Page 76 of Fallout

Richard stepped inside and shut the door behind him, a grin on his face. “Well.”

She pushed her chair back and stood. “Where’s your bathroom?”

Jasper said, “Down the hall to the left.” His face morphed from concern to irritation.

Destiny pulled back on her need to rush out and strolled instead. As if everything was fine, and she hadn’t just been caught kissing a guy by his father. And a senator, no less! Although, she was currently overseeing Vanguard while the CEO was out.

Then again, Jasper and Richard never seemed to put much stock in their positions when they were in private. Jasper had every right to be proud of his achievements. He had accomplished a lot in his career, and yet he didn’t throw that weight around.

Her stomach flipped a little. She needed to eat something, or she would get sick. Depending on what she ate, that might be inevitable. She locked the bathroom door and then texted Jasper.

Can I have a sandwich?

His response consisted of a thumbs-up and a kissing emoji.Guess we’re good.At least, them getting caught making out didn’t seem to be cause to throw in the towel on the whole thing.

He’d really said he wanted to stick around. To her, that meant marriage. It meant being partners for life, and that was a huge commitment, one she wouldn’t take lightly. Considering he’d broken things off with Tessa, he knew it was big as well.

The ramifications were bigger.

She knew people who’d married with one of them already having a child in tow. It wasn’t impossible, just part of the rich tapestry of some people’s lives. God was gracious, and He equipped people.

You’re rationalizing it.But that was better than worrying or thinking up all the reasons it was a terrible idea. That could come later.

The fact was, she wanted it to work. With Jasper. And not because of the baby.

Destiny took care of some pressing business and splashed water on her face. She said yet another prayer for Simon, not wanting to lose even a second of asking for his safe return. “Bring him home, Lord.”

She whispered the prayer into the quiet.

Her phone buzzed. The Famous Ones thread had far too many messages on it. They were about to quit looking for Simon and come find her, just so they would know she was okay.

Destiny held the button down to record a voice message. “I’m fine. You can see for yourselves that I’m at Jasper’s. I’m good. Just find Simon, okay?”

She checked a couple more messages and found the latest. Everyone on the Vanguard network could check in from their phones, so she sent out a request for that. The FBI was about to raid the kingpin’s house, and the contract killer they had arrested had ID’d the mastermind behind everything that had happened in Benson in the last few months.

A man responsible for so much loss of life.

He would be in cuffs soon, maybe even tonight.

She still wanted everyone to check in. It wasn’t just the Famous Ones who worried about people they cared for. She even texted her brother and sisters, so they’d know she was all right and with Jasper.

Gage had sent a few pictures of the baby and confirmed everything was good at the medical center.

Destiny scrolled to Simon’s status and stared at it for longer than was probably healthy.

Peter’s check-in pinged.

She sent him a text.

You were released?

He replied,

Bob talked to Stella. They had no reason to hold me after I answered all their questions.

Destiny hearted the message as another one arrived from Peter.

I’ll find my brother.

---