Anchored: A Lake Series Novella (4 page)

“Yeah.”

“Um
… what happened between you two?”

“I
have no idea.”

Mr.
and Mrs. Jackson are making apologies to Mom and Dad as they enter
the foyer.

“She’s
very overwhelmed right now,” I hear Carol say. “An
overwhelmed Caroline does not have the clearest of heads.”

“No
kidding. She just bit mine off,” I say.

“She’s
got a long flight back to L.A. tomorrow. I’m sure by the time
she lands she’ll have come to her senses.”

Mom
closes the door behind the Jacksons and everyone turns their
attention to me. I stand there waiting for someone to speak but it
appears they’re all waiting on me.

“What?”

“Are
you alright, dear?” Eliana asks.

“I’m
fine. People fight. She’ll call me tomorrow and we’ll be
fine.” But Caroline and I have never fought before. Maybe it is
a sign that we really are growing apart.

“Yes,
I’m sure by tomorrow night you two will have everything worked
out,” Mom says in her Mom way.

Mom
and Eliana offered to help with the dishes but I told them to go
home. I find cleaning the kitchen to be very cathartic. It will give
me time to think.

“Layla,
could we talk for a minute about the ass-kicking training I’m
going to give you?” Wes asks. He gives me a look that tells me
our conversation is going to have zero to do with my getting back in
shape.

“Sure.
Babe, do you mind checking on the girls? I put Claire in different
pajamas. Can you make sure she’s warm enough?” I ask Will
as Mom and Dad leave.

“I’m
going to the car. Don’t be long, darling,” Eliana says to
Wes. “I’ll talk to you soon, Layla.” I give her a
hug goodbye and watch as she closes the door behind her.

Wes
stands in front of me with his hands in his pockets. He pulls one
hand out and holds a folded piece of paper in front of me. I reach
out to take it but Wes pulls it away before my fingers can grasp it.

“Are
you going to tell me now why I’m giving you Michael Meadows’
address?” Wes stands there with his serious
give-me-answers
face that no one can deny.

I
let out a defeated sigh before I answer. “His wife Rachel came
to see me last week. Apparently Michael is really sick and she asked
me for financial help. I just need to go see for myself that it’s
true.”

“And
Will doesn’t know.” Wes has a way of making statements
out of what other people would ask as questions.

“I’m
not telling him anything until I know for sure. He’ll be
crushed if he gets his hopes up of having a relationship with Michael
only to find out it was all a lie.”

Wes
just nods as he listens to my explanation.

“You’re
not going to try and talk me out of it?” I question.

“I
think we both know that would be an exercise in futility,” he
says with a smirk. He is right. He knows all too well that once I set
my mind to something, there is little to nothing that could make me
change my mind.

“So
what if it’s true?” Wes asks.

“Then
we’ll help them as much as we can. And we’ll hope that
Michael will want to make peace with the past and with Will before
it’s too late,” I tell him.

“And
what if it’s not?”

“If
it’s not, well … I have a Wes Furtick for that.” I
smile. Wes releases the paper to me and I slide it in my back pocket.

“What
do you have a Wes Furtick for?” Will asks as he descends the
stairs next to us. He’s smiling and has huge wet spot on his
shoulder revealing the time he spent with a baby in his arms.

“She
asked me to whip her into shape,” Wes answers. He puts his arm
around my shoulder and squeezes me to him. I reciprocate the hug and
wrap my arms around his waist.

“Ah,”
Will responds. “Just don’t let her fade away to nothing.
I like her post-baby body.” Will pulls me from Wes and wraps
his own arms around me and kisses the top of my head.

“On
that
note,” Wes says. “I’m going. El is waiting in the
car.” Wes kisses my temple and gives Will a hug before letting
himself out.

I’m
quiet as Will and I clear the dinner table and tidy the kitchen. On
top of this whole thing with Michael, now I have to figure out what’s
going on with Caroline and what I’m going to do about it. I
understand her being overwhelmed. It must be a wonderfully stressful
place to be in. She has an incredible opportunity to travel Europe
and be the interior designer to a Who’s Who list of people. But
she also has Tyler, and from the look in her eyes the other day I
know that she loves him. How does one get everything they ever wanted
and have to choose between them?

“You
want to talk about it?” he asks.

