Lovely Dreams

by Danielle Stewart

  “And you thought of me?” Lauren asked, sounding more skeptical than flattered.

  “No,” Talia admitted sheepishly. “Selfishly, I thought this would be too complicated and push me to a point I wasn’t ready for. Like you, I thought maybe Gloria was only trying to do what she’d been working on for years. Bring the two of us back together.”

  “She pressured you to reach out to me?” Lauren licked her dry lips nervously. “And what? You just said no?”

  “I knew how hard your life had been with your father. I knew how much you’d grown with Gloria. I was afraid to ruin that for you. I have a nasty habit of demolishing things when I don’t mean to.” Talia fidgeted with her napkin until Francine gently took it and placed it on the table.

  “We need you, Lauren,” Francine insisted. “We need you because while Gloria never filled you in on all this, she instilled everything you needed to take it over. I’m sure she never imagined it would be needed so soon. But you’re it. You’re what we need.”

  Tray kept an eye on the street, still wary of the men that had come looking for them the night before. “What would it entail? What exactly are you asking of her?”

  Lauren was so grateful for his question. For a woman who prided herself on being measured and articulate, the words weren’t forming. The thoughts were not running together properly.

  “She’d need to travel to various locations and meet with the people Gloria built relationships with over the years. Some are non-profits who help women in difficult situations. Others are government officials who help expedite travel documents. Law enforcement agents who spot the most immanent threats. People need to know you and how to get a hold of you. They need to know Gloria trusted you.”

  “I have a job,” Lauren said, shaking her head. “I can’t just start some traveling adventure doing a meet-and-greet tour.”

  Talia looked unimpressed. “Gloria had a job. A demanding one, as you know. But she found time for this. Always. I know you can too.”

  Lauren’s stomach swirled with unease. Gloria’s face was all she could see as she closed her eyes. This was her heart. The part of Gloria that had always been hard to nail down. This ferocious loyalty and need to protect the people she loved. She’d found a way to manifest it into a reality. And now she’d laid it at Lauren’s feet.

  “Gloria never had children,” Talia said in a far off voice. “She had her reasons for that. Her mother was a cruel woman.”

  “I know.”

  Francine wiped at a rogue tear that trickled down her cheek, taking with it a streak of dark mascara. “She never had children, but this was her child. And she knew it would be safe with you. That the people who pass through what she built would be safe with you.”

  “Come see it,” Talia pleaded. “Come see what Gloria created.”

  Lauren turned toward Tray and drew in a broken, emotion-filled breath. “Will you come?”

  “We’ll go together.” He laced his fingers with hers and squeezed. “And then whatever you want to do from there, we’ll do.”

  Francine let another tear roll down but this time her cheeks were plumped by a smile.

  When they all stood to leave Talia touched Lauren’s shoulder gently as if she expected to be pricked by a cactus. “I failed at so much in my life. I failed at being your mother and I would never ask for the opportunity to make that right. But I didn’t fail at this. The island, all it represents, I’m immensely proud of that and if you chose to be a part of it, it would be the joy of my life.”

  Lauren should have been moved by the sentiment. There should be a piece of her that was proud of her mother. That was sorry for her. A part that understood how life and its missteps had kept them apart all these years. Maybe somewhere in her that existed. That sliver of forgiveness. But right now? It was buried under the rubble of her pain. Could it be excavated? It was too soon to tell.

  Chapter 22

  Tray

  * * *

  His heartbeat was thudding through his ears. Finding out what had changed his mother hadn’t brought him any kind of peace. Mostly because he realized there was no undoing it. No magic button that would crack the shell she’d packed herself in. A logical person would remind himself that he was a boy while this was happening. There was nothing he could have done to help her. Not in a real way.

  Still his inaction. His leaving. It ate at him. The image of his mother hurt at the hand of a man he couldn’t even remember was haunting him.

  “Wait here,” his mother said, rubbing a hand across his back. “I’ll need to talk to the guards. We don’t have men walking around the island and I want to make sure they know you’re with us. They’ll get you a badge you can wear to let the residents know you’re all right too.”

  He nodded and watched her make a move to go. “Wait,” he called, his voice unfamiliar and far away. Talia was showing Lauren the layout of the boat docks and how they were built with security in mind. Surely there would be other quiet moments for him to talk to his mother, but this felt urgent. Boiling inside his mind like a tea kettle.

  “What is it?” her worry lines deepened as she touched his cheek. “You have nothing to be concerned about here. I just want to take extra precaution.”

  “I’m not worried for me. Mom, why didn’t you ever tell me any of this? All the years after I left. He was still around? Still some boogey man threat you had to think about. You deserved more than the life you had to squeeze yourself into to be away from him. You could have told me. I’d have handled it.”

  She smiled in a way he hadn’t seen in years. “I know you would have. There was only one way it would have gone if I had told you. You’d have killed him and I’d have lost you to that. I couldn’t put this on you. Not while he was alive. Not while you thought you could do something about it.”

  He dropped his head and pulled his mother in for a hug. “I can’t even think about it. I can’t think about this happening to you.”

