A Little Like Destiny (Robin and Tyler 3)

I circle around the lake, using the flashlight to light my way. It’s so beautiful out here, even in the dusk where the sun’s rays barely make it over the horizon. It feels like a waste to have had such a beautiful backyard for the last three months and to have only walked back here once, with Tyler.

A massive oak tree casts eerie shadows over the lake. It’s the biggest tree on the lot and I’ve often admired it from our back window. Something pulls me toward it, despite the slight scary factor of the leafy shadows that dance around on the water. I lean my back against the bark and take my cell phone from my pocket. My fingers shake as I open a new text to Tyler. I have to apologize. I know I shouldn’t do it in a text message, so I lean my head against the tree and try to summon enough courage to call him.

The bark feels odd beneath my head. Like it’s too smooth to be a tree. I lift up and turn around, pointing the flashlight at the tree, hoping to God that the smooth surface I just rested my head on wasn’t some kind of creepy animal like a coiled snake. Tears pool in my eyes when I see what’s on the side of the ancient tree.

A heart.

Carved probably decades ago, the tree isn’t just an old Oak; it’s a testament to someone’s love. Propping the flashlight between my shoulder and cheek, I use both of my hands to pull away the fresh bark and dirt, revealing what was once carved there so many years ago. The letters are barely legible. My fingernails get filthy as I dig through the faint lines, trying to recreate the message.

My teeth dig into my lip. It can’t be. There’s no way this says what I think it says.

Carol & Joe

My grandparents. It has to be them. In a town this small, there’s no other way it could have been another couple with the same name. My fingers trace the letters. I touch Grandpa’s watch and a feeling of warmth pulses through my chest. Smiling, I wipe away the tears in the corners of my eyes and grab my phone again.

Tyler answers on the first ring. My well thought out apology goes out the window the moment I hear his voice. So instead of eloquent words, a mess of stuff falls out of my mouth. “I’m sorry, Tyler. I’m sorry I was such a bitch to you. I can’t believe I acted like that, I’m so, so sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “You had a bad day. That happens. I get it.”

“You’re amazing,” I breathe into the phone. I glance back at the heart in the tree and my chest aches. “I know it’s late and it’s Thanksgiving and all, but do you think you could come over?”

“You don’t even need to ask, Sunshine.”

My heartbeat quickens. “What do you mean by that?”

I hear a whistle both through the phone and in real life. I look up and see him standing there, on my back porch. He waves his phone, the glow of it lighting up his face in the dark and I wave mine back before putting it back to my ear. “Why are you here?”

“I figured you’d need me.”

I lean against the tree and close my eyes, pressing the phone tightly to my ear. “Well, I do need you. So hurry up.”

Tyler jogs across the back yard. I don’t open my eyes until I hear him just a few steps away. Our eyes meet as the moon glows overhead. My bottom lip curls under my teeth and I try to smile but it comes out sheepish and stupid. Tyler doesn’t seem to mind. His arms slide around my back and he pulls me toward him. My face buri

es into his chest and he smells so amazing I can barely stand it. I run my hands under his jacket and up the smooth fabric of his shirt and grab his shoulders, squeezing him tightly to me. “I missed you.” The words tumble out, unfiltered and I’m not even sure if we’ve been dating long enough for me to say things like that.

“I missed you, too,” he whispers into my ear. He pulls back and takes off his jacket, draping it over my shoulders. “We should get inside. You can tell me all about your day.”

“Wait.” I grab my flashlight from where I had dropped it when Tyler arrived and turn it on, pointing it to the tree. “Can you read that?”

He squints at the carving. “Carol and Joe? Wait…that’s not…?” I nod. “I think it is. It makes sense that my grandparents would have lived in a rental house, right? They were a newly married couple and didn’t have much money. I think this was them.”

“Wow,” Tyler exhales. “That’s amazing.”

“It’s more than amazing,” I say, tugging his jacket tighter around me as chills shoot down my arms. “It’s fate.”

Tyler’s head tilts until he’s pressing his forehead to mine. His hands slide down my back and his fingers slip into my back pockets. He pulls my hips closer to his and kisses me. “I’m glad fate brought you here.”

“Me too,” I whisper just before he kisses me again.

“I don’t think you should ever leave.”

I smile and press my finger to the carved heart in the tree next to us. “I don’t think fate wants me to leave.”

Tyler smiles. “Good.”

As we hold hands and walk through the crisp air back toward my house, Grandpa’s watch feels heavy on my wrist. It’s as if everything that happened; the lost condo sale, the broken nose and shattered windshield—every bad thing that has happened on my journey to find myself, had happened for a reason. Like fate had a hand in it, guiding the events around me to force me into staying in Salt Gap, Texas. It’s almost like it was destiny all along.

And I guess, maybe it was.