic’s been dropping hints about a ring but he hasn’t asked me to marry him yet. I think he will, though. Who knows? I absolutely adore his son, Drew. He’s a sweetie.”

  “What about the son’s mother?” She made a face and I laughed.

  “I see. Well, you’ll have to stay out of it as much as you can.”

  “I try. Honestly, I do. I’m flying up this weekend to spend an entire week with Dominic, meet his family. It was his idea. I think we may have to see her, though. It’s Drew’s birthday.”

  “Sounds like fun. Guess what I have to do?”

  She shrugged at me.

  “Go with Mills to tell Evangeline about the baby. Want to tag along?”

  This time, Aven was the one to make a face. “Never in a million years, baby. Have fun!”

  I rolled my eyes at her and Mills walked in, looking half-dead. “Could I have some soda water?”

  “Sure, Mills,” Aven said and jumped up and scurried to get the drink.

  “Maybe we should postpone telling Evangeline until you feel better,” I said, hopefully.

  She shook her pretty head. “No, it needs to be today. I want to tell her before she hears it from someone else. I owe her that.”

  I wanted to scream, ‘You don’t owe her a frickin’ thing!’ but I kept my mouth shut. I was getting pretty good at that.

  After Mills felt better, we left the Yazbeks and drove to Destiny Grill. We were only a few minutes late and why she’d insisted on meeting with Evangeline in public, I had no idea, but this was her meeting, not mine. I planned on keeping my opinions to myself, but when we pulled into the parking lot, her car was nowhere to be seen.

  I walked inside and asked the maître’d if she’d arrived, but no one had seen her. I got back to the car with the news and Mills immediately texted her to ask where she was. After we’d waited five or six minutes for a reply, she tried to call her several times but it always went straight to voice mail. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m sure she’s just got stuck in the crazy traffic around here.”

  “I know you don’t believe that, Pepper, and neither do I. She just couldn’t be bothered to show up. Probably out screwing some hot guy instead of having lunch with her daughters. Typical self-centered Evangeline”

  The image of her and Church came flooding back to my mind and it turned my stomach. Without thinking, I said, “Yeah, probably.”

  “Let’s just go.”

  “Are you sure? We can wait.”

  “I’ve changed my mind. Isn’t that what pregnant women do?” Mills said with a pained smile. We waited a few minutes longer then Mills sent her another text, hopefully telling her to fuck off, but I knew my baby sister wasn’t that bold.

  On top of everything else going on in her life, she’d now been stood up by her own mother without so much as an apology so I hugged her and smiled. “We got this, Sis. Tell you what, how about we go surprise Gabe and have lunch with him instead?”

  “Sure, he’s cool. Let’s get out of here.”

  Within seconds, we were back on the road to Sea Lab.

  Chapter Seven — Gabe

  “Believe me, when I know something I’ll pass it on.” I hung up the phone and felt a bit discouraged. Word had gotten out about the vandalism, and now Sea Crest appeared to have second thoughts about sending us the whales. I couldn’t believe they’d actually try to back out of the deal but if I wasn’t careful, that was exactly what would happen. Obviously, they had concerns about the safety of the animals they’d be sending to our care, but was that really necessary?

  Up until this incident, Sea Lab had never had to worry about the animals being in danger. Sure, we’d had occasional drama from PETA and other groups that didn’t agree whales and dolphins should ever be in captivity, but none of these groups would do something to hurt the animals. That would defeat their entire purpose.

  I was sure what had happened was nothing but sheer teenage stupidity. The detective working on the case claimed to have some leads on who was responsible and all I could do for now was to wait and see what happened.

  From my office window, I had a good view of Singh’s pool below and he looked happy today. Thankfully, his tank was clean and ready for playtime and it had been nice having Pepper around the day before. She’d dove right in—literally, just to make sure her favorite animal was okay.

  Bobbie Jo had asked about her again this morning. Apparently, she’d developed quite an appreciation for her former blonde nemesis. “Singh doesn’t work with anyone like he does with Pepper. Get her back here. Hire her, if you have to. We need her. She can work with all the dolphins! I imagine the whale guy is going to need some help. You know I’m dying to work with them.”

  “The whale guy? You mean Roger?” He would be coming with the whales from Sea Crest to serve as an expert animal caregiver while they adjusted to life at Sea Lab.

  “Yeah, him. He needs me.”