  “You don’t have to think about me. Think about the people you are about to meet who are facing the scariest times of their lives. The people who had nowhere to turn. Those are the people who could use your help.”

  “What help could I offer? Is it funding? You know I’ll do that in a heartbeat.” He was ready to pull his checkbook out and hand over a blank check. This cause, which had always been a sore spot for him, now made so much more sense. He’d always reacted strongly when he saw a woman being hurt. It always felt personal. Probably because in the corners of his mind where he couldn’t quite remember, there were shadows of what he’d seen. Things that made him angry well before he was strong enough to do anything about it.

  “Gloria was an independent woman. An island much like this place was. Lauren has all the best parts of Gloria in her. But I think there is something you can bring to all this. Something that’s been missing.”

  “I get to go bash in all the heads of the bastards on some list you make for me?” He cracked his knuckles. “I’ll take that job.”

  “You’ve traveled the world. Seen corners of it Lauren hasn’t had the chance to yet. It’s always been your strength. Moving with ease anywhere you go. That is something Lauren could surely benefit from don’t you think?”

  “This is supposed to be some sisterhood of secrecy. There can’t possibly be a place for me in all of this.” He saw his mother with new eyes. For the first time in ages she wasn’t some wilting flower. Someone afraid of the wind blowing or the night closing in around her. There was a real monster, with a name and a face, who’d made her afraid. It didn’t soften the blow of the truth, but it gave it context. And this place, the island that lay before them, was a testament to the pieces of her life she’d been able to put back together.

  “Gloria was a very wise woman. She made sure that when she needed it there were people who reported back to her. Actual spies. She knew more about you than I did. On the surface maybe you looked like a guy lounging around and squandering a trust fund away. But she dug into the deals you wer
e making with the small manufactures who were struggling. You’d take a loss to make sure they were able to stay afloat. She saw how you always left a place better than you found it. Some kind of investment into something you noticed needed help. You treat people with respect and I just got to see with my own eyes what kind of man you are to a woman you care about. Gloria wanted you to be a part of this. I want it too.”

  His eyes roved over the island and the looming mountains in the background. It was a beautiful fortress. A place his mother had helped dream up and create.

  “It’s impressive,” Lauren admitted as she sidled back up to Tray. Her head rested on his shoulder as they took it all in together.

  “It is,” he agreed. His mother and Talia disappeared to speak with the guards, leaving him and Lauren to stare up at what could be their future. “She wants me to travel with you. Help you settle in and get around. Apparently Gloria had been watching me.”

  “And she liked what she saw?”

  “Who wouldn’t?” he smiled smugly down at her. “I don’t know what you’re thinking or how you feel about any of this. I just want you to know that if you’re in, I’m in. I think I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time without ever knowing it. I know it’s more complicated than that for you. It forces you to figure out what kind of relationship you want with your mother. If you want one at all.”

  “It does.”

  “I’m not going to put any pressure on you.”

  “You don’t need to,” she whispered, turning, and wrapping her arms around him. He folded her into a tight embrace. “I already knew my answer from the moment we sat down in that coffee shop and they started talking. To know Gloria trusted me with this. It’s like someone making you the guardian of their child if they die. It’s scary as hell but an honor. And one I wouldn’t think of walking away from. If that complicates things with my mother, forces us to make some choices, then I accept that. Because I would do anything for Gloria. And I know now she didn’t do this to be some puppet master just to drive me crazy. This is bigger than that. Bigger than any of us.”

  “Wow.” He chuckled as he kissed the top of her head. “I didn’t see that coming. You seemed like you were really unsure.”

  “I haven’t quite retired my crown as petty queen yet. I’m not proud of it but making her squirm, maybe that’s part of my healing process.”

  “I think that bartender therapist you used to date would probably approve. We all have our own ways to cope.”

  “Exactly.” She leaned back to see his face. “You’re saying you’re going to be my partner in all of this? We both have careers. It’s going to be complicated to make it all work. You hate complicated.”

  “I do.” He shrugged and leaned down to kiss her. “But for some damn reason, the complicated you bring into my life, I like. Plus, I’m not sure I could turn down an opportunity that has you and I traveling the world. Believe it or not I was actually trying to think of ways I wouldn’t have to leave you.”

  “Really? The great wanderer was looking for a way to stick around somewhere? You must really be under my spell.”

  “Yes,” he chuckled. “You’ve really hypnotized me with your chaos, drama and tears. What man could resist?”

  “My life has never been like this before you showed up. Maybe you’re the problem.”

  “Could be. Maybe we shouldn’t be partners in all of this.”

  “Oh come on,” she tickled his ribs. “We all have problems. I’d be pretty lucky if you were my biggest one.”

  Chapter 23

  Lauren

  * * *

  She should have expected that it would be awe-inspiring. Lauren should have known anything Gloria was a part of would be monumental in not only its presentation but its execution.

  “We mostly call it Verde Lago or the residence,” Talia explained, a new light in her eyes as they moved through the large common area in one of the buildings. “Our lawyers have done some remarkable work helping us keep the address off of documents that could be used to trace it. It’s miraculous you all found it.”

