Troubled Waters (The Lake Trilogy, Book 2) (28 page)

“Layla, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought of her, too. Luke and I have let go of all that we lost that day. We will always be sad that we won’t have all the momentous occasions with her that we anticipated having, but we’ll also be eternally happy having those moments with you. You filled part of the Penny-shaped hole in our hearts. We couldn’t be happier to be a part of all the special things that are to come for you.
You
are our daughter, too, and we will celebrate with you as such.”

“I wish I had known her.”

“I do, too.” Claire kisses my cheek and moves back to the table to shuffle through the magazines. “Are you going to show all of these to Will?”

“I don’t know. I want us to make some decisions together. Will wants a big to-do, but honestly, I’d be happy getting married in the gardens like my parents. It’s not like we’ll have a ton of people to invite. I just can’t see myself walking down a long aisle in a mostly empty church.”

“Well, you’ve got time, don’t you? When
are
you considering having the wedding?” Claire asks.

“Will would like it to happen tomorrow. I would like to wait until the suffix ‘teen’ is not part of my age. That would be a little over a year from now. It’ll be summer, but the middle of my junior year. I don’t know…”

“Layla? You don’t seem sure about this. Is everything ok?” Claire’s soothing tone always puts me at ease. And, like a mother, she’s learned how to read my face and my own delivery and tone.

“Yes, everything is fine. I
want
to marry Will. Sometimes, though, I just feel like…well…we haven’t had very long together when we weren’t running or being secretive. I feel like things just calmed down. I’m just afraid that we haven’t had time to get to know each other without being in survival mode. Does that make sense?”

“That makes perfect sense. You and Will have had quite a journey. I don’t think there’s any doubt that you and Will were made for each other. You love him, and he loves you. And even though you said ‘yes’ and you’re wearing that gorgeous ring, only you know when you’ll be ready to walk down the aisle, brick path, or sandy beach and say
forever
to him. There is no rush, Layla, but because I know you love Will with every fiber of your being, don’t let those fears overtake you and convince you that this isn’t right. You have fought long and hard for your and Will’s love. To let anything come between you now, even your own qualms, would be a travesty. Set a date that gives you time to have all the normalcy of dating and being engaged that you need.”

Claire is right. She’s usually right. Will and I have a love most people only dream about. The lengths that we have gone to be together are what great love stories are made of. We
do
have time. We have all the time we need. And while I want to be Will’s wife more than anything, there really is no rush. I hope I can convince Will of this. I think that once we have a date set, no matter when it is, he’ll be happy that there will be a tunnel to go through and a light in the foreseeable future.

“Thanks, Mom,” I say smiling. It feels so good to say that. I’ve missed the talks my mother and I had about all the various and sundry things a pre-teen talks to her mother about. I remember one of the last conversations I had with my mother about a friend at school who wasn’t acting very much like a friend. She told me not to be afraid to tell my friend that she had hurt my feelings, and that if she didn’t apologize then she wasn’t my friend to begin with anyway. Sound advice to an 11-year-old. “Oh, gosh! We need to get dinner in the oven if it’s going to be ready when Eli’s done interviewing me for the paper.”

“Right! I’ve had the meat marinating overnight, so it should be ready by now. What else did I need to do to it?” Claire asks. Her cooking has improved by leaps and bounds, but she’s still a little scared when it comes to using the oven, which is so funny to me since the oven is the easiest thing in the world. Set the temperature, put the food in, and wait for the timer to go off. She’s my mom, and I wouldn’t have her any other way.

The house is starting to smell insanely good with the aroma of beef stew cooking to perfection, low and slow, in the oven. The men of the house have descended upon the kitchen, begging for a taste. When Will walks through the front door the first thing out of his mouth is the sound of rejoicing.

“Please, God, let that be the smell of Layla’s beef stew!”

“Of course! What else would it be?” Will kisses me and whispers
thank you
into my ear. “It’s a special night so I thought I’d make your favorite.”

