Troubled Waters (The Lake Trilogy, Book 2) (10 page)

It takes him another moment or two before he’s able to articulate his story.

“My plan in life had always been to be a career Marine. My high school sweetheart didn’t exactly love the idea, but she loved me, so she was supportive. We got married right out of high school and I went to Basic Training three weeks later. Heather went to college while I was stationed at Camp Lejeune and things were amazing for the first three years. I was home every chance they gave me so we made it work.

“A few years later when Heather told me she was pregnant I was thrilled. The timing was perfect. She finished her degree and graduated two months before Anna was born. I actually got to be there for her birth,” Furtick smiles recalling that day. It was obviously the best of his days.

“But I went back to Base and things got hard. Even though I was home as much as I had been before, and then some, Heather resented me for not being there all the time. I don’t blame her. She had just worked her ass off to earn her degree and now she was alone with a baby and trying to build a career. I wanted her on Base with me, but there wasn’t any family housing available so I got permission to move off Base. She moved and we found a great little house not far from Base. While it seemed like the solution to our problem, all it did was separate her from her family and friends. I was working a lot and she was at home, alone, with Anna.

“After five years of putting up with more than she should have, Heather filed for divorce and moved back to Charlotte to live with her parents. It was hard, but I understood. I kept visiting as often as I could. I wasn’t going to miss out on watching Anna grow up. Heather never kept her from me, for which I was grateful.” Furtick takes a moment to collect himself, letting out a big sigh.

“After a while Heather started dating. She had her share of hits and misses...mostly misses. I thought she would have remarried by then but, when Anna was seventeen, Heather started seeing this guy, Tim, who was kind of jerk, but ok, I guess. His friends, on the other hand, were total douchebags. Sorry,” he says apologizing for his language. I shake my head and raise my eyebrows to let him know I’m not bothered by his description. “I was in town for the weekend and Anna came to stay with me at my parents’ house like she always did. It was really great. I loved every second I spent with her. She was the only thing that brought me pure joy.” He pauses relishing a moment that is the epitome of that joy.

“I knew my daughter and could tell that something was off so I asked her how things were going, just to check in. After some pursuance on my part she broke down. It took ten minutes to get her calmed down enough to tell me what happened.” Furtick braces himself. “One of the douchebags forced himself on her. She…she said that Tim had his friends over for a cook out, and…uh…Anna went to change her clothes after she spilled soda on her shirt. This dou-, uh, guy, followed her into her room. If Heather hadn’t come looking for her, calling her name through the house, the bastard would have raped her. He got close enough as it was.”

“And you couldn’t let him get away with that,” I say. It’s not a question, but a matter of fact. A man like Furtick doesn’t let injustice stand.

“No,” he says, echoing the firmness of my statement. “I followed him for three days before the perfect moment was given to me. I beat the – well, he spent a week in the hospital on life support before they pulled the plug and he died.”

“Why were you arrested? Isn’t what you did considered defense of a third party?” I allow a moment of pride as I recall a legal conversation with Luke last year. He let me ask him whatever came to mind and then gave me the legality of it. It was actually a pretty fun game and I’m a little surprised that I remember this term because there were so many. I’m impressed that anyone passes the Bar exam.

“Yes and no. The problem was that I followed him for three days. The argument was that it was premeditated. The beating was, but him dying wasn’t necessarily part of the plan. Had I caught him in the act and killed him it would have been an act of passion in defense of a third party.”

“I don’t understand where Gregory Meyer comes in. Wouldn’t you be tried in a military court?”

“Not necessarily. If the guy had been military, yeah. They have their own legal system and it can be kind of hairy. So I had a friend who suggested I seek some outside counsel since the guy was civilian. When you Google ‘most successful attorneys in North Carolina’ Gregory Meyer’s name is front and center. After I told him my story, he said he’d take care of it. It took two weeks and my case was expedited and I was honorably discharged.”

“And that’s when Mr. Meyer told you his fee.”

“Yes. When I had to explain to Heather why I wasn’t working a
normal
job, she was furious with me. She convinced Anna that I was some thug and she hasn’t spoken to me since.”

I can’t imagine. He goes after the guy who attacks his daughter and the mom turns against him? But it’s all clear to me now why he took this job of protecting me. He’s making up with me what he couldn’t do for Anna.

“Thank you, Furtick.”

“Wes.” My quizzical look asks him the question that he answers. “My name is Wes. I want you to know that I’m more than a cold ex-marine.”

“I don’t think you’re cold at all. I think you have one of the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever known. I know why Luke trusts you. It’s because you’re like him. You would do anything to protect the ones you love most.” Furtick gives me just the smallest smile, but it’s still the biggest one he’s given me. I understand him better now and this makes me want him to stay forever.

I know it was difficult for him to tell me something so heart wrenching. I remember how I felt the night I told Will every detail of my parents’ death, and about the months and years that followed. It’s funny. When all you want to do is move on and forget, life brings you someone with whom you can entrust all of your secrets, everything you thought you wanted to leave behind. That person ends up holding those secrets with you, because you really can’t leave everything behind. There are things that we must carry with us because they are a very important part of our life story. Without them, we don’t make sense.

I don’t know how many people know Wes Furtick’s story, but I am honored to help him carry it.

*****

I can’t sleep. You’d think that with Will being here, being alive, that the past month would have brought me my sweetest dreams, but for some reason I’ve not been sleeping well. Maybe it’s the fear of Gregory Meyer finding out that he was duped, but more of what he’ll
do
if that happens. Now that I know Will and his mother are alive, I don’t like them being out of my site. They live in a great apartment eight and a half minutes from here, which is eight minutes too far for my liking. I haven’t been there yet because Will is here every morning to pick me up for class, and every moment after that until Claire kicks him out to go home and sleep.

