Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The polished see-through tempered glass around the NASA observation deck reflected the overhead lights like a mirror, casting Chase's bulky frame in duplicate. Destini walked slightly ahead, her shoulders no longer rigid with tension, pointing out what each section of the scientists were doing with increasing enthusiasm.
"This is where they track satellite communications," she said, her voice gaining animation. "See how complex the monitoring systems are?"
Chase nodded, absorbing not just the technical details but the subtle shift in his daughter's demeanor. Each explanation carried less defensiveness, more genuine passion.
Jewel hung back, watching their interaction with a flurry of emotions on her face. His mind wondered, dreaming that maybe she was picturing them as a real family. What would that be like, father, mother, daughter, living together, doing life together… loving each other.
His chest tightened as Destini raced ahead to the next area. Chase caught her eye, tilting his head slightly as he waited for Jewel.
Chase turned back to watch Destini, noting how her movements echoed his own—deliberate, confident, with an underlying current of controlled energy. She was scanning the environment constantly, taking mental notes, processing information at a speed most adults would envy.
He grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it before linking their fingers. "She's amazing, Jewel. You've done such a great job with her. Most teenagers have lost their curiosity and enthusiasm for life by the time they hit her age, if Parker's complaints are anything to go off of."
"She was always curious," Jewel said softly as they walked side by side. "Even as a little girl, she'd take apart radios, computers. Always wanting to understand how things worked."
Chase felt a surge of paternal pride. His daughter, this brilliant, complex teenager, represented everything he'd missed during his years of imprisonment. All the hope he'd felt for his own future, she now had enough for both of them.
His pride turned sad as he thought of all the missed birthdays. First days of school. Scraped knees. Important moments dissolved into lost time.
"Tell me more," he murmured to Jewel, his eyes never leaving Destini's animated form as she glanced back at them and waved them to hurry.
Jewel chuckled. "Oh, I've got stories. But those are for the car ride home."
They made it to Destini's side, and she launched into a description of what the scientists were doing down below and what it meant for the NASA program. She led them through the working building and back to the trolley that would take them to the next building on the tour.
Jewel helped an older woman into the trolley, and the woman scooted over and patted the seat. Jewel looked at him and shrugged, sliding in next to the woman and letting her talk about her grandchildren in front of them.
Chase looked over the seats and walked toward the back to the last remaining bench. Destini slid in next to him.
"Next building is the advanced propulsion lab," she said, pointing. "They're working on some groundbreaking ion engine prototypes that could revolutionize deep space exploration. We won't visit that building on this tour, though."
The trolley jerked, and their shoulders bumped together. For the first time that day, she grew quiet. He cleared his throat, realizing this was his first moment alone with his daughter. He wanted to set the tone for their future relationship, and Gemma's words from so many months ago came back to him. It was time to clear the air and get on the same page.
Chase said softly, "I know I've missed so much of your life, and I'm sorry about that."
She glanced at him, then forward again just as quick. "Not your fault; you didn't know I existed. Mom lied to us both."
He sighed and nodded. "Yeah, she did, but her heart was in the right place. It's no excuse, but I understand why she felt the way she did."
"You do? That's more than me. I don't understand any of it. If you have a baby, you tell the guy. It's as simple as that."
He chuckled. "You really do take after me, don't you?"
She brightened. "Do I? How so?"
"For starters, I think you prefer things to be upfront and out in the open, no artifice or beating around the bush, right? I'm like that too."
She snorted. "Life's too short to be lollygagging around."
He grinned. "Exactly. Plus, you're a genius. I was always ahead in school, skipped a grade, then was going to graduate a year earlier too. Do you like patterns and puzzles? I really love spreadsheets and seeing data patterns."
She chatted about her likes and dislikes in school as they rode around NASA. She laughed at something he said, which made him smile, joy filling him at just being in her presence. "Man, I wish I'd known you existed back then."
Destini tilted her head and hunched her shoulders. "Would you have done things differently?"
He nodded. "Hell, yeah, but my therapist says it's not healthy to dwell on shoulda, woulda, coulda. Let's just say that if I'd known, I would've written you letters every week in prison. Every single week."
"It would've been nice growing up knowing I had a dad who loved me." Her voice was so bitter, he instinctively reached for her hand.
Destini looked over at him as the trolley came to a stop. Her eyes, so similar to his, studied Chase with an intensity that made him want to look away—but he didn't. He held her gaze, one hand open, an unconscious gesture of transparency, while the other squeezed hers gently.
"I might not know you very well yet," Chase said, "but I already love what I do know. I'd really like to get to know you more. If you let me, I'll be the best dad you ever could've asked for from here on out."
The silence stretched. Destini's breath caught in her throat. She was wrestling with something—hope, skepticism, years of absence—as she searched his gaze as if seeking the answers to the universe. The moment trembled with possibility.
She blinked rapidly and followed everyone off the trolley, facing him as he slid across the bench to exit.
"Wow, that was deep, bruh. You've definitely been to therapy."