I
sit on the couch in the lounge and put my feet up on one of the small
round tables in front of me. Twisting my head, I stretch my neck and
relieve some of the tension that has been building. Reading my body
language, Will instinctively brings me a glass of wine as he takes a
seat next to me with his own glass.

“You’re
the best husband ever.” I take the glass from him and take a
sip of the red elixir. “I’m trying to understand how
things got so out of control but I’m at a loss.”

“She
should have told him, Layla.” Will’s tone is a little
defensive.

“Yes,
she should,” I reply.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”
I furrow my brow at Will. “Did you think I was going to side
with Caroline?”

“Well,
yeah. Isn’t there some girl club rule that says you have to
support each other no matter what?”

“No,”
I say with my own defensiveness. “Well, sometimes. But not when
she’s so obviously wrong. I mean … was she
trying
to push him away? Why would she drop that kind of bomb on him right
in front of everyone?”

“I
don’t know. I’ve known Caroline a long time, and I have
to say I’m pretty surprised by her behavior. Maybe she’s
just changed. Maybe we’ve all changed.” Will slips his
arm around me and I rest my weary head on his shoulder.

“I
don’t want us to have all changed.”

“We
have to change, Layla. No one can stay the same. We have to grow and
mature. I can’t be the same person I was at seventeen now. I
want to be better than that. For you. For the girls. And, like it or
not, we’ve just moved into a different place than all our
friends.”

“Not
all our friends. Chris is married. So is Gwen,” I rebut.

“True.
And if they lived in town, I’m sure we’d see them more
often as married people. But we’re parents now and that puts us
in a whole new bracket. Our priorities are entirely different than
our friends without kids.” Will shifts and turns to face me.
“Caroline isn’t married and has the opportunity of a
lifetime. She should take it because she needs to seize the
opportunity of a lifetime within the lifetime of the opportunity. One
day, going out on this kind of adventure won’t even be a
consideration because her family will come first.”

“I
know. And I want her to go. It may or may not be because I want an in
to meet George Clooney,” I joke. Will looks at me with confused
eyes. “Oh, you didn’t hear that part. She’s
actually going to Italy too because the design firm is redoing
Clooney’s Lake Como place.” Will’s eyes widen with
astonishment. “I know, right?”

“Clooney
aside…”

“Yes,
Clooney aside.” I laugh but the smile quickly fades. “You
should have seen the way she was looking at me. It was like …
it was like I didn’t know the person standing in front of me.”

“I
think Carol is right. Just give her some time to come to her senses
and things will work out.” Will sits back against the couch
again and we sit together, sipping wine and enjoying the silence of
the house and each other’s company. I love our new normal life.

The
doorbell rings and we look at each other with puzzled expressions.
It’s not that late, but no one ever comes by at this time. We
walk to the door together and a rush of fear washes over me that it
might be Rachel again. When Will opens the door and reveals Tyler
standing on the other side, I let out the breath I didn’t
realize I was holding.

“Hey,”
he says sheepishly. “Do you mind if I come in?”

Tyler
looks beaten down. His eyes are swollen like he’s been crying
and one of his hands is wrapped in a hand towel. By the blood on it,
I’d say he lost a fight with a wall.

“Of
course. Come in,” Will tells him.

“No
offense, Layla, but can I talk to Will alone?” Tyler asks.

“Sure.
I’ll check on the girls and head to bed. Take your time.”
I look down at Tyler’s injured hand and back at him. “Will
can get you some ice for that. And there’s some ibuprofen and
bandages in the pantry.”

“Thanks,
Layla.”

“It’s
going to work out,” I tell him confidently. “You two
could finish cleaning the kitchen while you talk!” I wink and
nudge Will before I kiss him goodnight and give Tyler a hug.

I
check on the girls and they are still snug like two little bugs. I’m
still in awe of them. Still in awe of the path my life has taken.
There was a time I couldn’t have even begun to dream of loving
someone the way I love Will, let alone the way I love Natalie and
Claire. And I never dreamed I would be loved the way I am loved by
Will and Mom and Dad. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do
to protect that love.

I
take the address Wes gave me out of my pocket and stare at it as I
consider the best time for me to go. I’ll have to do it soon
since Will is on his way back to into the office full time. Michael
and his wife live in Cleveland, North Carolina. I’ve never
heard of it and have no clue how far it is, but a Google search will
fix that.

