Operation Date With Destiny (20 page)

“
I wish it had been you who died instead!
”

Tupper sucked in a harsh breath at the kids words and was about to reveal himself when Destiny
’
s quiet words sliced through the silence and kicked him square in the gut.
Ah hell, baby,
he thought, knowing how much hearing that would have hurt.

He knew the kid was hurting—he knew he
’
d been through hell over the last few weeks—but so had she and his admiration for her only grew when he
realized
how
hard it must have been to keep
her shit together over the last few days when it had to be tearing her apart inside. He waited a few minutes until the urge to yell at the kid subsided,
before he
took a step inside the lounge room.

He saw Jackson look away,
a sullen scowl replacing the momentary anguish Tupper
had
caught before the kid had
noticed him
standing there.
“
I
‘
spose you heard all that?
”
he said with a surly twist of his lips.

“
I did.
”

“
I aint
’
takin
’
it back—so don
’
t even tell me I owe her an apology
”

“
Sounds to me like you already feel bad
enough
about it.
”

“
Well I don
’
t. I meant every word. She
’
s not my real sister—she never had time for a kid brother.
”

“
Somehow I don
’
t believe that. She seems like she
’
d be a pretty cool big sister—I bet she used to be lots of fun.
”

“
Maybe once—a long time ago,
”
he finally admitted somewhat grudgingly.
“
Not lately. She went away.
”

“
You know
,
sometimes when people go away it
’
s not because they want to—it
’
s because they
’
re trying to protect the people they love.
”

“
She was always shutting mom out. When she came back from her last tour of Afghanistan—she left then too, only for a little while…
but
this time she left and didn
’
t come back.
”

“
Sometimes going over there can change people a little and they need some space to get their heads back together.
”

“
Yeah, well, while she was busy getting her head back together—some freak ran my parents off the road and killed them.
”

“
That wasn
’
t her fault buddy. It
’
s not fair blaming her for that.
”

“
She wasn
’
t
there!
”
he yelled.
“
When I needed her—s
he wasn
’
t there!
”

“
But she came for you.
”

“
I wish she
’
d left me there—I deserve it
,
”
he said in a whisper.

For a minute Tupper was stunned in to confused silence.
“
I don
’
t know where you get that idea from.
”
He saw the kid hunch down into the chair and his face flinch against the pain of whatever inner turmoil was going on inside him.

“
I should have done something…when my parents were killed
.
I should have been able to help them. But I didn
’
t. I froze
. T
hen I hid behind the back seat and let those men kill them
.
Destiny wouldn
’
t have hid like a baby—
she
would have
done
something…she would have
fought back.
”

He could almost feel the pain radiating from the kid,
rolling off him and filling the room. H
is anguish touched something deep inside him and he reached across and clamped a hand on his shoulder
and made him look up at him.
“
You
’
ve been through more than a lot of people
could
ever
be able to imagine kid—but you pulled through. You
’
re tough—like your sister. You
survived.
You saved yourself—
just like your parents would have wanted you to. Y
ou kept yourself alive until help arrived. That
’
s brave
, dude
.
”

“
You don
’
t think I
’
m a co
ward?
”
Jackson asked hesitantly.

It twisted his gut to see the kid in so much pain.
“
Are you serious? I
’
ve seen grown men fall apart under less pressure than what you
’
ve been through. You
’
re the bravest kid I
’
ve ever met.
”

He seemed to be trying to digest this—maybe not entirely game enough to believe it and he sure as hell didn
’
t seem ready to give up on his self-punishment just yet, but he
’
d lost that God-awful look of torment he
’
d worn only a few minutes before.
“
Maybe you should tell your sister all this?
”

He shook his head sadly.
“
I don
’
t want her to be disappointed in me.
”

“
I
’
m pretty sure your sister could never be disappointed in you. Not many people would go to the lengths she did to find you…that
’
s pretty damn awesome.
”

Tupper saw the
skepticism
begin to waver, it wasn
’
t gone completely but there was definitely a few cracks beginning to show.

