Chapter 13

13

" T oday has become evening," Faith said, looking out the windows at the front of her office.

"Time flies when you're creating something beautiful," Destiny said. She cut her eyes over at Faith. She hadn't meant to put her arm around Faith earlier, but it seemed like the most natural thing in the world to do. Everything seemed natural once they started working on the project. Destiny had felt a flutter or two in her stomach since walking in the front door.

"It's Friday night," Faith said. "Do you have to work in the morning?"

Destiny shook her head. The nap she'd taken this afternoon would get her through the rest of the day, but she planned on sleeping in tomorrow morning.

"How about we go out back?" Faith suggested. "I have beer in my fridge."

Destiny smiled. A beer sounded lovely. "I think we've missed the sunset."

"If we win this bid, we'll be seeing plenty of sunsets together." Faith smiled. "Is that a yes?"

Destiny nodded and closed her computer. "Yes, I would love a beer."

"Come on," Faith said.

Destiny watched as Faith went to the front door and locked it then turned the lights off. She waited at the back of the room and followed Faith into the shop. There was a large garage door open to the back lot where other equipment was stored. Faith's tiny house stood further back.

"This is a lot like my place," Destiny said. "I have an open space to show landscaping options to customers, a couple of offices, and a shop in the back of the building. But I don't have a tiny house."

Faith smiled. "If it's not too hot for you we can sit out here on my fancy front porch."

"It feels nice out here," Destiny said.

"Would you like a tour?" Faith asked.

Destiny grinned. "Heck, yeah. I've always wondered about tiny houses."

Faith walked up a couple of steps and opened the front door. "After you."

Destiny walked into the small living space that held a couch, TV, and bookshelf on one end.

"This is obviously the living room," Faith said. "Excuse me."

Destiny felt Faith's hands on her hips as she squeezed past her to the right. A jolt of electricity shot through her body at the brief touch. Take it easy.

"This is kind of the dining area," Faith said, pointing to a small table built into the wall in the back of the space. "And this is the kitchen."

"Wow, you've got everything in here, just smaller," Destiny said, following her a couple of steps to the sink.

"Yeah, it's a two burner cooktop with a small oven," Faith said. "There's a microwave here."

"This is really nice." Destiny could imagine Faith cooking dinner in the small kitchen. She was reminded of when the two of them cooked together in what was now Destiny's apartment. There were times when she thought about moving because of the sadness that loomed in the apartment. But she also had memories of Faith there and just couldn't bring herself to leave.

"Thanks," Faith replied. "These windows are actually like a garage door. I can roll it up and open the space to the outdoors."

"Wow," Destiny exclaimed. "That's cool."

"Yeah, it's not so great this time of year because of the heat and all the bugs," Faith explained. "But it's nice in the spring and fall."

Destiny smiled and looked around the space. It might be small but it was functional and also comfortable.

"Down here is the tiny bathroom and at the end is the bedroom."

Destiny looked down the short hallway.

"Go ahead," Faith said.

Destiny smiled and stopped at the bathroom. "That's bigger than I imagined."

"It's not too bad."

Destiny looked into the bedroom that was big enough to hold a queen-sized bed with just enough room to walk on either side.

"There's storage underneath the bed," Faith said, "and a tiny closet for hanging clothes next to the bathroom."

Destiny paused for a moment to take in the small bedroom. It was neat and tidy just like Faith, but something about the room gave Destiny a feeling of loneliness. She suddenly had an overwhelming urge to grab Faith and hold her to drive out that sensation. Destiny wheeled around and found Faith smiling at her, holding out a beer.

"Here you go," Faith said.

"Thanks." Destiny made sure her fingers grazed Faith's when she took the bottle. For whatever reason she needed Faith to feel her touch. The idea of Faith's loneliness tore at Destiny's heart. She knew there were many times in Faith's life when it had just been her and no one else. Destiny never wanted to be the reason for emptiness in Faith's heart.

"Let's sit out here," Faith said.

Destiny followed her out of the house and tried to shake the feelings swirling around her heart. "Do you like living back here?" she asked as they settled into the chairs.

"Uh, it was the best solution at the time." Faith shrugged. "You know how hard it is to get a business started. I was here all the time anyway."

"Yeah, it is," Destiny said. "I had no idea, but it was better than staying where I was."

"You know, looking back, I loved my job, but I'm not sure the Galloways' competition thing was a good way to encourage employee unity," Faith said.

"Yeah, I don't do anything like that with my teams," Destiny said.

"You were right when you called me a perfectionist, but I couldn't afford not to be," Faith explained.

"Oh, I get it. When it's your money and you don't have any to spare you can't make mistakes."

Faith nodded and sipped her beer.

