Safe Harbor (The Lake Trilogy, Book 3) (27 page)

“Who?” Will asks.

“Black Sedan Guy. He followed Tyler and me to the mall today. I think he was taking pictures, too,” I tell him.

“Is that when Ty texted me that you two were hanging out today?” Will a
sks.

“Yeah. I thought maybe this guy might be taking pictures to make it look like I was cheating on you or something,” I explain.

“Wait here. I’ll take care of this.” Will steps away from me and begins a determined gait toward Black Sedan Guy, but as his foot hits the street the car pulls away faster than Will can get to him.

“Do you think it’s one of the reporter guys from the house? Maybe he was there before you struck the deal with Tom?” I suggest.

“I don’t know…maybe. He doesn’t look familiar. I’ll call Tom tomorrow and see if he knows anything. In the meantime, let’s go back inside. Nana monopolized all your time and you still haven’t officially met Pop or my Uncle Andrew.” Will takes me by the hand and leads me back into the house. I feel only slightly hesitant, a little embarrassed that I bolted out of there the way I did.

When I re-enter the Great Room, Pop is the first to greet me with a kiss on the cheek and a warm embrace. He immediately reminds me of Gramps and I’m filled with so much happiness that I return Pop’s hug a little too emphatically, although he doesn’t seem to mind. When I finally let him go, he calls Will over to us, still holding onto me with one arm.
Pop is tall, like Will, with balding white hair. He’s shaved most of it, rather than having one of those embarrassingly thin comb-overs. When I look into his eyes I see where Will got his beautiful blues.

“
She’s had her say, now I’m going to give you my two cents,” he says quietly to us in our little huddle. “You think I held onto that doll for over 50 years by accident? Every man in my family has stayed married to his first wife until death. That’s how we do things. I’ve looked at Grace every day since I met her and thought,
damn, I am the luckiest man alive
. So I treat her like I know how lost I would be without her.” Pop looks at Will, commanding his attention. “You want to know what kind of a man, a husband and father, you’ll be? You want to know what’s in your blood?
That
is what’s in your blood. You’ve got Hufford blood running through your veins and
that’s
how I know you two have a long life ahead of you.”

I smile at Pop, and then at Will, who is tearing up again. Relief
is overflowing from him. He’s spent his life doing everything he can to not be like his father. What a gift to know that generation upon generation of Hufford men have never given up on their marriages, never let the worst of life tear them apart from the love of their life. What a joy to know that Will can embrace this part of his lineage and know that the odds are more than in our favor.

The past
three months have been a like a dream. Pop and Nana Grace’s pep talk were just what Will and I needed. We’ve been moving forward with the wedding plans, not letting anything get in our way.

Pop,
Nana Grace, and Uncle Andrew have been to visit several times, but not always together. Their furniture business in Hickory is doing really well so one of them has to be there as often as possible. They’re closed on Mondays so they try to come for an overnight on Sunday as much as possible.

We’ve been to visit them as well. It was wonderful seeing where Eliana grew up, and getting to know my future in-law family. They’ve shared stories about Eliana and Andrew
as kids, and I even got the scoop on where Eliana’s name came from. It turns out Nana Grace was really into this international soap opera when she was pregnant, and when she heard it she just knew that her baby was going to be a girl and that her name had to be Eliana. She didn’t even have a boy name picked out!

I’ve watched Will with Pop and seen exactly what Eliana was talking about when she told me that Will’s natural inclination
for working with his hands is inherited. Pop has put him to work a few times and to see what Will has made just from the picture in his head has been amazing. Will is so happy when he’s working. It’s like letting a caged bird fly. It’s what he was meant to do.

I feel like I’ve spent the last three years filling the vacant spaces in my heart. First, Luke and Claire took over the emptiness left by my parents’ death. Then Will filled a hole in my heart
that only he could fill. And now I have a new set of grandparents who are fulfilling every hope and dream I ever had for what having grandparents could be like. Grace is doting and loving with a healthy dose of meddling. Pop is sweet and kind and, just like Gramps, adores his wife. I know the day may come when they need our help, but I’m not afraid because I know that it won’t be just me, sacrificing my life for theirs. It will be Will and me helping Eliana and Wes, a village of people joining together for the love of those who have built a legacy we embrace with gladness.

Will has gone to see Holly a few times with Luke. I told him I wasn’t comfortable with him going to see her by himself
and he was totally fine with that. While he wouldn’t have been alone with her, he didn’t like the idea of him going to see her without some kind of backup. She’s asked him to come without Luke, but Luke told her that it could be bad press if the media catches him coming to see her alone. They’re playing it cool, not letting on that they know about her involvement in her mother’s scheming. And, if they do what I think they’re going to do, Holly and Marlene are going to get
exactly
what’s coming to them.

Holly’s
trial date has been set for November 17
th
. Will and I will have just gotten back from our honeymoon, but that’s ok. It’ll mean more when I sit next to Will in the courtroom and prove to Holly that Will and I are a team and stronger than ever. It makes my blood boil to think of how she played me, played all of us. I would hate the idea of Will playing nice with her if I didn’t know it meant that she was going to get a taste of her own medicine in the end.

We’ve seen Black Sedan Guy a few times. Will hasn’t given up on trying to find out what he wants, but we hit kind of a dead end when Tom told Will he had no idea who he was. Tom wouldn’t mess up his chances for the exclusive that Will promised, so we feel pretty confident that he’s being honest.
We got a better look at him on an overcast day when he wasn’t wearing sunglasses. He seems pretty tall by the way he sits in the driver’s seat, and I think he has brown eyes, but I’m not sure. They’re dark, though.

