Chapter 10

10

F aith got into her truck and immediately knew where she needed to go. It was too early for anyone to be at the shop yet, so she quickly fired off a text to Amy explaining she would be in later. Then she sent another text to Mark with her directions for the crews for the day. She promised to check in with him later that morning.

Faith looked into her rearview mirror and for the first time in a long time she liked what she saw. Yes, her hair was slick with sweat from being confined to that hot shack all night. She quickly smelled her armpits and decided her odor was not overbearing just yet.

A smile played across her lips as she stared into the mirror. Her eyes were clear, determined, and there was a sparkle that only Destiny could put in them. "Hey, Faith," she said to her reflection. "It's good to see you again."

She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. This felt like the first deep breath she had taken in three years. There was a feeling of hope wafting through the cab of her pickup. No longer did she feel like she was going through the motions to make it another day.

Faith had been to counseling at different times throughout her life. Whether it was a counselor or coach while she was in high school or a mental health specialist provided by her college. She was not a stranger to therapy and processing her feelings.

But last night something happened to her in that small shack that she couldn't explain. Part of her didn't care how it happened, but she felt more sure of herself and confident in her feelings than she'd ever been in her life. How could that be with what had happened between her and Destiny? If anything her life had been torn apart, courtesy of her own doubts, and last night should've been the final blow to any hopes she had of living a happy life.

Instead, she saw a future that she wanted more than anything. She thought back to the last time she'd seen Mrs. Baker at the assisted living home. The woman had told her how she'd watched the plants turn brown and seem to wither away, but there were tiny shoots of green that proved there was still life in them.

That's how Faith thought of her and Destiny. It may have looked like their relationship was withering away, but there was hope and a shred of life because they were still in love. Faith could feel it flowing through her body.

She had to talk to someone about all of this and knew Destiny was not ready to hear her. There was only one other person she knew would understand.

Faith pulled into the driveway, went to the front door, and rang the doorbell.

"Well, what a nice surprise," Gretchen Green said, opening the door.

Faith looked down at her clothes then back at Gretchen. "You'll have to excuse my appearance, but do I have a story for you," she said with a smile.

"You know I don't care how you look." Gretchen smiled and waved her in. "Get in here."

Faith followed Gretchen into the kitchen where she poured them both a cup of coffee.

"Have a seat," Gretchen said as she sat down at the kitchen table. "I am a little curious why you are so dirty this early in the morning."

Faith chuckled and took a much needed sip of coffee. "Oh, that is so good," she murmured.

"I can see you needed it," Gretchen said.

"I look like this because I haven't been home since yesterday morning," Faith began. "My last job of the day was to tour the big office complex they're building on I-35 in order to put in a bid to do the landscaping."

"I've seen it," Gretchen said. "That is some kind of office park they're building. I heard Destiny talking about it with Michael the other day when she dropped by."

"It seems even more immense up close," Faith said. "I saw Destiny there and we agreed that the builder would not take a small landscaping company like either one of ours seriously with such a huge project."

"Okay," Gretchen said, sipping her coffee.

"So, we decided it might be smart to work together."

Gretchen smiled. "You two always made a good team."

Faith smiled. "The property was so large that I went one way and Des went the other. The plan was to meet at the back of the building to compare notes. But the most amazing thing happened instead."

Gretchen raised her eyebrows in question.

Faith recounted her and Destiny's close call with the dogs.

"That is some story," Gretchen said. She gazed at Faith as a smirk grew on her face. "How did you two get along?"

Faith gave her a sad smile. "I made a terrible mistake and I'm hopeful Destiny can forgive me."

"I thought Destiny was the one who messed up," Gretchen said.

Faith told Gretchen about the video and what happened that day three years ago.

"Last night while we were trapped so many truths were right in front of my face," she continued. "When I showed Destiny the video I looked into her eyes and saw the truth. Destiny would never do anything like that to me. I knew that deep down." Faith took a shaky breath and exhaled. "When I saw the truth in her eyes, I saw my destiny. I know it sounds cliché and out there, but I know what I saw."

Gretchen smiled, reached over, and squeezed Faith's hand.

"You know, Destiny always listened to me and made it easy to talk about my past. She was so patient. It's time for me to let go of my family and all the disappointment and distrust. Back then, I wanted them to reach out and be different. What I did was make Destiny different in my eyes. I knew she would never do something like that to me, but I made myself believe she was like them."

"Oh, Faith," Gretchen said softly.

