Destiny Undone: The Complete Series Box Set (9 page)

“Really? Pepper? Please tell me you’re kidding. How in the hell could she ever become a part of our team…unless Daddy is handing out stacks.” My face heated up at her insinuation.

“That’s not cool, Bobbie Jo, and for the record, I don’t need the money, if that’s what you meant to suggest. The bottom line is Singh likes her. He responds to her and she’s good with him. Look, even if she’s riding just for the fundraising gala, she’s riding. Imagine it—Pepper Anderson riding a dolphin on behalf of Sea Lab. We’ll raise every dollar we need. People will come just to see
her
.”

She looked disgusted, “Why? Because she’ll be doing it topless? Her titties are probably fake anyway,” she cracked. She was beginning to piss me off.

“Are you jealous?” I scoffed. “You’ll have to get over it because I’ve made my decision and it’s going to be Pepper.” She didn’t like my answer but that was it. She stomped out of the office, obviously biting her tongue and I wondered why she disliked Pepper so much. From what I’d seen, the girl did everything she asked her to. An even better question?
Why am I batting for the spoiled brat?

I decided I’d better make those calls to the facility manager and get out to the training area as quickly as I could. Who knows, Bobbie Jo might try to drown her and that’s all I’d need. I could see the headlines now—beautiful, rich heiress murdered by crazed dolphin trainer. I made the phone calls and walked outside. It was another beautiful day on the Gulf Coast, not a cloud in the sky, just an ocean of blue above the park. Naturally, it was hot, but I liked it. In the kid’s area, Tracee and David Turner were working with the children, letting them pet the horseshoe crabs and other marine goodies that we displayed every day. Martin was leading a tour of students through the aquariums, pointing out the jellies, the Gulf shrimp and the other unique animals in our exhibit. Everything looked fine in here. David waved and grinned and an unhappy Tracee nodded at me. I don’t think Martin even knew I was there.

“You guys doing okay?”

“Yes sir, doing fine. Just showing these guys our little friends here.”

“This is so cool!” said one of the kids. I spent some time with them, listening to the interns answer questions and then followed Martin around without trying to make the guy nervous. After a few minutes, I waved and walked out the back of the exhibits to the training area. I didn’t want them to know I was around yet, so I stood inside the doorway.

“No, that’s not right. You have to hug him with your thighs, not you calves. Keep your hands on either side like this. Try it again.” I watched Pepper nod, her sleek ponytail now a wet mess. She wiped the water from her face and handed Singh another piece of fish. She hit the water with the palm of her hand twice, a signal to the dolphin that she wanted to ride. He slid up beside her and she put her tanned leg over his muscular body. He squealed playfully at her. Pepper’s face was determined and she did exactly as she was told. They made the circle around the pool and Singh gave her an easy ride. Now she’d learn the hard part, diving with the dolphin. I don’t know why, but I wanted to teach her this so I pulled off my t-shirt and stood by the pool.

“How’s it going?” Bobbie Jo looked up in surprise.

“Fine.” She blew the whistle to signal Singh to return to the deck. Pepper spotted me and waved, then accidentally fell off the animal’s back. I grinned, but Bobbie Jo cursed and scolded Pepper When she got back to the deck, “You’ve got to stay focused or you could get hurt.”

“Okay, sorry about that, but what about before I fell off? Was it okay?” I handed her a towel and she patted her face and handed it back to me. She was breathing hard, but obviously ready to go again.

“You have a long way to go. Let’s try something else now.”

“Bobbie Jo, why don’t you check on the other three and I’ll start Pepper on the dive.”

“Whatever,” she said dramatically and walked away. Pepper frowned after her, but didn’t say anything, nor did she complain to me.

“So what’s this about a dive?”

“Part of the show involves a dive with the dolphin. Now the problem is, sometimes Singh forgets that you and I can’t dive as deep as he does, or stay down as long. We’ve trained him with a few signals to his body, using your hands. Keep in mind we never want to hurt the animal. Just guide him along so you don’t get hurt.”

