Page 139 of Finding Fate

Each of you has an account from a term life insurance policy I set up that you’ll only now be able to gain access to at eighteen. Whether or not that is on your birthday, I have left up to your grandpa. He will judge if you are ready for it, but don’t worry. The latest you will receive it is your graduation from high school, conditional upon some kind of plans for school or a career.

Beyond that, the money is yours to use as you see best. Whether you choose to use it for college, a house, or something else you may need, it doesn’t matter. All I ask is that you use it wisely. We can still worry up here in heaven, you know.

I’m always watching out for you. I’m so proud of you. I love you. I miss you.

Love,

Daddy

P.S. Embrace Life.

The room stayed silent for several seconds once Annie reached the end of the letter, and she was only vaguely aware of the rushed conversation the others held when the silence wore off, lost in her own train of thought.

Her father could not have given her a better gift, the thought, and intuition behind his words touching her beyond words. They couldn’t have been more appropriate or more needed than they were to her at that moment. Somehow, he had known how much they would still need him and had found a way to come through.

“Annie?” someone said, breaking through her thoughts.

“Huh?” She looked up to see her mother and Jet watching her with concerned and hurried eyes. Stefano and Chuck were no longer in the room.

“Are you coming, or are you staying here with your mom to wait for Izzy?”

“Coming,” she replied, standing up. She couldn’t just wait around while her sister was missing. She folded the precious letter and placed it in the drawer of her nightstand, gave her mother a hug, and dashed out with Jet to his Mustang.

They were silent for a while as they drove through town, and for once, Annie didn’t mind, still reflecting on her father’s words. They’d just made a second circle around the park when Jet spoke.

“Are you okay?”

She looked up, surprised, and saw the worry in her boyfriend’s eyes.

“I’m good.”

“You don’t seem like it. You’re too quiet. It’s not like you at all.”

“I’m just thinking.”

“About Izzy? Don’t worry. We’ve split up areas to search. We’ll find her.”

“I know, babe.”

“What are you worried about then? If she’ll be okay? ‘Cause I’m worried about that, too. What she did to y’all’s room was unreal. But I get it, I guess. What your dad wrote must have really hit her, the whole parent before the child thing.”

“No kidding, but I’m actually not worried about that anymore.”

Jet, stopping for a red light, looked over at Annie with even more concern for her than before. “Okay, either you’re a pod person, or you’re going to have to explain.”

Annie smiled, her lips curving up slightly to one side, and she took Jet’s hand while she spoke. “I’m honestly okay. I am concerned about finding Izzy. She shouldn’t be alone when she’s this upset, but I know she’s going to be fine.”

“How?” He had to ask.

“Because I’m taking my dad’s advice. I’m having faith that Izzy will find a way to make it through this. I think it will be easier for her now that Tucker seems to have woken up. I hope he finds her first.”

Jet gave her hand a squeeze. Patrick Dearly was right. “You are amazing.”

She leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the lips. “Let’s go find my sister,” she said and pointed to the green light. Jet simply smiled and hit the accelerator.

---