Call It Destiny

romantic, is it?“ Jake guided the Mercedes toward the foothills outside Tucson where the Hacienda Strand was located.
    „No.“
    „But your pride wouldn’t let you come home?“
    „I couldn’t come home. Not until I’d shown everyone I could take care of myself and that I didn’t need dad’s money to cushion the way,“ she explained starkly.
    „So how did you finance your hotel course?“
    „Got a job in a fast-food hamburger place. No benefits and low salary but the road to the manager’s job was wide open for anyone who wanted to work the bad hours. I became manager in three months,“ Heather said calmly. „After that, money was less of a problem. I didn’t get a lot of sleep for the next couple of years but I got one heck of an education. I can manufacture forty hamburgers a minute or supervise a gourmet hotel kitchen.“
    „You did things the hard way,“ Jake growled. „All because you were too headstrong to appreciate what your family wanted to give you.“
    Something snapped briefly inside Heather. She had been doing him the courtesy of answering some very personal questions and in return she sensed she was getting barely concealed disparagement and condemnation. She intended to put a stop to it in a hurry. Her hazel eyes flared in the dimly lit interior of the car.
    „Let’s get something straight, Jake. My past is absolutely no concern of yours, just as your past doesn’t particularly interest me. I am not the wild and reckless girl I was when I left town. I am a mature adult woman who has achieved a considerable degree of success on her own. The decision to come back to Tucson is based on a number of factors but none of those factors includes financial need or career development. I had everything I needed or wanted in regard to those two items back in California. One last time, Jake, I’m here on my own terms and everything I do in my life is on my own terms. If you can’t handle my past then say so now.“
    His fingers might have tightened briefly on the steering wheel; in the darkness Heather couldn’t be certain. But Jake only hesitated a few seconds before saying quietly, „I can handle your past. It’s not a whole hell of a lot different than my own.“
    Heather, her mouth open for further pithy comments, blinked and then said, „Really?“
    „Except that there was no female version of Rick Monroe to sweep me away in grand style and there was no loving financially secure family to back me up if I ever got into more trouble than I could handle.“ The words were flat, not inviting further discussion.
    Heather considered the man beside her, aware of the harshly carved profile and the controlled strength in the lean tough body. She decided not to ask the flood of questions that popped into her mind. Both of them were entitled to some privacy. After all, they still knew so little about each other.
    The subdued roar of a black-and-chrome motorcycle followed the Mercedes into the elegant curving driveway of the Hacienda Strand. As Jake parked the car in one of the managers’ slots, Heather turned to glance over her shoulder, smiling in quick pleasure. Before Jake could open his door she was already out on the white graveled path, waving at the young man who was parking the bike nearby.
    „Hey, Jim,“ she called, hurrying forward. „It’s beautiful! When did you get it?“
    Jim Connors, a busboy in the hotel restaurant, grinned proudly as he carefully balanced the heavy motorcycle and withdrew the keys. „I took delivery this morning. What do you think? Ever seen anything like it before in your life?“
    Jake had moved silently up behind Heather who was eyeing the bike with vast appreciation. „Quite a bike, Jim,“ he remarked soberly.
    „Thank you, Mr. Cavender. I figure it’s only going to take me the rest of my life to pay it off, but it’s worth it!“ Jim stowed the helmet he had worn behind the seat.
    „I’m glad to see you had the sense to buy a helmet too,“ Jake observed approvingly.
    „Yeah. My dad said it was the only way he’d agree to cosign the loan I had to get. I guess he’s right, but it does take some of the excitement out of riding.“
    „I know what you mean,“ Heather murmured wistfully as she gently stroked the gleaming black fender of the big bike. „There’s nothing like the feel of the wind in your hair.“
    „How about the bugs in your teeth?“ Jake interrupted, his eyes narrowing as he watched Heather touch the motorcycle.
    Jim