Incumbent(54)

The thought of what she endured after that broke my heart. I couldn’t shake the thought of how terrified she must have been. What kind of parent did that to their child? It was no wonder she didn’t want anything to do with them.

Greg was in my thoughts as well. He’d served our country in a way I’d always wanted to, and now the poor guy was presumed dead. Lucy’s chest must have felt like an elephant had been sitting on it for years with the amount of guilt she’d been carrying around. I needed to lift that weight off her in some way.

“Hey!”

I turned to see Gretchen walking toward me, and I frowned. “I told you I’d be right in.”

“Don’t snap at me.” She came up to me and rested her back against the railing, her elbow brushing mine.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. Did you tell Lucy I’d be back soon?” I glanced behind her, but all I saw was wooden planks dimly lit by the dock lights.

“No, I didn’t, because she isn’t there.” Sadness washed over her face.

“What do you mean?”

“She left. Mom told me a cab came to pick her up.”

Frozen in place, I stared at Gretchen as I watched her lips move, thinking my ears didn’t hear her correctly.

“Mom said she seemed sad,” she said. “What happened?”

“FUCK!”

I took off running across the dock to get to the house. Gretchen’s feet pounded the wooden planks behind me, and she caught up with me at the front porch where the rest of my family stood waiting for us.

“Drake, honey.” My mom extended her hand.

“What did she say?”

I’d never seen my mom’s eyes so sad. She was normally such a cheerful person, and now she looked as unhappy as I felt.

“She’s fallen for you,” Mom said softly, and gave my hands a squeeze, “but she needed to give you space.”

My head bobbed in understanding. I glanced around at the rest of my family to find they all wore the same sympathetic expression as my mother.

Overwhelmed, I released my mom’s hands. “Please excuse me.”

I hurried upstairs, taking the steps two at a time, to see for myself whether her things were gone. Sure enough, they were. Lucy had left. How could she leave?

Then I saw it, a piece of paper on the bed. With trembling fingers, I picked it up and sat down to read what she wrote.



Dear Drake,



This isn’t a “Dear Drake” letter, even though that’s the way it started. I’m going home, but I’m only leaving because I want to give you space and time to digest everything I’ve told you.



I’d like to say I would’ve done things differently, but I don’t think I would have. Some people might say that I’ve been hiding from my past for the past ten years, and I guess on some levels that’s true. But in my mind and heart, Abigail is dead, and I never wanted to resurrect her.



I’m so ashamed of what I did, and for what I let my parents do to me. My only excuse is that I was young and afraid. All I can hope for is that in time you’ll understand.



When I first saw my picture in the paper, I was terrified, and when it happened again, I knew I needed to tell you. Your life is so public, I should have never started a relationship with you, but it was out of my hands. My heart wanted you when we met, and before long, my body and soul ached for you.



I won’t be calling, and not because I won’t want to but because I can’t. You need to be ready to accept everything that I’ve told you.



There’s one thing I haven’t told you, something I regret now that I hadn’t shared with you yet. I’ve fallen in love with you, and because of that, if you need me to, I’ll let you go.



Always,



Lucy





I must have read her letter at least five times, and my head spun with her words.

In love with me.

Let me go.

She ached for me.

This was an anomaly for me. In my profession and for the most of my adult life, I was the decision maker, the problem solver, the one people turned to. But now I was at a loss.

A soft knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts, and when I looked up, my mom walked in and sat on the bed next to me.

Sliding an arm around my back, she asked softly, “Are you okay, sweetheart?”

I hung my head. “I don’t know, Mom. Is it wrong that I’m thirty-five and still need advice from you?” I gave her a tight smile, and she kissed me on the temple just like she did when I was a little boy.

“Drake, honey, you could be sixty-five and you could still talk to me.” Her gaze shifted to the paper clutched in my hand. “Is that from Lucy?”

“Yes. Did she tell you everything?”

“She said she fell in love with you, and if I know my son, you fell for her too.”

“I did. I know it’s fast, but now I just don’t know.”

“You don’t know if you love her?”

The thought of not loving Lucy made my heart hurt. “No, I know I love her. She told me about her past tonight, and I don’t hold any of it against her. Lucy’s parents are so different from you and Dad. I wish I could tell you everything, but it isn’t my story to tell.”