Love At Last (Lily's Story, Book 3) (2 page)

I stroked Natalie’s cheek—she deserved to have lots of people in her life who loved her—then climbed into the car and drove to the post office. After mailing the letter, we went to the park and I pushed her on a baby swing for a while, pushing her from the front. She smiled brightly as the swing brought her closer to me, then giggled loudly as the wind blew across her face.

There were very few people at this park and it felt like I had the place to myself. Across town was another park, one that was much more popular, but I hadn’t been able to make myself go there. It was the park where I’d met Trevor to make an exchange: He would give me Natalie if I gave him the money I’d found buried in the Nevada desert.
 

Against all odds, I’d managed to get Natalie back that night, but I’d had to fight for my very life, and would have died if Greta hadn’t intervened. Pushing the painful memories aside, I focused on my baby, who smiled with innocent joy, completely unaware that she’d been at the center of such a dramatic event.
 

After a while the heat of the June day became uncomfortable, and we headed home. When we pulled up to the house, I was pleased to see Marcus’s Jeep parked out front, although I didn’t see Marcus. I brought Natalie into the house, and when Greta didn’t meet me at the door, I knew where Marcus must be. Holding Natalie on my hip, I smiled as I went to the kitchen door and out into the backyard. My smile widened as I watched Marcus playing with Greta. His back was to me, but when Greta ignored him to race over to Natalie and me, he turned around and saw us.

“Hi, Lily.” He strode toward us, smiling. “I hope you don’t mind that I let myself into the backyard.”

I smiled in return. “You know I’m fine with that.” I sat on the porch steps with Natalie balanced on my lap.

Marcus squatted in front of me and put his finger in Natalie’s hand, then gazed into her face. “Hi, baby girl. Were you out with your mommy?”

Natalie squealed with happiness, kicking her feet, and held on to his finger. I watched Marcus’s face and felt my attraction to him grow. He’d been there when Natalie had been born—the most important moment of my life—and after he’d gotten past the lies I’d told him about my true identity, he’d been part of our lives ever since. For all intents and purposes, he was the closest thing to a father Natalie had.
 

As I watched him watching my baby, my heart filled with warmth. He was a good man and my feelings were deepening all the time. A couple of months before I’d thought he was feeling the same thing, but then he’d seemed to back away into the friend zone. I knew he’d been hurt by an old girlfriend, but I thought he should be over that by now.

His gaze shifted from Natalie’s face to mine, and the intensity of his gorgeous green eyes drew me in. “How’s your day going?” he asked.

“It’s been . . . interesting.”

His eyebrows went up in question. “Yeah? How so?”

On the night Greta killed Trevor, Marcus had arrived at my house just after the awful event had happened. He’d seen the aftermath of Trevor’s attack and had stayed by my side as the police had questioned me, but in all that time we’d never talked about Trevor. I had no desire to talk about my late husband with Marcus—there were too many painful memories—and Marcus had never brought it up either, so it was with hesitation that I broached the subject of the letter I received.

“Today I got a letter from Marcy Caldwell.”

Marcus looked at me blankly. “Who?”

I bit my lip, realizing he wouldn’t know who the Caldwell’s were—I’d never told him Trevor’s last name. “She’s Trevor’s mother.”

His eyes widened slightly, then settled back to normal. “What did she want?”

“She wants to meet Natalie.”

His gaze went to the baby on my lap, then back to me. “What are you going to do?” He moved from his squatting position to sit next to me on the porch step.

“I’m going to go.”

He pressed his lips together and slowly nodded. “Where do they live?”

“Las Vegas.”

“So you’re going there? To Vegas?”

“Yes. They’re having a family get-together over the Fourth of July and she invited me to come.”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

My brows pulled together. “Why wouldn’t it be? They’re Natalie’s family.”

“I know that. It’s just . . .” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

“What? What were you going to say?”

He shook his head again. “It’s really not my place to say anything.”

I disagreed. Marcus was very important to both Natalie and me and his opinion mattered greatly. “Please, Marcus. Tell me.”

He sighed. “From the little you’ve told me about Natalie’s father, well, I just wonder what his family is really like.”