He chuckled and followed her into the next building as they rejoined Jewel. After going through all the exhibits and climbing the rocket, Destini pointing out things left and right, they made it to the main exhibit hall.
By the time they finished, they were all famished—at least, he assumed so based on how Jewel and Destini were grumbling at each other. He talked throughout lunch, distracting Destini with funny stories of his brothers back home, which had both her and Jewel giggling as they ate.
With a contented sigh, he leaned back, full in both food and heart at this great day with his girls.
His girls.
He blinked, realizing it was true. These were his girls, his family, and they had his heart. Now to just keep them forever.
* * *
Jewel dabbed at her mouth with a napkin, her movements content. Destini slid out of her chair. "I'm going to the bathroom."
Jewel grabbed her small purse. "I'll join you."
The women's restroom was clean and institutional, with white tile and harsh fluorescent lighting. When she came out of the stall to wash her hands, Destini leaned against the sink, her reflection angular and sharp in the mirror as she waited.
"So," Destini said, her voice deliberately casual, "what exactly is going on between you and Chase?"
Jewel's hand froze mid-wash. "What do you mean?"
"Are you dating? Are you… you know." Destini's eyebrows waggled up and down. "Sleeping together?"
Jewel's blush deepened. She stammered, "I can't believe we're talking about this. You're my daughter!"
Destini rolled her eyes, a perfect teenage gesture of exasperation. "Mom, I'm fifteen. Sex talk is everywhere at school. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
The fluorescent light caught Jewel's embarrassed expression, highlighting her momentary vulnerability. A mother. A woman. Caught between protection and honesty.
A thought infiltrated her mind, and she turned her head and narrowed her eyes at Destini. "What's that supposed to mean? Have you had sex?"
The question hung in the sterile bathroom, stark with accusation. Jewel winced, remembering how her own father had reacted when she'd told him she was pregnant. Destini's scowl formed instantly, a defensive mask sliding into place. Her body went rigid as she crossed her arms.
"What? No, ew." The word dripped with teenage disgust, a mix of revulsion and superiority. Her glare struck Jewel like bullets. "As if anyone is worthy of my time."
Chase was worthy of it. Jewel flushed deeper at the thought even as she breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't surprised by Destini's answer. Not a single one of those boys at her school had ever caught her attention. She'd always been different, always been more focused, more driven than Jewel ever had been.
Destini softened her tone, redirecting the conversation with calculated precision. "No," she said, "I'm just wondering… if I move to Crimson Creek—and this is a big if—what would I be moving into? If you and Chase are dating?—"
"We're not dating," Jewel said in a rush, her cheeks burning. She paused, wondering if it was the truth or a lie to them both. Then again, Destini was lying to herself too, since she'd already agreed to the compromise to move at the end of the semester.
Destini's face fell slightly before she masked it. "Oh," she said softly. Her eyes locked with her mother's in the mirror, both challenging and curious.
She'd been testing, probing, gathering intelligence. It wasn't about sex, but about potential family dynamics, about a future she wasn't yet certain she wanted to embrace.
Jewel wiped some mascara from under her eyes as she licked her lips, also uncertain. Perhaps it was time to talk to Destini about their living arrangements. She turned and held the door to the bathroom open, wanting to have the conversation as a family.
A family.
She took a shaky breath as they walked side by side through the cafeteria. "Chase bought this incredible Victorian house. Twenty acres with a barn and woods and backing up to a greenbelt and Crimson Creek itself, right on the edge of town."
Chase had already cleaned their table off, so they wandered to the last remaining section of the building that was unseen.
"A house?" Destini paused with a frown.
Chase shifted from foot to foot, his expression brightening and reminding her so much of Destini, so full of hope and excitement. It was like when they'd been teens, and the world was a bright, happy place.
"Yeah, can you believe it? It's going to be so cool. I want us all to live there together. Want to see pictures?"
Jewel ignored the doubt in her gut about living together and let Destini and Chase have their moments together.
He pulled up the images on his phone, swiping through with a trembling excitement that betrayed his carefully constructed composure. The house stood proud—white with forest green trim, wrap-around porch, and tall windows catching the late afternoon light. Wildflowers dotted the surrounding meadow, an untamed landscape promising possibility.
Jewel hadn't agreed to live with him, only to consider it, but she watched Destini closely because her answer depended a lot on her daughter. She didn't want to rush into something, especially if it was going to go against Destini's wishes. Fighting a teenager was a Herculean task, and she didn't have much strength left to keep fighting.
Destini leaned closer, her initial resistance softening. Her fingers hovered near the screen, not quite touching, but close enough to absorb the details. "Wow, it's like an old-school house, but solid… permanent." Her voice echoed with the unsaid promises among the three of them.
Something shifted in Destini's expression—a vulnerability she'd never willingly show elsewhere. Her tough exterior cracked, just slightly, and Jewel saw a piece of the child she used to be.
She spoke slowly, measuring each word. "It'd be like we're an actual family? All in one house?"
