Safe Harbor (The Lake Trilogy, Book 3)

by Grant, AnnaLisa

  “William, the age difference between you and the others was so great that it never occurred to me to try and connect you with them. When I tried to arrange a play date for you and Marcus, your father found out and forbade me from ever communicating with Marlene again,” she says.

  “But…when I was older, and I understood who my father really was…” Will is trying desperately to understand why something so important was kept from him. He’s reaching out with questions, but no answer is going to satisfy him.

  “I was scared. Any time I defied your father in any way he threatened to take you from me. So every decision I made, every secret I kept…everything I did, I did so I wouldn’t lose you. I would rather have lived in that hell with him as long as I had you, than to have been set free like the others and never see you again.” Eliana reaches out for Will but he pulls away, causing a different kind of sadness to wash over her.

  With nothing left to say, Will walks away and upstairs to the loft.

  “Please help him understand,” Eliana begs of me.

  “I’ll try,” I tell her.

  Leaving Eliana in the comforting arms of Wes, I go upstairs to find Will in our oversized chair. He looks sad and small, like a broken little boy.

  “Hey,” I say softly, squishing my body against his in the chair.

  “I know what you’re going to say,” he says.

  “You do, do you?” I run my fingers through Will’s hair.

  “You’re going to tell me what I told you the day you found out about your father and the explosion. You’re going to tell me that sometimes not knowing something protects you from something worse. That I need to see my mom as she was all those years, protecting me at the cost of her own freedom.”

  “Wow, I’m good,” I say with a smirk.

  “I know all of those things, Layla. And I know my mom spent years doing everything she could to protect me.” Will turns his body to face me. I swing my legs over his lap to make us both more comfortable. “But why wouldn’t she tell me later, after we left him, after we were free?”

  “You still couldn’t have done anything about it, Will.”

  “But just to know. When we got to Florida, if she had told me why she couldn’t tell me before, I would have understood. She knew Luke was going to call the exes as witnesses, and when I told her about Loretta, she acted shocked. I just don’t understand,” he says. His voice is faltering, like he’s holding back tears.

  “Honey, you have to give her some time. It’s not as easy for her to shake some of the old habits. She spent almost 20 years pretending to be someone she wasn’t, hiding things from people, from you. She’s just learning how to be genuine again. It never occurred to her to volunteer this information to you. She didn’t keep it from you to hurt you. She initially kept it from you to save you. And now, well, she’s figuring out how that she has to be aware and intentional about opening up. It’s not second nature to her, Will.”

  I understand where both Will and Eliana are coming from. Information is his coping mechanism. He needs information to make him feel like he’s functioning with full knowledge so he can make decisions based on all the facts. I get that. I was devastated when I found out that everyone had hidden the truth about my father’s link to an ecoterrorist group. I felt like I had been living a lie all those years.

  I also understand Eliana’s propensity for keeping thoughts, feelings, and even information to herself. I stuffed so much down during those years with Gram. When I came to live with Luke and Claire it was a daily decision to share things with them, to trust them. It was hard to tell them how difficult life had been, especially the years I took care of Gramps. I didn’t want them to think poorly of Gramps, or think I was ungrateful to Gram and Gramps for taking me in. I also remember how hard it was to share certain things about my parents with Will. I never wanted to paint them in a way that misrepresented them.

  Will has to process through his feelings. I can’t do that for him. I know he’ll come to the right place with them. I just hope it doesn’t take too long because I know Eliana’s heart is breaking with every minute that passes before Will reconciles with her on this.

  “She loves you, Will. And you know that everything she did, she did to protect you.” I run my fingers around his ear and down his jawline. Taking his face in my hand, I give him one kiss and leave him to his thoughts.

  When I appear back in the Great Room, Eliana is nestled at Wes’ side on the loveseat. Her face is stained with tears, and Wes is rubbing her arm, telling her it’s going to all work out. I love watching them together.

