Splintered Oak (Winsor Series Book 3) (29 page)

“You and Mom are so sweet.” I leaned my head against his strong chest and sighed. “I hope I have this one day.”

My father looked out into the crowd and smiled. “Oh, I think you will, baby. Far sooner than I’m prepared for. He seems to really care about you.”

I looked up at him. “He does. I love him, Daddy.”

My father’s eyes got glassy as he turned me again. “I know. But for this dance, can I just pretend you’re ten years old and standing on my feet? I don’t feel like crying in front of all my friends.”

“You got it.” I leaned back into him and looked back over the crowd for Jake. He was standing with Manny and nodding at whatever he was saying. I chuckled to myself and silently thanked the Lord for all He has given me. I only thought I knew happiness before, but in that moment, the world felt perfect.

37.
REVELATIONS

JAKE

As I watched Naomi say goodbye to another group of extended family piling into their vehicle, I actually felt a little sad the party was winding down. The people, the music, and the laughter had far exceeded my expectations, as did the fact that I truly had a great time with her family. Alex and I even had a long, civil conversation about wrestling and the boxing circuit he
fought with.

I couldn’t help but wonder, as I watched her smile radiate off of her, why Naomi would ever choose me to share this with. When it
came time to meet my family, there would only be one, Aunt Diana. How different our two worlds were.

“Jake,” I heard right as I felt his large hand fall on my shoulder. “What do you say we go take a walk and have a chat?”

My stomach knotted viciously as I nodded at Naomi’s father. I had somehow survived four bothers, a mother, numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins, but this was the conversation I most feared.

Every man alive
knew I wasn’t good enough to date Naomi, and certainly her father knew that as well.

We had walked several feet away from the house before he began to speak.

“So I heard you’ve recently had a pretty big change happen in your life.”

“Yes sir.” My heart was hammering against my chest as I choked out the words.

“Why don’t you tell me about it?”

Despite his casual tone, I knew my answer wa
s crucial. When I talked with Naomi’s mom, I was honest and forthcoming with everything, and she seemed to appreciate it. I could only assume her dad would be the same.

Clearing my throat one more time, I began. “Sir, I won’t lie to you. My life hasn’t been good or stable, and I know as you do that I’m not good enough for Naomi. But for some reason she loves me, and sir, I assure you, I love her too. But, that’s not what you asked me, so here we go.

“I’ve been angry most of my life, and bitter. That was magnified when my mother got sick and passed away last year. I’ve been seeing a counselor recently who has shown me that I have a habit of re-creating trauma. I used relationships, drinking, fighting, anger, whatever I could do to try and find some kind of peace. But it never came, just stayed this intangible need that I couldn’t fill.

“Then everything fell apart and I was the lowest I’d ever been in my life. But that actually turned out to be a good thing because I finally surrendered all the pain and all the fear to God and found that peace I’d been searching for. It’s the same peace I see in Naomi and in all of you. I know I’m new at this, but I am trying and growing and healing. I want to be a man good enough for her.”

I was done. I said the truth and had to just hope that Naomi’s father would see my sincerity.

He was silent for a while, and we just kept casually walking. Finally, he spoke again. “If Naomi is dating you, it means she thinks there is a potential future with you. You said you love my daughter. But I want to make sure you are really clear on what that means. The Bible says that a man is supposed to love his wife as Christ loves the church. That means that you need to be willing to give up everything for Naomi, including your own life. Can you look me in the eye and tell me you could do that? Would you die for her?”

He stopped walking and turned to face me, watching me with an intensity that was both intimidating and scary.

I met his eyes. “Yes sir. I would absolutely die for her. I would give up anything for her, and there is nothing more I want than to make her smile. My past is just that, the past. What I see when I look toward my future is her.”

For the first time since our conversation began, he smiled. “Good. Then you can date my daughter. But, as much as you two seem to love each other, you are not married, and I expect you to respect the boundaries set apart for marriage. Do you get what I’m sayin, son?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good!” He smiled again and then slapped my back.

We turned to walk back to his house and with each step my heart started to find a normal rhythm again. I had survived “the talk” and actually felt empowered by it. I had his respect and his trust. I knew I wouldn’t break it. I had already determined to be careful physically with Naomi, out
of respect for her. But now it was more. It was a promise to her father that I had every intention of keeping.

Naomi looked a little nervous when we walked up together and quickly approached us.

“You guys done?” she asked, looking between the two of us and biting her lip. “Because we should probably start to head back.”

Her father pulled her in for a big hug and then kissed the top of her head. After releasing her, he shook my hand and nodded one more time. “You kids drive safe. Let us know when you get there.”

Naomi beamed as she watched her father head toward the front door. “Well, I guess that went well. What did he say?”

I pulled her in for a quick kiss, loving the sparkle in her dark eyes. “What goes on between a father and his daughter’s boyfriend cannot be repeated. But, yes, I would say the conversation went well.”

She smiled, beautifully, and wrapped her arm around my waist as she glanced back at her house. “Everyone I love in one place today. Could life be more perfect?”

I stared at the house with her and pulled her tight against me. If only I could have all my family back too, I pondered, then life really would be perfect.

Thoughts of Issy stayed with me as we said our last goodbyes and got on the road. The sadness of her being gone would hit when I least expected it.

Something about seeing all of Naomi’s family together, happy and healthy
, made me realize how wrong it was that Issy couldn’t have that life with Grant. She should be free to have parties like this one, where we all would come and celebrate how much we meant to one another.

“Is everything okay?” Naomi asked as she ran her hand over the back of my head.

“Yeah. I’m just thinking about Issy and wishing I wasn’t so powerless to change her situation.”

“Can I help?”

