Chapter 7 Lauren
Lauren
Lauren parked in front of Sticky Sweets Bakery and turned off the engine. The cool Wyoming air from outside seeped into her old Honda Civic as she stared at the wall of windows on the storefront. Lyric’s car was parked two spaces down.
“I can do this. I can be honest. Just tell her the truth. ‘Remember that one time I was abducted and your husband was shot by the Wilson brothers? I invited one of them to live with me.’”
Resting her forehead against the steering wheel, Lauren switched from talking to herself to talking to God.
“I need help, Lord. Please.” The plea at the end was drawn out and whiny, but what did it matter? God knew all about the storm rolling in her heart. Not one part of her wanted to have this conversation, but it was the right thing to do.
Lauren straightened, let out a whoosh of air through her rounded lips, and opened the door. One foot in front of the other.
Sticky Sweets bustled with people during the early breakfast hour.
The patrons were a mix of working men grabbing a quick breakfast sandwich before heading to a job site or ranch, and younger women sitting with a cup of coffee in front of laptops.
The bakery was sparsely decorated. The large windows looking out onto the downtown street were the most eye-catching feature, but it was a welcoming place.
It was casual and practical with a basic menu that promised each plate was cooked to perfection.
Lyric Scott waved from a booth in the back. Baby Nora slept soundly in her carrier beside her mom.
Lauren lifted her smile and pointed toward the line. Lyric already had a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich sitting beside Nora’s bottle.
After ordering, Lauren sat in the bench seat across from Lyric and Nora. “Good morning.”
Lyric brushed her hand over her high ponytail. “Good morning. Nora would be wishing you a good morning with her sweet smile, but her days and nights are flipped. She was up all night, which means I was too.”
Guilt gripped Lauren’s chest. She wasn’t about to do Lyric any favors by dropping the news on her. “I’m sorry. Do you want me to come over and watch Nora while you get some sleep?”
Lyric glanced over at her adorable infant daughter, and a genuine smile spread over her lips.
“No, Betty has been helping a lot. I don’t mean to complain because I have the best mother-in-law ever.
Also, I feel terrible for sleeping because I don’t want to miss a minute of this.
” Lyric’s eyes glinted with unshed tears. “She won’t stay this little forever.”
Lauren reached for Lyric’s hand, gripping it with all she had. “You’re a great mom, and it’s okay to get the rest you need. You’ll feel better after you do.”
Lyric brushed her fingers over her eyes. “I know. I’m just emotional. When is the crying supposed to stop?”
“Yours or hers?” Lauren asked.
That earned her a chuckle from her friend. “I might take you up on that nap one day. Betty is coming over later, so I’ll rest then. How are things going with you?”
This was it. Lyric was giving her a perfect lead-in. “Things are…complicated.”
“How so?”
Lauren shifted in her seat. She’d been rehearsing this conversation in her head for the last hour. Why was she drawing a blank when it was time to actually say the words?
“I…I haven’t been honest with you about something.”
“Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good.”
Lauren let out a panicked wheeze. “It’s not.”
Lyric reached over the table and laid her hand over Lauren’s in the same way she’d been comforted mere seconds ago. “Whatever it is, we can figure it out. You know that, right?”
A shaky breath rattled in Lauren’s chest. Her friendships weren’t flighty, but this was something Lyric might not understand. It was hard for Lauren to talk about her relationship with her cousin. There were some pretty raw wounds she still hadn’t cleaned up.
Swallowing the knot in her throat, Lauren whispered, “You know how Zach Wilson was released yesterday?”
Lyric’s eyes widened slightly. It was a touchy subject—her husband took the bullet that was meant for Lauren—but while the physical injuries had healed, the invisible hurts lingered.
They’d all been a little broken after everything went down.
Seeing the brothers endure punishment was only part of the healing.
How did anyone go about forgiving when the attacks were so personal?
“Yeah. We’ve talked about it a few times. Why are you bringing it up now? Did he do something already?”