  “Oh, Layla…is William coming down? Were you able to reach him?” Eliana asks, sitting up when she sees me.

  “He’s going to need a bit to really come to terms with everything, but he’ll get there. He knows you were only trying to protect him. It doesn’t make it hurt much less, but it matters,” I tell her.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?” Wes asks me. I nod and he gets up and moves to the kitchen.

  “What’s up?” I ask him.

  “I need to share this with you because I can’t share it with Will right now. He’s too emotional and I’m too pissed,” Wes begins. “I understand that Will was upset, but, if he ever talks to Eliana that way again, he and I are going to have a problem.”

  “I understand. But you need to understand something, too. There are going to be things between Will and Eliana that they have to handle. It’s not that they don’t concern you, because Will knows that when you love someone, everything about them concerns you,” I tell him. “You’re going to have to pull back at times, and you’re going to have to let them figure some things out on their own. Eliana needs that. She needs to be able to stand on her own two feet. Yes, riding in on your white horse is wonderful, but she needs to fight her own battles and make her own decisions. If you don’t let her do that, her life won’t be that much different with you than it was with Meyer.”

  “I don’t agree,” Wes says. He’s protective of her, and that’s wonderful. What he doesn’t understand is that, despite the way Will just interacted with her, Will is even more protective of Eliana.

  “I do.” Eliana is standing in the kitchen doorway. She moves toward Wes and he meets her half way across the room. “Thank you for wanting to protect me. I love that about you, Wesley, and I would never want that to change. But Layla is right. William and I will have to handle some things on our own. It doesn’t mean that you can’t have your say. It just means that we’re all learning a new way of life…one that isn’t controlled by Gregory. We need to give each other some room to grow. Can you do that?”

  Wes puts his hands on her hips. “For years I watched how Meyer treated you. I never want you to feel that our relationship is remotely like that. I love you and I just want the best for you. So, as hard it is may be at times…yes, I can do that. I may need some reminding, though.”

  Eliana wraps her arms around Wes’ waist and lays her head on his chest. “Thank you.”

  “I…um…” we hear Will begin. He’s standing in the kitchen doorway where Eliana stood only moments ago. I wonder if he heard any of our exchange. “I owe you an apology, Mom. If I had stopped to really think about it before I came after you, I would have come to all the conclusions that you gave as reasons why you kept everything from me.”

  “I was only trying to protect you,” Eliana says moving from Wes’ arms to Will’s.

  “I know you were, really, and I’m grateful. It’s just…hard. But, I can get through it. I have this ridiculously amazing family, so I’m pretty sure I can handle anything.” Will smiles at me and I hear everything he’s saying.

  “I should apologize to you, too, Wes.” Will sticks out his hand the two do that shaking hands into a manly hug thing that guys do.

  “Water under the bridge. It’s a tense time and we all need to extend some latitude to each other. Let’s just keep the yelling at the woman I love down to a minimum though, ok?” Wes says with a smirk. He’s partly joking
, but mostly serious. Wes loves Eliana the way Will loves me, so I know just how powerful that is.

  “Well, I guess the only thing left for me to do is somehow prepare myself to meet my brother and sisters,” Will says with a pleasant smile. It’s been an emotional roller coaster, but Will has reached a point of acceptance, and maybe even a little excitement.

  “You’ve got some time, William. They won’t be here until the week of the trial,” Eliana says.

  “Not everyone,” Wes corrects.

  Chapter 17

  After a meeting with Luke, Will has the complete overview of every ex-wife and Meyer child. Will examined each date of marriage and divorce, as well as the exact number of days between the date of divorce and the birth of a child. After each one he would just shake his head. Sometimes he would mumble something. I usually couldn’t make it out, but it sounded pretty close to bastard.

  Luke explained that Cheryl has been the least forthcoming with information, so Wes has had to dig much harder to get the scoop on her. All she told Luke was that Gregory Meyer was an abusive man and a part of her past she wasn’t going to revisit, not even if he was dead.

