Protecting Lyndley

by Amanda Bennett

“There’s something I need to take care of.”

  I felt Carson grab my arm, but she quickly pulled her hand back remembering that she was grabbing my bad arm. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to hurt you. Lyndley, you can’t just go home and unleash all of your anger on Mom. She was just trying to keep you safe.”

  “Really Carson? After everything I’ve been through I’m pretty sure I don’t need protection, especially from dear old Mom. Do you realize this entire time I have been thinking that he wanted nothing to do with me? I thought he had given up on me. Do you have any idea what that feels like?”

  “No I don’t, but I also don’t think Mom would intentionally hurt you. She’s just worried about you.”

  “If she was that worried about me, then she wouldn’t have kept this from me. I swear that woman has no clue.” I ran up the driveway and stopped as my hand reached for the handle. I turned around and pulled Carson into a big hug. “Thank you for being such an amazing sister, Carson. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Lynd. I missed you so much.” I could hear her getting choked up and I pulled back giving her a disapproving look.

  “Don’t you dare start crying! I’m home and safe, there’s no reason for you to be upset. I just want to put all of this behind me and move forward. You hear me?”

  She nodded in agreement and squeezed me one last time before she headed inside. I was about to follow her in, but then I heard an all too familiar voice coming from behind me.

  “Look at you, all up and walking around or by the looks of it, running.” Reese’s voice was like music to my ears.

  I quickly turned and ran into his outstretched arms. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s really you.” I wrapped my arms snuggly around Reese’s neck, never wanting to let go. “There are no words.” I whispered into his neck.

  “I know, Lynd. I know.” He whispered back.

  Forty Four

  Ky

  “Dude, you’re going to wear a hole in my new carpet if you don’t stop pacing.”

  “Sorry, man. I can’t help it. It’s driving me insane not being able to talk to her.” Just then, my phone rang in my pocket, but I didn’t pull it out to answer it. I knew exactly who it was that was calling, and her mother had warned me about talking to her.

  “You gonna answer that?”

  I shook my head. “I can’t.”

  “Wakely, it’s been a little over a month since you’ve seen or talked to her. What is her mom really gonna do to you?”

  “So not the point. I’m trying to respect her mother’s wishes. She made it perfectly clear that Lyndley wasn’t interested anymore.”

  “Then why the hell is she callin’ ya every hour? Look, I get the whole wanting to respect her parents, but obviously her mother isn’t tellin’ ya the whole truth.”

  “It’s complicated, Ruger. You wouldn’t understand.” I finally stopped pacing and sat down on the couch.

  “When has your guys’ relationship ever been uncomplicated?” He laughed. “And I do understand. I understood the minute I saw the both of y’all together. You don’t see love like that every day. She asked you to fight for her, Wakely. Did she not?”

  “She did, but I already fucked that up. When I should have been fighting for her, I was busy walking away.”

  “When are you gonna get a clue, man? Do you love her?”

  “More than anything in this world. I’ve never felt love like this for anyone in my entire life, not even with my ex.”

  “Then you need to fight for her. She’s one in a million, man. If you’re not gonna fight for her, then maybe I will.”

  I knew Ruger was joking, but part of me didn’t doubt that if given the chance he would do just that, especially now that he had bought a place in Chicago. “I don’t even know where to start.”

  “Well that’s what I’m here for. What exactly did her mom say to you in the first place?”

  “When I called the hospital to see if she was still there, the nurse told me that Lyndley had been discharged the day before. I figured it couldn’t hurt to try her parent’s house, so I did. Her sister was the one that answered, but her mom quickly intercepted. Needless to say, Mrs. Caverly didn’t have much to say to me about anything. I tried to ask her how Lyndley was doing, and she just simply replied with, she’s on the mend, no thanks to you. The conversation didn’t last much longer than that. She proceeded to tell me that Lyndley hadn’t asked to speak with me and she probably wouldn’t anytime soon. Her mom hung up on me, and I figured maybe it would be better to just show up at her house. Then Lyndley would have to talk to me.”