The question hung between them—a blend of hope, skepticism, and wild, unexpected potential.
Chase nodded, his smile soft and tentative. "Yeah, there are plenty of rooms for all of us."
"We wouldn't be in an apartment or sharing a room at Papa Henry's and Aunt Gemma's," Jewel said quietly. "Just think about it?"
Destini nodded and walked absently through the exhibit. Jewel walked beside Chase, not touching or holding hands, but somehow she drew courage from his silent strength next to her. Chase stopped to read the exhibit information plaque, and slowly the intensity of the moment passed. Jewel didn't rush or push the decision. Destini needed processing time, and somehow Chase seemed to know that too because he didn't ask either of them for an answer.
It was several minutes later before Destini pointed to something and waved them forward through the last exhibit.
As they were leaving the gift shop, Chase turned to Destini and said, "So you want this internship with NASA, but why? What's your biggest dream or goal?"
Destini straightened, a flicker of excitement crossing her face. "I want to design sustainable agricultural systems for developing countries. Like, create irrigation technologies that can transform desert landscapes into productive farmland." Her words tumbled out with unexpected passion, revealing a depth to her that caught both Chase and Jewel off guard.
Jewel laughed, genuine and surprised. "I didn't know you still thought about that. Mine's always been to open a rehab center for animals. Yours is much cooler. Why do you want to do that? How does that tie in with NASA?"
Chase listened, and Jewel felt him withdrawing as Destini grew more and more excited. Destini's eyes flickered with an intensity that suggested her agricultural vision wasn't just academic theory. At NASA, she wanted to design closed-loop life support systems for potential moon colonization, transforming harsh, impossible terrain into sustainable habitats. Her research would leverage her agricultural engineering background to create modular greenhouse technologies that could recycle every molecule of water, carbon, and organic matter.
Her hands waved with excitement as they got into the truck.
"Imagine creating ecosystems that can survive in total environmental isolation. On the moon, on Mars, every plant, every drop of water, every breath of oxygen must be meticulously engineered. My work could mean the difference between human survival and extinction. Lord knows we're not taking care of Earth."
Her voice dropped, revealing a vulnerability that contrasted with her technical precision. Jewel laughed, joy filling her to see that passion that her daughter used to have as a little girl shine through once more.
Jewel's laughter faded as they got in the truck, and she turned the ignition. Chase sighed, and it was so full of world-weariness, it made her heart ache.
"What's wrong?" she asked, laying a hand on his forearm. He turned from staring out the window to her.
He shook his head self-deprecatingly and said, "Nothing, really. Just realizing that I don't have any big dreams like y'all do. Prison wasn't a place for dreaming. For years, my only dream was surviving the next day."
His hand trembled slightly as he covered her hand on his arm with his own.
"How were you able to afford the house?" Destini asked from the back seat.
"Destini!" Jewel scolded, but Chase just smiled and turned in the seat to stare at their daughter. He explained how he'd made money for others by offering investment strategies and how he'd earned his bachelor's degree while in prison.
"I'm working on getting my Certified Financial Advisor certification," Chase said, as if trying to prove he still had forward momentum. "But beyond that, my only other dream is to have a family of my own…" He trailed off, the unspoken weight of lost years and the promise of a future hanging between them.
Jewel squeezed his arm before releasing it, her touch gentle but firm. "You used to have so many dreams when we were kids. There has to be something else you want."
Chase's laugh was more a brittle exhale than genuine humor. "I've never even seen the ocean. How am I supposed to dream of anything more than that? I'm a simple man, Jewel. What you see is what you get." His voice was low and tinged with a vulnerability that made Jewel pause.
He was so much more than what he showed the world.
The words hung in the air—a confession, a challenge, a wound. His eyes were distant, looking past the NASA buildings, past the truck around them. Destini and Jewel both studied him—this man who had spent years confined, whose world had been reduced to concrete walls and iron bars. Dreams weren't luxuries in prison. They were dangerous things, fragile as glass, liable to shatter with the next harsh reality.
Chase lifted Jewel's hand and kissed the back of it, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. Not lost, exactly. Just… learning how to find himself again.
"Dreams aren't measured by how big they are," Destini said suddenly, her teenage bluntness cutting through the moment. "They're measured by how much they mean to you. I think having a family is a big dream worth dreaming."
Jewel smiled, proud of her daughter and sparkling with an idea. "I don't know if we're the right fit to be a family, but we can at least get you to the ocean. We're so doing that right now."
Destini whooped from the back seat as Jewel backed up the truck.
The drive was a blur of anticipation. Destini chattered from the backseat, pulling up beach information on her phone. "Do you know about coastal ecosystems and tide patterns?" She fired off rapid facts, and Jewel let her happy voice wash over her, restoring her soul to somewhat normalcy. Chase asked insightful questions, and her chest warmed to see them getting to know each other.
When they finally arrived, the beach stretched before them—not pristine, not picture-perfect, but real. Raw. Unfiltered.
Just like him.