Shaping Destiny (4 page)

“Do you really think he
thinks he’s good?” I asked as Jared opened the truck door for
me.

“Knowing Steve, he
definitely thinks he’s the best.”

***

That night I slept very
little. My mind was not only on the stranger, but also on my
grandmother’s life story. Her story crossed my mind from time to
time, but I kept getting vague answers from my father. History
interested me, and for the most part I knew my genealogy and many
stories. Most of the time I put the unknown behind me and moved on,
but I wanted to give it one more try.

While sitting on my bed in
the morning light, I reached for my phone to call my
parents.

“Hi honey,” Mom said.
“You’re up early this morning.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit early,
but I couldn’t sleep.”

“Is everything OK? School
is still going well, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah, school is great.
Jared and I went out last night for dinner and hung out with really
fun people.” Thinking about Steve singing almost made laugh over
again. “How is Dad?”

“He’s good. He is just
trying to stay busy with work, and the yard.”

“Yard work.” Dad was
outside daily working on the yard, fixing the fences that
surrounded our land, moving rocks, and trimming trees. It was his
fixation. “Well, if I can possibly pull him away, I would love to
talk to him.”

“Of course. Let me get
him. Love you.”

“Love you too, Mom.” While
waiting I looked over to see if Gretchen was awake. Deciding I
better not disturb her further, I went to the front room and walked
out to the balcony.

“Hi,” Dad’s deep voice
sounded.

“Hey Dad. What did I tell
you about doing so much yard work? You know you can take a
break.”

“There’s never time for
breaks, Leah. How are you doing?”

“Fine, but something’s
been on my mind. Can you please tell me more about
Great-great-grandma’s story? The one where she gets banned from her
hometown and moved to Pagoda.”

Silence came over the
phone. “Dad?”

“I’m here, Leah. Maybe
next time you come home we can sit down and talk about her. Talking
over the phone doesn’t do Grandma justice.”

“But Dad, every time I
bring her up we never get to talk about it.”

“I know, dear, but the
time will come and I’ll tell you everything. Like I said, next time
you come home we’ll have a nice talk, OK?” Another pause came over
the phone. “We’ll make it a family get-together. Luke and Leon will
come over too.”

My brothers, Luke and
Leon, were busy in their own lives, but it wasn’t a surprise that
they would drop everything to come for family. Luke was in college
getting his general education and had changed his major at least
three times. Leon was already done with school and worked in a
luxurious hotel as the manager. Both were far from home, but not
too far that they couldn’t come home when they wanted. In fact,
coming home for Mother’s cooking was a tradition.

“OK, it’s just really
bothering me.”

“I know. Your grandmother
would be very proud of you for all the interest you have in her
life. You and she are very much alike. I promise we will dive into
her story next time.”

“Fine,” I huffed in defeat
once again.

“All right. Did you want
to talk to Mom again?”

“No, it’s OK. I’ll call
again soon.”

“Is everything else
OK?”

“Perfect.” I didn’t mean
to sound sarcastic, but considering all the unanswered questions
about Grandma, the stranger, and the attacker, it felt
fitting.

“OK, Leah. Be safe. We
love you.”

“I will. Love you too.
Bye.”

“Bye.”

The student center
contained the lunchroom, bookstore, offices, and the mail room. But
tonight it held the ballroom tryouts. It was a large circular
building with rooms on the outside and stairs that led to a big
open floor in the middle.

In my orange and yellow
salsa costume and my three-inch heels, I walked out of the
restroom. I spotted Jared leaning against a pillar next to the
dance floor. He wore black pants and an orange and yellow glittery
vest that exposed his chest.

Jared didn’t see me start
descending the stairs, so I sneakily inched my way closer to
surprise him. He was engrossed in a paper he held in his hands. His
brow furrowed, and his fingers massaged his temples. I looked down
at the letter and put my hand on his shoulder.

He jumped, crinkled up the
letter in one fluid motion, and stuffed it in his pocket. “I didn’t
see you there.”

“Obviously. What were you
reading?”

“Nothing. Just a letter
from Mom.”

“Is something wrong? You
looked so worried.”

“Wrong? No nothing’s
wrong.” He put his arm around my shoulder and started to walk.
“Let’s go sign up and get our numbers.”

I racked my brain to pull
out anything on the paper I saw so briefly, but it wasn’t enough to
know what the letter stated.
Sparks
,
weak
,
stronger
, and
Almont
were the only four words I
noticed. The word
Sparks
was nothing to me.
Weak
and
stronger
were words that could mean
many different things.
Almont
,
did
he mean Almont, Colorado?

Jared said it was nothing,
so that’s what it would be, nothing. Who was I to judge? I had lied
to Jared. He didn’t ask me for further explanation then, and I
would do the same now.

“Lucky number seven.”
Jared pinned the number on my back and I did the same for him. “Are
you nervous?” Jared asked.

“No, not at
all.”

***

Couple after couple had
their turn until they called number seven an hour later. I wasn’t
nervous until then. There were so many beautiful and technical
dancers before us, and the judges were so subtle.

“Relax, you’ll be great.”
Jared squeezed my hand as we paraded our way onto the
floor.

I put on a fake smile and
walked to the middle. Jared nodded to the judge who had our music,
and within minutes we danced flawlessly our well-rehearsed
routine.

“Thank you,” the middle
judge said. “The list of the team will be posted Monday morning
here on the billboard. Next, number 8.”

“We did it!” Dance was my
adrenaline rush. “We didn’t even mess up once.”