  Lauren pulled the photocopy out of her pocket and handed it over. “This was in Gloria’s personal safe.”

  “We’ll burn this,” Francine explained, plucking the paper from Talia’s hand. “That’s the level of protection we insist on. I’m shocked Gloria kept this.”

  “It was in a safe no one really knew about. And if we hadn’t known the information we did, it wouldn’t have meant anything to anyone.”

  “Still,” Francine said, tucking the paper away. “We are abundantly careful. The residence here depends on that. Some of the men in their lives are connected in ways that can be hard to combat.”

  “I understand,” Lauren said eyeing the beautiful art that adorned the walls. The design was reminiscent of a fine hotel but more personal, more approachable. “How is it that no one in your network has betrayed you?”

  “Because Gloria was a great judge of character and even better at scaring people into taking her threats seriously. That’s all part of your role now.” Talia paused. “If you decide this is right for you.”

  “Was she more than just the CEO of Kinross?” Tray asked, rubbing his hand over the stubble on his chin. “She did all this. Hunted Jay down. Ran an empire. How is that even possible?”

  Lauren smiled at the thought of her dear friend and mentor. “She was more than that to me. If you had told me this story about anyone else I wouldn’t have believed it. But Gloria was an astonishing woman with limitless assets and an abundance of tenacity.”

  Francine’s eyes, still rimed with dark crescents, sparked a bit at the ringing endorsement of her friend. “We’d like you both to meet with Carmen. She runs the day-to-day here. She’s been on staff for over three years. Nothing would work around here without her.”

  A tall woman with short blond hair approached, her hand jutted out for a greeting. Her blue eyes glimmered under long, dark lashes and her smile was genuine as a sweet child. She was stunning in the warmest, most welcoming way.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” she announced confidently. “We get a lot of new faces around here but not usually folks who are just popping in.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Lauren said in her office tone. The one she reserved for professional exchanges. It was hard not to get sucked in. Pulled by the war these people were all waging together. The foxhole was calling Lauren’s name.

  “Do you have any questions about the residence you’d like to ask me?” She folded her hands dutifully and waited.

  “We’re still taking it all in,” Tray said apologetically. “It’s quite the endeavor you’ve all taken on. Three years you’ve been here?”

  “Yes,” Carmen nodded. “I started as a resident. Gloria and I crossed paths in Canada actually. It’s changed my life being here, and I wanted the chance to give back even a fraction of what these ladies have given me. Working here has been the joy of my life. I feel very lucky.”

  “But she needs to move on,” Francine crowed out maternally. “Don’t let her fool you, she’s mad as hell at Gloria too.”

  “I wouldn’t say mad,” Carmen countered, brushing some lint off her long, pale pink skirt. “I’m just shocked.”

  “Join the club,” Lauren said, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Apparently part of Gloria’s exit interview from this earth included shaking us all up with news we didn’t see coming.”

  Tray chuckled in agreement. “What exactly did she hit you with?”

  “I’m supposed to quit. Move out and move on.” Carmen’s smile faded and her eyes darted away. “She assured me that it has nothing to do with my performance here.”

  “It doesn’t,” Talia insisted. “Replacing you will be a nightmare for us. But Gloria knew you were ready to get back out into the world. What you are doing is more than a job. It’s all-consuming. You’re here, on this island, day in and day out. Hearing the stories of so many broken hearts and temporarily sidetracked dreams.
But you know the rules—when a woman is safe and can go back into the world, she should. For her own good. How many times have you given that speech to residents?”

  “Hundreds.” Carmen brought her eyes back up and tipped her chin back confidently. “I know Gloria is right it’s just—”

  Lauren cut in. “That death bed wish is some strong magic.”

  “Very,” Carmen agreed. “Hard to say no to that.”

  “We should start a club,” Tray joked. “A support group. How to implement Gloria’s dying wishes, even when you aren’t sure you want to.”

  “Where will you go?” Lauren asked, realizing suddenly that she was lucky to have at least had a road map for her new adventure. That seemed like more that Carmen had.

  “Anywhere she wants,” Talia said, pulling Carmen in for a hug. A hug she received with a smile and a hum of happiness. It had never occurred to Lauren that her mother was out in the world somewhere, mothering other people. Hugging them. Offering them words of support. It was much easier to believe she was off somewhere selfishly living her life childfree. “Carmen will do amazing wherever she goes.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered into Talia’s shoulder. “Apparently I have until the end of the week.”

  Tray eyed Lauren, maybe reading her mind. Seeing the ache in her face at her mother’s capacity to hold someone else in comfort. His voice broke up the moment. “Who will take over for you here? Sounds like you have quite the long list of responsibilities.”

  “Good question,” Francine sighed, dramatically slumping her shoulders. “Gloria didn’t give us that answer. I’m thinking one of the contacts you make out there might be a good fit. You could keep your eyes open for someone in your travels that you think could handle the very long list of tasks that keep this place running.”