Page 16 of Until We Weren't

A smile played at the corner of Faith’s mouth. This was a huge job, but she could imagine doing this work. It would be completed in stages just as the buildings were being constructed.

She’d noticed several other landscaping companies’ representatives walking around the property, but she preferred to do her appraisal alone. Faith would take in the entire scene and let the property talk to her. That way she could get a feel for what aesthetic fit the property best. Then she could envision the plants, shrubs, trees, and turf she would use.

Faith closed her eyes for a moment but before she could picture the property, a memory of doing this same thing with Destiny filled her head. They used to walk around a potential project and bounce ideas off each other until they came up with the best one.

She figured Destiny would be touring the property, but it was almost as if she could feel her nearby. Faith shuddered and tried to focus on the task at hand.

“Do you see a garden or a prairie,” a familiar voice said from behind her, “or some other style?”

Faith turned around feeling like she’d conjured Destiny up from thin air.

Destiny smiled. “It’s bigger than I imagined.”

Faith nodded. “But it’s doable.”

“Thank goodness they’re doing it in stages,” Destiny said. “I’d have to hire extra help otherwise.”

“Yeah,” Faith agreed. “Did you see who all is here?”

“Yep,” Destiny replied. “I knew all the biggies would be here.” She turned to look at Faith. “But that doesn’t mean you or I couldn’t do this job.”

“I know,” Faith said, staring at the building.

“I want to see around back,” Destiny said. “Have you been there yet?”

Faith shook her head. Destiny started to walk away then turned around to look at Faith.

Faith hesitated, trying to decide whether to walk with Destiny or not. “They didn’t give us much time to look around,” she said. “The guy at the gate said they lock up the entire site at six.”

“Maybe we could get a better idea if we walked together,” Destiny suggested, raising her brows.

“You go around that way and I’ll go to the right,” Faith said. “I’ll meet you at the back of the main building. We can compare notes.” She could see the disappointment on Destiny’s face when she suggested they split up, but Faith needed to concentrate on the job. It was hard to do that when Destiny was around.

“Okay,” Destiny said, turning and walking away.

Faith took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Maybe Mark was right. The universe seemed to be putting her in Destiny’s path more and more lately, but why? She shrugged the thought off and headed to the other side of the massive building.

Destiny walked around the building and jotted down a few ideas as they came to her. She took her time and tried to visualize how to make the landscaping flow. A few people she knew from the other landscaping companies waved or said hello to her as she walked by them.

Destiny detoured near one of the other buildings, trying to get a better idea of what that walk would be like for the employees. One thing she tried to do with outdoor spaces she created was make a walk like this an experience, not just moving from one building to the next.

Sometimes people need a moment to simply take a breath in the middle of their workday. Destiny remembered when her head would be crammed full of numbers and all she wanted was to take a short walk and let them out.

She meandered along the sidewalk to the side of the main building, taking in the view, then took the path around towards the back. She noticed a cloud of dust off in the distance near where she’d parked her truck. A steady stream of vehicles was leaving the parking lot.

She glanced at her watch and realized it was past six o’clock. It occurred to her that she hadn’t seen any of the other landscapers for quite some time. The man at the gate had advised her that they locked everything up at night to deter would-be thieves.

She hurried to the back of the building just in case Faith was waiting for her. Destiny had been pleasantly surprised at Faith’s lack of contempt for her when she walked up beside her earlier. She’d expected her typical nasty demeanor, but she was almost friendly.

Time had gotten away from her and she didn’t want to get them both in trouble with security or the company she was trying to secure the landscaping contract from.

She saw Faith in the distance just as movement caught her eye.

“Oh shit!” Destiny exclaimed. “Those are guard dogs!”

Destiny took off running towards Faith and as she ran, she looked for a place to get away from the dogs.

Faith looked confused, but Destiny could tell she knew something was wrong. She watched as Faith glanced over her shoulder and saw the dogs.