Taken by Surpise

by Shanna Handel

  It was all so hurried. Lila flew to their hometown just a few weeks later for the wedding. It was a very small, informal affair and then Elizabeth and Cole took off for their honeymoon. Lila missed Elizabeth terribly that year, but was glad how things turned out in the end. Meeting Luke that night was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

  Lila nodded reassuringly, and Elizabeth continued. “I’ve never told anyone this, but that summer I went out to a club in the city with some girlfriends from high school. Things kind of got out of control and I ended up making out with a guy that I met there. It was so stupid and the next day I couldn’t even remember what he looked like. My friends told me not to tell Cole, that it didn’t matter, but I just had to. He was so upset and I was terrified that he was going to break up with me. He gave me an ultimatum. Move home and marry him, or go back to college and break up. He said that he totally forgave me but could only stay with me if I made a permanent commitment to him. I think he was scared if I went back to college, it would happen again.”

  Lila was honored that Elizabeth had shared something so private with her. She tried to think of something reassuring to say. “Well, that was a long time ago. I’m so glad that you guys worked it out and stayed together. You really are a great couple. Why does he still worry though? I mean you guys seem to have a great marriage and that was so long ago.”

  Elizabeth buried her face in her hands. “Oh Lila, I am so embarrassed.”

  “What is it Liz? I’m not going to say anything to Luke, I promise.” Out of character for her, Lila grabbed Elizabeth’s hand reassuringly.

  “It’s just that we got married so young, then I was pregnant with twins, then I finally stopped nursing and lost all the baby weight…and I just couldn’t help myself. I was flirting with one of the male teachers at work.” Elizabeth quickly looked up at Lila. “I mean, I promise you Cole is the only one for me and I would never do anything so stupid again, but it just felt good to get some male attention again. You know what I mean?”

  Elizabeth had been a cheerleader in high school, adorable and well-liked by everyone. Lila was not one to flirt, herself, but she could see how Elizabeth would enjoy feeling young and pretty again after a difficult pregnancy and the trials of early motherhood. She nodded slowly, wanted Elizabeth to continue.

  “I guess someone from school, who was on Cole’s baseball team, made a joke about it at one of their games. He flipped out and tracked the teacher down at school, telling him to stay away from me. I was humiliated and could barely get through the next week of work. Cole and I didn’t talk for almost two weeks. It was so awkward that the teacher actually ended up transferring. It was awful.”

  “How did you guys end up moving past it?”

  “Things just kind of cooled off, and we didn’t really talk about it again. I am really careful to not be perceived as flirting, but now, none of the male staff come within three feet of me, so it doesn’t matter anyway. I guess time heals all wounds, either that or we just never really did move past it.” Elizabeth paused and took a sip of her latte. “Since we’ve had kids, Cole has been such an amazing dad, sometimes I feel like he forgets to view me as a wife, not just a mom. And we never argue. Sometimes I think I do things just to get his attention. I guess I wish he would just…” Elizabeth trailed off. It was obvious to Lila that she was not going to finish her thought.

  Lila’s mind drifted to the rumor about their fated prom night. Was she wanting Cole to spank her again? Lila felt the need to change the subject quickly as this theme was hitting too close to home for the time being, and she didn’t want Elizabeth to feel uncomfortable.

  “I’m so sorry. That sounds really tough. Well, he loves you to death and that’s what matters, right?” Lila stood up and patted Elizabeth on the back, awkwardly.

  “Thanks for talking Lila, I think we’d better head back.” Elizabeth gave her a big hug, affection came naturally to her, as they headed toward the door. “It’s so nice to have you here. I don’t even want to think about you leaving.”

  “I feel the same way,” Lila said, returning the hug.

  Lila and Elizabeth pulled up to Grace’s house. Elizabeth had been unusually quiet on the ride home. Lila hopped out of the car, hoping Elizabeth was going to get out as well. “Aren’t you coming in?”

  “No, I’ve got a few boring errands to run.” Elizabeth blew a kiss, then headed down the road in Cole’s jeep.