  “Man, what a bitch. I’m sorry, I know that is Lyndley’s mom and all, but that’s just fucked up.”

  “You’re telling me. So when I showed up, she didn’t even let me inside. She stepped out onto the porch and told me that Lyndley wanted nothing to do with me. That what we had was just a relationship out of convenience, and not because she was in love with me. Honestly, I had no choice but to believe her. But now, Lyndley’s been calling me everyday. At first I didn’t answer because I didn’t want to be rejected by her all over again, but now I’m starting to wonder if there is another reason she’s calling me.”

  “Well, let’s come up with a plan to get your girl back. I’m sure between the two of us we can come up with something that’ll win her over.”

  I pushed my fingers back through my hair exhausted by the conversation we were having. “I don’t want to push her further away, Ruger. What if what her mom told me is true?”

  “Wakely, when did you become such a pussy? I’ve never seen you back down from anything or anyone and I doubt what she said was true, but there’s only one way to find out.”

  “Fuck you, Ruger. Just help me already.” For the next two hours Ruger and I sat around his house figuring out our plan of attack. The first step was to find a way to get a hold of her sister, Carson. At this point she was my only ally. Ruger went to work on the computer trying to find out what he could about Carson, while I tried calling Lyndley’s house. You would think with all of our resources we could get something figured out, but it’s amazing the things you don’t have access to when you’re in the middle of trying to get to someone who doesn’t even need the help.

  The phone started ringing and I was suddenly extremely nervous thinking about Mrs. Caverly answering the phone. If there was one woman in this world that I didn’t want to mess with, it was Lyndley’s mom. I was relieved when a younger voice answered the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Wakely, I just found Carson’s cell number.” Ruger shouted in the background.

  I quickly covered the receiver and tried to hush Ruger. “Is this Carson?”

  “Yes, who is this?”

  “Carson, it’s Ky.”

  “Do you know what my sister has been going through? Have you even tried to figure out a way to win her back?” Yep, they were definitely sisters.

  “That’s why I’m calling you. I have been trying for weeks, but your mom has made damn sure that I couldn’t talk to her.”

  A loud squeal came from the other end of the phone. “Oh good. I was about to find you and kick your ass myself. I know. I overheard quite a few of the conversations she has had with you. So what’s your plan?”

  She didn’t waste any time. “Hey Carson, how’s she doing?” I didn’t want to take away from the excitement, but I had to know.

  “She’s fine health wise, but other than that she’s miserable. Ky, you can’t wait much longer to figure this out. She barely leaves her room, and wants nothing to do with anybody. I actually got her to go running this morning and Reese finally showed his face, so that made her happy.”

  I knew Reese and Lyndley were best friends, but it still bugged me that he was getting to spend time with her and I wasn’t. How sad is it that I was jealous of a guy who faked his own death to protect his best friend? “Ruger and I are figuring it out now, but I need some ideas. Any thoughts?”

  “Is Ruger the other M
arshal that came to visit Lyndley in the hospital?”

  I glanced over at Ruger wondering why he never told me he went to visit Lyndley. “Yeah, I suppose he is. Why do you ask?” Then it dawned on me, “Don’t even think about it, Carson. Your sister would have my balls if I let that happen.”

  “Calm down, I was just curious.”

  “Uh huh, I bet.”

  “You know what, I think I have the perfect plan. Can you guys meet me outside of my school in about two hours? I have to go there and set a few things up for graduation next week.”

  “Yeah, we will see you in a bit. Thanks, Carson.”

  “No thanks necessary. When it comes to my sister’s happiness there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do. See you guys soon.”

  I hung up the phone with the widest smile splayed across my face. “We have to meet Carson up at her school in two hours. She says she has a plan.”

  “Ah, we’re meetin’ up with lil Lyndley huh?”

  “I’m gonna tell you like I told her, don’t even think about it. She’s only eighteen for Christ’s sake.” I rolled my eyes at Ruger and headed into the kitchen to grab a beer. “You want one?” I held the bottle up so he could see what I was talking about.

