“We had it built for you. If you follow it, you’ll find a manmade lake. It’s not Lake Davidson, but, we didn’t think you should have to give up everything.” Claire says as we stare at the obviously new dock poking out from the thick brush of trees and vines.
“Thank you, Aunt Claire,” I say quietly.
The moving truck with all the furniture and boxes arrives a few hours later and the movers work diligently to get everything set up. Nothing looks, feels, or even smells the same. I wanted to make this move just like it was planned to be, but there is no way it can. I was going to live in a constant state of hope and anticipation that Will and I would be together again one day, but now that Will is missing it’s not the same. I spend my time in a contrast of fear and hope. I don’t want to give up on Will being out there somewhere, but he’s been missing for so long.
I’ve been through more than one person should be able to withstand in five short years – Mom and Dad’s death, my imprisonment with Gram, and losing myself completely to care for Gramps. Now Will’s gone. It’s like the universe is slapping me in the face.
Sometimes I wish I had died that night with my parents – one swift death instead of several repeated slow deaths over the last years. Now the most painful thing of all: I don’t want to say it out loud, but the truth is…Will may be dead, too.
I’ve nearly finished unpacking, breaking down boxes as I empty them. There are dozens more than when I first moved in with Luke and Claire, so it’s no wonder it’s taken me a week to unpack instead of hours. As I deposit a few broken-down boxes in the garage, I choose a few more marked with my name. I don’t remember packing up this many things, but Gwen and Caroline were with me most of my packing days, making the mundane task more palatable, so forgetting isn’t that surprising.
There’s a lighter box that I think must have scarves and gloves in it so I stack it on top of one a bit heavier and continue to wear a path in the floor between the garage and my room. I’ve started a box of seasonal clothes so I decide to go ahead and transfer the scarf box items to the seasonal box. I cut the packing tape, breaking the seal along the edges. When I open it all I find is newspaper. Lots of newspaper. There’s nothing in here? I think just before my heart stops.
No. There is something. Underneath the sheets and sheets of crumpled newspaper sits a black velvet jewelry box. I feel my brow furrow and my eyebrows tense. I didn’t pack this box but it has my name on it. I pull the black box into my hand and recognize the scent that lingers from it. For a brief moment I am filled with hope. I allow my mind to stroll through hopeful places it hasn’t been in quite some time. I decide to open the box while I’m visiting these not-forgotten streets, and I am not disappointed. As the box creaks open the light catches the shiny metal inside. I think my heart is going to leap from my chest as I stare at this remarkable treasure.
Will’s ring.
Acknowledgements
Thank you, first of all, to you, the readers. I want you to know that I am honored that you chose The Lake and invested your time and emotions into Layla’s story. I hope you’ll stick around for the journey and see Layla through to the end. I think you’ll be glad you did!
I am so incredibly thankful to my dear friend Lisa (LB!). You played a major role in the development of this story. You gave your honest feedback whenever I asked, and you never held back. Your questions challenged me, and your pure love for Will and Layla’s story was, and continues to be, invaluable. Never underestimate your impact on this process. I will never have enough words of thanks to give you. I treasure our friendship. I am so glad Jason married you!
Thank you to my editor, Lisa, who fixed all my ‘buts.’ You were and continue to be a lifesaver! I’m glad we’re discovering that we have more in common than Old Navy. I’m so grateful for you and our growing friendship!
I couldn’t have been more blessed than to have author Erin Healy walk along side me through this process. From the first call to tell you I was writing a book but had no clue what I was doing, to the time you gifted me in helping me create a stronger introduction to Layla’s story, you believed in me and encouraged me in my writing. Who would have thought that when we met all those years ago that God would connect us again this way? Thank you for your advice and guidance. You are truly the best thing to happen to my writing career.
To everyone who beta read the book and gave me feedback: your input made Will and Layla’s story better and for that I’m truly grateful. Lisa B., Lisa S., Sarah, Erin, Jenna, Kelly, and Christi: thank you for cheering me on!
To my dear, sweet friend Dana. Thank you for keeping this baby safe from the very beginning. You have been a constant source of support and encouragement. I treasure you and our friendship, and I don’t know what I’d do without you.
Thank you, Vinh, for helping to make Marcus sound like a trigonometry genius. I have and always will admire your brilliance!
I have such great respect for the authors who have gone before me, paving the way for stories like Will and Layla’s to be told. Ted Dekker, Erin Healy, Colleen Hoover, Jamie McGuire, J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Kathryn Stockett, and Stephanie Meyer: you are my inspirations. You have written incredibly addicting stories that aren’t easily put down. Thank you for your fearlessness in creating characters and stories that inspire us to be better friends, stand up for what is right, and love more deeply.
A huge thank you to Amazon! Thank you for making it possible for independent writers to get their work out there. You’ve created an outlet that fulfills the creative need in so many and I am eternally grateful!
Many thanks to my dad and mom, David and Anna, for raising a daughter who turned out to be pretty fearless. Having three older brothers will help in that process, too, I suppose. To said brothers – Glenn, Derek, and Chris - thank you for challenging me throughout life. You are all brilliant and talented, and I’d like to think I’m a good, albeit strange, mix of the three of you. I could have used fewer swirlies, but they helped shape me into the person I am today, so thanks.
To my kids who have encouraged me through this process simply by thinking it’s cool that their mom wrote a book.
Last and never least, enormous gratitude to my husband, Donavan. Thank you for your love and support, for listening to every story line idea, letting me space out every now and then as the wheels turned in my head, and for the nights you had no idea what time I actually got into bed. Most of all, thank you for always believing in me. You are my best friend and the best partner in life a girl could ask for. I couldn’t have done this without you. So much!
The Lake is the first book in AnnaLisa Grant’s Lake Trilogy. AnnaLisa earned her Master’s degree in Counseling at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. She and her husband Donavan live with their two children and one recently-adopted kitten in Matthews, North Carolina.
To learn more about AnnaLisa, visit:
AnnaLisaGrant.com
Facebook.com/AuthorAnnalisaGrant
Author photo by Charlotte Photography
CharlottePhotography.com
Cover art by Derek Wesley Selby/Divine Spark Creative Services
[email protected]
Continue on Layla’s journey as the Lake Trilogy continues in
Troubled Waters
Coming soon!
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
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