“Okay, I’ll try it. What are the signals?” For the next thirty minutes, we practiced signals on the water, played with Singh to keep him interested in training and then began to work on the dive. The first dive was rough and Pepper came up sputtering and gasping for air. I didn’t run to her side. I knew she’d be okay, but I was there if she needed me. She was a trooper and stood for a minute in the shallow end to catch her breath before she smacked the water twice again. She gave Singh a piece of fish, rode around the pool once then gave him the signal to dive. They went down, I watched them glide around and then up they came, wobbly, but no sputtering this time. She let out a whoop and I called her out of the pool.

“Aw, Gabe! I was just getting it.”

“Yeah, you were. Good job by the way, but Singh’s had enough for one day. Why don’t you hit the showers and we’ll go have some lunch? Pepper grabbed her towel and said, “Okay, I’ll be ready in thirty.” She strolled past me with a proud smile and I watched her leave until she was out of sight. Bobbie Jo suddenly appeared and I guessed she’d been watching us, like I’d watched her earlier.

“Lunch? You think that’s a good idea?”

“Yes, lunch. It’s just lunch. I promised her old man I’d keep her under my wing. It’s not a big deal unless you make it one.” She raised her hands as if to say,
“It’s none of my business.”

I left the training area and went to take a shower myself. Thirty minutes later, Pepper and I were driving down International Drive, headed to my favorite wrap shop. “You like seafood?” I asked her playfully.

“Yes, I did before I took this job. I smell like fish every day now, so that’s kind of a bummer.”

“I was only kidding. We’re going to Swan’s Wraps. Have you ever eaten here before?”

“Um, no, I haven’t. Are you sure it’s okay?” she said as she nervously chewed on her fingernail. I wasn’t sure what she was talking about for a few seconds, then it dawned on me. Pepper’s high jinks had made her a public figure, so it wasn’t as simple as going out to grab a wrap. She had to think about where she went and constantly worry about crazy fans and paparazzi.

“We’ll do the drive thru and then grab a spot on the patio over there. Should be okay.”

“Sorry about that. I think eventually people will forget about me and move on to someone else.” She slid her sunglasses down over her face and pulled the hoodie up on her jacket.

“Don’t worry about hiding. You’re with me. It’s not like they’ll drag you out of the car,” I laughed, and added, “And yes, they will forget you eventually. If you can stay out of the headlines.”

“I plan on it. And thanks for lunch by the way.”

“You’re welcome. It’s my thank you for bringing me breakfast.” We placed our orders and Pepper leaned discreetly back in her seat. I felt sorry for her. Rich, amazingly beautiful and extremely lonely.

We got our food and walked to one of the patio tables at the back. Hopefully, no one would spot us, but if they did, we could easily hop back into the car. I hadn’t even considered this when I asked her to lunch and honestly, I’d hate to be the next headline.

We ate our food quietly at first. I figured we were both nervous about what to say. I assumed she thought I was a big nerd or something. I didn’t know—it had been a long time since I felt awkward around a girl and I had to think of something to say—I couldn’t just stare at her.

“So, how old are you? I know I’ve read it, but I can’t remember.”

“I’m twenty-three. How about you? No wait, let me guess.” She pretended to stroke an imaginary beard then said, “I’ll say…twenty-seven?”

“Close, I’m twenty-six. I just had a birthday a couple of months ago.”

‘Well, happy late birthday. And that reminds me…my sister, Mills, is having her eighteenth birthday party this weekend, Friday night. I’d love it if you could come. You’d like Mills—she’s actually going to college in a couple of months.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, “Pepper? Mills? What were your parents thinking? I guess you get picked on about that a lot.”

She gave me a serious look and said, “Actually, no we don’t. You’re the first.”

“Really? Sorry.” I blushed.

Pepper laughed and took a sip from her drink, “Of course we did—all the time when we were little. Honestly, I don’t know what they were thinking, but it was Mom who named us. She’s a bit of a crazy person. If you come to Mills’ party you’ll get to see the crazy first-hand.”