The
only thing left is to find out if Rachel’s story is true, or if
she’s going to be sorry she ever stepped foot in my house.

It’s
been a week since Wes gave me Michael’s address. Will is going
back to work in a few days so this might be my last chance to go
before I have to get one of our mothers to come and watch the girls.
They’ll want to know where I’m going, which isn’t a
problem except that if I tell them I’m going shopping, they’ll
pull out the double stroller and want to come with me. Telling Will
I’m going shopping leads only to him being more than willing to
stay home with the girls.

I
trot down the stairs having searched for driving directions to the
mysterious Cleveland, North Carolina. It should take me less than an
hour, so if I leave in the next thirty minutes I can be there and
back before lunch.

“Okay!
The girls have been fed and are enjoying their morning nap,” I
shout as I make my way to the kitchen. As I turn the corner into the
room, Will is putting his jacket on and zipping up his laptop case.

“Hey.
Uh … where are you going?” I ask him.

“I’ve
got to run into the office for a bit, and then check on some things
in manufacturing.” Noticing that I am fully dressed, shoes and
all, he asks, “Were you going somewhere?”

My
shoulders slump and I twist my mouth to the side. “I
was
.”

“I’ll be back
before four. Can you go then?”

“No.
I can’t,” I begin. “I mean … I didn’t
find the things I was looking for when I went shopping last time.
With you going back to work in a few days I know this is my last real
chance to go. After that I’m going to have to take the girls
and one of our moms with me. I guess I’m just looking for some
final ‘me’ time. Does that sound selfish?”

Will
stands next to me as I sit in one of the bar stools at the counter. I
lean into him as he wraps his arms around me.

“I
can stay home.”

“Really?”
I say, perking up. “I should be home before lunch!”

Will
laughs at my enthusiasm and brushes the hair that has fallen in my
face.

“Go.
Have fun. Buy something sexy.”

“Well,
you did just rearrange your day for me. I think that my husband is
deserving of something sexy later.” I reach up and pull Will’s
face to mine and kiss him. The kiss quickly becomes passionate and
Will is pulling my shirt out from being tucked into my jeans.

“I
said sexy
later
,”
I muster when Will moves from my lips to my neck. “If you don’t
let me go now, I’m not going to have time to find something
sexy!”

Will
gives one last kiss to my neck and breathes a heavy sigh before
emerging from the covering of my hair. “Fine!”

I
grab is face again and kiss him hard.

“You
are not a fair woman. You need to leave now, or I’m going to be
forced to have my way with you!”

“Okay!
Okay! I’ll be back soon! I love you!” I snatch my purse
from its place hanging on the end of the staircase railing and close
the door behind me.

I’ve
run through in my head all the scenarios I can think of and what I
would say. If I get out there and it all turns out to be a lie, I’ll
simply reflect on how Will handled Marlene and Holly and then fill
Michael and Rachel in on their fate if they choose to continue their
charade.

If
Rachel can show me those medical bills, and if it’s clear that
Michael has less than a year to live, then we’ll do the right
thing and help them. I’d stipulate that Michael has to be
willing to make amends with Will, but I’m not sure I can do
that. It’s not like I’m going to refuse to help them.

I
make a stop at the outlet mall and pick up a few tops I held off on
buying last time, along with that something sexy and a pair of heels
that catch my eye as I walk by. I’ll need something to show
Will when I get home. I don’t like being sneaky like this, but
I will be sneaky every day of the week and twice on Sunday if it
protects my husband from heartache.

The
drive to the Meadows’ is beautiful. There isn’t a lot out
this way, making for a very peaceful time with my thoughts. I can’t
help but think of Caroline and wonder what is going on with her. I’ve
never seen her act the way she did that night. She was completely
selfish and unreasonable. And the way she snapped at me? I hate to
think that Will might be right about this. Maybe she’s changed.
We’re not kids anymore, and she’s been in Los Angeles and
New York for years now. I suppose there’s just a different way
of life in those cities. But why get into a relationship with Tyler,
of all people, if she didn’t think it was going to have
long-term potential? There’s something going on here, and I’m
going to have to get to the bottom of it. At least my friends can
rest assured that there’s one area I haven’t changed a
bit in.