Destiny Inn

He stood in front of her close enough to touch, the darkness surrounding them.  Her Shyness with him had always been apparent to all who knew them, but at this moment she could only watch him.  The garden was only lit by the soft glow of the moon.  Her blue eyes shown bright by the moonlight, she felt the tears she knew he could see.  He curled his fingers through her flowing dark brown locks.  Then he turned to walk down the shadowy path.  Destiny tried to follow him, but something stopped her.  Her legs were stuck she thought, but when she looked down it was only a dark fog that surrounded her.  Destiny was petrified by the thought that he was going to leave her alone here in the darkness again.  She fought the fear of the seclusion and the sinister darkness. 
         “Tim, please don’t do this again don’t leave me your all I have.”  She screamed after him.  She watched as he faded into the fog.
***
         Destiny woke again in the dark, scared and alone.  She hadn’t had that nightmare for a long time.  Tim had been dead for a full year today she thought as she pulled the covers back and fumbled to turn on her light.  She still shook and her pajamas were covered with sweat.  What a way to wake up!  The alarm clock sounded and it gave her a start.  She looked around the dimly lit room searching for something she wouldn’t find.  Finally, she realized her surroundings weren’t the garden or the dream.  She had so much to do today, she needed an early start.  She grabbed her running shoes and her sweats, pulling them on.  A good jog would calm her worry. She’d had that chat with Diane last night; she hoped the talk of dating was what had caused the nightmare.

         Shaken and in a hurry to get her day begun, Destiny, started down the dirt trail she ran on everyday.  By this time the sun was high above the tree line, with its golden warmth softly touching the leaves and pedals of the flowers.  Stopping just for a moment to catch her breath, she remembered she needed to go by the grave site.  She ran there as fast as her legs would carry her.  When she saw the headstone for the first time she shuddered.  She hadn’t loved him, the way a wife should love her husband, but still she missed his company.  Sitting on the ground with her head against the cold marble stone she let unshed tear roll down her cheek.  She said a silent prayer to the heavens and brushed her hand over the date on the stone.  One year, a full year alone, and when she was in the dark it bothered her.  She looked around to her father and mother’s stone and smiled, they were together in the dark at least.  Destiny closed her eyes taking in the cool morning sun, smelling the flowers that bloomed, and suddenly she was in her dream again.
***
         “Hello my love,” Tim said.  “I missed you so.  I have come to you on this day for a reason.  You need to move passed your fear of the dark loneliness.  That feeling can be taken from you with love.  A love as deep and strong as the love I gave you.  If only you could have given it back to me the same way…”  He sighed.  “You were young then, love.  Now it’s your time to move on through the dreams you’d wanted.  Take that talent you hardly use and grow with it.  Find someone or something you can love more than the inn.  Good bye, my love, goodbye.”
         “Tim, please don’t do this again don’t leave me your all I have.”  She screamed after him.  She watched as he faded into the fog.  Destiny blinked, looking around to see if anyone was around.  She shook the fear that coursed through her.  Although her hands weren’t steady her mind had to be for what lay ahead today.

