Safe Harbor (The Lake Trilogy, Book 3)

by Grant, AnnaLisa

  As I wind through the parking lot, looking for a choice parking space, I notice a black sedan following us. At first I think it’s one of those coincidences when someone is behind you for a while and it feels like they’re following you, when really they just happen to be going your same direction. Only this guy doesn’t keep going after I turn down parking aisle. He follows me, turn after turn, regardless of where I go. I find a space between the theater and shopping areas and put the car in park. Black Sedan Guy parks behind me a few spaces over, having backed in so the nose of the car is pointing out.

  “Do you see that guy?” I ask Tyler, gesturing to the sedan and its driver. He’s wearing sunglasses but I can see that he’s got light brown hair, and by the looks of his shoulders, seems to have a fit build.

  “Yeah...did he follow us all the way here?” Tyler responds without looking too obviously at Black Sedan Guy.

  “I don’t know…he got behind me somewhere close to the exit off the highway,” I say.

  “Do you think he’s a reporter?”

  “If he is, he’s not part of the group that Will knows. He made a deal with them to leave us alone in exchange for exclusivity on coverage once Holly’s trial starts.” I look at Black Sedan Guy and see that he’s holding something up to his face. “Are those binoculars or a camera?”

  “Looks like a camera,” Tyler says.

  “Great!”

  “Let him take pictures. What’s the big deal?”

  “Will has already stood in front of the press and told them that I was one of the reasons why he faked his death. How’s it going to look that I’m out with you? They’ll twist it and it’ll show up in tomorrow’s paper causing Will even more stress!” This is the last thing we need and I have no idea how to curb it.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll text Will right now and tell him what’s up. That way he’ll know. Besides, he knows there’s nothing going on with us. He’s the one who sends me to check on you, remember?” Tyler smiles and pulls out his cell phone. I watch him text Will and wait for Will’s response. When it comes it’s just a simple “OK.”

  I was hoping he’d have more to say. Maybe something about telling Tyler to take good care of me, or even telling Tyler to tell me hello or that he loves me. Nothing.

  “OK…let’s go. I need to walk,” I say, almost storming out of the car.

  Tyler and I walk around for a while, browsing Old Navy and Borders not seeing Black Sedan Guy anywhere else. I walk through the section of Borders remembering the afternoon I literally stumbled into Will. That was the day I met Tyler and the others and our friendship began. I closed out that day with Will, seeing the view of the lake from the dock for the first time at night. That’s also the night I knew I had been sucked into the vortex of being compelled to know Will Meyer. And now here I am, engaged to Will, hoping that there’s still going to be a wedding in four months.

  My stomach growls loudly, jolting me out of my daydreaming and making Tyler and I both laugh. It’s the first time the tension of the day has lifted, which makes me happy.

  We stop into what became one of my favorite places to eat before we left for Florida, and as we are seated I realize just how much I missed it. It’s the kind of place I could come to with anyone and it was perfect.

  “Do you want to see a movie after we eat?” Tyler asks, not looking at me but scanning the menu.

  “Yeah, that’d be fun,” I tell him.

  “Anything in particular you want to see?” he asks.

  “Oh, yeah…uh…there’s that one with the guy who was in that other movie with the girl who did that TV show.” I look at Tyler, eyebrows raised at him like he should clearly know which movie I’m talking about.

  “Sure! Then maybe we can see the one with the guy who does that thing and the grifter who scams that girl and then they fall in love.” Ok, so Tyler has no idea what movie I’m talking about and now he’s making fun of me.

  “Ok, ok! I get it!” I giggle.

  “I’ll look up what’s playing and give you your options. Maybe one of the titles will ring a bell?” he laughs.

  “So what’s the skinny on your love life, Ty?” I ask as I tear the paper from my straw while Tyler scrolls through the screen on his phone. “It’s got to be better than mine right now.”

