Restless Heart (14 page)

 

 

 

A
s Seth stepped into the parking lot outside the high school, he found that this morning’s sunshine had given way to an overcast sky. Terrific. If it rained tonight, he’d have canceled on Destiny for no reason.

Well, if it rained early enough, maybe the game would be called in time for him to make the drive to Nashville after all.

Then again, his upstairs neighbors had thrown a wild weeknight party last night that kept him up into the wee hours, and today had been grueling. Was he really up for another six-hour round-trip drive?

He’d done it as often as possible, always forced to spend far less time with Destiny than he did in the car.

“Hey, there, Coach. TGIF, right?”

He turned to see Tracy Gilmore, the girls’ gym teacher. The fresh-faced, ponytailed brunette was a fellow Wilmot alum, having graduated a year behind Seth. She’d been an all-star tennis player and a couple of lunch-hour sets this fall had shown Seth that her backhand was as fierce as ever.

“How’s it going, Tracy?”

She looked up at the sky. “Not well. It looks like it’s going to storm, doesn’t it?”

“I was just thinking the same thing. We’ve got a game tonight.”

“And we’ve got a match.” Tracy coached the girls’ tennis team. “Tell you what, if we both get rained out, why don’t we get together and go over the winter team practice schedules?”

Seth blinked. While their jobs required them to coordinate the seasonal usage of the school’s athletic facilities, they’d never met on their own time to do it.

“Um, that would be . . . I, uh, I’m not sure that I can . . . I mean, I have the game, so . . .”

“Not if it gets rained out, right?”

“Right.”

Yet meeting Tracy after hours on a Friday night seemed like a bad idea, even if it was strictly professional. She was well-toned, pretty . . . and single. In other words,
dangerous
.

“I’ll tell you what, Seth . . .” She reached into her canvas tote bag and pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper. “I’ll give you my cell number. If you get rained out, call me.”

What was there to say to that? “Okay.”

She scribbled her number and handed it to him. “There. Ball’s in your court.”

He had to grin at that.

Watching her walk away, he decided it was a good thing Tracy hadn’t started teaching here before this fall. If she’d been around last spring, chances were he’d have gotten involved with her.

And that would be a bad thing because . . . ?

Because of Destiny.

It would have been so much easier to fall for someone who lived here in Wilmot.

Tracy rented a condo in the next town over. Knowing he was house-hunting, she’d suggested that he come take a look at the available units in her building. He hadn’t ruled it out—yet.

“But I really have my heart set on a house,” he’d told Tracy the last time she’d asked.

“A condo is like a house, only you don’t have to do the maintenance.”

“No, I know, but I want something with a front porch and a backyard . . .”
And plenty of room to raise a family.
But he hadn’t said that.

“You’re an old-fashioned guy,” she’d said with a smile.

“Guess so.”

She nodded, and he could tell what she was thinking: that she was an old-fashioned girl.

She didn’t have to say it; he knew that. Tracy was part of a large extended local family that went back generations; like her siblings, she probably intended to get married and settle down here.

She had everything in common with Seth . . .

Everything that Destiny doesn’t,
he couldn’t help thinking as he walked slowly toward his car.

And yet opposites attract. Everyone knew that.

They were both determined to make this work; there was no reason why it shouldn’t.

No reason at all.

That was what Seth had been telling himself, anyway, every chance he got. Some days, he honestly believed it.

Today wasn’t one of them.

As he drove home listening to the car radio, he knew the day was going to come—very soon—when Destiny’s first single came blasting through the speakers.

Then there would be no turning back.

Heck, there was no turning back even now.

He hoped that all her dreams came true—really, he did. But he felt as if she were slipping away from him before he even had a chance to explore his feelings for her.

Talking to her on the phone for hours on end had helped at first, but lately she had been so busy in the recording studio during the day and performing at night that their conversations were short and bittersweet, leaving him longing for so much more. He had wanted to head to Nashville on several occasions, but they could never quite make their schedules mesh.

At this point he wanted to hold her in his arms so badly that it was a constant ache that simply wouldn’t subside.

Would success change her? Would she forget all about him along the way?

She was so young, so eager, so darned innocent in a lot of ways. She could easily be gobbled alive by the wrong people.

Seth clenched his jaw. He’d never,
ever
allow that to happen. Not as long as he was around.

Again, he thought of Tracy. With her, it would be so easy. They could see each other anytime they felt like it; they’d both have summers off; they could even drive back and forth to work together . . .

She wasn’t Destiny.

But Destiny wasn’t here.

Who are you kidding? She’s never going to be here again.
She might want Seth, but she didn’t want his lifestyle . . . and he didn’t want hers.

He’d made that decision years ago, when he failed to get drafted into the minor leagues the first time out. Rather than feeling disappointed, he found that he was relieved. He loved baseball, but not the prospect of life on the road.

Accepting that it wasn’t meant to be, he knew that God had other plans for him; that he was meant to mold and influence young minds and spirits in a world sorely lacking in leadership.

Just look at how far Chase Miller had come now that Seth had taken him under his wing. When Seth first met him in the wake of his father’s death, the boy had been lost and angry at the world. Still, Seth had recognized in Chase not just talent, but raw determination to rise above his circumstances. All he needed was a chance—and Seth meant to see that he got it. The boy’s mother, on the other hand, seemed—perhaps selfishly, or just misguidedly—hell-bent on taking it away.

Chase was depending on Seth to be there for him; Seth wasn’t going to let him down.

How right he’d been: Teaching and coaching were his true calling. And until Destiny had literally tumbled back into his life, he’d been looking forward to the beginning of another school year.

Now he seemed to spend every day torn between living his own life and wondering about hers.