  Lila thought it was strange that Elizabeth hadn’t run her errands when they were in town together. With everything that Elizabeth had shared with her that day, Lila figured she just needed some time alone with her thoughts before she headed home.

  Luke was out behind the house underneath his dad’s old Camaro, tinkering with the engine. He rolled out from under the car when he heard Lila approaching.

  “Hi, beautiful! How was your trip?” Luke jumped up wiping the grease from his hands with a dirty rag. He looked so young and carefree, like he had when they had met. Lila felt uneasy, not wanting to accidently spill any information Elizabeth had shared, with her big brother.

  “Great!” Lila tried to smile brightly.

  Luke looked over Lila’s shoulder. “Where’s Bethy? I thought she might come hang out for a while. Luke and Elizabeth had been best friends as kids and Lila knew he missed his little sister.

  “Oh, she just had some errands to run.”

  “Weren’t you guys just in town?”

  Lila just shrugged. Luke looked confused, then dropped the subject.

  “Let’s get out of here, I have something I want to show you.”

  As Luke’s convertible cruised down the Main Street of town, passing the coffee shop, Lila thought about the secret behind Elizabeth’s quick marriage. Not wanting to dwell on it she reached over and grabbed Luke’s hand. He shot her a huge grin, squeezed her hand, and revved the engine. Lila laughed, and tilted her head back as the wind blew through her hair. She couldn’t remember the last time that she felt this carefree.

  A few blocks from Main Street, Luke pulled up to a little navy blue cottage with bright white trim. There were perky red geraniums in window boxes. Lila guessed the house was circa 1950. Luke cut the engine and came around to open Lila’s door.

  “We’re here.” Luke slid a strong arm around her waist and led her up the front steps to the wide, inviting front porch. “I wanted to show you my parent’s first house,” Luke said shyly as he turned the key opening the door.

  “Oh Luke, that’s so sweet!” Lila stepped into the adorable cottage, taking in the beautiful craftsmanship. The house was empty, and the walls were bare. They walked across the polished hardwoods, checking out the different rooms. The entire house was restored to its original glory, but the kitchen had been updated and outfitted with the latest style and gadgets. Lila loved the sleek look of their modern house, but this house had a charming, homey appeal that Lila sometimes worried her home lacked.

  “It’s beautiful Luke! How did you get the keys to it?” Didn’t your parents move out of here ages ago?”

  “I, um, well I kind of own it.” Luke looked down shyly, scuffing the ground with the toe of his shoe, like a young boy.

  “Own it?”

  “Yes.” Luke looked at Lila. “We own it.”

  “Oh, you mean like a rental?” Lila was confused.

  “Well, yes, for now…but maybe when we have kids, I don’t know, I was thinking we could maybe move back here.”

  Lila was stunned speechless. Move back here? Well it would be move here for Lila, she had never lived in this small town, much less any small town. And kids? What on Earth was going on.

  “Cole called me a couple of weeks ago and told me that it was for sale, but had been trashed by renters. He knew I always loved this old house. He said if I bought it, he would fix it up for me at a great rate, then I could do what I wanted with it. What we want, I mean.”

  A few moments of quiet passed between them, then breaking the silence Lila threw her arms up in the air, exc
laiming, “Luke, why didn’t you tell me? And kids? This is all just too much for me. First the… new lifestyle, then trying to move me out here? From the city! Leave my job? And kids!” Lila could feel her usually under control self about to freak out.

  Luke walked over to Lila and took her into his arms. She kept her arms stiffly at her sides, looking much like the shock victim that she currently felt like.

  “Lila, I would have bought the house either way. It’s a great investment no matter what. I just… things were going so good between us and I thought that maybe, one day you might want to slow down.” Luke gently tucked a wave of her hair behind her ear.

  Lila looked down at the floor, away from Luke’s gaze, trying to gather her thoughts. “Luke, I just…” She was immediately interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door.

