Anchored: A Lake Series Novella

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of
the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is
entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2015

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form
whatsoever.

I
will never understand how something so small and utterly adorable can
make such a huge and foul-smelling mess in her diaper!” I hear
Will coo from across the hall in the nursery. The sun is just rising
and so are the twins, a gift from them in the last few days. They’re
four months old now and finally sleeping for longer stretches after
their last feeding.

I
stretch my tired body and roll out of bed, tying my hair back in a
ponytail as I shuffle my way to meet Will and help. The twins have
started the stage where they grab at everything and I’ve
suffered enough baby death grips to my hair to have learned to keep
it out of their way.

Before
I walk into the nursery, I stand in the doorway for a moment and just
watch him. From day one, Will has been the most amazing father. He’s
never baulked at changing a dirty diaper, and he got up with me every
time when the babies were still feeding twice a night. And while
those are awesome and super helpful things, my favorite thing about
Will being a dad is watching the way he looks at our girls. There is
this amazing light in his eyes. He is so in love with them that he
can’t help but beam.

There
was a time when he thought he was going to have to try really hard
not to be like his father, distant and unloving, but I’ve known
from the very start that Will doesn’t have an uncaring molecule
in his body. His love and care for the girls has been as natural to
him as breathing.

“It’s
adorable poop, though, right?” I say as I enter the room.

“Our
girls are cute, but they do not poop rainbows and glitter.”
Will finishes fastening Natalie’s diaper and kisses her on the
head as he lifts her to him. Then he kisses me on the forehead and
smiles. “They’re both done. You can go back to bed if you
want.”

“That’s
sweet, but you need me to at least get you set up with both of them
and two bottles. I’m happy to be up.” I kiss Natalie and
cross the nursery to pick up my sweet baby Claire.

When
we found out I was carrying two girls I thought Will was going to
faint … and then go out and buy an arsenal of guns. Once he
recovered, he was swift to suggest we keep the original girl name we
had, Natalie Eliana, and name Baby B after my two mothers: Claire
Elizabeth. He said we’d just have to keep trying for a boy so
we could use the boy name we had picked out: Andrew Luke.

With
the help of our mothers, we’ve been able to establish and stay
in a pretty good routine with the girls. It was really hard at first,
but with so much help it’s been as smooth a transition a new
mom could ever hope for. And even though I don’t need them
nearly as much as I did in the beginning, Mom and Eliana still find
their way over to the house a couple of times a week.

“Are
you going into the office today? You know you have to go back at some
point,” I say to Will. He’s basically been running the
company from his phone for the last four months, only going in when I
begged him to get out of the house before we killed each other. It’s
hard to tear him away from the two little girls who have him wrapped
around their little fingers already.

“I
hadn’t planned on it. Jeremy has been holding down the fort
pretty well. I think I’ll be going back next week, though. I’m
actually looking forward to spending a long day at work and then
coming home to the beautiful faces of all three of my girls.”
Will leans in and kisses me sweetly. I love that his kisses still
make my heart flutter.

“That’ll
be nice,” I say. “I’m having lunch with our moms
today, but I’m going to run out a bit longer, if that’s
okay with you.”

“That’s
great. You need to start getting out more, too, you know.”

“Yes,
yes, I know,” I agree.

We
get the girls settled in their bouncy seats after they eat and
tag-team on showering. It takes me almost an hour to figure out what
I’m going to wear. Well, more like what I’m able to wear.
The skinny jeans I once slid into easily aren’t exactly my best
friend right now. Eliana keeps telling me I need to give myself a
little time. “Pregnancy changes us, dear,” she says.

“You
look great, babe,” Will tells me as I emerge from the closet.

“Looks
like I’m going to need a couple of pairs of jeans that don’t
cut off my circulation, at least until I’m back to my pre-twins
body.” I twist my mouth and give a disappointed sigh.

“Hey…”
Will pulls me to him and kisses me. “I won’t pretend to
understand how you’re feeling, but just know that I could care
less. I think you look amazing!”

“Thanks.
You’re sweet. I might be calling on Wes to give me some Marine
training though. I’m pretty sure if anyone can kick my butt
into gear, it’s Wesley Furtick!” I laugh.

“Don’t
let him kick it too much. I’m kind of loving your post-baby
butt.” Will slides his hands from my waist to my backside and
gives me a little squeeze as he kisses my neck.

“Will!”
I squeal.

“Come
on, babe,” he mumbles into my neck as he continues kissing me.

“Hey!”
I say as I pretend to push him off me. “We agreed we weren’t
going to be weird and do stuff with the babies in the room.” We
both look over at our girls sleeping peacefully in their seats.

Will
gives me one last hard kiss on the lips and pulls himself away.
“Fine, but we are picking up where we left off tonight!”

“I’m
good with that,” I say with a little bite of my lip.

“That
is unfair.” Will raises an eyebrow at me and I just walk away
with a smirk.