I relaxed. “They’re nice people.”

“How much time have you spent with them?”

“Some. Not a lot.”

He nodded. “Okay.” Then he smiled, but it seemed forced. “Good. It will be good.”

His hesitation in my decision made me rethink it, but I’d already told Marcy I was coming. “Can you take care of Greta while I’m gone?”

“Sure, of course.”

“Thank you.”

He looked at me with sudden intensity. “You know you can always count on me, don’t you, Lily?”

I nodded, taken aback by the emotion in his eyes. It was at moments like this that he confused me the most. One moment he was advising me as a friend, and the next his eyes seemed to convey that his feelings ran deeper than mere friendship. “Yes.” I looked at him and tried to express with my eyes that I cared for him as well. I debated whether the time was right to tell him exactly how I felt, but something held me back.

“Marcus?” a voice called from the gate. “Marcus, are you back there?”

I recognized the voice of Trish, my neighbor and Marcus’s mother, and held back a frown. She’d been a good neighbor, but I’d felt a strain between us ever since the truth of my situation had come out. Even before that though, she’d asked me not to encourage Marcus’s attention. But once she found out I’d lied about being widowed—although it was true now—she’d been even more standoffish.
 

“Yeah, Mom. I’m back here.”

“Can you stop by the house, please?” She stayed on the other side of the gate, never coming in to the backyard.

“Sure.”

Then all was quiet, and I assumed she’d walked back to her house, which was a short distance away.

Marcus smiled at me and I could tell he felt embarrassed by the behavior of his mother—she hadn’t even said hello to me.

“It’s okay,” I said in response to his unspoken message. “I can’t blame her for being upset with me.”

“It’s not her place to judge you, Lily. She has no idea what you’ve been through.”

Though I appreciated his support, I didn’t want to come between him and his family. “You’d better go see what she wants.”

He sighed. “I already know what she wants.”

I raised my eyebrows in question.

“She’s going to tell me I shouldn’t spend so much time with you and Natalie,” he said. “But I’ve already told her that we’re just good friends.”

I felt my heart break a little at his words and was glad I’d held back from telling him that I thought I was falling in love with him.

Chapter Two

The weeks leading up to the get-together at John and Marcy’s house passed uneventfully. Marcus stopped by when he could, brightening my day each time I saw him, but our relationship didn’t show any signs of progressing beyond friendship. When the day came for me to drive to Las Vegas, Marcus came by to get the key so he could take care of Greta.

“It would be a lot easier if I could just take her to my apartment,” he said. “But they don’t allow pets.”

An idea occurred to me. “Why don’t you just stay here while I’m gone?”

“Are you sure?”

I completely trusted Marcus. “Yes. It makes sense, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I suppose it does.”

I smiled. “It’s settled then.”

“Okay. I’ll bring over a sleeping bag and sleep on the couch.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You can use my bed. I just washed the sheets this morning, so you’ll be all set.”

His face reddened a bit. “If you’re sure.”

I nodded. “I am.”

He finally agreed and a short time later Natalie and I were driving south. We stopped a few times so I could stretch my legs, as well as give her a break from her car seat, but by evening we arrived in Las Vegas. The last two times I’d been to the Caldwell’s house, Trevor’s parents had picked us up from the airport and I hadn’t paid much attention to where they lived. Fortunately, I was able to use the GPS app on my phone to guide me there.

As their house came into view, happy memories of Trevor filled my mind, making my heart ache with what could have been. I’d loved him so much, and wished with all my heart that things had worked out differently and for the better. If only he’d been the person he’d led me to believe, we’d still be happily married and we’d be enjoying our daughter together.

I pulled up to the house and turned off the engine, then realized tears were streaming down my face. I’d really never properly grieved for Trevor, and now, being here, the grief overwhelmed me. Not wanting Trevor’s parents to see me like this, I turned the car back on and drove away, hoping they hadn’t seen me arrive.

With Natalie sleeping, I drove around until my emotions were under control, then I parked on a street not far from the Caldwell’s house and used a baby wipe to erase all traces of my tears. When I pulled up to the Caldwell’s house the second time, even though I felt sad, I was able to keep the tears at bay. I took Natalie out of her car seat, along with her diaper bag, and walked to the front door.

