Anchored: A Lake Series Novella Read Free Page B

just
a passing comment one time when we had Will’s extended family
over for dinner a few years ago. It’s been a process, but we’ve
come to have a really good relationship with Will’s
half-siblings and their mothers. Some are closer than others, but
it’s all wonderful.
    Rachel
must have been watching the house to wait for Will to leave that day
because no sooner had he pulled out of the driveway than Rachel was
ringing the doorbell. I invited her in, and after I poured her a cup
of coffee she explained why she had come to see me.
    “Michael
is sick,” she began. “Really sick.”
    “I’m
so sorry. Do they know what’s wrong?”
    “He
has cancer. Pancreatic cancer.” My heart sank as she moved her
coffee from one hand to the other and then back again. I couldn’t
imagine facing that with Will.
    “Oh,
Rachel. I’m so sorry.” I didn’t really know what to
say. I didn’t know this woman at all and there she was, sitting
in my living room, telling me that her husband had cancer and was
going to die.
    “Can
I ask why you’re here telling me this?” I posed.
    “Well,
first off, Michael doesn’t know I’m here. In fact, I
think he’d be pretty upset if he knew. He even swore his mother
to secrecy because I think he knew she’d tell Will,” she
said. “But, um … the hospital bills …”
    My
heart sank even further to find out that she was only there for
money. We had managed to keep our lives freeloader-free and I was
afraid that was changing.
    “I’m
not asking for a hand out. It would be a loan. After Michael, well,
when it’s all over I’ll have to sell his company. I’ve
already got someone all lined up. I told Michael we should just go
ahead and sell, but he said that until he’s dead and gone he’s
not giving anything up. At any rate, you’d have your money back
in less than a year.”
    I
watched Rachel explain how she’s already had to think about
what she’s going to do when her husband dies within the year.
It made me want to write her a check for whatever amount she needed.
But years of being Luke Weston’s daughter and Will Meyer’s
wife kicked in and I approached the situation with a little more of
my head than my heart.
    “I’m
so sorry you’re going through this, Rachel. I don’t think
it’s a good idea to just write you a check. It isn’t that
I don’t want to help. I just need to be, well, careful. I hope
you understand,” I told her.
    “Yes,
of course. Thank you anyway.” I grabbed Rachel’s hand to
stop her as she began to stand. I wasn’t going to be cold and
heartless and not help at all. I just knew that I needed more
information than she had provided.
    “I
think we can help, but that it would be best to send any payments
directly to the hospital.”
    “Oh!”
She sat back down, her eyes just a little brighter. “Well, I
don’t have any of that with me.”
    “That’s
okay. I think it’s best to give me a few days to consider what
we can do to help and then get back together. I’ll contact you
as soon as I have an answer. Then maybe you can come back by and
we’ll chat?” I raised my eyebrows and gave her a
thin-lipped smile.
    Rachel
breathed a sigh of relief and I watched her body relax. “Thank
you, Layla. You have no idea what this means to us.”
    “Don’t
thank me yet,” I cautioned. I knew we would help in some way. I
just didn’t know what that was going to look like quite yet.
    As
I closed the door behind Rachel that day, my first thought was to
talk to Mom. I wanted to do the right thing but I wanted to protect
Will, too. It wasn’t about the money. I knew Will would want to
see Michael, but I had no idea if Michael wanted to see him. Seeing
as Rachel was keeping her plea for help a secret from him, I had a
feeling Michael’s feelings about connecting with Will hadn’t
changed. More than that, I needed to find out if Rachel’s story
was true.
    Now
that I’m sitting here in front of Mom and Eliana, I’m not
sure telling them is