Lauren picked at the old pink polish on her fingernail. There was no way Lyric was ever going to believe this. “Not exactly. I did.”
Lyric’s mouth opened just as someone called Lauren’s name from the counter.
Saved by the barista, but only for a moment. Lauren held up a finger and went to grab her coffee, taking the opportunity to breathe while she wasn’t staring at the hurt in her friend’s eyes.
When she sat back down, she wrapped her hands around her warm coffee cup, letting the heat burn her skin and bracing herself. “I need to start at the beginning. You know Zach and Bobby were trying to get information out of me that night. They thought I knew where Anthony was, but I didn’t—don’t.”
“Yeah, I know.” Lyric’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry you still haven’t heard from him.”
“It’s like he disappeared. There isn’t even a record that he existed.” Even the police and investigative departments were stumped. Anthony was a ghost. It was hard to hold on to him when there were moments when she wondered if he’d ever been there, or if she’d just made him up.
Lyric adjusted the blanket draped over Nora with shaking hands. “That’s so strange. What do you think happened?”
“I don’t have any proof of this, but I think he owed people like Zach and Bobby money and couldn’t pay it back. He was always good with computers, so I think he didn’t want to be found.”
“Do you think he’s okay?” Lyric asked.
“I have no idea. Even Asa and Dawson haven’t been able to find him.
” The police department had spent way too much time and resources looking for a man without any offenses.
No one except Lauren even cared that he was gone.
Well, anyone he’d wronged or owed probably wanted to know where he’d gone too.
Lauren slid her fingers into her hair and cradled her forehead. “I just have this feeling that he’s in trouble. I have since before everything happened with Zach and Bobby.”
“If Asa could help, I know he would.”
“I’m not doubting him. He’s done all he can. It’s just that I need to explore other avenues in my search.”
Lyric’s eyes narrowed. “Like what?”
Looking down at the table, Lauren took a bracing breath. “I started visiting Zach when he was in prison.”
“You what?” Lyric leaned over the table, gawking at Lauren. “You saw him?”
“A number of times over the years. At first, he wouldn’t talk to me.”
Lyric rubbed her temple. “Why would you do that?”
Great, Lauren’s lungs were struggling. Tons of adrenaline had just dumped into her system, but there wasn’t anything to run from, except herself.
“At first, I didn’t know why I felt the need to go see him.
When they had me in that house, Zach and Bobby were fighting.
Bobby wanted to force me to tell them things about Anthony, but Zach wanted to let me go. ”
“You mentioned that, but he still grabbed you from the parking lot at your work and tied you to a chair,” Lyric reminded her.
“But Zach fought for me that night. I don’t know why, but he knew they’d done something wrong. He had convictions.”
“So he has a shred of humanity in him,” Lyric said. “What does this have to do with you visiting him?”
That was a good question. Maybe she’d be able to explain it…someday. “I wanted to know why. What made him change his mind? Dawson thought Zach would turn into an informant. Why didn’t he?”
“So you went to the prison to ask him why he didn’t give up his friends? Asa said criminals who become informants can’t always be trusted anyway.”
Lauren laid her hands on the table. “I just needed to know why he didn’t want to kill me. Then, I wanted to know if he’d been close to finding Anthony. Maybe he knew something I didn’t.”
Lyric looked around the bakery as if someone might overhear their conversation. “It wasn’t smart to go see him. So what if he knew something about Anthony? What could you do with the information? That’s a job for law enforcement. Did you tell Asa or Dawson you went to see Zach?”
Oh, great. Another detail Lauren had kept from her friends. “I didn’t.”
“Lauren!” Lyric’s eyes opened wide. Lauren’s shoulders rounded in shame. “What if something had happened to you?”
“Nothing happened.”
“How many times did you see him?”
Lauren’s stomach rolled. Ugh. The lies were going to make her sick. Or was it the truth coaxing a wretch out of her? “A bunch.”
“A bunch, as in six?” Lyric asked.
“A bunch, as in over fifty,” Lauren clarified.
“Over fifty! Lauren, what are you doing?”