         She stood, behind the desk, waiting for the new clients to arrive.  The only joy of her day was seeing new people come in.  Mr. and Mrs. King were bringing a large
number of their family, here for their reunion.  Unfortunately, her inn didn’t have enough room for all of them it would have been great for her budget not to mention giving them a perfect reputation.  When the couple arrived she showed them to their room and left them to settle while the other members of the family came in slowly.  There were lots of kids that Destiny played with and gave treats to as she escorted them to their rooms, another one of the things she enjoyed most about her job.  She loved the way one of the little girls laughed and wondered if she would ever hear that out of her own child.  She would return to the desk and check if all the boarders had came in.  Still missing one she called up to Mr. and Mrs. King’s room to make sure that she hadn’t over booked the rooms.  They kindly explained that their youngest son would be late and that his flight came in at 8:30 p.m.
         With this taken care of she went on with her book keeping and accounts for the week pasted.  With that finally done she sat listening to her favorite song on her pc.  In a daze she stared at the screen.  She heard a husky male voice coming from the door way of the office.  She went to the desk and saw a man in dress blues standing there.  A rather handsome, man, a Marine.  Her first impression was that he was very tall had to be at least 5’6.  His features were covered by the straight face of a soldier.  He had rather broad shoulders and his waist was narrow.  His voice was husky and sweet all at the same time.  She had to focus just to do her job.
         “Hello, can I help you sir?”
         “If this is the freakin’ place my parents made me drive miles to find then yes.  This is the Destiny Inn right?”
         “Yes, sir.  How was your trip?  I hope it was good.”
         “Well, considering a short flight, yes, but this place is the hardest thing to find.  I almost missed the town!”  He grumbled. 
         Destiny smiled slightly, as she checked out the book for the proper papers to be signed.  “You’re a Marine right?”  She handed him the papers to fill out and took his credit
card; swiping it through the machine.
         “Yeah, Semper Fidelis.”
She gave him a strange look wondering what the term meant.  She showed him to his room, giving him the tour as she normally would.  She turned to bump into him and suddenly she was completely aware of him, she could smell the manliness of him and the soap he used.  She could see the deep chocolate of his eyes and see his devilish grin.  She felt a spark when he reached out and grabbed her trying to steady her.  She’d never felt this way by the touch of any man.  She became more aware of him when she grabbed his arm for support and felt the rippled muscles hidden under his dress blues.  She felt aware of him down to her toes.  She pushed away quickly.
         “Sorry, I’m hardly ever that clumsy.”
         “No problem.  I didn’t get your name.”  He said not showing a bit of emotion.
         “Oh, Destiny Evans.”
         “Destiny? As in the inn?”
         “The one and only, I’m the owner.”
         He straighten his back, she was young.  He had realized it when he looked into her face.  Her eyes tormented his mind; they were as blue as any eyes he had ever seen.  Not to mention the impulse he had to kiss those soft pink lips.  When he had grabbed her he felt a spark that stirred him like nothing had before.  He could feel her soft, tanned skin beneath his finger tips still.  He stood silent for only a moment or two, but it seemed like eternity to him.
         “Lance corporal King, oh crap habit, Harley King.”  He laughed.
         “Nice to meet you ‘Lance Corporal’ Harley King.”
         Destiny stood for a moment then dismissed her self.  She’d never made such a fool out of her self.  She wondered what on earth was wrong with her.  She made her way to the top floor where she lay on her bed thinking about the day.  This not getting out was driving her crazy she believed.  As soon as she made the next payment on inn she would have it paid off and she would be able to hire a manager to take her place.  She closed her eyes and could see Harley King’s face and imagine his body strong and lean hanging on to her.  She blinked her eyes and tried to clear his image from her mind.  Still his brown eyes were there and they held some deep secret that she wanted deep down to find.

         Once she had walked out the door Harley’s mind twisted and he went into a state of shock.  Wondering why he was feeling like this after just seeing this woman once, he put his things away like any good Marine would.  Out of habit he folded his clothes perfectly, while he was disturbed her by the sight of Destiny.  There was something about her that drew his mind back to her.  Her soft skin, pretty pink lips, and long brown hair, which he could imagine his hands in.  When she turned to leave he could smell the lavender soap she used and it could still be smelled in the room.  He sniffed and shook his head; no woman had ever taken his mind like this.  He lay down trying to close her from his mind, but it wasn’t working.  He pulled out his I pod and put on some music.  Slowly with out her leaving his mind he went to sleep. 
         He looked at her seeing her in a pale blue dress that brought out her eyes.  She smiled at him and her eyes glittered with love.  Harley stood in his dress blues ready to leave, suitcase in hand.  She walked over to him touching his face softly.  He could smell the lavender again.  The scent haughted him threw the night.  Destiny looked at the case and began to frown as a tear flowed down her cheek. 
         “I knew this day would come when you had to leave.  I should have never…” she said as she turns and waved.  He called after her.  Then suddenly the phone rang waking him from his sleep.
         Destiny tossed and turned never finding sleep; she finally gave up and dressed in her workout sweats.  She didn’t want to see a strange man in her sleep or in her head.  Down to the gym, she headed.  She passed the large grandfather clock in the foyer it was dawning midnight.  In the gym she tried to run his image from her mind on the treadmill.  Hayden stood in the door watching for a moment before he made himself known.  He walked around in front of her and handed her a fresh towel.
         “Been here awhile?”
         “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.”  She huffed running faster on the treadmill.
         “Don’t take it out on the poor treadmill.”  He said laughingly.  “Wanna, talk to a friend about it?”
         “Unless you want to know about the nightmares and the odd reason I can’t get some guy I just met out of my mind…”  She slowed to a short walk.
         “Anybody I’ve met, boss?”  He grinned.
         “The last of the King’s to arrive; I made a fool out of myself, fallin’ all over him.  Not purposely I promise.  He was really nice looking though.”  She laughed.
         “Oh, one of those?  Destiny, It’s been a long time and your not wrong for thinking another man is good looking, that’s what me and Di have been trying to tell you.”
         “I feel like it will take away from my plans if I go out with someone again.”
         “It’s not like marrying him or anything.  I’d like to let you meet my cousin.  Really a blind date could help ya.  Even Diane has said you’d two make a match.”
         “Match?”  Destiny looked at him funny.

Grumbling to her self as she headed back to her room, a match?  She didn’t need a match.  She wanted someone different from her.  Letting go was the problem.  It felt wrong; it felt totally out of her place to see another man where Tim had been.  Harley King wasn’t going to mess up her mind; she was going to sleep if it killed her.  She lay on the bed with her head phones blaring the music she love the most, finally her eyes grew heavy and sleep followed.

