She’d explained that she’d always had a picture in her mind of what Marcus’s life would be like, and it didn’t involve a widowed woman with a baby. But she’d come to realize that things didn’t always turn out the way she’d planned, which was probably a good thing, as she knew now that maybe she didn’t always know what was best for everyone.
As promised, John and Marcy attended the formal wedding, as did Chris, Scott, and their families. Chris was polite, and seemed to be warming to me, and I felt confident that we’d be friends one day, although I suspected his attendance was due to John and Marcy’s urging. His wife, Melody, pulled me aside after the wedding and confided to me that after she’d learned the details of Trevor’s actions, she’d had a long conversation with Chris, which seemed to help him soften towards me.
Alyssa and Ty had come to the wedding as well, and after having a chance to get to know Marcus, Alyssa had finally discovered for herself why I was so in love with my husband, and she’d told me that she believed I’d made the right choice. She told me she’d talked to Cameron before coming to the wedding and not only was he happy for me that I’d finally found happiness, but he’d found a wonderful woman who he was getting serious with. In the short time I’d known him, he’d been really sweet to me and I was glad to know he was finding his own happiness.
With John and Marcy’s blessing, Marcus had formally adopted Natalie, which thrilled me to no end. And now we’d added a baby boy to our growing family. Even though Marcus was officially Natalie’s father, I planned on Natalie spending plenty of time with John and Marcy. I wanted her to know her grandparents. I’d expressed as much to John and Marcy, which I’m certain was instrumental in them feeling good about Marcus adopting Natalie.
Now, as I looked at my husband and two children, I knew my life couldn’t be any better. I’d been through extremely difficult times, but I’d persevered, and now it seemed my joy knew no bounds. I knew there would be challenges ahead—who didn’t have challenges? But with Marcus by my side, I knew I could get through anything.
Life Imperfect
Lily’s Story, Book 4
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Life Imperfect (Lily’s Story, Book 4)
Copyright © 2015 by Christine Kersey
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
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Chapter 1
When the doorbell rang, two-year-old Natalie looked up from the doll she was playing with, her vivid blue eyes questioning. I loved her eyes. They looked just like Trevor’s, my deceased first husband. That was one feature that had drawn me to him right away, and though our marriage had ended violently, it was only due to that union that I had my daughter.
“Who could that be?” I asked with a smile.
She tossed her doll aside and scurried to the front door, then waited for me to open it.
Just as eager as Natalie, I hurried to the door and pulled it open. “Alyssa,” I said with a smile, then pulled her into a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too,” she said as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “It’s been too long.”
I released her and invited her in.
She stepped into the entry, then knelt in front of Natalie. “Hello, beautiful girl. Do you remember me?”
“Of course she does,” I said, my voice joyful. “We’ve been looking at pictures from your last visit.” I ran my fingers through Natalie’s soft baby hair. “Do you remember Aunt Alyssa?”
Natalie looked at Alyssa shyly, then nodded.
“She is so adorable,” Alyssa said as she stood.
“Thanks.”
“Is Jackson asleep?”
“Yes, but he’s due to wake up any minute.”
“Good. I can’t wait to hold him.”
“I was just about to have a late lunch,” I said as I walked towards the kitchen. “Are you hungry after that long drive?”
“Actually, I kind of am.”
I pulled out some lunch meat and bread and began making sandwiches. “How was the drive from Vegas?”
She leaned against the counter. “I left pretty early this morning, but the drive wasn’t too bad.”
“That’s good.” I glanced at her. “I need to get out there and see Trevor’s parents. They haven’t seen Jackson since he was born, and he’s five months old.”
Alyssa was quiet for a few moments. “I really admire how you’ve kept Trevor’s parents in your life, Lily. I don’t know if I could have done that. You know, after everything that happened with Trevor.”
Glancing at her again, I said, “I want Natalie to know her grandparents. Especially since mine are no longer around.” I smiled. “The more people who love her, the better.”
“Yeah. That totally makes sense.”
I carried the plates to the table and set them on the placemats, then turned to Alyssa. “How’s Ty?”
She smiled, but it seemed to falter. “He’s good.”
I wondered what she wasn’t telling me about her husband, but knew if she wanted to share whatever was troubling her, she’d tell me in time. I gestured for her to sit, then made sure Natalie was content with her doll before I sat as well. “What about your job? How’s that going?”
“It’s been busy. Las Vegas is a good place for those of us in the hospitality field. I’m glad I moved there.”
“I’ll bet. I’m just glad you were able to take a few days off for a visit.”
She picked up her sandwich. “Me too. But I’ll have to head back on Friday.”
“Well, that gives us a couple of days to visit.” At that moment I heard the unmistakable sound of Jackson waking up from his nap. Letting him fuss for a few minutes, I managed to eat half of my sandwich before pushing back from the table. “Motherhood calls,” I said.