  “I don’t understand something. Loretta and Victoria got hefty sums in the divorce. No alimony, just one lump payment. Marlene is the only one who received anything monthly, but we know why that is. But…Cheryl’s single payment is considerably less than the others, even if you take into account the difference in years.” Will rubs his forehead. He’s a numbers guy so he would notice any discrepancies.

  “I noticed that, too,” Luke says shifting the file folder so he can review the numbers again. “It doesn’t matter. She’s not coming to testify anyway.”

  “What is it, Will?” I ask, noticing his unwavering concern for the inconsistency that is spread across his face.

  “Where is she now?” Will takes the file from Luke and shuffles through the papers until he finds Cheryl’s form. “Virginia Beach. You up for a road trip?” he says to me.

  “Now hold on here, Will. You’re not going to Virginia,” Luke contests.

  “There’s more to this, Luke, and I’ve got to find out what it is.” Will is emphatic about wanting to investigate this. I can’t blame him. He’s just trying to put the pieces of the puzzle of his life together. I know what that feels like.

  “Dad…what harm could it do. I mean, she barely spoke to you…maybe she’ll tell Will more because he’s Meyer’s son,” I say. I think Will has a right to search this woman out and fill in some of the gaps.

  “Why does it matter?” Luke asks.

  “Luke…I’m finding out more and more about my father, and I need to fill in as many of the gaps as possible. You don’t think that as soon as the others get here I’m not going to beg for information? I need to know who my father really was, because, according to Loretta’s story, he wasn’t always a sorry son of a bitch.” Will sighs. “Look…I just need to know. There has to be a reason why her settlement was so much less than the others. He wouldn’t have given her less than the others without a good reason. I need to know what that reason was.”

  “Luke, you need to let him do this,” Claire says entering the office from their adjacent bedroom. “It’s important to him, and it’s not like you can stop him.” Claire smiles at Luke with that smile that makes him putty in her hands.

  “Is it really that important to you?” Luke asks Will.

  “Yeah, it is,” Will tells him.

  “Ok. Then you should go, but…I don’t know how comfortable I am with Layla going with you,” Luke says with a warning tone that has nothing to do with us confronting Cheryl.

  “She has to come with me, Luke. She’s a part of everything in my life and I can’t do this without her.” Will puts his arm around my waist and draws me to him, kissing the top of my head.

  “I want to go, Dad. I need to go,” I say.

  “I don’t know…” Luke begins and I think he’s beginning to wonder just how much longer Will and I can hold out on the sex thing. I’m sure the idea of his little girl going on an overnight trip with her fiancé doesn’t scream sexual purity, even though we all know Will is going to insist upon separate rooms.

  “What if Caroline came with us? She’ll be back from California tomorrow night…we can leave in a few days. And her boyfriend, Ryan, will be with her so there will be four of us. Safety in numbers, right?”

  “How do you even know Caroline is going to want to make this trek? And what about Ryan?” Luke asks skeptically.

  “I know Caroline and she’ll love the idea! And if Ryan wants to keep Caroline, he’ll be on board, too.” I haven’t told Luke or Claire that Caroline and I have already talked about a girls’ weekend in Hendersonville. Caroline has been dying to get back to this amazing bed and breakfast she’s raved about for years. It was going to be a last hurrah of sorts before Will and I get married. It won’t be the same as a girls’ weekend, but we can still get to that before I change my name.

  “You really feel like you need to do this, Will?” he asks again. I can hear the nervousness in Luke’s voice. It’s wonderful actually. It’s the kind of nervousness I hear when he’s concerned about me. The kind of nervousness you feel when your child is about to do something that might get them hurt. Luke loves Will like a son and that makes my heart swell.

  “I do, Luke.”

  “Ok then. I won’t insist on the stipulation that Caroline and Ryan go, but you should know I’d feel a lot better if they were there.” Luke puts his hand on Will’s shoulder.

