Fate and Destiny (17 page)

Curious at the flippant
tone in her comment, Andrew watched her eyes for the sense of humor
and light that filled them since the first day she woke in the
cabin. Bleakness replaced the shine and gleam he was used to seeing
in her emerald eyes.

“
Why are you
unhappy?”

“
I’m not.”

The words
came out of her mouth calmly and with conviction while inside her
head, she was screaming.
 
Yes! I’m unhappy! How can I be
happy when I’ve been deceiving both of us?

Shifting his head slightly,
his eyes penetrated into her. She closed hers, breaking the
connection. He wouldn’t be able to see into her that
easily.

“
You don’t look very happy
for a woman who just got a new lease on life.”

Her eyes flew
open.

“
What do you mean, a new
lease on life?”

“
We can get out of here
now. We can get everything straightened out. Find the evidence to
prove Charles killed Marcus. We have the law on our side. Those two
thugs are probably sitting in a jail cell right now. We aren’t
alone in this anymore.”

Pushing down the urge to
scream, Destiny’s forehead wrinkled, nostrils flaring, but her
voice remained calm.

“
I can’t be seen out in
public. Anyone could recognize me. You heard Matt say my face is on
TV and in the paper. We can’t get anyone else involved until I can
prove I didn’t kill Marcus. We only have one lawman on our side
here, but there are hundreds more who will gladly cuff me and haul
me in. If anything, I am more alone now than I was before. Now,
people know I am here.”

Andrew needed to sort
through what she was saying, but she seemed to keep going in
circles, confusing him even more. How could she not be happy they
had other people out there to help them? At the moment, the odds
were stacked in their favor. The thugs were in jail, or would be
soon. Charles was only one man and would not take the time or the
risk to come after her himself. Andrew just needed to protect her a
little longer. Then they could leave together and he would take her
back to California.

“
Give Matt a little
credit. He said he would check into things. I’m sure he can find
some loophole to keep you free until we can figure out how to prove
your innocence.”

“
And if he
doesn’t?”

Andrew’s faith in his
family was unwavering. The thought that Matt would not be able to
help had not even occurred to him.

“
He will. I know it’s not
easy for you, but you have to trust someone.”

Destiny’s
inner voice was still screaming so loudly her head hurt. Her mouth
didn’t speak the words roaring through her head.
 
I trusted YOU. I can’t trust
anyone else, and now I can’t even trust you.

He was pushing her too
hard. She wasn’t ready. Andrew couldn’t blame her, but she needed
them, even if she wouldn’t admit it. He would allow her space for
the time being. Cabin fever could be taking its toll.

“
I need to get firewood
from the shed. If you’re up to it, would you like to join me for a
short walk through the snow?”

Shifting her gaze to the
late afternoon sunlight streaming through the window, Destiny
realized she had not left the cabin since waking up
there.

“
I don’t have a winter
coat.” Absentmindedly, she gestured towards the leather jacket
hanging on the hook next to Andrew’s heavy parka.

“
No problem.” Rising from
the floor and limping his way to the kitchen, Andrew pulled the
cellar door open. Disappearing into the depths, he quickly came
back up with a heavy hooded coat.

“
Can’t have too many of
these lying around in the winter.” 

She rewarded him with a
smile from her lips that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Waiting
impatiently at the door, Shadow complained as Destiny put on
Andrew’s parka while he zipped into the one brought up from the
cellar. When the door finally opened, he sped out the door as fast
as he could on his three legs. Every now then, he would attempt to
put the fourth leg down to test its strength. Soon enough, he would
be running after rabbits normally. Catching a scent on the wind,
Shadow took off into the forest.

Stepping past the
threshold, Destiny inhaled the cool air through Andrew’s scarf
wrapped securely around the lower half of her face. Sun glinted
from the clean snow encasing the clearing. Trees bare of leaves
clumped closely with fir trees, providing dense cover surrounding
the cabin. Thick gray clouds rolled overhead, dueling with the sun
for control of the sky. Her first glimpse of the world surrounding
the cabin was breathtaking.

“
Should he be going into
the trees alone? He can’t run very fast on that front
leg.”

“
He will be all right. He
knows to come back if he senses danger. However, I think you and I
should stay close.”

Slipping his arm around her
waist, or at least where her waist should be under the heavy coat,
Andrew pulled her to him, placing a kiss on her forehead near the
cut which no longer needed a bandage.

Having his arms around her
was torture. Her heart developed a new crack, increasing the
chances of completely breaking. If they could stay like this
forever, she would shut down the parts of her mind insisting she
was harming Andrew. She would lock those sections away into the
recesses of her memory and continue with the fantasy life created
in isolation on the mountain. Too bad it could never be anything
more than a fantasy created in her own mind. Stepping back from
Andrew’s embrace, her foot met with an icy patch hiding behind
her.

Unprepared for the lack of
traction and caught off balance, Destiny reeled, grabbing Andrew’s
coat at the shoulders. Her leg slipping out from under her as if it
had a mind of its own. Luckily for her, Andrew had not released his
hold on her. Bracing his feet, he somehow kept them both
upright.

“
Whoa! Thanks for proving
my point about staying close. I didn’t expect it so
soon!”

Eyes twinkling, Andrew
didn’t release her until both of her feet were back on solid
ground. His arms slipped from around her to comfortably take her
hand within his, holding on securely.

“
If we take our time and
be careful, we should be able to make it around to the shed and
back without serious injuries. I don’t know if either of us could
stand to lose anymore blood this week.”