  “Oh please…you and Will are going to work everything out like you always do. You’re Will and Layla. It’s what you do,” he says, putting his phone down. We’ll get to the movie selection later.

  “I seriously can’t talk about Will right now, Tyler. Please…can we talk about you? I want to know how many girls I have to make sure are treating you right!” I give a small laugh.

  “None,” Tyler says straight-faced.

  “None. No, seriously, Ty. We’re halfway through college. Surely there are at least a few girls!” The idea that Tyler wouldn’t have any girls waiting in the wings seems preposterous. Next to Will, Tyler is the best guy I know. He’s smart and funny, and he’s really cute. I can’t imagine there not being any girls lined up for him.

  “Well…there have been a few girls, but no one that I saw more than two or three times.”

  “Really? I didn’t realize you were so picky!” I say a little surprised.

  “It’s hard to find the right girl when…no…forget it,” he says, picking up his menu.

  “What is it? It’s hard to find the right girl when what?” I ask.

  Tyler looks at me for a long minute before he sighs heavily and then speaks. “It’s hard to find the right girl when all I do is compare them to you.”

  “What? Why would you compare other girls to me?” I squish my face in confusion.

  “You have no idea the impact you make on people, do you?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Do you remember when we said goodbye the day you left for Florida?” I nod. How could I forget? It was one of the saddest days of my life. “When I told you that if I had seen you first I would have made you mine, I wasn’t just being sweet. It was one of the truest statements I’ve ever made. Don’t worry…I’m not suggesting anything. I’m not trying to tell you I have feelings for you. You and Will are my best friends. I’m just saying that sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had moved faster that day on the Green.”

  “What do you mean move faster?”

  “Will saw you sitting there with your aunt and uncle and pointed you out to me. I don’t know how long he had been watching you, but together we watched you for a while. We saw how you interacted with Luke and Claire…how you responded to the music…how you smiled and your eyes lit up as you watched people with their kids. As those minutes passed we knew you weren’t like any girl we had ever known. Before I knew it Will was uttering the words I’ve got to meet her.”

  “So, what, that’s like the gentlemen’s way of calling dibs?” I chuckle.

  “Sort of.” Tyler takes a long draw from the straw of his drink as he thinks. “I mean, it wasn’t like Will was free to date who he wanted. He always knew his father’s view of love as a distraction. There was just something so different about you. And once we met you, got to know you…it was hard to not want to be around you all the time. Will struggled with that for a long time…wanting to be with you but knowing his father would make it difficult.”

  “Yeah…he ran hot and cold a lot,” I say, recalling the times I caught Will smiling at me, only to watch the smile fade right before my eyes.

  “You can’t blame the guy. If you had any idea…you’d understand.” Tyler looks intently into my eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this. “All I’m saying is that the pickings are slim for a guy who’s already met the perfect girl when said girl is taken by his best friend.”

  “That’s very sweet of you to say, Tyler. You are an amazing guy, and chances are good had I met you first, I wouldn’t have said no to you. But life happens the way it does for a reason. I’ve learned to accept that. You just have to give some other girls a chance. It’s not
fair to compare them to anyone…especially me,” I tell him. “I’m so jacked up with baggage…consider yourself lucky that you didn’t have to navigate through all of my crap like Will did…does.”

  “I doubt that!”

  “No, really! I’m sure Will’s at least given you an idea of some of the junk I’ve had to wade through. I’ve had some serious stuff to deal with, but Will has been there every step of the way. Sometimes it was really hard. And when I didn’t want to talk about it, Will made me. He never let me go through any of it alone,” I say with a smile as I think about just how steadfast Will has been.

  “But…you’re just going to let him wade through this crap with the exes statements all by himself.” It’s not a question, but a challenge.

  “This is different, Ty,” I reply.

  “How is it different?”