  If gossip was to be trusted, it seemed Roger and Bobbie Jo were an item, but I wasn’t about to bring that up. Instead, I simply nodded. “You’re probably right. I’ll see what I can do. This week—I promise!”

  “Thanks!” Bobbie Jo left happy and I decided to take a little time out from the office but before I left, I called Pepper in the hope she could join me for lunch later on.

  “Hey! What’s up, babe?” she answered in her pretty, soft voice that warmed my heart and made my thoughts drift to waking up with her in my arms.

  I smiled. “Just thinking about you. Can we have lunch today? You have plans?”

  “Aw, that’s so sweet. Sadly, no can do. Although, trust me, I’d much rather be with you, but Mills and I have a busy day today. We’ve had her baby scanned already and now we have to go to see Fallon with the pictures then she’s meeting Evangeline for lunch to break the news to her as well and I promised Mills I’d go with her.”

  “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  Pepper sighed. “Not really, but she practically begged me. I can’t send her into the lion’s den alone. Or up to the dragon’s castle. Whichever fits.”

  I laughed. “All right. Well, let Mills know I’m rooting for her—and you, of course. Are you coming to the house tonight?”

  “Yeah. I’ll warn you, though, I’m probably going to need some help moving my stuff in. Think you’ll be feeling up to it? I have quite a wardrobe that I’ve been missing.”

  “I’m sure we’ll manage.” I paused as a new thought entered my mind. “Have you talked to Doug yet?”

  “Uhm, not really.”

  “Maybe you should talk to him before I show up with moving boxes.”

  Pepper laughed. “Damn you. I hate when you encourage me to act like a grown-up. I’d better go. Mills is coming back to the car. We’re at the pharmacy. She’s been sick all morning.”

  “Call me later. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Okay, love you.”

  She hung up the phone before I could say it back… and I liked saying it to her. Right now I had something else on my mind. Something spontaneous and impetuous, but I was going to do it anyway. It really wasn’t like me to do anything without planning for weeks or more but I wanted to do it. I slid my wallet into my jacket pocket and walked out of the building.

  As I drove to my destination, I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel, half-heartedly drumming to one of my favorite songs. It had turned out to be a beautiful day and I pulled into the parking lot of Kraft’s Jewelers and hopped out. The logical side of my brain said, ‘Buy a dolphin anklet like you said you would,’ while the other half said, ‘It wouldn’t hurt to look at rings while you’re here.’ I smiled and rubbed my hands together, drying the sweat that had pooled there.

  A pretty, young redhead greeted me at the door. “Good morning, sir. I’m Rebecca
Kraft. Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Yes, Rebecca. Two things, actually. I want to buy an anklet and I want to look at rings.” There. It was out of my mouth. Now I had to follow through. Besides, what was the big deal? I was just going to look.

  With a smile, she waved me to a nearby case. “Okay, let’s start with the anklet. That’s probably going to be easier to choose. What did you have in mind? Silver or gold? Any kind of special style?”

  “Gold and do you have something with dolphins on it?”

  “Actually, I do. It’s very pretty and delicate-looking.” She tapped on a keypad and the case opened. Rebecca removed two anklets, one with a single, dangling dolphin pendant, the other was a gold chain made of dolphin-shaped links. “Any idea what her ankle size is?”

  “No, I hadn’t even thought of that. She has small ankles, though.”

  Rebecca smiled and said, “How tall is she?”

  “Hmm…I’d say five foot six.”

  “Then this should be perfect. If she needs it sized, we can do that, of course. Would you like this gift wrapped?”

  “Yes, please.” Rebecca placed the anklet in an elegant, black velvet box and slid the box inside a shiny, silver bag.

  “Actually, I’d like to have it delivered today. Is that possible?”

  “Certainly, we’ll be happy to do that. All I need is the address and payment information.” She smiled and we finished up the sale before moving on to the ring case.

  “Now, what kind of ring were you looking for? Something for a relative or maybe a girlfriend?”

  “It’s for my girlfriend. I’d like to look at rings—you know, ring-rings.”

  She laughed and waved me to another massive case of jewelry. “I see, ring-rings. We call them wedding rings in the trade but a lot of potential grooms have trouble saying the actual word.”

  “Good. So it’s not just me.”

  Rebecca shook her head and the curls bounced around her face. “Nope. It happens. So what is she like? In terms of style. Contemporary or traditional?”