Alyssa laughed as I headed towards the hallway.
Pausing outside Jackson’s door, I listened to his baby sounds before pushing the door open and walking to his crib. “Hi there, baby,” I cooed. “We have a visitor today.”
Jackson kicked his feet and smiled as I reached down and lifted him from the crib. I changed him, then carried him into the kitchen.
Alyssa held out her hands. “Oh my goodness. He is so cute. He’s looking more and more like Marcus.”
I set him in her arms. “Yes, he is definitely a mini-Marcus.”
After only a moment, Jackson’s chin quivered, then he began to wail. Alyssa looked stricken as she held him out to me.
I laughed. “He’s just hungry.” I walked to the couch and sat on the soft cushions. “You don’t mind if I nurse him, do you?”
“Of course not.”
I got Jackson settled and a few moments later Alyssa joined me on the couch in the family room.
“You’re such a good mother, Lily.”
Warmed by her kind words, I smiled. “Just as you will be one day.”
She gazed at me, then her eyes filled with tears.
Horrified that I may have said something that had upset her, my face paled. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, Lily,” she said as she took a tissue out of her purse and dabbed at her eyes. “Everything’s wrong.”
“What is it? What’s going on?”
She shook her head as she stared at her lap, then she finally met my gaze. “It’s Ty.”
Imagining all sorts o
f awful things, I waited for her to go on.
“Do you remember on our Alaskan wedding cruise, how he spent so much time in the casino?”
My mind went back to the good feelings and fun time I’d had on their wedding cruise. Between Natalie’s needs, and my budding friendship with Ty’s best friend/best man Cameron, I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to what Ty had been doing. “I guess so.”
“Well, I hadn’t realized it at the time, but—” A flush crept up Alyssa’s cheeks. “Ty has a gambling problem. A serious one.”
“Oh no.” I gazed at Alyssa’s worried face as I grasped for some words of comfort or wisdom. Nothing came to mind.
“I don’t know what to do,” she said. “I’ve talked to him about it, but he doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with spending hours at the casinos.”
I didn’t want to get too personal, but I also wanted to decide for myself if Alyssa was blowing this out of proportion. When we’d been going to school together at the University of Nevada, Reno, she’d second-guessed my decisions quite a bit. It had turned out she’d been right about Trevor, but still, I knew she could sometimes jump to conclusions.
“How much time are we talking about?” I asked.
“Sometimes he goes straight to the casinos after he gets off work.” She averted her gaze. “I do work a lot of evenings though.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
She looked at me, her forehead wrinkled. “But he’s told me he hates coming home to an empty house. Especially when he knows I won’t be home for hours.” Her chin dipped towards her chest. “He said that’s why he goes to the casino.”
That didn’t sound like a gambling problem to me. More like a loneliness problem. “Alyssa.”
She looked up and met my gaze.
“Can you change your hours? You know, so that you’re gone less in the evenings?”
Her lips pressed into a straight line. “I tried that. But even when I’m home, he often goes to the casino. And then I end up sitting home alone.”
Now that sounded like more of an issue.
“Lily?” Alyssa said, her voice beginning to shake.
“What?”
“Last night Ty and I had a huge fight. He told me he lost big yesterday, and now he owes the casino a lot of money. A lot.” Her eyebrows pulled together and she inhaled sharply through her nose before softly exhaling through her mouth, then she stared at me. “I left him, Lily.” Her shoulders seemed to collapse inward as her body began to tremble. “I left him.”
I lay Jackson across my lap, quickly adjusted my shirt, then moved to Alyssa’s side. I placed my arm around her shoulders and tugged her against me as she cried. I wanted to say something to comfort her, but I’d been through enough of my own challenges to know that false words of hope did nothing to help. The best thing I could do was just be there for her and to make sure she knew that she could count on me. Always.
Chapter 2
Once Alyssa gained control of her emotions, she filled in the details. “I told him I couldn’t take it anymore and that if he refused to get help, I would leave.” Her lips compressed. “He said there was nothing to get help with, and that he loved me, but that I was the one with a problem. That I had unrealistic expectations.” With tears in her eyes, Alyssa asked, “Is that true? Am I being unrealistic in expecting my husband to spend time with me instead of at the casinos?”
“No,” I said as I shook my head. “You’re not being unrealistic. You have every right to expect him to want to be with you. You’ve been married less than two years, Alyssa.”
“I know that. I do. That’s why I told him I was leaving. Not just for this visit to you, but until he admits he needs help and then gets it.”
I admired her strength. I knew it couldn’t have been easy. When I’d left Trevor after he’d become abusive, it had been the hardest thing I’d ever had to do in my life. Especially when I’d known I was pregnant with his child. But at least Ty wouldn’t come after Alyssa and try to take her child, or try to kill her.
