Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 147415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 737(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 491(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 737(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 491(@300wpm)
She launches into a story of their latest adventure at a theme park in California, but the waves pick up again. Soon I’m fighting too much nausea to listen.
I already know the ending.
Eliza is a great hands-on mother, and I love my little siblings, but right now, Mother Nature won’t let me count my blessings.
At least I know my family is good and they’re happy.
That’s what matters right now, with my heart too cut up over Shepherd and the storm to leave me enough emotional breathing room for anything else.
“Must be windy where you’re at! I think I can hear it,” she says.
My eyes fill with heat and I steady my breathing, though Eliza probably can’t hear it over the rushing wind. The tears are molten as they spill down my cheeks.
Damn it all.
I miss them.
I miss Dad.
I even miss my mom, wishing she’d lived long enough for me to really know her, to see if she’d ever turn into a better person than the bitter mess she was at the sudden, unexpected end of her life.
“Destiny? Am I losing you?” Eliza calls through some static, thankfully oblivious to my tears. “Your dad wants a word before I go, so I’ll hand you over.”
Oh crap. Crap.
I wipe my cheeks and suck in a shuddering breath.
It’s the wind.
That’s all, I swear.
I clear my throat like there’s a frog trapped in it as he comes on the line.
“Hey, Dess.”
“Hi, Dad.” My throat closes and I wipe my nose on my sleeve. God, I’m such a mess. “It’s good to hear your voice...”
“Are you okay?” he asks immediately. “What’s happening?”
“Nothing, nothing. I’m fine. I’m just outside... enjoying the sea.”
“Don’t bullshit me, girl.” That’s my father, never one to mince his words. “I know when something’s wrong. I can hear it in your voice. You haven’t sounded like that since...”
He pauses.
I know what he was going to say.
Since everything went down with him and Eliza and that drama around Mom’s death years ago.
“Destiny,” he says firmly. “What the hell is going on? Is it the rumors?”
I hold the phone against my ear and take another long, shaking breath, releasing it past my gritted teeth until I can find my voice again.
If I could, I’d tell him everything.
If he could do anything, I’d beg for help, and honestly, he’d probably try. But one death defying rescue in a raging storm is enough for one lifetime.
I’m not putting him through that again.
Plus, Dad has little ones now. If there was even time for him to help us—and there isn’t—I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to him.
“It’s not the gossip,” I say. I’m relieved when my voice doesn’t shake and give me away. “That’s almost under control. Like I told Eliza, Mr. Foster is taking legal action.”
“Damn right he is. If he wasn’t, you’d best believe he and I would be having words.”
I wince at the thought.
Dad and Shepherd in a room, fighting over me.
They’re both grown men cut from the same cloth, and grouchy as sleep-deprived badgers until you know them well enough to see the very different sweetness underneath.
“You don’t have to worry,” I tell him. “Stand down, okay?”
He hesitates.
“I will, but you know I don’t like standing around when it’s my daughter’s life on fire,” he growls. “But what is it then? What else if it’s not this?”
“Dad, I—” I stop, trying to find the right words. “It’s life stuff, okay? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my future, my career. You know, the hard stuff I need to figure out alone. Same way you did.”
“If it’s Foster, he’ll need a goddamned fleet of drones to stop me from busting his fucking teeth out.”
“Dad!” Unable to help myself, I giggle. My eyes burn but the tears dry on my face. “It’s really nothing I can’t handle.”
More static blows up in my ear, and then his voice.
“You’re sure?”
“Do I not sound like it? Dude, look who raised me, and you did a pretty awesome job. From teenage brat to national scandal and soon-to-be savior of otterkind.” Okay, okay, maybe I am sniffling again. “And... and no matter what happens, you know I respect you to death. You were hard on me because you had to be. I’m glad you were, too. It made me who I am—and you can rest easy knowing your work wasn’t for nothing. I’ll tell you more later. But Dad, I can handle this. Please trust me.”
He’s quiet for a long second, and I’m scared we lost the connection.
“Sappy shit,” he grumbles, but I can tell he’s secretly pleased. “Just let me know if there’s anything you need, sweetheart. I won’t keep you.”
“Oh, I will! Thanks and I love ya.”
“Don’t ever forget how loved you are by all of us here. You haven’t stopped by much all summer. We miss you, Dess.”