"I still can't believe everything you told me last night," Destiny began. "There's nothing I'd like more than to erase the last three years, but it makes me wonder if we knew each other as well as we thought."

"Why do you say that?"

"I had no idea you thought you weren't good enough for me. That tells me that I didn't show you just how much I loved you and how truly lucky I felt every day that I got to spend my life with you. I should've known. No wonder you didn't talk to me about the video."

"You can't take the blame, Destiny. I didn't open up. I knew I could trust you. I knew it, but chose not to. That's on me, not you."

"But I knew how hard it was for you," Destiny said, shaking her head. "I thought we were happy. At least I was."

"I was, too, but something inside me kept saying it wouldn't last," Faith said. "It was just a matter of time before you realized I wasn't good enough and moved on."

Destiny groaned. "Stop saying that!" She put her hands over her face then looked over at Faith. "I understand why you don't trust anyone, but why can't you trust yourself, Faith?" Tears sprang to Destiny's eyes and she quickly blinked them back before they could fall. "You knew I loved you," she said with desperation in her voice. "I could see it in your heart. My love was there, you felt it. I could see it in your eyes when you looked at me."

"I can see it now," Faith said softly. "You still love me. We can do this, Des."

Destiny sighed. "We can do it until the doubts creep in again. Then you'll leave me and I won't have a heart left. The only reason I stayed in Austin was because I knew you were here. It hurt, but it also soothed my soul to see you occasionally, even if you couldn't meet my eyes. Even if the things you said were laced with animosity. If we got back together and you did this again, I told you I won't survive, Faith."

Faith got up and knelt in front of Destiny. "I won't do this again, Des. I promise. I know now! I knew all along, but I believe in myself now. I've always believed in you. That was easy, but I didn't believe I could be the person you needed, the person you should be with."

"It's not for you to decide who I need or should be with," Destiny said, raising her voice.

"I know that." Faith got up and walked a few steps away then turned back to Destiny. "You remember how crazy my thinking can be. How distorted it becomes at times."

"But that stopped when we fell in love," Destiny said. "That's what you told me."

"It did," Faith said. "But then as we began to talk about starting our own business and landscaping our way…"

"The doubts came back," Destiny said.

Faith nodded. "We had dreams, but I couldn't see myself in them," she said. "Until last night."

Destiny looked Faith in the eyes and saw a resolve she'd never seen before. Faith could show confidence when they were talking about landscaping, but this was different. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see," Faith said.

Destiny raised her eyebrows and stared at Faith. The certainty in Faith's eyes and the strength in her voice was new.

"I can tell you I've changed just as you would tell me you loved me," Faith said. "But you also showed me and that's how you won my heart and I came to trust you. So, Destiny Green, I aim to show you that the woman you fell in love with is still here, but she's stronger and worth it."

Destiny shook her head and sighed. "You were always worth it."

Faith smiled. "It's hard to believe being stuck in a hot shack in the dark with guard dogs outside can open someone's eyes. It's dramatic and completely out of character for me." She sat back in her chair. "But Destiny, facing a mistake, seeing love in your eyes, along with the hurt I put there, made everything crystal clear. I'm so sorry I hurt you and that it took me this long to see it. I can't change that, but I can't give up either."

Destiny listened to Faith and knew she was speaking from her heart, but it was Destiny's turn to wonder if she could trust her. The reality that this all started over a work project suddenly flashed in Destiny's mind.

"I'll tell you one thing," Destiny said. "Gloria has not seen the last of me. She did a terrible thing. She ended us."

"No she didn't," Faith said.

Destiny smirked and tilted her head.

"I heard you earlier when you said we didn't know each other as well as we thought," Faith said. "Maybe this would've happened anyway, but I'm not so sure. How about this?"

Destiny looked over at Faith and waited.

"What better way to get to know each other than to go on a date," Faith said.

Destiny scoffed. "A date?"

"Yeah." Faith smiled. "We didn't do that enough."

Destiny shrugged. "I suppose we didn't."

"We loved working together," Faith said.

"We did."

"Let's go look at some of the other business complexes in the area tomorrow then do something we both like," Faith suggested.

Destiny narrowed her gaze, but she felt her heart skip a beat at the thought of spending the day with Faith. "Like what?"

Faith grinned. "You let me worry about that. I'm the one asking you out."

Destiny couldn't keep from smiling. This was different. Faith wasn't usually the one who suggested outings when they were together.

"Well?" Faith asked. "Will you go out with me, Destiny?"

Destiny liked the way Faith was looking at her. There was nothing but hope and love in her eyes and a new kind of swagger in her posture. Can I trust her? Oh, I want to. It's just a date.

"Yes, I'll go out with you tomorrow," Destiny replied.

Faith sat back in her chair and grinned. "Good."