Even his fantasies about building a life together felt wrong. If she ever returned to Wilmot, it should only be with the realization that she’d chosen the wrong path when she’d gone to Nashville—but that wasn’t the case, and he knew it.

Even if things didn’t work out in Nashville, he didn’t want her coming home in defeat and years later wondering what might have been.

“And now for the WKCX Kicks Country weather forecast. Don’t let these clouds mislead you, folks. They’re going to blow right on out of here, so keep an eye out for a nice sunset and plenty of stars tonight. Speaking of stars, here’s an oldie from Tammy Turner . . .”

Glancing up at the sky through the windshield, Seth saw that a patch of blue had already broken through the gray.

That, he decided, was a good omen. Tonight’s game wouldn’t be rained out after all—and he wouldn’t be tempted to call Tracy Gilmore.

 

 

 

R
eaching her building, Destiny grabbed her mail from the box and flipped through it quickly. Bills, bills, and more bills. At least she’d managed to pay her rent these last few months with money from the tip jar, along with some of the hefty credit card balance she’d run up, thanks to Billy Jackson.

Even now, she was stung by the thought of what he’d done to her.

What you
let
him do.

But it was a lesson well learned. She’d never be that gullible again. She’d tread very carefully where Nick and Miranda were concerned, even though they were well-respected names in the industry.

But things were different with them. Neither had promised to move mountains for her, the way Billy Jackson had. They both believed in her, but they knew—as she did—that in this town, dreams rarely came true overnight.

Again, she thought of Seth, remembering what it was like to wake up that first morning in his arms—and have to say good-bye as their days carried them in opposite directions.

She wasn’t used to it then.

Maybe I never will be,
she thought as she stepped into the vestibule.

Then she saw a figure sitting on the stairs, and her heart lurched.

“Hi, Destiny.”

Her momentary fright gave way to utter surprise. The person lying in wait couldn’t have been less threatening: petite, blond, and dearly familiar.

“Grace? What are you doing here?”

“I just couldn’t take it anymore.” Her sister stood up and they hugged each other.

Grace could be a drama queen, but Destiny saw real anguish in her blue eyes.

“Come on upstairs,” she said, and saw that her sister had an overnight bag with her.

So she was planning to stay over—maybe more than just a night, Destiny thought, as she bent over to pick up the bag and found that it weighed a ton.

As she led the way upstairs, she asked, “How long have you been here waiting for me?”

“Only about an hour. I figured I could browse around in that shop downstairs, but the sign on the door said out to lunch.”

“Yeah, Nessie’s at her kids’ parent-teacher conferences this afternoon,” Destiny remembered. “Otherwise, she could have let you into my apartment. She has the key.”

As they approached the door, Mike burst into frenzied barks inside the apartment.

Grace let out a whoop of delight. “You have a dog?”

“Sure do, and believe me, his bark is worse than his bite.” Destiny unlocked the door, set down Grace’s bag, and scooped Mike into her arms.

“Oh, isn’t he the cutest little thing?” Grace reached over to scratch beneath his scraggly chin, and Mike nearly launched himself out of Destiny’s arms to get to her. Destiny handed him over and closed the door behind them.

“What kind of dog is he?” Grace asked, laughing as Mike joyfully licked her face.

“Heinz Fifty-Seven.”

“What?”

“A mutt,” Destiny explained. As if in defense of his lineage, Mike demonstrated his deep, commanding bark.

“You’re so lucky. We always wanted a dog, remember?” Grace reminded Destiny.

“I know, but Daddy would never allow it, and Mom would never stand up to him.”

“So what else is new?” Grace muttered, setting Mike on his feet again and crossing the room to sink heavily onto the couch.

Fear gripped Destiny’s heart. She followed and sat beside her sister. “What’s going on with Mom and Dad?”

“They’re still barely speaking, and it’s been getting worse and worse the past few months,” Grace told her glumly. “It’s been like this silent war between them, and I finally just had to get out of there. I hate to ask, but . . .”

Uh-oh. Destiny suspected what was coming.

She was right.

“Can I move in with you for a while?” Grace asked. “Maybe with me out of the house they’ll have the privacy to work things out, or figure out how to move on if that’s what has to happen.”

“You . . . you don’t think they might . . .”

“Split up?”

Destiny nodded. “Yeah.”

“I never thought I’d say this”—Grace gave a sad lift of her shoulders—“but maybe.”

Destiny closed her eyes, battling the overwhelming urge to cry. Sensing her distress, Mike licked her leg.

“I should have never left home,” she said, shaking her head.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“They’ve fought about my choices and you know it, Grace. It’s always put a wedge between them. And I’ve been home more lately than I have the entire time I’ve been away, so if things are worse, then obviously—”

“Stop that right this minute. You can’t take the blame for this! They’re both being as stubborn as mules—that’s the problem. Not you.”

“But they love each other. Mom always said that true love conquered all.”

“I just hope that she was right and that their love is strong enough, because right now, that’s about all they have.”

Grace was talking about their parents, but she could have been talking about Seth and Destiny, as well.

If the Harts couldn’t make it after twenty-five years of marriage and two kids, what chance did she and Seth have?

“I guess all we can do at this point is have faith and pray,” Destiny told her sister, and she wasn’t talking about just her parents, either.

“I know.” Grace shifted her weight on the couch. “There’s one more thing . . .”

“Uh-oh. What is it?”

“I’ve been thinking . . . I know a lot about business and marketing . . . and I have a good eye for fashion, too. Don’t you think?”

“Definitely, but—”

“Destiny, I’d make a great personal assistant.”

“I bet you would.”

“So am I hired?”

“Hired?” She feigned confusion, but her thoughts were spinning. She felt for her sister—really, she did—but—

“As your personal assistant!”

“Grace—”

“I’ve been working on your online presence ever since we talked about it the last time you were home, and—”