Chapter 33

33

D estiny opened her eyes and immediately knew it was going to be a great day. She'd woken up a couple of times throughout the night with Faith's arms around her and now her gentle breathing whispered in Destiny's ear.

Today they would do their final walk-through on the biggest project of both of their lives. It was easy to see that it was a success. They had imagined it, created it, planned it, and made it come to life, together. Faith had come across a building with land that was perfect to start their new company. They could afford it and all that was left to do was sign the papers and move their stuff.

The hurt and pain from the last three years of being apart was gone. They had found their way back to each other, learned the truth of their breakup, and recognized they both had issues, but wanted to grow together. Today, they were on the verge of realizing their biggest professional dream.

Destiny could tell Faith now trusted her in the way she couldn't when they were first together. Even though breaking up had broken Destiny's heart, Faith had put it back together. On top of that, Faith could now trust her own heart and that was invaluable. Destiny had watched Faith blossom into the person she always knew she could be.

Destiny had been trying to think of a way to show Faith that all the doubts between them were gone and that they should be living their lives together. An idea came to her and she smiled, looked over at Faith's peaceful face, and thought of who she needed to see to get this right.

Destiny gently kissed Faith's cheek and eased out of bed. She got to the bedroom door and stopped when she heard Faith's sleepy voice.

"Where are you going?" Faith groaned.

"To make you breakfast," Destiny said. "You can sleep a little longer." She grinned at Faith, who was looking at her. "I'd give you a kiss, but I know you're going to drag me back into that bed."

Faith chuckled. "So right."

Destiny went about making breakfast while Faith showered. They both planned to work at the site that morning, have lunch, then check in with other customers that afternoon. They would meet back at the site for the final walk-through later in the day.

The morning flew by while Destiny finished up in the rock garden. She'd made a circular design of rocks to show Faith that evening. For her it symbolized their lives together. The circle may have once been broken, but they put it back together and it was stronger than ever.

She walked over to the other garden where Faith was adjusting the fountain and whistled. "That looks beautiful, babe."

"Thanks," Faith replied, turning around to face her. "Is it time for lunch already?"

"Yep," Destiny replied.

They sat down on the bench and Destiny handed her the lunch she'd packed for them this morning.

"Are you okay?" Faith asked, furrowing her brow.

Destiny looked up and smiled. "Yeah, why?"

"I don't know," Faith replied. "You seem distracted."

"I'm just looking forward to this evening," Destiny said. "Aren't you excited?"

"You have no idea." Faith grinned.

They finished lunch and Destiny kissed Faith goodbye. She got in her truck and drove to the one person who knew Faith as well as she did.

"What a nice surprise," Mrs. Baker said as Destiny sat down beside her. "I thought you'd be busy finishing up your big thing."

Destiny chuckled. "I was there all morning. Let me show you." She took out her phone and showed Mrs. Baker pictures of the gardens and the landscaping around the main building.

"That's an interesting design," Mrs. Baker commented when Destiny showed her the rock cairn.

"I did it for Faith," Destiny replied.

Mrs. Baker smiled. "She'll love it."

Destiny nodded and put her phone down. She looked at Mrs. Baker and took a deep breath.

"Okay," Mrs. Baker said. "Are you going to tell me why you're really here?"

Destiny's eyes widened and surprise covered her face.

"I can tell when something is on your mind and you need to talk," Mrs. Baker said.

Destiny nodded. "You're the closest thing to family that Faith has," she began. "My family loves her and we have good friends, but her family let her down over and over. She considers you her family."

"She's my family, too, and so are you," Mrs. Baker said, putting her hand over Destiny's.

"Our trust issues ran deep, but together we have rebuilt our relationship and become stronger. We are closer than we've ever been. On this big day when we finish this project and start our dream of working together, I want to take away any doubt that Faith could possibly have left that we're supposed to be together."

"Okay," Mrs. Baker said.

"After we do the final walk-through this evening, I want us to go back to the tiny house," Destiny said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a ring. "I'm going to propose to her."

"Oh!" Mrs. Baker exclaimed.

"First, as Faith's family, would you give us your blessing?" Destiny asked.

Mrs. Baker laughed boisterously. "Give you my blessing! I've been trying to get you two back together this entire time. Of course you have my blessing!"

Destiny laughed and put her arms around the older woman. She pulled back to show Mrs. Baker the ring. "Do you think she'll like it?"

Mrs. Baker had tears in her eyes. "She considers that ring you gave her for her birthday almost like a wedding ring. I don't know if you've noticed how she plays with it on her finger. When she's happy or needs a little strength, she touches it or twirls it."

Destiny nodded. "I've noticed and it melts my heart."

"I think she will love this," Mrs. Baker stated. "When do you plan to pop the question?"

"Well, I could do it this evening when we walk through her garden with the fountain or when I show her the rock cairn design," Destiny said. "But we've been our happiest at the tiny house, especially on her front porch where we talked. That's when I knew we had a future."