  “You read my mind. Speaking of which, you’ve been drinking a lot less lately. What’s that all about? I don’t mean any offense, but you’ve been a hardcore drinker since the day I met you.”

  I took a long pull from the bottle. “I don’t have anything to run away from anymore, I suppose.”

  Ruger just gave me a knowing smile. Over the last month, I had been a pain in the ass for him to be around and I felt bad, but now that I had some positive feedback from Lyndley’s sister I was ready to celebrate. Apparently Ruger had the same idea, and we ended up waiting our time out by drinking, a lot.

  An hour and a half later, Ruger and I were about a twelve pack deep when we realized that it would probably be best to get a cab to take us to Carson’s school. Neither of us was in any condition to drive, and even though I knew it was a horrible idea to try and plan out a way to win Lyndley back while I was intoxicated, but there wasn’t much I could do to change that now.

  When we pulled up outside of the school, Carson was waiting for us with a look that could kill. Ruger and I poured ourselves out of the cab and sauntered our drunken asses over to where she was standing. I could tell by the look on her face that she wasn’t all that thrilled to see us.

  “Well hey there, Carson Caverly.” My words came out a bit slurred and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Well if it isn’t lil Lyndley.” Ruger was trying to be smooth, but he was slurring worse than I was.

  “Oh my god, seriously?” Carson pointed to the both of us with a scowl. “I can’t believe the two of you are wasted right now. How am I supposed to carry out this plan with you two village idiots?”

  “Man were you right. She is exactly like Lyndley. I like it.” Ruger tried to give Carson his best “come and get me” look, but I could tell by the look on her face that it wasn’t working. Instead of giving her a sexy smoldering look, he just ended up looking a little special.

  I let out a loud throaty laugh when he turned to show me the look. “You’re a dumbass. Let’s get to work. What’s your plan, Carson?”

  “I have two ideas, think you two can keep up for a bit?” I looked over at Ruger just as he looked at me, and we both broke out in a fit of laughter. “This is going to be exhausting, I can tell already. Follow me boys.”

  We all started walking across the street in the direction of a coffee shop. I wasn’t sure if that was where we were going, but I honestly didn’t care where we went as long as I could sit down somewhere. I let out a sigh of relief when Carson pointed at a table outside, ordering us to sit our asses down. We happily obliged while she went to grab us all drinks.

  She slammed two cups of black coffee down on the table minutes later. “Drink these. We’ve got work to do.”

  Forty Five

  Lyndley

  Reese and I stood there for a few minutes just holding one another. When I could feel the tears start to run down my cheeks, I immediately pulled back and wiped them away. When I finally looked up at Reese, the tears resumed. I cupped his face in my hands, pulling him close and placing a light kiss to his cheek.

  “I missed you.”

  “And me you.” He pulled me in for another quick hug, and then walked over and sat on the bench on my parent’s porch. “So…are you going to tell me all about Mr. U.S. Marshal?”

  “I’m not sure there’s much to tell. I haven’t seen him once since I’ve been home. Maybe it was all too much for him to take. According to Carson, my mother is holding nothing back and trying to keep us apart. I don’t want to talk about that though. Fill me in on everything. I’m dying for some decent conversation that doesn’t pertain to me.”

  “Well, Claire and I are separating.”

  I smacked the back of Reese’s head. “Are you kidding me? What the hell did you do?”

  “Ow, Jesus. Lynd, I was just joking.” Reese sat there rubbing the back of his head. “That hurt. Good to know you haven’t lost any strength.”

  “Well maybe that’ll teach ya to not mess around with me.”

  “No, no I don’t think it will.” We both laughed. “Claire and I are doing just fine. After my mock funeral, she was allowed to come stay with me. We made it work, if ya know what I mean.” Reese wiggled his eyebrows at me.

  “Ew, and yes I know what you mean. Seriously though Reese, how did this happen? I mean, why didn’t you tell me?”