“Special night?” he says with a wink.

“Don’t tell me that setting our wedding date doesn’t constitute a special night!” I slap Will gently on his stomach and he grabs me around the waist pulling me closer to him.

“It will be the second most special night ever,” he says sweetly. “I can hardly wait to argue over it with you.”

“Silly! We won’t have to argue if you just concede that the date that I pick is the best!” Will squeezes me and sneaks a brief tickle to my side, sending me flailing. “Will!”

“Ok, ok, you two,” Wes says.

“Oh, like you and Eliana aren’t as bad!” I tease.

Wes and Eliana have been going strong since New Year’s. It was a little hard for Will to let go at first. He’s been so protective of his mom for so long that he just, instinctively, wants to keep her from getting hurt. He spoke with Wes on several occasions, making sure Wes knew how fragile she was. Eliana spent so long with Gregory that she’s been learning how to say
no
and assert herself. If Wes didn’t encourage that, it could be very easy for her to fall back into the quiet, submissive woman she was before. Fortunately for her, Wes is all too familiar with Gregory Meyer and has known how to challenge Eliana. I once heard him telling her that she needed to tell him no because he was being unreasonable. A little lover’s quarrel that seemed to have turned out just fine by the way I saw them kissing and making up.

The doorbell rings, putting a damper on the teasing I was planning on giving Wes. You’d think the President was standing at our doorstep, the way the whole family left the kitchen and made their way to the Great Room. When I open the door Eli is standing there looking thankful.

“Hey Layla! Thanks again for doing this. You have no idea what this means to me!” he says walking into the house.

“It’s no problem, Eli. Seriously!”

“Wow! It smells amazing in here!” he says, closing his eyes and savoring the aroma of my to-die-for beef stew.

“Oh, thanks! We’ve got a family meal planned for tonight when you’re done grilling me.” I don’t want to be rude, but I want to be clear that we have other plans for tonight that do not include Eli. Will smiles at me, recognizing my effort to stay committed to our plans of setting our wedding date tonight.

“That’s cool. I’ll try not to take up too much of your time then. Oh, awesome! Your whole family is here!” he says, finally noticing my entourage.

“Yeah, I hope that’s ok. We’re kind of ridiculously happy together,” I tell him. I don’t care if he thinks it’s weird that we’re so close. No one will ever understand the life we’ve lead and how bonded we are. I never want us to be a family that complains about each other. We may do things that get on each other’s nerves, but family is family and nothing will ever change that.

“That’s perfect, actually,” he says with a smile.

“These are my parents, Luke and Claire. This is John’s mom, Elisabeth, and my Uncle Wes. And, of course, you know John,” I say in a round of introductions. Handshakes go all around accompanied by
hellos
and
nice to meet yous.

“Wow, I can’t believe how great this is. You know, the student spotlight interview usually just has the student. This is totally bonus!” Eli says as he pulls a huge binder from his backpack. “I’ve got a lot I’d love to know. Actually, if it’s ok, can I ask John a question first?”

“Me? Uh…sure, I guess,” Will looks puzzled but goes with the flow.

“Great!” Eli flips through a few sections in his binder, finally landing on the section he was looking for. Finding it, he looks straight at Will with the most serious face and says, “Are you sure your name is John, because you look more like a Will to me.”

It takes less than three second for Luke, Wes, and Will to have Eli pinned to the floor on his chest. The three of them were a blur of hair, skin, and clothing as Claire, Eliana, and I instinctively jumped back and out of their way.

How can this be happening? How could Eli possibly know about our family’s secret? Surely he wasn’t clued in by any pre-interview research he may have done on me.

“You have exactly five second to tell us who you are and what you want.” Furtick has appeared and is in full-on security mode. I thought it had been silly to keep Wes on the payroll as private security but am thanking my lucky stars that he’s here now.