  “It’s different because…because…I don’t know how this is different. Oh, geez, Ty! What the hell have I been doing?” I cover my face with my hands, embarrassed that I didn’t fight to keep Will from doing this all alone. I shouldn’t have cared that he said he needed to this by himself. I should have insisted on going with him or refused to let him go. I should have fought harder and now I’ve spent the last four days without him. Worse than that, Will has spent the last four days wallowing in the grunge of his father’s treacherous past. I am the worst fiancée ever!

  “It’s settled then. We’ll eat, skip the movie, and go get Will off his ass!”

  Chapter 23

  We pull up to Will’s house and I sit frozen in the driver’s seat, staring at the cars that are still there. I was focused earlier on the two cars I didn’t recognize that I don’t know if I missed Wes’ before or if it wasn’t there then.

  So maybe Wes came to talk some sense into Will, too. Wes being Wes Will wouldn’t tell him to go away. Having both Wes and Tyler here with me, I feel even more confident in my position that I’m not going to let Will walk through this alone any longer. I can’t believe how stupid I was!

  “So…are we going to sit and play name that car or are we going in?” Tyler says.

  “We’re going in,” I reply, ignoring Tyler’s sarcasm. I get out of the car and shove my phone in my back pocket.

  As we approach the door I’m not sure if I should knock or just go in. Will did offer this house to me as our home when we get married, so I kind of feel like I have a right to just walk in. I think about it for another 30 seconds and decide that I do, indeed, have a right to just walk in without knocking.

  “Aren’t you coming with me?” I ask Tyler as he steps away from the door.

  “Nope. You’ve got to do this on your own.” Tyler kisses my cheek and leaves me there with my hand on the door. I give him a thankful smile and watch him until he drives away.

  I open the door slowly and walk into the grand foyer. The home has a very different feel now that the Devil doesn’t occupy it. Even though the foyer still greets you with those huge marble pillars, and the house is still filled with the relics of Gregory Meyer, it almost seems warm and inviting.

  I hear the laughter of a group of people coming from the back of the house where the kitchen and Great Room are. Tyler and I look at each other and shrug, sure that there hasn’t been that much laughter in this house, well, ever.

  We cross the threshold into the Great Room and see Will, Wes, and Eliana engaged in lively conversation with an older couple and a man who looks to be about Luke’s age. They’re gathered around each other closely on the leather furniture. The older woman is laughing sweetly, patting Will on his knee. When I’ve just about decided that coming here was a terrible idea, the older woman sees me.

  “Oh my! You must be Layla!” she says as loud as her old voice will go.

  “Layla!” Will says, shocked at my presence.

  “Don’t be rude, now, William. It’s time I meet this young lady, don’t you think?” the old woman says.

  “Yes, of course, Nana.” Will walks toward me as I stand like a statue. This is Will’s grandmother. Grandmother. I’m instantaneously nervous. My stomach begins to flip and I feel my heart in my throat.

  “Hey…what are you doing here?” he asks softly.

  “I…uh…I came to talk to you, but I can see it’s a bad time. I’m sorry.” I turn around and start to walk back to the front door when Will stops me.

  “Layla…please don’t go.” I feel Will’s hand on my arm, but I don’t turn around. I have a myriad of feelings streaming through me that I’m not sure I know what to do with. Seeing Will there with his mom and Wes, and his grandparents…it stirs a sorrow in me I didn’t know I still had.

  “Will,” I begin as I turn to him. “You left me.”

  “I know.”

  “Why would you do that? You convinced me that you had to sort through everything alone. What happened to us being a team? What happened to me being part of everything in your life?” I’m speaking softly. I don’t want Eliana or his grandparents to hear me.

  “I thought I had to do this on my own. I didn’t know what I was going to find and I was afraid that if you saw what the exes said my father was like that you’d get scared. Hell, I was terrified of what I was going to find!”

  “I’ve never been more sure of anything than I am of the fact that you are never going to treat me the way your father treated his wives. After everything we’ve been through, Will!” My voice is slightly louder now and I notice the conversation in the Great Room quiets. “I should go. We can talk about this later. I didn’t mean to interrupt your time with your family.”