Nodding, Destiny allowed
him to hold her hand as they cautiously made their way to the shed.
Each of them took turns slipping on the icy spots while the steady
one braced them both.

Her eyes adjusting to the
lack of bright light reflecting off snow, Destiny surveyed the
interior of the building. The shed was big enough to hold a boat.
Stacks of boxes lined one wall, and cords of wood lined the
opposite wall. A myriad of swimming gear and snow equipment leaned
against and occupied most of the remaining space. Her eyes followed
the stacks of boxes and shelving clear up to the
ceiling.

Eyebrows raised, her jaw
dropped. Suspended from the ceiling on hooks and ropes was a
rowboat. She took a quick glance at the man sorting through boxes.
Could he really be that predictable? Aware of her, Andrew paused in
his perusal of the stack.

“
Are you laughing under
that scarf?”

Embarrassed he caught her,
Destiny shook her head, afraid to open her mouth, keeping the
laughter capped by her lips. Giving her one last suspecting look,
he resumed his task. She took the opportunity to inspect the items
in the shed. A pair of skis leaned against the corner, a sled
propped up in front of them. Disappointment seeped through
her.

“
I can see you like to
ski. I am surprised you don’t have a snowmobile though. Especially
for times like this when storms come through.”

“
Love to ski. Don’t
you?”

Andrew placed a box near
the door before coming to stand next to her.

“
Never
learned.”

“
Why not? You don’t know
what you’re missing. The feel of the snow sliding under you. Trees
and scenery flying by. I always feel free when I’m skiing down the
slope.”

Of course she had not
learned to ski. Andrew wanted to kick himself. He watched her
profile, enjoying the delicate lines of her face revealed as the
scarf draped around her neck. He was bothered she would not look at
him even though he was standing right next to her. She kept her
eyes straight ahead on his skis, not even bothering to respond to
his idiotic question. He wondered if he would need a doctor to
surgically remove his foot from his mouth.

“
I’ll teach
you.”

She looked at him then.
Curiosity in her eyes, her mouth set in a firm line.

“
Teach me how to ski?
Why?”

“
So when we come here
after this is all over, you and I can ski together.”

He thought he saw a faint
glimmer in the depths of her eyes; it disappeared before he could
verify it had been there at all.

“
Maybe you could teach me
to ski then.”

That will
never happen.
 
The thought slammed into her as swiftly as the trace of hope
she felt when he spoke of them together after this was all
over.

“
You can’t teach me until
your leg heals anyway.”

Your leg
will heal but my heart won’t.
 
Shaking her head to dispel the
unwanted voice from within, she turned away from Andrew, moving to
the doorway of the shed. He followed her, confusion written across
his face. He would know the truth soon enough and realize it was
for the best.

She held out her arms for
the box Andrew held. Taking it from him, she waited while he
selected an armful of wood to carry back to the cabin. Before she
stepped from the shed and into the cold air, Andrew dropped the
wood on the floor, then reached up and positioned the scarf back
over her face, tucking the ends securely into her hood. His hands
dropped to rest on her shoulders.

“
I do own a snowmobile. I
also have a Jet Ski and an ATV. They are all on trailers down at
Matt’s place. He uses them sometimes for work. And the rest of the
time, he and my cousins use them. I didn’t get a chance to go get
them yet this trip. If you want to go out on the snowmobile, I will
go down and get it or have Matt bring it up. Just say the
word.”

She nodded her
understanding since the scarf would have muffled any words. The
lump in her throat didn’t help any either.

The pair used even more
caution to navigate their way back to the cabin since they could
not lean on each other for support over the slick spots. Andrew put
more weight on his wounded leg than he would have liked, but he
needed the extra stability to keep himself from falling. Destiny’s
tennis shoes didn’t have any traction at all. Passing by the Jeep,
almost to the cabin, Destiny focused on the truck. Andrew cleaned
the snow from it earlier. It shone in the sunlight despite the mud
and dirty snow that remained.

The hulking black vehicle
was another reminder that civilization lived beyond the cabin.
Without realizing what was happening, her tennis shoe met with a
block of ice under the loosely packed snow and Destiny found
herself lying in the snow. Other than her bones shaken by the fall,
the only thing hurt was her pride. Andrew appeared in front of her,
bending over her to inspect the damage.

“
You okay?”

He extended his hand, the
firewood dropped when she yelled as she lost her
footing.

Taking his hand and using
hers against the snow to keep her weight distributed, she shakily
rose to her feet.

“
Just surprised. The snow
drift was like a big pillow.”

Concerned, he ran his hands
around her arms, verifying for himself she was intact. “You sure? I
can carry you back.”

Shaking her head, she
dusted the snow from her jeans and coat. As her hands brushed over
the pocket, a set of keys fell out. Andrew scooped them up from the
snow.

“
Don’t want to lose those.
Matt has a spare set, but we may not want to wait for him to bring
them up here.”

As they reached the door,
Andrew laid the wood on the ground and opened the door for Destiny.
Shadow was not in sight. Destiny returned to stand by Andrew after
depositing the box on the counter in the kitchen.

“
I can see his tracks, but
I’m not sure where he went to.”

Pointing out the disturbed
snow, Andrew pursed his lips and split the air with a sharp
whistle.

“
He’s probably stuck in a
snow pile and can’t get out with that bad leg.”

Andrew glanced at her.
Destiny didn’t catch his eyes, keeping her sight on the spot where
the tracks led into the woods. If she looked at him, she would not
be able to stop the tears wanting to fall. They stood side by side
in front of the doorway, waiting a few moments to see if the dog
emerged from the tree line.