I feel only slightly better since Eliana has had her hair shortened and lightened, but a shaggier hairstyle for Will doesn’t exactly disguise him. They’re both working on their tans, so that’ll help…I guess. I’m so close to convincing Will to color his hair. I think I’ll have won him over in a couple of weeks.

I grab my phone and scroll through my contacts. It’s 1:00 am here, so that makes it…uh…10:00 pm in California. I decide to text Caroline and see if she’s up. Even if she isn’t, it’ll feel good to reach out to her.

             
Layla Weston:              Hey! Are you still up?

             
Caroline Jackson: Hey!

Her response comes almost immediately and I feel a smile spread across my face.

              Layla Weston: I can’t sleep. Just wanted to tell you that I was thinking about you.
              Sorry I’ve been a crappy friend.

             
Caroline Jackson: You haven’t been a crappy friend! I’m glad you texted. Big

             
things happening here. I met someone!

             
Layla Weston: OMG! Really! That’s great! How long?

             
Caroline Jackson: Just a few months, but it feels promising. I’ll keep you
              posted!

             
Layla Weston: Definitely! Big things happening here, too. But I can’t tell you
              via text. Are you coming to visit after Thanksgiving?

             
Caroline Jackson: Oh the suspense! I’m working on that. G, T, and C want to road
              trip down and then we can all fly back to school from FL. Just working on Mom
              and Dad’s OK.

             
Layla Weston: Great! Keep me posted! I can’t wait for you to come!!

             
Caroline Jackson: Me too! Break’s over.  Gotta hit the books again. I love and

             
miss you! Can’t wait to see you!

             
Layla Weston: Love and miss you, too! Night!

With that, I’m lulled into a peaceful place. Caroline has that effect on me. I’m banking on somehow convincing Luke and Claire that we can tell Caroline and the others about the whole charade, but the more thought I give it, I’m certain Furtick will take the most convincing. I can’t imagine them coming to visit and not telling them. It’s not like
John
and
Elisabeth
could be here and our friends not know they’re Will and his mother. Well, I extended the invitation before Will came back from the dead, so I can’t take it back now.

I fall asleep and dream of random, bizarre things, waking with my alarm six hours later. As I stretch and recall my dream I have an overwhelming sense of normalcy. Isn’t this what everyone dreams about, weird, completely unrealistic scenarios where you’re dancing with giant butterflies in a meadow of marshmallow flowers?

Like clockwork, the doorbell chimes as my foot leaves the last step of the stairs. Will kisses me once as he steps through the door. He is firmly planted by my side no later than 8 am every day as he was in those final days when we lived in Davidson. On Saturday and Sunday, he waits patiently for me to wake and come down to meet him. I haven’t told him this, but I set my alarm for 8:00 am on the weekends. He thinks my internal alarm clock wakes me, but I don’t want him to wait too long. The earlier I’m up, the more time I get to spend with him.

Eliana has early classes, so she’s already at school. We’ll see her later for lunch and then she’ll either go to the library to study or come to the house. It’s been so much fun watching her immerse herself into college life. She’s focused and doing really well in her classes, and has made some really nice friends. They can’t mix a martini, but know which bars have $2 draft beers on which night.

Furtick is only charged with following me in case Marcus comes back so everyone else can come and go as they please. So far, Taylor and Cline have kept close tabs on him. He’s still with some girl in Charlotte and hasn’t returned to his place in Davidson. Having such firm tabs on him means that the last month has been the most relaxed I’ve had since the night he accosted me in the parking lot at school. I’m hoping this girl he’s been staying with is the reason he’s staying in Charlotte, and that he’s moved on from his delusions about what he thinks we have together.

Furtick enters from his side of the house adjusting his gun holster over his fitted white t-shirt, gun included. Once he layers one of his signature plaid button-ups, you can’t even tell it’s there. He nods at Will as he does every day, and gives me a straight-faced wink.

Wesley Furtick and I have an interesting relationship. He loves me like a sister and I annoy him as such. We argue over my tenacious tendencies with him winning because, really, it doesn’t matter what I want. My family’s safety is of supreme priority. Even though we fight, I love him dearly and can’t imagine our lives without him. Now that I carry his story with him, our relationship is even more wonderfully complicated, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

After breakfast and a quick review of my Psych 101 reading assignment, we’re out the door and headed for campus. I always find it amazing that Will and I can weave in and out of traffic, merge onto the highway, and take unplanned short-cuts, and Furtick never loses us. I can only imagine the choice words he has for Will when he plays the
let’s see if we can lose Furtick
game.

Will and I have found a quiet, yet public, place to spend our time in between classes. Furtick didn’t want it too secluded so he could still keep a close eye on me. There is so much to catch up on, so much time that I just want to spend staring at Will, touching his face, taking him in.

There’s been so much of my boring, everyday life that I want to share with Will. There have been so many times I’ve seen, heard, or experienced something and picked up my phone to text Will only to be disappointed with the reminder that there was no Will to text.

Today, though, instead of our usual spot, we decide to pop into the coffee shop. Finn’s eyes light up as he sees me. When he realizes that I’m not alone, he raises an eyebrow in surprise.

“Hey, Layla! Where have you been? I’ve missed my chai tea latte girl!” He’s excited and animated and Will isn’t quite sure what to make of him. I haven’t really talked about my budding friendship with Finn and his familiarity with me causes Will to tighten his gasp on my hand.