“It was perfect. You’re
amazing.”

“I’m just so happy. What
do you want to do next?”

Jared looked down. “Well,
that’s the problem: I’m not sure what I should do. Steve and Mark
wanted to look at trig homework tonight. I guess I’m the nerd that
needs to help them.”

“Didn’t you tell them
about our night?”

“Yes, of course I did, but
tomorrow Steve is heading home because of a death in his family,
and Mark would rather do it with Steve so they can work together
later. They’re way behind in class.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I’m sorry. Maybe I’ll
just call Steve and tell him I’m not coming.”

“No, no, that’s OK.” I
tried to smile. “Go, he needs your help. Plus if he’s going home to
support his family, that’s important. I understand. You should
go.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely.”

“I’ll go get changed,
then, but I’ll call you tomorrow?” He looked straight into my
eyes.

“Yes, that’s
fine.”

“OK. Love ya.” He kissed
me good-bye.

***

After Jared left I didn’t
feel like sticking around anymore, so with a quick change of my
shoes, I headed home. My coat and my bag were the only things
keeping me warm from the night air.

I should have asked Jared
to walk me home. He had rushed to leave, and I hadn’t thought about
the loneliness of the dark. The lights from campus started to fade,
and fear started to creep up my body. After what happened a week
ago, it was reason enough not to take any chances. Knowing I was
almost home, I argued with myself whether to keep going or to walk
all the way back.
You’re almost home now.
It’ll take longer to go back than to just keep going. You should go
back. Why risk it?
Going against my fear,
I kept my legs moving forward. In a fast movement, I was lifted
from my feet and swooshed into a dark corner of trees. Just before
a scream could erupt, a hand covered my mouth. A face came inches
from mine with his finger up to his lips.

“Shhhh.”

My eyes bulged. It was
him, the green-eyed stranger. He slowly released his hand, being
cautious I wouldn’t scream. We sat on the grass, staying close. He
held me so we were inches apart. My heartbeat was out of control,
and my hands were shaking.

Footsteps started up the
sidewalk; the noise caught my attention. I pushed away from the
stranger gently and turned to see who was coming. He pulled me back
and slowly came close to my ear.

“Please don’t
move.”

A shiver ran down my body,
and from the glow of his eyes I knew he noticed. He took off his
coat and placed it over my bare legs. Gratefully, I took the coat,
but instead of listening to him I turned to get a better look at
the oncoming footsteps.

Gasp! I covered my mouth
this time. The attacker paced back and forth.

“Did you find her?” a
static voice sounded.

He raised a handheld radio
to his mouth. “No, not yet. Are you sure she was walking this
way?”

“Yes. I was told that’s
the direction she would take.”

“Well, like usual, you
have failed me. I don’t know why I ask such incompetent people to
help me.”

“We’re sorry, boss. But
don’t worry, we’ll get her.”

He mumbled in anger and
stormed off.

I turned then to the man
that saved me again. “They’re after me . . . ”

He smiled and held my gaze
a second longer. “Yes, but I won’t let them have you.”

Our chemistry flowed
between us.

“Thank you.” I was either
in shock, scared, or speechless.

“You’re welcome.” He
smiled even bigger.

“Who are you?”

He looked away, got up,
and helped me stand to my feet. “Max.” He held out his
hand.

I had never met anyone
like him. Of course, I only lived in a small town, so the number of
people was limited.

He saw my hesitation, but
waited patiently. I slowly raised my hand and placed it in his.
“Leah.”

He nodded. “I’ll walk you
home.”

“That would be very
nice.”

He picked up his coat and
my bag, put his hand on my back, and guided me to the sidewalk. I
felt safe with Max, but that safeness made me skeptical. Who was he
really? And why did he help me? My heart beat faster than it
should. Breathless feelings invaded my whole body, and being next
to him was a rush that I had never felt before. Being attracted to
someone was one thing, but I was drawn to him. The more we met the
more this feeling grew, and this time I needed to know why before
he disappeared again.

His hand still rested on
my back, but when I glanced up at him he looked so serious. He
looked behind us and all directions, making sure we were still
alone. His posture remained as firm as a board. My folded arms felt
stiff and my muscles were still tense. I reached over with one hand
slowly and touched his side. He covered my hand with his. His touch
sent a burning feeling though me,

“Are you OK?” He looked
down at me with concern.

“Why did you save
me?”

A low growl vibrated his
throat, which made me pull my hand away. “It’s my job.”

Job? “I don’t
understand.”

He pulled me to a stop to
look at me. “I know. I was hired to protect you. I’m a bodyguard.
The problem is, I’m supposed to be discreet about it.” He let his
hand fall to the side, but I only felt absence. “Only helping you
when you need it, then leaving. Walking you home or even speaking
to you are against the regulations of this assignment.”

“Who hired you? I didn’t
know I needed protection.”

“I’ve said too much
already. I can’t tell you who hired me. I should go . . . I
shouldn’t be here.”

“Wait. Why can’t I tell
anyone about you or the attacks?”

“It’s another rule of the
assignment. The more people that know, the more people that are in
danger. This is a one-man operation and that’s all I know.” He ran
his hand through his hair. “Here, I’ll walk you home but I am
afraid that’s where we say good-bye. You won’t see me or hear me
ever again unless I am needed.”

“OK.” I looked down,
trying to hide my disappointment. I didn’t want to have feelings
for Max or to have a bodyguard, but I did have feelings and I was
just his assignment.