"She is my constant. My love, my trust, my life. I let my past go while I sat in that little shack. I know my destiny." Faith smiled. "No matter how long it takes, my life is with Destiny Green. I'm going after it because she is my happiness and I'm hers." She paused to control her emotions. "I may need your help."

Gretchen smiled. "I will do whatever I can for you because I believe every word you said and Destiny will too. You may have to give her a little time to process it all, but she'll get there."

"We're working together on this big project, so I'm going to be with her all the time," Faith said with a grin.

"I'm proud of you, Faith." Gretchen grabbed her hand. "I know it's been hard for you and I'm not saying you won't still experience hard times with Destiny. But you won't be alone. You'll face them and go through them together. That makes all the difference."

"The old me would just take the hurt and hold it in my heart until it scarred over. I went on and tried to do better. But when Destiny reached in and started to smooth those scars, something else happened. I found love I couldn't get over. I couldn't just go on like before. I didn't realize that until last night. I knew this was different because I should've been over it by now. But now I know why." Faith looked into Gretchen's eyes. "I'm fighting for Destiny's love, for our love. I'm not going to let it go. I can't. I know how it feels to truly be loved by the person who you're meant to be with."

"How did you leave things with Destiny?" Gretchen asked.

"She has a lot to think about and process," Faith said. "I did to her what's been done to me all these years." Tears sprang to her eyes and she choked back a sob. "I've broken her trust and I'm going to do everything I can to get it back. I want her to feel and believe in our love again. She did that for me and now I've got to do that for her."

"It may take time, Faith," Gretchen said.

"It doesn't matter how long it takes."

"What a mess," Gretchen said. "But you aren't the only one at fault here. What about the woman who ruined your work and blamed Destiny for it?"

Faith shook her head. "I should've shown the video to Destiny that day."

"You said yourself that it wouldn't have mattered," Gretchen said. "You weren't in a place to believe her."

"But I didn't even give her a chance," Faith said quietly.

"Because no one ever gave you a chance, Faith." Gretchen shook her head. "Unfortunately, that's what you knew; that's what had been done to you."

Faith looked at her hands and could feel the familiar burning in her stomach from being let down once again.

"You have to forgive yourself before you can expect Destiny to forgive you," Gretchen said.

"I don't know if I can," Faith said.

"You have the most wonderful of reasons to find a way."

"Destiny," Faith whispered.

"Your Destiny," Gretchen replied.

Faith leaned back in her chair and could feel the exhaustion wash over her. "You don't hate me for what I did to your daughter?"

Gretchen scoffed. "You have hurt yourself just as much as you've hurt Destiny. But as you said there's hope. You know the truth now, about what happened and about yourself," she said. "You are no longer the person waiting to be let down."

"I'm not," Faith said with confidence. "I'm the person who's going to get her love back. Then I'm going to spend my life making her happy."

Gretchen chuckled. "I have a feeling my daughter isn't going to know what hit her."

Faith smiled. "She won't make it easy and she shouldn't. I have to earn her trust back. It's still so amazing to me. Something happened to me in that shack. Destiny fell asleep and I thought about everything we said. It was all so clear to me, but not back then when it happened. I don't understand, but sometime in the night I became a totally different person. I believe in myself and I believe in Destiny. I know the truth. I could see our future. Now I have to get Destiny there." Faith looked back at Gretchen and knew she'd been rambling, but something came over her in that building and she was pretty sure it was the love in Destiny's heart for her.

"I don't know if I can make Destiny understand, but why would she, after what I did to her?" Faith said.

"You make her understand," Gretchen said. "Let her see this person who now trusts in herself. Introduce yourself. I have a feeling she's going to love you even more."

"I wish I could explain it to you, but I've never been so sure of anything before. Destiny and I belong together and we have this amazing life waiting for us."

"You'll find a way," Gretchen said. "How did Destiny get you to trust her?"

Faith smiled. "She showed me. That's what was so strange about it all. Why couldn't I believe her then?"

"I think you had help because of the video," Gretchen said. "It looks like her."

Faith sighed and nodded. "Forgive myself, huh. Maybe Destiny and I can work on that together."

Gretchen smiled.

Faith got up and took her coffee mug to the sink. "I'd better get going. I'm meeting my destiny later this afternoon."

Gretchen chuckled.

"Thanks for listening to me," Faith said.

Gretchen pulled her into a hug. "Let those scars soften again, Faith. You deserve happiness, too."

Faith hugged her back. Now all she had to do was convince Destiny.