A
little something to eat and an hour of snuggling with my baby girls
later, I finally get myself together to leave. Will makes me promise
to take my time and enjoy my “me” time, especially since
I’m about to be home alone with two babies who are getting
bigger every day. Before we know it they’ll be scooting and
crawling along the floor, and we’ll be forced to put a safety
gate up and throw them in baby jail.

I
wish lunch with Mom and Eliana was
just
a lunch. I have something important to talk with them about. Normally
I would go to Will, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea
just yet. I don’t want to upset him, and I think that maybe I
can just handle it on my own. If I tell Will, he’s going to
move in a direction that I have a sinking feeling will end up
breaking his heart.

I
drive down our beautiful, tree-lined street and approach Caroline’s
house. Well, her parents’ house. Caroline partnered with an
amazing interior designer a couple of years ago and divides her time
between California and New York because that’s what he does. I
don’t get to see her as often as I’d like, but we do our
best to stay in touch. She did come in town when Natalie and Claire
were born, which was pretty special.

I’m
about to drive by when I see Mrs. Jackson’s car in their
driveway. She’s usually not home this time of day, so I decide
to pop in and see her. I’ve been meaning to chat with her about
volunteer opportunities at Community Support, the agency she started
last year when she got tired of the hospital scene. They serve
families and individuals with needs ranging from housing to clothing
to food. They also offer free counseling and parenting classes. With
a generous donation from Weston, Fincher, and Marks, as well as
Heyward Prep, the agency is well prepared to run for several years
while they build up even more community sponsors.

I
ring the doorbell and wait patiently for someone to answer. The
Jacksons’ home is just as big as ours, and getting to the door
before your guest gives up and leaves can sometimes be a test of
wills. The door opens and Suzanne, Mrs. Jackson’s housekeeper,
answers.

“Hi
Layla! How are you, darlin’?” she asked in her sweet
southern voice.

“I’m
great! Thanks, Suzanne. How are you?”

“I’m
as happy as a raccoon on trash day!” She giggles.

“That’s
awesome,” I say, laughing. Suzanne opens the door wider as I
cross the threshold.

“C’mon,
darlin’. They’re in the back.”

They
are in the back? Puzzled, I follow Suzanne to the back porch.

When
I see them sitting there I can’t decide if I’m happy or
furious.

My
brow furrows in confusion at the sight. There, sitting on the
loveseat glider, are Caroline and Tyler, holding hands while Tyler
nuzzles Caroline’s neck.

“Caroline?
Tyler?”

“Layla!”
Caroline says as she stands up, seemingly just as shocked as I am.
“What are you doing here?”

“I
was just about to ask you the same thing. Aren’t you supposed
to be in New York or Los Angeles right now? And, uh … how long
has
this
been going on?” I fold my arms in front of me and wait for her
reply.

“Well
… um,” she begins with a stutter. “I’m only
in town for a few days and I know you’re super busy with the
babies and Tyler was able squeeze a couple of days off last minute
and … Ty?”

I
raise my eyebrows and cock my head to the side in anticipation of
Tyler’s fumbled response.

“Well
… It’s been six months,” he says, answering the
most important of my questions.

“Six
months!”

“Before
you freak out,” Caroline begins.

“Too
late! How could you keep this from me?” I’ve got a rush
of mixed emotions swirling in me. I’m thrilled for Caroline and
Tyler but I’m hurt that she never told me she was even
interested in him. We’ve always shared everything with each
other.

“Just
listen, Layla. It all started very suddenly when Ty came out to
California on business. We had dinner and before we knew it we were
watching the sunrise from the roof of my apartment building. I wanted
to tell you, but you were so close to having the twins that I thought
I’d just fill you in when I came to see the babies. Then, well,
I got here and I didn’t want to make it about me.”

I
thought for a minute, trying to put myself in Caroline’s shoes.
If something as monumental as having a baby was happening in
Caroline’s life, I probably would have done the same thing. I
wouldn’t have wanted to take any of the attention off her.

“Well
… I guess I can understand that. But no more secrets, okay?”
I smile and shake my head in disbelief that my two best friends are
together. “Just wait until I tell Will!”

“He,
uh, kind of already knows,” Tyler stammers.

“What?
I’m going to take back my forgiveness of you. Why would you
tell him and not me? And why wouldn’t he tell me?”

“He
wanted to tell you but I wouldn’t let him. I wanted to be the
one to tell you,” Caroline explains. “You’ve been
so busy with the babies like you should be. I just … somehow
it never seemed to be the right time.” Caroline looks down,
looking sad, like she lost her best friend to two people who poop in
their pants and drool.

“Hey,”
I say as I approach her. “Being a mom has turned my life upside
down and changed me in ways I never knew were possible, but none of
it changes how important you are to me. Please don’t ever feel
like you can’t come to me, talk to me, like you used to. You
may have to hold and feed a baby while you talk, but I’m always
here for you.”

“I
know. And I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. Trust
me, there were times when I was dying to tell you. I was just trying
to be understanding about everything you had going on. And I will
hold one of those adorable little girls any day of the week!
Especially if it means getting to spend time with you when I’m
in town.”