“Why don’t you distract me? Talk to me about something, anything.” I turned and gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“Well, I thought the party today was wonderful, and my parents were so cute I could hardly stand it.” She chuckled a little.

“Tell me how they met.”

Naomi sighed and got a starry-eyed look on her face. “I love this story. My mom’s family owned a small Mexican restaurant that turned into a big restaurant. After a few years of saving, they bought a new house in one of nicer parts of town.

My mom, being Hispanic, wasn’t thrilled about switching schools, especially to one that was predominately white. My grandparents told her that her fears were unwarranted. She was a beauty, so they thought she’d fit right in. Well, she didn’t. In fact, she started eating lunch outside and away from everyone just so they wouldn’t stare at her or make rude comments under their breath.”

“Ouch.”

“I know. Anyway, one day the guys did more than stare and a group of football players approached my mom and started making obscene comments to her. She packed up her stuff and tried to walk away, but they followed her and started pushing her around and touching her.”

I could feel myself tensing as Naomi spoke.

“Don’t worry,” she assured me. “The story has a happy ending. Anyway, my dad saw the commotion with his buddies and went to see what was going on. By the time he pushed though the crowd, my mother’s shirt was torn, her stuff scattered, and she was crying. My dad says he knew the minute he saw her that life would never be the same. He was the quarterback and captain of the team, so when he screamed at all of them to leave, they did. My mom says that he took off his jacket and wrapped her up. Then picked up all her things and wiped her tears away.” She sighed again and put her hand on her heart. “They’ve been together ever since. They were each other’s first love. Nothing’s more powerful.”

As her words fell over me, something in my mind clicked like an epiphany.

“First love,” I whispered. “Why didn’t I ever think of that?”

“Think of what?”

Shaking my head, I tried to collect my racing thoughts. “When I read Issy’s story, the one thing that never made sense to me is why Robbie got so obsessed in the first place. I mean, I know my cousin has a way with men, but I was there that night and she was off the rails. I mean, so off the rails that I didn’t let her out of my sight. If they did meet that night as he says, then it was only for maybe two minutes.”

She wasn’t following. I could tell by the puzzled expression on her face. 

“Just bear with me here. What if it was never about Issy? What if she reminded him of someone else?”

Naomi finally understood. “A first love.”

“Exactly!”

“But how would you even find something like that out?”

“I spent years searching for my father and in the process found numerous sites where you can get high school yearbooks. There are only two schools in the area that would be elite enough for a Marsh. We know he didn’t go to Saint Anne’s, so that only leaves one other option.”

“Blake Prep Academy.”

Naomi seemed to be as excited as I was about this new discovery and we both shot towards the door as soon as I parked the car. Within minutes, I had the Blake yearbook in front of me. Finding Robbie was easy. His senior picture was smug and arrogant, just like he is in real life. We continued flipping through until we reached the end with no luck.

“We skipped the first few pages,” Naomi urged. “Go back and just make sure there isn’t something.”

I went back to the beginning and slowly clicked on each page. Then I stopped, my stomach dropping as if a weight had been thrown into it.

“Oh my gosh,” Naomi cried as she saw the same picture I was looking at.

In full color was a picture of the senior class favorite couple. Robbie and a girl who could have been Issy’s sister. She was petite with long dark hair and large green eyes, which were played up by heavy amounts of eye makeup. Taking a closer look, I could see that her smile looked forced and that Robbie’s hand gripped her arm forcefully.

I looked down at the name. “Cassandra Wakefield.”

“Sounds rich,” Naomi uttered, still amazed at the picture.

“Do you still have that contact for Grant’s friend at the FBI?”

Naomi nodded and pulled out her phone. A few clicks later and Agent Phillips was on the phone.

“I have a lead on Robbie Marsh,” I started after introductions were made. “We need you to check out a Cassandra Wakefield.”

A week passed before we heard from Agent Phillips. A week of obsessing, wondering, and praying that this would be what we needed to start a case against Robbie.

But now we
were here, hand in hand, in the middle of the FBI office, waiting to see if our hopes were confirmed.

The space looked like a small conference area with comfortable chairs and a projector, but did nothing to ease my tension. Naomi and I stood when Agent Phillips joined us in the room. He shook our hands, introduced himself, and then pointed at the chairs for us to take our seat again. His stature wasn’t nearly as intimidating as the building. He was a few inches shorter than me and while fit, didn’t have a heavy build. He sat casually, opening up the file he brought with him.

“Well Jake, that lead was quite a doozy.”

My stomach knotted and I squeezed Naomi’s hand for support. Just when Phillips was about to continue, Issy and Grant stepped in the room, led by the same receptionist who had brought us in minutes earlier. I immediately got to my feet and crossed over to her.

Folding her into a hug, I closed my eyes. “I missed you.”

She looked wonderful. The bruising was completely gone and only a small black brace remained on her wrist.

“Excellent, you are all here!” Phillips said, notably excited. “Come, sit down. I have a few things to share.”

I glanced at Grant who barely acknowledged my presence before squeezing Issy one more time. We found our seats and
waited, so much riding on what was about to be said.

“We checked into Cassandra Wakefield, aka, ex-girlfriend of Robbie Marsh. Turns out she has been missing since graduation. Her parents were eager to talk to me as the local cops had shut the case down several years ago. Turns out Robbie has a history of violence. They dated one year and after he hit her, she tried to break it off. He convinced her he’d change, but then did it again. She told her parents and they told him to stay away from her. But he became obsessed. Called her all the time, started following her, monitoring who she went out with. They tried to get a restraining order, but as you know, the Marshes have a way of skirting the law. When Robbie threatened her family, she agreed to take him back, but didn’t mention that she had already planned to attend Southern Cal in the fall. Her parents thought it best to just wait it out until she could move away and get some distance from him.

“The distance never came. The night of graduation, she disappeared.”