  “Yo, Bro, you in here?” Cole said, as he threw open the front door. Seeing Lila standing in the middle of the room, in Luke’s arms looking shocked, he said, “Uh, sorry to barge in Lila. You like the digs?” Cole gestured at the cottage, his face looked like an excited little boy on Christmas. Before Lila could even answer, Cole crossed the room and grabbed Luke by the shoulders, continuing, “Luke we gotta go. Like now. There is a wild fire outside of town and they need every, able body. I was waiting for Elizabeth to get home to come and get you. I figured when you weren’t at your Mom’s, you were down here. But enough chit chat. Let’s go!” Cole ran down the stairs back to his jeep.

  “Be right there!” Luke shouted down to Cole. Turning back to Lila he said, “Look, beautiful, we will talk about this later, I promise. I really have to go. Just know we don’t have to make any big decisions now and I don’t want to do anything that would make you unhappy.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, gave her a deep kiss, then handed her the keys to the convertible and bounded down the stairs.

  Lila said nothing, just gave a brief wave and tight lipped smile. She would have called out, “Be safe!” to him, if she wasn’t so close to killing him herself.

  Lila took a deep breath and slowly walked through the cottage again, trailing a hand over the shiny, polished, heavy wood trim. Lila tried to picture herself living here with Luke. A few kids running around, her modern furniture scattered through the house. The most she could conjure up was two visiting suitcases, and a Pomeranian.

  Chapter 6

  Later that afternoon, Lila sat at Grace’s kitchen counter as Grace washed and prepped vegetable for dinner. Heather and David would be arriving soon and Grace was going all out with the meal. Cole and Luke still weren’t back and Lila was worrying.

  Sensing her unease, Grace gently said, “Don’t worry Lila, those boys have a lot of experience fighting fires. Did Luke ever show you his Junior Firefighter trophies?”

  Lila sighed. “No, ma’am.” Luke had told Lila that he had been a volunteer at the local fire department as a younger man, but she had no idea there were contests for that sort of thing.

  “Come on, let’s go see.” She wiped her hands on her apron, then untied it from her waist. As they were passing through the foyer to go upstairs, the front door swung open wide.

  “Hey ya’ll!” Heather exploded through the door, dressed all in white, her shiny hair flowing behind her. Heather squeezed Lila up into a huge hug. “Lila Belle, you look even more amazing than I remember. What a sight for sore eyes.” She released Lila from the hug, holding her at arm’s length. “I declare, girl, you get prettier every time I see you. And look at that dress!” She squeezed Lila one more time before finally releasing her.

  “Heather. It’s good to see you, too.” Lila had forgotten how beautiful and put together Heather was. She never looked a day older when Lila saw her, and was always perfectly primped, even for informal family gatherings. Lila made a mental note to find out which designer store Heather had gotten her sheik ensemble from.

  David came in the door behind his wife. “So good to see you, Lila. I trust the big city is treating you well.” David formally offered his hand to her, in greeting. Lila shook his hand, blushing at the thought of how strong his grip was.

  Elizabeth and the twins came in behind David. More hugs went around, including two sticky, precious ones from the twins. Lila hadn’t had this much physical contact with people since her wedding. She welcomed the friendly distraction from worrying about Cole and Luke.

  Elizabeth smiled, glancing around the room, “Are Luke and Cole out back tinkering with that old jalopy?”

  Grace placed a hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder. “They aren’t back yet sweetie, but I’m sure they are fine. The look on Grace’s face worried Lila, but Elizabeth seemed relaxed. She was obviously used to the guys being gone from time to time to help with the fires.

  “Back from where? Catch me up ya’ll.” Heather lead the group into Grace’s kitchen, tying on an apron and pouring a glass of wine. “Lila? Elizabeth?” She held up the bottle to them.

  “Um...no, I’m good. Thank you.” Lila absentmindedly smoothed her skirt over her bottom.

  “I’ll take one. The boys got called in to help with a fire. I really thought they would be back by now. Do we need to call the station and check in?” Elizabeth accepted wine from Heather, clinking glasses with her as she did.