  Reese pulled my hands onto his lap and gave them a tight squeeze. “Lynd, you know if I could’ve told you, I would have. Your reaction had to be genuine. Your safety was my first priority. Someone had been tailing you for about a week before. When Detective Dawson came to me with the idea, I wasn’t all too excited to die, but you know.”

  I laughed as I nudged him. “Speaking of detective Snarky, how the hell is he?”

  “Damn woman, one thing at a time. Anyway, so Dawson filled me in on everything. The Nelson brothers’ guys were closing in fast on you, so we decided to create a diversion I guess you could call it.”

  “Dawson huh, sounds like you two got pretty close.”

  “He’s a really cool guy. That’s beside the point, jeez. Dawson knew a guy who he had used before to fake someone’s death, so he went to him with the idea and the guy agreed. That’s when the plan for me to get shot, went into effect. It’s surprisingly easy to fake your own death. Dawson purposefully didn’t show up for you that night. Everything went according to plan, and I made it pretty believable, if I do say so myself.” Reese laughed, but I was finding it hard to find this whole thing funny like he was.

  “How is this so easy for you to talk about, Reese?”

  “I’m sorry, Lynd. I didn’t even think how this story would affect you. I can only imagine what you have been going through.”

  “It’s okay. It has been a rough couple of months, that’s all.” Reese must’ve sensed my reluctance to hear about all of this, because he was quick to try and change the subject.

  “We can talk more about all of this later. How’s being at home with the fam?”

  “Surprisingly not too bad. I haven’t seen much of Mom and Dad lately, but Carson has been surprisingly attentive. It’s been weird, to say the least.”

  “Well good. You deserve time to deal with all of this. Maybe they’re just giving you some space. I’m sure Carson is enjoying hanging out with you though, seeing as she is graduating. Isn’t that coming up soon?”

  “Next week. I’m so proud of her, Reese. Even when she thought her big sister was dead, she still managed to concentrate on school. She‘s going to do great things with her life, that’s for sure.”

  “Well you look tired and I’ve got some errands to run. Go get some rest, and I’ll be back to see you later tonight. Oh, and I’m expecting some major gossip about you and Mr. Hottiemarshal.” Reese kissed my forehead
and started walking to his car when he stopped and turned. “I’m glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I would have done had you died that day. You’re an amazing woman, Lyndley Rae Caverly.”

  “You’re an amazing friend, Reese James Walker. The best friend a girl could ever ask for. Now get the hell out of here so I can take a nap.” We both blew a kiss at the other, and then he was gone.

  As much as I wanted to take a nap, I had too many thoughts running through my head to even try to sit still. I made my way up to my room and quietly closed the door. I walked over to my old desk in the corner of my room, and sat down to look over the papers that Ky’s boss had brought to me. I sat down and slowly began reading them, and as I did, it was like reliving that day all over again. My shoulder started throbbing along with my head, as memories from that day came flooding back into my mind, because with those memories came the memories of Ky.

  I was utterly confused and disoriented the day I woke up at the hospital, and the only person I had wanted to see was Ky. I begged and pleaded with every nurse, doctor and orderly to let him come see me, but they all responded by telling me he wasn’t there. I wasn’t sure if Ky was staying away for a reason, but I guess I figured after he held my practically lifeless body in his arms, that he would want to see me.

  Later that day when Ruger came up to visit me, he had informed me that Ky was down in the waiting area, but couldn’t bring himself to come up to my room. Apparently Ky blamed himself for everything that had happened. Now that I knew what my mom had been saying to him, how could he not blame himself? I tried to tell Ruger that there wasn’t anything he could’ve done differently, but we both knew that wouldn’t make a bit of difference to Ky. He was stubborn and strong willed, so no matter what either of us said, he was going to do what he wanted anyway.

  I guess I thought things would be different now that I was safe. Everyday I went to bed hoping that Ky would show up at my house to tell me how much he loved me and wanted to be with me, but every morning I woke up disappointed and today was no exception. My disappointment quickly faded when Carson told me that he had been trying to see me. So now instead of being mad at him, I was livid, with my mom.