  “Thanks, Dad,” I say moving out from Will’s arm and into Luke’s. “He needs to fill in the missing pieces. He needs to understand. He needs this for closure,” I whisper in Luke’s ear as I hug him. I want him to really understand why this is so important to Will. Luke smiles at me softly and I know he’s got it.

  *****

  It took all of five seconds to get a squealing yes out of Caroline. After I gave her the rundown of all the despicable details we had on Will’s father, she was absolutely on board with road-tripping it with us to Virginia Beach so Will can really start putting all of this to rest.

  “You’re sure Ryan is up for this?” I ask as we load our overnight bags into the back of Will’s new Prius V.

  “Oh please! He’s so laid back, he’s up for anything!” she says as Ryan approaches.

  “Yeah, I’m up for anything…as long as Caroline is there.” Ryan saddles up to Caroline and kisses her cheek. He really is so sweet with her, and I’m looking forward to getting to know him better. Although, every time he speaks, I’m expecting the last word of his statement to be “dude.” He’s that much of a Californian.

  Claire kisses us all goodbye and we’re on our way after Will confirms Cheryl’s location with Luke and gets the information for the hotel where Wes made a reservation. When I asked Will why Wes made the reservation he just said that Wes was adamant about where we should stay. Something about it being right up Will’s ally.

  “So…” Caroline says, breaking the silence after about an hour. “What are you going to say to her?” I knew Caroline wouldn’t be surprised by the whole story from Loretta to Eliana. She was a solid source of comfort and understanding when things were rough between Will and me early on. Caroline is the only other person I know who personally faced Gregory Meyer’s wary eye and survived.

  “I’m not sure. I figure I’ve got about 20 hours to sort that out,” Will says as he stares out onto the highway.

  “Did you really fake your death, man?” Ryan boldly asks.

  “Ryan!” Caroline chastises him, slapping him across his arm.

  “It’s ok, Care,” Will says. “Yeah, I did.”

  “He must really love you,” Ryan says to me.

  “Yeah, he does,” I say.

  It was about noon when we left, so we should get to Virginia Beach by dinnertime. We’ll check into the hotel and hopefully get a good night’s sleep. Right now the plan is to just show up at Cheryl’s home after breakfast. Will was afraid
she’d refuse him if he told her we were coming, or that she might take off before we got there. Caroline and Ryan are going to find out what the latest hotspot is from some locals and go exploring while Will and I invade Cheryl Brinkley’s personal life.

  We drive in silence about half way until I take over driving. Between driving and running through scenarios of what to say or how this might go, I don’t think Will can concentrate on anything else. The good part about it is that I’ve had complete control of the satellite radio this entire time, which never happens since Will is always working to expose me to new music.

  “Do you know anything about this hotel Wes said we just had to stay at?” I ask quietly. Caroline and Ryan are asleep. Caroline is curled up at his side, both with earbuds in their ears and iPhones clutched in their hands.

  “He didn’t say much, just that it’s an old-timey place with music from our next lesson,” Will says.

  “Wes knows what my next lesson is before I do? Sounds like you’re cozying up to him a little more,” I say.

  “Yeah, well…he’s not going anywhere so I think I’d better. Not that I want him to go anywhere. He’s great to my mom, and she’s crazy about him. I’ve never seen her so happy. She deserves to be happy and I’m on board with whatever it takes to keep her that way.” Will’s tone is soft and I can hear the real love he has for how happy Eliana is. I hope we’re going to find that Cheryl has found that same kind of happiness, too.

  It’s 6:30 pm on the dot when we pull into the parking lot of the Old Virginian Hotel. It’s huge and ornate, reminding me of The Plaza Hotel in New York that I’ve seen in movies and the Eloise books my mom used to read to me when I was little. When we check in, the stately gentleman behind the counter tells us that the rooms have already been paid for.

  “I told Luke not to do that,” Will says.

  “Deal with it. Arguing with him about money is like me arguing with you about money,” I tell him followed by a quick kiss on his cheek. “You’ve got to know when to pick your battles!”