“Wow, that makes me not want to come. I tend to avoid craziness if at all possible.”

“She makes us crazy, but I don’t think she bothers anyone else. I hope you do come.”

“Sure, I’d like that.” What am I doing with this girl?

She raised her eyebrow and smiled. “I hope you like helicopters.”

“Not really. Believe it or not, I hate flying. Almost got into a crash when I was a kid and I haven’t flown since. My parents love it though. They fly all the time.”

“That stinks. I was hoping you’d take a helicopter ride with me. I love them.”

“I think I’ll stay on the ground, thanks. What time is the party?”

“Starts at eight. Have you ever been to the Golden Flames? That big white building on Cherry Hill Drive?”

“No, but I can find it.”

“That’s where we’re having it. They have a helicopter pad and a massive pool.” She smiled again and it brightened her beautiful face. I noticed that she wasn’t wearing any lip gloss and I wondered what it would be like to kiss those naturally pink lips.

I took a bite of my wrap just to resist the urge and said, “I’ll be there.”

Mills’ dress was beautiful, but it revealed quite a bit. I couldn’t talk her out of the gown with the plunging back and front but nevertheless, she looked beautiful in it. I had a sneaking suspicion that her friend, Victoria, was filling her with champagne, but I didn’t bother busting her. I made a mental note to keep an eye on her throughout the party. I wasn’t about to get drunk, I didn’t want to act out in front of Gabe.

Just thirty minutes later, we rolled up in a stretch Hummer limousine, all white of course. We’d blown Dad’s twenty-thousand dollar budget by another twenty thousand, but he seemed okay with it since I’d taken the time to explain each of the big purchases to him and my sister liked the fact that we’d both been treated equally in the end. For some reason, Mills had always complained about being in my shadow, but she couldn’t say that about this birthday party!

Naturally, she had to be the last to the party and pretend to be surprised, despite the fact that she was already wearing a flashy silver, sequined gown, expensive shoes and intricate updo. We all played along and she loved every minute of it. After we’d sang happy birthday and the cake was cut, Dad and Charlotte got ready to make their exit and hugged and kissed Mills goodbye, but I knew he was about to present her with a huge birthday gift. As they were about to leave, Dad whispered something in her ear then he covered her eyes and we all walked out to the driveway. Everybody knew that it would be a car of some type and when she opened her eyes, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. Daddy had purchased her a sleek Mercedes SLR in shiny silver—her go-to color. Mills squealed and jumped up and down then she ran over and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“It’s so beautiful!…and in my favorite color too! Thank you, Daddy. Thank you so much. I’m speechless!”

He smiled, “That’s not all. Look in the front seat.” Truly surprised that there was another gift, Mills and her bazillion friends walked over to the car, as fast as their dresses would let them, and opened the door. There, sitting on the seat and looking completely helpless, was a white miniature Maltese. He yapped at her and she scooped him up into her arms.

“Aww…Daddy. Thank you. I love him!” She kissed Dad’s cheek and hugged Charlotte. They talked for a minute then she handed the pet off to Dad since he was going home.

As usual, Evangeline refused to attend if he was there, and parties weren’t Dad’s style anyway, but before he left, he whispered in my ear, “Take care of your sister, Pepper.”

I nodded and hugged him, “I will. I love you. See you at home soon.”

“Happy birthday, Mills!” Charlotte said as the couple walked off arm in arm then Mills texted Mom to let her know they were gone. I felt bad for Mills. I don’t think she understood what our so-called Mother was really like, but that was probably for the best. For Mills, anyway.

Before I walked back in, I saw a familiar car pull into the drive. It was Church in his brand new black Porsche. He had the top down and looking as hot as ever in his white button-down. He smiled at me and honked at Mills, “Happy birthday!” She waved back then walked inside to dance and party with her friends before the chopper arrived. That was due in a few minutes and I was on my way to make sure everything was in order when Aven slid her arm into mine.