  “David, can you check on those boys for us, honey? ‘Sides, we need a little girly catch up time.” Heather winked directly at Lila.

  “Sure, babe. I’ll head down to the station and see what the latest update is.” He walked over to Heather to kiss her goodbye. With one hand on each of her shoulders, he looked down at her and said, “And, Heather, just one glass.” David’s commanding tone made Lila blush again.

  “Sure thing, sugar.” Heather reached up and kissed him, then turned and bumped him towards the door with her hip. “Now let us girls get back to our girly business.” David gave Heather a playful swat on her rear and headed out the door, calling “Behave yourselves,” over his shoulder as he left.

  Lila looked down, trying to hide her pink face. She felt her cheeks burning at the memory of Luke spanking her over Heather’s very own buffet. To make matters worse, she couldn’t stop thinking about what she had learned about David and Heather. She slyly looked to her right to see if Elizabeth was uncomfortable around the couple, too. If anything, she thought the look on Elizabeth’s face was wistful. She quickly grabbed a carrot from the veggie tray and tried to look interested in eating.

  The women surrounded the counter, nibbling on veggies and chatting with Grace. Eventually, Grace excused herself for a quick nap, giving the younger generation some space.

  As soon as Grace made her exit, Heather turned to Lila. “Lila Belle, tell me everything. How’s that fancy city job? Are you still getting free clothes? When are you having a baby?”

  “Heather! Give her a break, would you?” Elizabeth laughed and playfully slapped Heather on the shoulder.

  “Well, Luke told me over the phone that Lila couldn’t wait to talk to me and now here I am, in the flesh!”

  Lila blushed, worried that Heather knew about the recent changes in her marriage. She was being silly. She knew Luke wouldn’t have told Heather any personal information that she didn’t want to share.

  “I guess I’m just worried girls. Sorry. I do want to catch up.” Lila tried to smile

  Heather and Elizabeth started talking a mile a minute and soon they had Lila joining in. Heather was a hoot and soon had everyone in stitches with her stories about being an outgoing southern belle raised in a trailer park, trying to fit into refined social circles.

  Grace made her way into the kitchen to start dinner just as the phone rang. She picked it up, “Hello? Hi, Cole. Are you boys all right?” The room got quiet as Grace listened at her end of the phone. Her face was pale. Finally, in a shaky voice she said, “Cole, we will be right down.”

  “Grace what’s happened?” Heather put an arm around Grace.

  “I don’t know much yet. The boys were helping to round up the campers. One of the hikers realized her dog was not with
them. She went running back into the woods before anyone could stop her. Luke followed her into the woods and got injured. He is at the hospital now, but in stable condition. That is all I know.”

  Lila stood motionless, as Elizabeth wrapped an arm around her.

  Heather quickly untied her apron and came over from behind the counter. “Oh, sweetheart! I am so sorry, Lila. You ladies go right down to the hospital. Elizabeth, I’ll stay here and take good care of your babies. I’ll call David and have him meet ya’ll down there.” Heather ushered the ladies out to Elizabeth’s car, then took the twins in for supper.

  On the ride to the hospital Lila didn’t say a word. Elizabeth and Grace took turns saying reassuring things, then eventually stopped and left Lila in a tense silence. Her mind was spinning. What was the last thing that she said to Luke? Did she kiss him goodbye? Why hadn’t she yelled out for him to be safe?

  She thought of the shy, sweet look on his face when he had told her about the house. Of course, she had only thought about herself at the time, and blown up at him. It made sense that he would want to own his parents’ first house, especially since his father had passed on. And why wouldn’t he want to move from the busy city, to his familiar, friendly hometown to be with his family?

  She prayed he was going to be okay. Prayer was something that she was unfamiliar with but it seemed to come to her naturally now. Suddenly nothing else seemed to matter. Her job, where they lived. Nothing. Luke being okay was the only thing she wanted.

  When they pulled up to the hospital, David was waiting out front. He put one arm around Grace and the other around Lila, leading them inside with Elizabeth following behind them.