Nervous to see Trevor’s parents face to face, I pressed the doorbell and waited, my heart pounding. They must have been devastated when they’d learned of their son’s death, and I feared that on some level they blamed me. I heard footsteps approaching and I took a deep breath, then slowly released it. A moment later the door swung open.

“You made it,” Marcy said, her gaze skimming over me and going to Natalie, who was starting to wake up in my arms.

“Hi, Marcy.”

Her gaze came back to me and she smiled as she held the door open. “Please come in.”

As I walked into the house, memories assaulted me—Trevor showing me around his childhood home, Trevor’s ecstatic joy when I accepted his proposal, me getting ready for our wedding. I forced myself to breathe slowly, doing all I could to keep the tears away.

“Are you okay, Lily?”

When my eyes met hers, I didn’t feel any animosity from her, just sincere concern, and I had to swallow around the lump that formed in my throat. My chin quivered as I spoke. “I’m just thinking about Trevor.”

Her eyes filled with tears and I worried that I’d made her sad. “I think about him all the time,” she whispered. Then she pulled me and Natalie into a warm embrace. “That’s why I wanted to meet his baby so much.” After a moment she released us.

“Would you like to hold her?”

Her face lit up. “Yes. Very much.”

I handed Natalie to her, and she pressed her cheek against Natalie’s head.

“She’s so beautiful.”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

She held the baby away from her and gazed at her face, then looked at me with wonderment. “She has Trevor’s eyes.”

I nodded. “Yes. I always loved his eyes.”

“Come and sit down, Lily. We need to catch up.”

I followed her into the living room and sat on the couch. She sat in a plush chair nearby. Natalie was such a momma’s girl, I was afraid she’d start crying when she realized a stranger was holding her, but thankfully she seemed content.

“Is John home?” I asked.

“No, just me.”

I had to admit that I was glad about that. I wasn’t ready to face everyone just yet. And Marcy’s reaction to seeing me had been much more positive than I could have hoped. “She usually takes a little time to warm up to people she doesn’t know, but she seems to like you just fine.”

Marcy smiled at Natalie. “That’s because I’m her grandma.”

“You know, you’re her only grandma.”

Marcy looked at me with surprise. “Oh. I guess I hadn’t thought about that.” Then her eyebrows drew together. “How are you doing, Lily?”

I was completely unused to having anyone show me such motherly concern. The only person who’d been involved in my life lately was Marcus, and though he’d been attentive to me as a friend, it wasn’t the same as having the love of a parent. My mother had died when I was a child—killed by a drunk driver—so I had only a vague memory of what it felt like to have a mother worry about me. But I liked the way it made me feel—loved and cared for—and felt fresh emotion welling up.
 

I swallowed several times to force down the tears that seemed to insist on coming. After a moment I got my emotions under control. “We’re doing fine.”

She nodded, then looked at Natalie for a moment. Finally she looked at me again. “Do you still have that dog?”

I felt my heart lurch as I imagined where she was going with her question. “Yes.”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea? You know, with Natalie being so little and helpless?”

Greta had literally saved my life. Trevor had been strangling me and I’d begun to black out—I
knew
I was about to die. And then Greta had seemed to appear out of nowhere. She’d knocked Trevor off of me and crushed his windpipe. She had killed him, but she had saved me. How could I explain that to Marcy without hurting her? My dog had saved me, but she had killed Marcy’s son. “Greta protects us.”

Marcy’s lips compressed into a thin line, then she said, “There are other ways to protect yourself.”

I wasn’t sure where she was going with this. “What do you mean?”

“Isn’t your house kind of far from any neighbors?”

I wondered how she knew that, but since she had gotten my address, it wouldn’t have been difficult for her to discover that my house was somewhat isolated. “My neighbors aren’t too far.”

She sighed softly. “But wouldn’t it be safer for both you and Natalie if your neighbors were closer?”

I didn’t want to argue with my former mother-in-law—our visit had been so friendly up to this point—but I also didn’t like her telling me what to do. I was an adult and no one had the right to tell me what to do. “Are you suggesting that I move?”