Cherishing Destiny (A Dangerous Destiny) Read Online Free PDF

Sara and her mother
reported him missing, but gave up hope after a while with no word.
    Then a few years later Sara’s mother passed away.  It was cancer,
and it had taken her fast.  Sara was finalizing the arrangements at the funeral
home.  She did what needed to be done and was spending a quiet moment gazing at
her mother’s body.  They had tried to make her look not so gaunt with their
make-up.  Sara thought that it was ironic that her mother should look healthier
in death than she had in life during this last couple of weeks. 
    The funeral home had done a nice job, but her mother had
never been one to wear much make-up, so while she looked better, she didn’t
really look like herself.  It all made her mother seem even further away, and
she began to cry softly.  A familiar voice called to her from the doorway of
the room.
    “Sara?” He spoke very quietly, just above a whisper.  It
seemed that to speak too loudly would be sinful in this place or that a loud
voice would break some sort of spell.  It just seemed wrong here, in the
presence of his dead step-mother and grieving sister.
    Sara turned to him. “Ryan? Oh, my God. What—?”  She lost
her words in that moment and started sobbing harder.
    He moved to her and put his arms around her, pulling her to
his chest and rocking her gently.  “It’s okay, baby.  Everything is going to be
okay,” he whispered into her hair.
    Her tears were soaking through his shirt as he held her damp
face to his muscled chest until her sobs became hitching breaths.  She finally
pushed away from him just enough to look up at him. 
    He had grown even taller since he left.  He towered over
her at 6’5”. She couldn’t help but notice the new hardness under his shirt as
she pushed against him. 
    To him, she still seemed like a tiny girl. Her tear
streaked face, looking at him in confusion, was enough to break his heart.  He genuinely
loved his little sister even if they didn’t share the same blood. 
    He gazed at the casket.  He had also loved the only mother
he had ever known, and now she was gone, and this shell, that didn’t really
look like her, was all that was left. He had finally come back to them, but it
was too late. 
    “Where have you been?” Sara asked him.  Tears were still
welling in her eyes, and her voice broke a little when she said, “I thought you
must be dead.”
    It pained him to see that hurt look on her face, so he
pulled her to his chest again, avoiding her eyes and holding her tightly.
    “I’m so sorry, Sara. Oh, Baby, I’m so very sorry.” His own
voice began to break.  “It was just… I couldn’t…I had to… I had to go, baby.  I
didn’t want to, but I had to go.” 
    “I don’t understand.” Her voice was muffled against his
chest, but she didn’t pull away this time. “Why?”
    He started swaying with her again. “I can’t explain, little
one.  I missed you so much, and I am here now.  Please, let that be enough.”
    “I don’t know what’s going on, but I missed you too, every
day.” She squeezed him tighter when she said it.
    “I love you, you know, little one.” He said, brushing her forehead
with his lips.
    “I love you too, and, by the way, I am 20 years old and not
so little anymore,” she added indignantly, but she didn’t let go of him and she
stayed like that, feeling safe in the arms of her big brother, for a while.
    ∞∞∞
    Sara took a deep breath and shook her head as if to clear away
the memory.  She hadn’t thought of that time in ages.  It was bittersweet,
losing her mother, but getting her brother back. That had been seven years ago,
and this time he had been gone again for nearly two years, but sometimes she
got a call or text from him out of the blue.  At least she knew he was alive. 
Still, she wished he hadn’t gone away again. 
    After that day in the funeral home, he came and went,
sometimes staying away for a month or more at a time. He said that he couldn’t
tell her