“I know! It sounds stupid.” She cradled her face in her hands. “I don’t understand it, but I needed to see him.”
“Well, you saw him. You saw a lot of him. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid you’d be mad.”
“I’m not mad. I don’t know what I am. Just shocked, I guess.”
Lauren raised her hand. “Don’t be too shocked just yet. There’s more.”
Lyric rested her head back against the booth. “Is it good news?”
“Not exactly. The more I visited Zach, the more we talked. I didn’t get the answers I wanted, but he started to…tolerate me.”
“He tolerated you? That’s a little backward. You’re a delight. He deserves to be lulled to sleep by a blaring train whistle every night,” Lyric pointed out.
“I mean we talked about other things, and I think he truly did have a conscience that told him not to hurt me.”
Lyric raised a brow. “You’re saying he had a change of heart?”
Lauren shrugged. “Maybe. After a while he started to treat me like a friend whenever I visited.”
Lyric gripped the edge of the table. “Are you saying you’re friends with Zach Wilson?”
“Not friends. We’re not friends.” He’d made that clear on the drive back to Blackwater. He didn’t see her as a friend, even though she’d been the only free person he’d spoken to in years besides his attorney and parole officer.
Pushing out a deep breath, Lyric wiped her forehead. “This is wild.”
That was wild? Lauren wasn’t even halfway finished with the revelations. “And I picked him up when he was released and gave him a ride back to Blackwater.”
“Lauren! You let him get in the car with you? Alone? That was stupid.”
Now everyone in Sticky Sweets was staring. Had Lyric ever made an outburst like that? She was always so cool, calm, and collected. Lauren stretched on a smile and waved at the gawking crowd.
When she turned back to Lyric, a look she knew all too well was staring back at her. Disappointment.
“Probably, but he didn’t hurt me. Even when he had the chance, he didn’t. He doesn’t have a place to live, so I offered to let him stay in the house I’m trying to fix up to rent.”
Lyric scooted out of the booth and stretched her arms behind her head before tilting her head to each shoulder. “I’ve got to wake up for this conversation. I’m starting to think this is just a bad dream.”
“You’re sleep deprived, but this is real.
Lyric, I’m sorry. I know this is a lot to take in.
I’ve been terrified to tell you or anyone.
All I know is I feel like Zach holds the answer to something.
He’s going to help me with renovations instead of paying rent.
He’s starting over, and maybe if I help him, he won’t fall back into his old ways. ”
Lyric lowered her arms and slid back into the booth.
“You know, you’re right. I know people can change.
I’ve changed.” She rested a hand over her heart.
“I had to spend a few nights in jail before someone took a chance on me. I would probably still be stuck in that life if Kendra hadn’t believed in me and pointed me to Jesus.
I wouldn’t be married to a wonderful man and have two amazing kids if Asa hadn’t believed in me too. ”
Kendra had torn her way out of rock bottom years ago and devoted her life to helping people who were stuck in the same situations she’d been in.
Now, no one could look at Kendra and know she’d once been an addict.
The same applied to Lyric. She was a wonderful friend, wife, and mother, and her past didn’t have a hold on her anymore.
Could that happen to Zach? Could he change for the better? A spark of optimism said he could. God could change lives and use them for His glory, but another twisted part of her worried that she was headed for disappointment.
“I want that for him,” Lauren whispered. “I don’t know if it’s possible, but everybody deserves a chance.”
Flashes of Zach’s brother, Bobby, in the courtroom during the trial intruded on Lauren’s hope.
There hadn’t been a flicker of kindness in him, and he made it clear he didn’t see anything wrong with what he’d done.
The contrast between the two brothers was enough to stump her every time she thought about it.
“You’re right. I’m sorry I freaked out. Maybe Zach does need someone to believe in him. Maybe I don’t like that it’s you because you’re my friend, and this is all really scary.” Lyric glanced at her infant daughter. “I just don’t know who to trust.”
“You’re not the only one,” Lauren whispered. “I guess we’ll find out in time.”