Man—the poor kid had been carrying around backbreaking loads of guilt—no wonder he was withdrawn. One thing he knew for a fact though was there wasn
’
t a better place for him to be right now. Under the care of Summer and the watchful eye of everyone else—the kid was going to have all the support he could ever hope for until he was back to whatever kind a normal a kid who
’
d just become an orphan could get back to.

****

He knew where he
’
d find her—down by the water, staring out over the ocean. He wondered why she was so drawn to it. What was she thinking? At the moment he had a fair idea what she was feeling and judging by the way she was wiping at her face, she
’
d been crying.

Damn—he hated when chicks cried. But instead of searching for a way out of going down and comforting her
like he
’
d normally do
—that
was suddenly
the
only
thing he wanted to do. He heard his inner
masculinity
swearing up a storm
as his new
-
found and
unwanted
feminine side was sighing over how romantic it all was
.
I am so losin
’
it,
he muttered as he made his way towards her.

“
Hey,
”
he said quietly and saw her jump, startled by his sudden appearance.

She wiped harder at her face and sent him a frown that should have warned a lesser man to back the hell off and leave her alone. Luckily—he was a Marine and completely immune to
common sense when it came to women.

“
How you doin?
’”

“
You are
not
trying a pick up line on me
now?
”
She asked piercing him with an incredulous look.

“
What?
No!
”

“
You
emphasized
the
you
.
”

“
I did not!
”
What the
hell
?

“
You did!
”

“
Look
,
if I wanted to use a line
,
I would have come up with somethin
’
a hell of a lot more original than that!
”
Man—way to completely castrate a guy.
Here he was
,
tryin
’
to play Mr
.
Sensitive and this was the thanks he got for it.
Well screw that!
He should walk away and leave her to her misery…he looked at her red rimmed eyes and felt the last of his testosterone fuelled outrage seep away into a big gooey puddle.
Hell—he may as well admit it—he was whipped well and truly.
There was nothing he wouldn
’
t do for this woman and if that meant sacrificing the last of his
dignity and
manhood—he
’
d do it.

“
Look, I wanted to come and find you
.
I
’
ve just come from talking with your brother.
I know why h
e
’
s been acting so hostile
. H
e thinks he let you down.
”

“
What?
”

“
He
’
s all churned up inside because he couldn
’
t help save your parents.
”

Destiny
’
s look almost floored him. Her face was a mask of such agony that he felt an overwhelming urge to hold her and wipe away all the pain.

“
He
told you that?
”
her tone giving away her sense of betrayal.

“
I guess he
’
s at that age you know—where he kinda feels like he needs a male to talk to
. H
e respects the hell outta
’
you, Destiny. It
’
s obvious you
’
re his hero—and I think that
’
s why he
’
s taking it out on you. He
’
s angry at himself for feeling as though he
’
s let you down.
”

“
I can
’
t believe he thinks that. I can
’
t believe he told
you that
and not me!
”
s
he said turning angry eyes upon him.

“
Like I said—he
’
s at a weird stage. He
’
s not a little kid anymore. He wants to be treated like a man.
”

“
Well he
’
s
not
a man. He
’
s my baby brother!
”

“
And that
’
s probably why he thought he couldn
’
t talk to you.
”
Tupper pointed out gently.

She opened her mouth to protest once more, but then dropped her gaze to the sand at her feet.
“
Am I really that hard to talk to?
”

Tupper bit back the chuckle that almost escaped at her question. Most of the times he
’
d tried to speak to her—she
’
d almost bit his head off. Theirs had not been a civil beginning.
“
I think when you
’
ve always looked up
to
someone
;
it
’
s hard to face them when you think you
’
ve somehow
let them down
. Look at it from his view—you
’
re this cool older sister who
’
s into covert ops in the Army—what kid wouldn
’
t get a kick outta
’
that? Hell I
’
m not even a kid and it turns me the hell on.
”
He sent her an innocent shrug of
his
shoulders a
t
her
narrow eyed g
l
are.
“
Hey, what can I say—I
’
m a redneck kinda guy. Chicks with guns turn me on.
”