Memories of Trevor taking Natalie when she was a newborn, and then his attempt to strangle me to death sent tremors of remembered terror through me.
He’s gone now. Forever. And you have Marcus, who is the complete opposite of Trevor. He’s loving, patient, kind. And now he’s Natalie’s legal father.
A soft smile lifted the corners of my mouth as I thought about my husband and the wonderful life we’d built together. The months leading up to both of us admitting the way we felt had been rough, but it had been worth it.
“Don’t lose hope,” I said to Alyssa. “It might take time, but he’s bound to realize what he’s doing to you, and to himself.”
“It’s so hard,” she said with tears in her voice. “So hard to sit by and watch him self-destruct.”
“No one knows better than me how difficult it is to watch your spouse turn into someone you don’t recognize,” I said. “And the end result doesn’t always turn out the way you want. But in the end, you will be stronger. And with hard work on both your parts, your marriage will be stronger too.”
She smiled. “Thanks, Lily.”
After that, Alyssa seemed to become calmer, and we talked about her issues with Ty, as well as other things, until Marcus got home from work that evening.
As I watched him greet Alyssa and chat with her for a few minutes, my heart bloomed with love for this man who had been there for me right when I needed him the most. I’d met him soon after moving to the California Central Valley, and though for my own safety I’d had to lie to him about my real name and my marriage to Trevor, he’d stood by me and I’d fallen in love with him.
“How’s my little bruiser?” he said as he lifted Jackson from my arms.
“He’s been good as gold, like usual,” I said with a smile.
Marcus blew raspberries into Jackson’s neck, making him giggle.
“Me, Daddy,” Natalie said as she stood patiently waiting for her turn to have his attention.
A few minutes later Marcus took the children out back to play with them, giving Alyssa and me time to be alone.
“You are so lucky, Lily.” A sad smile curved her mouth.
I am lucky. Luckier than I ever thought I’d be. “Ty loves you,” I said. “Maybe right now he just needs some space to understand that what he’s doing is hurting you and your marriage.”
“I hope you’re right.”
That night after Alyssa had gone to bed in the guest room, Marcus and I finally had a moment alone. He pulled me into his arms and held me close and I reveled in the strength and security of his arms. I remembered how I’d almost turned him away when he’d wanted to marry me due to the ridiculous notion that I wasn’t good enough for him. His mother’s opinion had shaped that point of view, and it had taken Marcus’s suggestion that we get married that day, as well as the encouragement of Trevor’s mother Marcy, of all people, to convince me to marry him. I’d never regretted that decision. Not once.
“Are you having a good visit with Alyssa?” he asked as he sat on the bed and pulled me onto his lap.
“Yes, although she told me that she and Ty are having some challenges.”
His eyebrows rose. “Oh yeah? What’s going on?”
I told him what Alyssa had shared with me. “I feel so bad for her. I don’t know how to help her.”
“She probably just needs a friend,” he said. “Someone to listen.”
I nodded. “That’s true.”
He gazed at me a moment, then his eyebrows bunched. “I have something I have to tell you.”
The tone of his voice caught my attention, and alarm rippled through me. “What is it?”
“We had a company-wide meeting today. And, well . . .” His jaw tightened. “They’ve declared bankruptcy.”
I went rigid on his lap. “What?”
He sighed. “Evidently the company had been having financial difficulties, so they brought in investors. The investors gave the company a deadline to fix some
issues . . . and, well, the issues weren’t fixed, so the investors are shutting the business down.”
“Can they do that? They’re just investors.”
He grimaced. “The investors had a majority share. They can do whatever they want.”
“But your job . . .”
“It no longer exists.”
The alarm that had been nibbling at the edges of my consciousness rang louder, but I silenced it as I tried to think things through. “I used a lot of the money from my dad’s life insurance policy when I bought the house, but I still have some of it left. Plus we have some money in savings. I suppose we can use that to pay the bills until you get another job.” But what if it takes him a long time to find a good job and the money runs out? Then what? Panic threaded its way through me and my heart began to pound.
Gently, he stroked my face. “Don’t worry, Lily. We’ll figure it out. I have contacts. I’ll find another job.”
At his touch, my panic receded. He would make everything okay. I had complete trust in him. I sank against him as my racing heart slowed to its normal rhythm.
Chapter 3
The next day Marcus got up at his usual time and prepared to leave as if he was going to work.
“What are your plans today?” I asked as I lay in our bed watching him. “Where are you going to go?”
“Rick and Jason are going to meet me at the coffee shop.”
I pictured the two men who he worked with, and who were also now unemployed. “What are you guys going to do?”
“We’re going to strategize, see what we can come up with. Then I might head over to the library with my laptop and use their wi-fi to job hunt.” He kissed me lightly on the lips. “You can text me if you need anything.”
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