None of the pictures
he’s been taking have shown up in any newspaper we’re aware of, so either his editor realized how boring we are and isn’t going to print them, or it just hasn’t gone to press yet. Whatever happens, I know Will and Luke and Wes will take care of it.

The most exciting thing we’ve done, besides wedding planning, is go back to the Concert on the Green. We weren’t sure what to expect, not having been out and about during a crowded town event yet, but it was really wonderful. Chris and Tyler’s families were there, as well as Caroline and Gwen’s. It was amazing to see how blurry the line between the
“haves and the have nots” has become since Meyer died. It’s shocking to realize just how much influence he had over everyone. There are still socialites who park their picnics to the right of center stage, but it was incredible to see just how many people made the move to sitting wherever they wanted and getting to know the regular folks of this amazing town.

When we walked around the corner and onto the Green you would have thought the President had arrived. The crown erupted in applause! I even turned around to see who they were applauding before Will leaned over and whispered, “I think that’s for us.” Ev
eryone was warm and hospitable and seemed genuinely excited that Will was back. That made me happier than anything. I had been so nervous, so scared, that the community would be so hurt by Will and Eliana’s lie that they wouldn’t embrace his return. I’m so glad that I was worried for nothing.

“Layla, please don’t forget that we have you
r final fitting today at three,” Claire says, reminding me. I haven’t been a typical bride. Caroline, Gwen, and Claire have had to remind me on more than one occasion about deadlines and appointments. Left to my own devices I would probably have missed every scheduled appointment I’ve had.

“I won’t forget. I’
m on my way to meet Will at the other house but I should be back by three,” I tell her. I stopped calling it Will’s parents’ house months ago. It just felt weird. I haven’t agreed to it being our house yet either, so I found a term more appropriate and started referring to the house that Will grew up in as
the other house
.

“It’s almost one now, so you better get going so you’re back by 2:15, ok?” Claire gives me a little nudge, knowing that the sooner I get to Will the more likely I’ll be back in time to get to the seamstress in Charlotte.

“If I’m not back in time, at least you’ll know where to find me?” I tease as I scurry from the kitchen and out the front door.

It takes only minutes before I’m pulling into the
circular driveway of the huge, White House replica of a home. It’s so ostentatious that I can hardly stomach it, but Will said he’s been having a few things remodeled and wants me to check it out.

Will is emerging from the front door as I get out of the car. He looks like he’s been working and it reminds me of the year it took him and Luke to finish the basement as my 18
th
birthday present. Will is a hard worker and he loves to get his hands dirty. It’s one of the things I admire most about him.

“Right on time!” Will says as he greets me with a kiss.

“Hey, babe!”

“So I know you haven’t made up your mind yet on where we’re going to live, but I’ve made a few adjustments to the house that I wanted you to see. If you don’t like them, I can always sell the house. It’s not a big deal, ok?” Will tells me. “But…we are getting married in a month so we should probably get this figure
d out sooner than later.”

“I know, I know! Let’s go in! I’m in suspense!” I say.

As we walk to the front door I think about some things that Will could have changed. The furniture throughout the house was a bit too ornate for my taste, even though most of it was made by Eliana’s family’s business. The antiques could go, too. I think Will and I have much simpler taste than all that. The furniture in his parents’ bedroom will have to be burned. There is no way I could even relocate it to another room in the house.

“Are you ready?” Will asks with bated breath.

“I’m ready, Will. I mean…seriously, I think I can handle seeing new furniture and a new coat of paint,” I say with some sarcasm. I don’t know why he’s making such a big deal about this…until he opens the door.

The door swings open and I feel like Dorothy coming out of her house in Oz. I am not in the same house I was
in three months ago. This house isn’t posh and ornate. It isn’t filled with antiques or lavish furniture. This house looks warm and inviting like a cottage or a lodge.

The two huge, marble pillars that flanked the curved stairs are now boxed with rich wood from the floor to the two-story ceiling
, and there are framed pictures of Will and me on all four sides of each. The marble flooring has been replaced with warm hardwood, and the brass railing that used to run along the stairs is now a wood and wrought iron bannister.

The
new warmth of the decor continues into the Great Room and dining area. There’s still a table that seats ten, but it looks more like barn chic than high society, and the set in the Great Room is neutral with floral accent pillows. There are coordinating afghans thrown over the sofa and loveseat making it look like the perfect place to cozy up with Will and watch a movie on the ridiculously huge TV mounted on the wall over the fireplace.

Everything, everywhere
, looks entirely different than it did before. There are no traces of Gregory and Eliana Meyer to be found anywhere. Will has transformed this home into a place that holds no reminders of the haunting memories that used to reside here.

He’s turned this house into a home…for us.

“Oh, Will,” I say, covering my mouth in awe.

“Do you like it?” he asks hesitantly.

“Of course, I love it!” I do a three-sixty turn, taking it all in. “You have a pool?” I ask, noticing the backyard for the first time. I’ve only been in this home twice. The first time I was subject to the Meyer Inquisition. The second time, just three months ago, I was focused on Pop and Nana Grace. Both times I was far too distracted to even think to look out the back windows.

“Yeah…and a pool house there,” he says pointing to a cottage-looking house on the other side of the pool. It’s a beautiful, picturesque house with trellises and climbing vines. It’s way too big though.
It actually doesn’t look much smaller than Gram and Gramps’ house. “I suggested to Mom that maybe we could remodel it and she and Wes could move in there after they get married, but she said no. She wouldn’t feel right living here in any capacity.”

“
I can’t believe you did this! How did you do this so fast?” I’m amazed. It seems to me that a project of this size would take years not just a few months.