Date with Destiny

“What kind of something?”

“Something you’ll want to see.”

Grace colored hotly. The conversation was oddly flirtatious and she was startled by how it made her feel. “I…I don’t think so.”

“Oh, come on, Grace,” he said and laughed. “Live dangerously. You never know—you might like it.”

“No.”

“You’ll miss seeing something great.”

Again, more flirting, more…something. He was infuriating.

Grace made an unglamorous grunting sound. “Whatever game you’re playing, Jakowski, it’s not the least bit funny.”

“Game?” he said and chuckled. “That’s harsh, Princess. You need to learn to trust.”

He was laughing at her. As always. Her fingers turned white where she gripped the phone. “Jerk!”

She disconnected and wondered why he was the one person who could push her buttons so easily. And then she wondered why she cared that he did.

Her mother came to visit a little later and Grace made some tea and took a spot opposite at the big scrubbed table in the kitchen. Barbara Preston was the übermother. A career teacher, she’d managed to raise four children and work fulltime until her retirement a few years earlier.

“So, what’s going on, Grace?”

She knew that tone—knew her mother had something to say. “Nothing,” she replied and poured the tea.

Her mother made a disbelieving sound and grabbed a mug. “Grace, I know something’s up with you. You’ve been home a week now. And other than at Christmastime every few years, you never stay this long.”

Grace looked at her mother. “I’m fine. Just taking a break.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. She was on a break. A forced break. After the accident, her employer had insisted she see a therapist. Half a dozen visits later the counselor had recommended time off from her hectic job as a finance broker and her life in New York. Grace had resisted until she’d unexpectedly fallen apart one afternoon while meeting a client. Thankfully, the client hadn’t been appalled by her unstoppable tears, and instead had called on her secretary, who’d then informed her boss. Another therapy session followed and without any choice but to agree, the week she’d planned to come home for Evie’s wedding turned into a month.

“I’m worried about you.”

“There’s no need,” Grace assured her mother. “I was a little burned-out, that’s all.”

“You’re not sick or anything?”

“No,” she said quickly. There was no point mentioning the accident. She knew her mother would only worry. “I’m perfectly healthy.”

Barbara looked at her and smiled. “Okay, I’ll stop smothering. I did think it might have been a man who brought you back home.”

In a way it had been. Richard Bennett had been a colleague in the firm where she worked. He was also a devoted husband and father. A forty-nine-year-old man who hadn’t deserved his fate.

“There’s no man in my life,” she said quietly. “And Erik left a long time ago.”

“Are you looking for a relationship?”

It was an unexpected question. Her mother never meddled in her love life. And since her family had known of her career ambitions from a young age, her decision to move to New York was never challenged. “You know how I feel about all that.”

Barbara sighed and as always, Grace wished she knew how to really connect with her mother. Evie knew how. And Mary-Jayne. They fit in. Grace had always felt like she was watching her family from the outside. Oh, she was loved, she knew that. But being part of things? That was different. She’d never belonged in Crystal Point. New York had embraced her in ways the tiny town never had. Until she’d been forced to abandon that life.

Now she felt as misplaced as she had all those years ago when she’d been sent to boarding school. As a child she’d shown an aptitude for math and music and at twelve had been enrolled into a school that offered a curriculum designed for gifted children. She’d spent six years at that school, coming back only for the holidays. When her high school years were over, Grace had returned to Crystal Point for a few months. It was during that time that she began dating Cameron. Three months later she’d packed her bags and moved to New York.

Sixteen years on and she still didn’t know where she fit in.

“Marriage isn’t a prison sentence,” her mother said gently.

Grace nodded. “I know. But not everyone gets it all. And I’m not the settle down, picket fence type.”

“I only want to see you happy.”

“I know that, too,” Grace replied. “And I am,” she said and smiled. Not exactly the truth, but she wasn’t about to burden her mother with her problems. She needed to forget. Not dwell.

“Sometimes I think…” Her mother’s voice faded for a moment. “I think that you were too young to have left home when you did all those years ago.”

“I was strong-willed,” Grace said, and managed a smile. “And I wanted to go.”

Her mother patted her hand. “I know you did. And your dad and I were so proud of you for having the courage to follow your dreams. And we’re still proud, Grace. You always were our shining star.”

She’d heard it before. That’s why she’d been sent to boarding school while the other Preston children remained in Crystal Point. Grace is special. Grace is so smart. Grace will have a stellar career in whatever field she chooses. How often had she heard those words while she was growing up and attending the school? Within six months she’d been pushed up a grade and then spent the following five years as the youngest student in her class. She knew it had cost her parents tens of thousands every year for her tuition. She owed them a lot for giving her the education she’d had. But there were also times when she’d wished she was simply ordinary Grace Preston. Without the high IQ. Without the pressure to succeed and make good grades.

She’d never told her parent’s how she’d felt. There never seemed the right time. To complain would make her ungrateful, undeserving. And once school was over she just wanted to move on from those unhappy years.

When her mother left, Grace changed into designer jeans, high-end mules and a white, immaculately pressed T-shirt. She found a visor hanging on a peg near the back door and positioned it on her head. She needed to walk. To think.

The beach beckoned.

Winter meant fewer swimmers, even though the day was warm and the water temperature would probably be moderate. Grace locked up the private living area upstairs and checked on the single guest who was lazing in the front sunroom. The lone occupant was a gentleman in his sixties who had come to Dunn Inn alone for the first time in ten years, following the death of his wife. Talking with him for a few minutes stretched Grace’s emotions and by the time she’d said goodbye and headed outside, her throat was tight and thick. Her nerves were fraught enough and the sad widower somehow pushed her buttons. She took a deep breath and walked across the road. The grassy shoulder led to a long pathway, which ran parallel with the ocean and wound down toward the beach.

Grace followed the trail at a reasonable pace and it took about ten minutes to reach the sandy knolls leading up to the beach. She stalled at the edge of the rise and took a deep breath. The surf club stood to her left.

I didn’t come here for this. For him. I’m not going anywhere near that building.

Only…she was curious.

Grace took a second, shook her shoulders and walked across the path.

“There’s just no way I can do it!”

Cameron bit back an exasperated sigh as seventeen-year-old Emily Maxwell pulled a pile of books from a battered knapsack. “You knew it was going to be difficult.”

“But not impossible,” she wailed and dumped the bag at her feet. “I’ll never learn this stuff in time.”

“You’ve two weeks before you need to sit that makeup exam, Em,” he reminded her.

She rolled her eyes toward the toddler playing on a mat in the corner of the room. “And I’ve got a two-year-old kid to look after. It ain’t gonna happen. It’s over.”