  “Your family, dear,” I hear Nana say from behind Will. “If you’re going to marry my grandson, then we’re your family, too.”

  Nana is a sweet looking older woman with mostly grey hair. There are highlights of red and brown streaking beautifully throughout, and I can see that this is where Eliana got her gorgeous locks. Nana is short compared to everyone else in the room, possibly even me. There’s nothing trendy about what she’s wearing, and she has soft, kind eyes. Her smile is warm and inviting and I realize that everything about her reminds me of the heart of Will.

  “Oh…that’s very nice of you to say. Um…I’ll leave you all to your visit.” I tell her.

  “Pish posh! Get in here so I can get to know my grandson’s fiancée!” Nana grabs my arm and pulls me back into the Great Room where Eliana is smiling widely. “Now, come sit down. I have a few things to say to you. You may not like what I have to say, but that’s too bad because I’m going to say it anyway.”

  I sit down as instructed and brace myself. Nana has been very kind to indicate that I’m a part of their family now, but…the last time a grandmother sat me down to tell me like it is, I was told not to speak of my parents ever again. Is Nana angry with me for being the catalyst to the pain they experienced when Will and Eliana “died?” Is she going to analyze me to determine my worthiness? I mean, just because she’s acknowledged that Will is marrying me doesn’t mean she thinks I deserve him?

  I run through these scenarios knowing in my logical mind that she’s probably just going to actually try to get to know me as she said. But the fear of the unknown is taking over and I stupidly decide to cut her off at the pass with a preemptive apology.

  “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Hufford! I know the pain you went through thinking Will and Eliana were dead. If I had known they were going to do something like that I would never have let them. I’m so sorry!” I blurt out.

  “Hush, dear! What are you talking about?” she scolds.

  “I just…I know that I was part of the reason why they did that and I just wanted you to know how sorry I am.” I say quickly before she can cut me off.

  “Layla, you don’t honestly think I blame you for what they did, do you? Now listen…I’ve already told my grandson he’s a knucklehead for sequestering himself in this big house, leaving you out in the cold to wait for him to come to his senses. And I’ll tell you what I told him. I haven’t managed to stay married to Pop for 50 years by trying t
o do anything on my own. Once you find the person who makes even the worst part of life better, you don’t leave them. You work things out…together. When life stinks like a cow pie in the middle of summer, at least you have someone to swat the flies off of you!

  “And no more of this Mrs. Hufford nonsense! You can call me Nana or Nana Grace, I answer to either! William has told me all about what brought you to him and I’m here to tell you that as long as I’m around you will never feel that way again. Grandmas are for baking cookies and giving their grandchildren loud toys and sending them home all sugared up! You’re my granddaughter now too, and I won’t take no for an answer!”

  Nana smiles sweetly and I think I’ve entered another universe. There’s something about this beautiful old woman that in this moment she’s somehow started replacing all the terrible grandmother memories I had with new ones, starting with this one. It’s almost magical and I’m not sure I know how to respond. Most kids grow up with their grandparents and know how to receive the kind gestures of hugs and hard candy, but not me. I mean, I know how to reciprocate kindness, but this is different.

  “Thank you, Mrs.…uh…Nana. That means more to me than you’ll ever know,” I say feeling the sting of tears in my eyes. “I don’t mean to be rude, but can you please excuse me for a moment?” I say.

  I wait only long enough for Nana to give a nod and then I’m walking swiftly to the foyer and out the front door. I hear Tyler call my name followed by Will telling him that he’s got me. I make it all the way to my car before the tears start falling.

  “Layla!” Will calls as he jogs from the door to my car.

  “Will,” I say as I fall into his arms. We stand there while he holds me tight in his embrace.

  “Are you ok?” he asks, not letting go.

  “I’m sorry. I had no idea meeting your grandmother was going to affect me like this,” I tell him in muffled speech because my face is half pressed to his chest.