“C’mon, guys, ease up!” Eli chokes out. It’s clear he’s having trouble breathing. Understandable, considering he’s got three grown men all over six feet tall holding him to the ground.

“Three,” Wes advises.

“Ok, ok…I can’t breathe, man! Get off me and I’ll tell you. I promise!”

The guys release their hold on him and Wes flips him over and drags him from the floor. After he’s been tossed into a chair, Wes sits on the coffee table in front of him in the most intimidating pose I’ve ever seen on him. His fingers are laced together and his elbows are on his knees.

“Talk,” he says.

“Layla…” Eli starts.

“You don’t talk to her,” Will says. “Who are you?”

“My name really is Eli Briggs,” he says after a beat. “But I’m not with the school paper. My father was an investigative reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He was investigating Gregory Meyer when he died last year. Meyer killed him.”

“What?” Eliana’s eyes are huge and she’s trembling.

“Claire, take her in the kitchen,” Luke instructs. “Layla, you go, too.”

“No. I’m not going anywhere.” I look at Luke and he knows I’m serious. I brought this into our home and I have to know what’s going on. I won’t wait for some watered down report from them.

“What do you mean Gregory killed your father?” Luke asks.

“My father, Alexander Briggs, spent five years investigating the bastard…all his ethics violations and flagrant abuses of the law. And just when he was so close to blowing Meyer out of the water, he dies.” Eli’s eyes are fiery. They aren’t the same soft and friendly eyes I met in the coffee shop. They’re on a mission.

“You still haven’t told us how Gregory Meyer killed your father,” Wes says. “I’m getting impatient. You don’t want to see me lose my patience.”

“He had his goons give my father a pretty severe beating. My dad’s heart wasn’t so great. At least they took him to the hospital after they beat the crap out of him, but even that couldn’t save him. His heart just wasn’t strong enough to handle the stress. He had a heart attack.” Eli’s tone is filled with disgust. I understand his hatred for Gregory Meyer. It’s a common thread we all share. “Can I show you something?”

Wes nods and shifts his position slightly so Eli can retrieve his binder. He pulls out a photo of him and his father. They’re sitting on a picnic table on what looks like a beautiful day with gorgeous Carolina Blue skies behind them. His father, an older, attractive man with salt-and-pepper hair, looks happy. He also looks familiar.

I see Wes’ eyes get big and he immediately stands up. We make the same discovery at the same time. I’ve never seen Wes’ eyes so filled with fear. He excuses himself leaving Luke and Will with confused expressions painted on their faces. I follow Wes out, knowing that I am the only who can reach him right now.

“Two, Layla. Two! I’m responsible for the deaths of two men!” he says as I meet him on the patio. Wes paces a few times before landing on a bench and covering his face with his hands.

This has to be devastating for him. The man in that picture is the same man I saw Wes and Cline beating that day outside the law firm. It’s difficult to process. Until now he had been no one. I never considered that he could be someone’s husband or father. I was sad for him at the time and hoped the wrath of Gregory Meyer would be short, but that wasn’t the case.

“You took him to the hospital, Wes,” I say reassuringly. “You weren’t some monster that beat him up and left him for dead. Your heart has always known the right thing to do. You did your best, Wes.”

“I don’t know how to fix this.”

“You can’t.” I sigh. “You know, when Meyer came to my family and tried to tear me apart from Luke and Claire with his
House Call
, I was furious. I was furious at Luke and Claire for not telling me about my father. I was furious at my father for doing something so stupid, but Will helped me realize that the person to be furious with was Meyer. All he does is destroy people’s lives.

“Wes, he took advantage of you and manipulated you. He didn’t care that you would lose everything that was important to you. You have to see it for what it is. Now, I don’t know what Eli wants, exactly, but if he was going to expose us, don’t you think he would have done it by now? You have to let this go. Take that rage you’re feeling and direct it where it needs to go.”

“You really are the best,” he says squeezing an arm around me.