Fortuity (Transcend 3)

“Yes. The potential to fuck another man’s name out of your mouth. That’s talent.”

I pull into the parking lot and shut off the engine. “I’d love to stay and chat, but one of us is still alive with a job and responsibilities.”

“Bummer. We didn’t get a chance to discuss you getting left at the altar. That was classic. I saw that coming. I’m not sure how you didn’t.”

“Go away,” I grumble, exiting the vehicle.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Nathaniel

Morgan spends the morning teaching Gabe how to play chess. Once he beats her, she declares it’s time to do something else. She might have inherited my competitive gene.

We grab burgers for lunch and ice cream for dessert, and make it to the museum before it starts to rain. After only an hour, Gabe expresses his level of boredom. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s not as obsessed with miscellaneous knowledge like Morgan, or if it’s because he’s been to all the museums in San Diego. My persuasive daughter doesn’t think twice about him wanting to leave after only an hour. Now, had I been the one suggesting we leave that early, she would have had a meltdown.

I’m losing ground with this girl. I used to walk on water. Now she rolls her eyes and gives me this look like, on my best day, I merely stomp in a muddy puddle.

“You and Gracelyn should move to Madison with me and my dad,” Morgan declares, sitting next to Gabe in the backseat while I chauffeur them home.

I glance in the rearview mirror at Gabe.

He keeps his gaze focused on his phone. “I’m not moving.”

“Why?”

My instinct is to save Gabe from the impending onslaught of Morgan questions and possibly even some begging, but my curiosity keeps me quiet.

“Because I like it here. My friends are here. My soccer team is here. I don’t want to move. My grandparents said I could move to Montana with them, but I wanted to stay here. That’s why Gracelyn moved here instead of taking me back to Ohio with her.”

“Idaho.”

I smirk at Morgan correcting him.

“Whatever. You get my point.”

“You’d make friends in Madison, just like me. We could make friends together.”

“I already have friends.”

“Yeah, but don’t you ever want to make new friends? Different friends? I’ve made lots of friends while traveling with my dad. We write letters to each other and sometimes even send pictures or postcards. It’s really fun. You could send your friends here pictures from Madison.”

“Or I could stay here.”

“Guac … you’re no fun. Besides …” She doesn’t finish, so I make another glance in the mirror. Her head is bent, her hands cupped at his ear as she whispers something.

“My aunt is not marrying your dad.”

“Shh! Could you be any louder?”

“We should talk later. Don’t you think, Morgan?”

“No, Dad. We don’t need to talk. I know what you’re going to say. You’re not marrying Gracelyn. She already told me that, but you can’t really know that. Things change. Feelings change.”

“Not for everyone,” Gabe mumbles. “My dad said Gracelyn is cursed. She will die with an apartment full of cats, which is weird because she doesn’t own a cat.”

Morgan laughs. “That’s crazy.”

I don’t laugh, but I do wonder why his dad said that. Gracelyn is a lot of things, but she’s not a cat lady. The old lady at a nursing home seducing a male nurse is a much more fitting role.

As soon as we get home, Morgan and Gabe go to Mr. Hans’s house—I’m sure to play video games. I settle on the sofa and call my parents. We try to connect every few weeks.

“When you bringing our granddaughter home?” Dad answers without a hello.

I grin. “Soon.” After eight years away, a little over five weeks more should feel like nothing. “Have you found a place for us to live?”

“Didn’t know it was my job.”

I chuckle. “It’s not, but you’re usually poking your nose into stuff, so I figured you’d have a list of possibilities. Christina is sending me a list tomorrow.” When I decided to pack up my two-year-old daughter and travel the world indefinitely, I also chose to sell our house. Not out of financial necessity, more because I knew she would never remember it. It’s the house I bought with Jenna. It’s where we lived when we created Morgan, but it was also the house where I brought home my newborn baby … without her mom.

We need a clean slate.

“I miss her face. Your camera broken?”

I shake my head. We usually video chat so he can see Morgan. He’s watched her grow all through the lens of a camera. “Morgan’s not here. She’s at the neighbor’s house. Didn’t figure you cared to see my old, graying mug.”

“Talk to Jenna’s family recently?”

I grin because my sexy as fuck neighbor just arrived home, and she’s stripping for me. “Uh … we video chatted last week with her sister Rachael. She’s getting married this October and wants Morgan to be her junior bridesmaid.”