         Harley rolled over and answered the phone, still in a haze from the dream that had been in his mind.  “Hello?  Why are you calling this time of night?”  He listened to the voice on the other end of the line.  “How did you get this number?  Why are you calling me at this time of night?”  He grouched, “Well, morning then, I’ll call you back don’t call me.”  He rolled over and put the pillow over his head.  Now what else was going to go wrong, he thought?  He closed his mind and sleep came.
         
         Early, he got up to go for his daily run, finding a narrow path up to a garden behind the inn, he followed it up a rolling hill; where he sat to think for a moment.  The sun just peaking over the tree tops, showed the town below in shadows.  He watched as the lights came on in some of the houses along the road that went toward the inn.  What a beautiful scene, the town below.  He could see the main street with its few shops, the schools, and the houses that scattered far and away in this little town.  He looked to his right to see a deer grazing, not paying him a bit of mind, and a patch of buttercups.  This is what he’d wanted as a kid, to live out where there were animals to watch.  He was growing to like this place more now than he had the night before when he had hardly even seen any of it.  He thought that the town’s people probably knew each other by their first names, too.  That was the kind of life he was wanting now, since the Marines had shown him so much.
         He went over to pick out a few of the buttercups for his mother; he could remember her buying those at the florist when he was a kid. He turned and ran down the path, but came to a halt when he saw her.  She sat by a rose bush, basket in her lap, singing to a song that Harley knew well.  Her hair was tied back with a simple ribbon and the sun glistened on her hair giving it red highlights.  The gentle shadows from the greenery gave her an angelic glow.  Harley backed back into the shadows, where he could not be seen.  He grinned and though when he saw her old running shoes and sweats, she must run daily.  She finally picked up her basket of roses and ran down the path.  He sighed in relief.

         Harley came down the stairs to find his family gathering in the café.  He gave hugs and kisses to his nieces and nephews and handed his mother the flowers he had picked.  He turned to get a glimpse of Destiny eating at a table to the far corner of the room.  His mother followed his direction and smiled.  They all chatted and ate breakfast before they left for their family event.  Harley’s mother watched him amused while he tried not to look at Destiny.  She could truly understand why, Destiny was a kind soul; she could sense it in her. 
         Uncle Harry came in and drew all of their attention.  He was a loud man and everyone loved him.  He wasn’t truly an uncle, but they loved him as part of the family.  He explained he was sorry to be late, but he couldn’t help but stop to look at the paintings on the walls on his way in.  He looked around to his family and smiled as they were all ready to go.  On his way out he left his card with, Diane, at the front desk for the artist of the painting.
         Diane immediately went to the café and gave it to Destiny.
         “What’s this?” She said wiping her mouth.
         “A card from a family member of the King’s”
         Destiny started at the card in shock.  Harry Reynolds “Art Dealer”.  What did an art dealer want with her?  Surely her work wasn’t that good.  It wasn’t like she didn’t have enough to keep her mind off of Harley, but this was a big deal.  Diane stood and started at her while she started at the card.          
         “You, ok?”
         “Yeah, wonder what he wants.”
         “Well, I noticed him staring at some of the paintings in the foyer.”
         Destiny was in awe.  How could anyone, who sells them daily, like those paintings.  Well she would wait a while and call to find out.  Maybe all of her dreams were coming true.  She had just made enough to pay off the mortgage on the inn.  She felt like she was in a dream when she wrote out the check to pay it.  Now this was a second dream of hers, to paint for real people to see.  She hoped it all was coming together for her.  Most of her dream was anyway.  She had to concentrated on writing an add for a manager, for the inn.  Most of her day had been full of her normal tasks and had pushed Harley from her mind.  When she heard his, along with the rest of his families voices, he came right back to her mind.
         She had came out to greet his parents, he reminded himself as she said hello to him in passing.  She walked around to each table at dinner as a gracious host would.  She had to force herself not to look at Harley unless he spoke to her.  She didn’t want anyone to notice the fire she felt when she looked into his eyes.  The fact was she didn’t want to admit it herself. 
         He watched her walk around the room and he could feel his father and mother’s eyes on him.  He turned to hear them asking how he was liked the inn.  He focused only until Destiny came back into sight.  Then his cell phone rang. 
         “Hello.  I thought I said not to call me again.”  He said into the phone.
         “Who is it son?”  His father asked, but the look in Harley’s eyes told him.  He could see that old resentment.  Brooklyn, again.  She would call Harley every time she and her husband went at it.
         “I do not want to give you anymore chances.” He continued.  “I’m seeing someone.”  The line went dead.
         His mother looked at him oddly. “Who are you seeing?”
         “Umm,” He hesitated.  “I’m seeing my family.  It will get her off my back for a while, I hope.”
         “Is that all or are you hoping you will be seeing that pretty little inn owner?”
         Harley was stuck with a question he didn’t know how to answer.