"I think the tiny house is the right place," Mrs. Baker said with a grin.

Destiny noticed a twinkle in Mrs. Baker's eye. "Is there something else you need to tell me?"

"Nope," Mrs. Baker said. "Wait, will you call me when it's done?"

Destiny gave her a big smile. "Of course we will."

She gave Mrs. Baker another hug and couldn't wait until this evening.

Destiny picked Faith up at her shop and drove them to the site.

"Are you ready?" Destiny asked once she'd parked.

Faith gave her a big smile. "I'm more than ready."

Destiny chuckled. "Just wait until after we've done our walk-through," she mumbled as she got out of the truck.

"What?" Faith asked.

"I'm ready to see it finished," Destiny said. Her heart was beating faster than it should and she had a nervous flutter in her stomach. She was excited and also anxious about proposing, but when she looked over at Faith she noticed her fidgeting rather nervously. "Are you okay, babe?"

Faith smiled and held out her hand to Destiny. "I'm a big ball of anticipation."

"It's okay, darlin'," Destiny said, taking her hand. "We're in this together."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else or doing this with anyone else," Faith said earnestly.

"Are you trying to make me cry?" Destiny took Faith's other hand and faced her.

"No. I love you so much and this is such a big day. It's like we're walking into our future."

Destiny leaned down and kissed Faith softly. "A bright future with an abundance of happy days, just like this one."

Faith nodded. "Let's see what we created."

"Why don't we walk around the main building and circle over to the fountain," Destiny suggested.

They stopped here and there to smooth soil around a plant or spread wood shavings evenly around a tree.

"I know they are still finishing out offices inside, but it's peaceful out here," Destiny commented.

"Just like we thought it would be." Faith smiled. "Would you like to sit with me a moment and listen to the soothing sounds of water?"

Destiny chuckled. "Why yes, I would."

They sat down on the bench and looked around the garden. "How did you do this?" Destiny said quietly. "We're in the middle of a busy industrial area, but you, my love, found a way to bring stillness and much needed calm to these lucky employees."

Faith shrugged. "I thought about how loud and stressful our jobs can be," she said. "I imagined where we'd like to take a break when we got off a lawnmower. I realize the people working here are staring at screens at a desk, but numbers, spreadsheets, data, and information can be noisy too. The soothing sounds of water can alleviate whatever the noise is in your head."

Destiny put her arm around Faith and pulled her close. "You are so smart and so right."

Faith chuckled. "We have another garden to see with another way to diminish stress and it was imagined by an equally smart person."

Destiny smiled. "Thank you. I have a little surprise for you at the rock cairn."

Faith's eyes widened and a strange look settled her face. "You do?"

"It's okay, babe," Destiny said, wrinkling her brow. "You'll like it."

"I'm sure I will."

They got up and walked to the back of the main building and paused at the little shack.

"Do you think they'll move this when they get through with all the construction?" Faith asked.

"I'm sure they will."

"That was some night," Faith said softly.

"It was the beginning of another chapter," Destiny said.

"I really like this part of the story," Faith said, leaning up and kissing Destiny.

"Me too."

As they approached the rock garden Faith bumped her shoulder to Destiny's. "When did you make me this surprise?"

"This morning," Destiny said. "It's a new design." She stopped and looked over at Faith before they walked into the garden. "Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Everything is perfect," Faith said. "After you."

Destiny walked up to the rock cairn and saw the circular design she'd so carefully constructed. She smiled and started to turn around to see Faith's reaction when she noticed something at the base of the structure.

Several small rocks were arranged on the ground to form the words Marry Me .

Destiny gasped and quickly turned around to find Faith on one knee smiling up at her. She gasped again and both hands flew to her chest and covered her heart.

Faith held out one hand and raised her eyebrows. "May I have your hand?"

Destiny nodded. She was so surprised she couldn't speak. Slowly, she lowered one of her hands and felt Faith grasp it between both of hers. One day when she looked back on this moment, Destiny would remember the silence. It was just the two of them in a love-filled haze.

"Des, you have saved me over and over," Faith said. "You showed me what trust and love not only look like, but how it feels. You saved me from ferocious dogs." She paused and grinned. "And you saved me by giving us another chance. It's my turn to save you." She took a deep breath and smiled. "You think you've got it all, but you need me to spice things up, to keep you guessing, and to keep things interesting."

"You have no idea," Destiny murmured.

"I've always loved you, but I commit to never letting anything come between us ever again. No secrets, unless it's a good surprise for you. If doubts ever creep in, I will tell you. If I'm afraid, I will tell you. But most of all, I'll tell you, show you, and share with you how much I love you every day."

"Oh, Faith," Destiny said, tears falling down her cheeks.

"You are my destiny," Faith said. "Will you marry me?"

Destiny sank to the ground in front of Faith and cradled her face between her hands. "Yes," she said through her tears. Then she pressed their lips together in a kiss of promise, new beginnings, and love.