Page 82 of The Lake Escape

Now, that was a post that would get a lot of likes:Your happiness depends on your actions, not your wishes.

She brought a piece of paper to the kitchen table and began to write a list of worst-case scenarios:

Go broke, file for bankruptcy.

Julia had no idea about the ramifications of bankruptcy, but they couldn’t be good. Taylor would have to take out college loans (if they could get them), and good luck paying those back. But she tempered her anxiety with reminders that these were worst-case scenarios, not inevitabilities.

Which led her to…

Divorce Christian.

What would she have after splitting their assets? Julia did some mental math and came up with not enough.

The next item didn’t make her feel any better.

Sell the house.

Not the lake house, but her primary residence. She could buy a condo or rent if it came to that. Julia couldn’t remember the last time she’d paid rent. It would have been over twenty years ago. Bonus: can always move to a less affluent town. Taylor wouldn’t be in public school long enough for it to matter.

On to…

Lose the lake house.

This one was crushing. But what could she do? Actions, not wishes, right?

Looking over the options (none of them ideal) moved her to pour a tall glass of wine. She’d need to watch herself to make sure a new item doesn’t get added to the list:

Develop a drinking problem.

But that could be tomorrow’s concern. She took a sip, and then another.

Outside, she heard peals of laughter coming from the twins. Julia went to the window. There she saw Brody, Becca, and Erika playing catch with Nutmeg in David’s yard.

A wedge of sadness slipped between her ribs. It had always been the three of them at the lake together—Erika, David, and her—and now it was undone, a shared history unraveling before her eyes. No amount of wine, no list, could lessen the ache of the immense change that time had wrought.

Julia returned to her wine just as the front door flew open. Taylor walked in with a weighty aura. She was followed closely by Izzy, whom Julia was pleased to see walked without a limp.

“Mom, we need to talk,” Taylor said.

Julia cringed. When a teenager requested a conversation, it was generally for one of two reasons: they wanted money or there was big trouble. From her daughter’s body language, Julia guessed it was the latter.

“Of course, honey. Come. Sit down.”

They gathered at the kitchen table. Izzy’s leg bounced while Taylor fidgeted in her seat. Julia feared she was about to have more items to add to her list. Since nobody took the initiative, Julia got the ball rolling.

“What’s going on with you two?”

Taylor’s gaze slid over to Izzy. “Maybe you go first,” Taylor said. “I… I need a minute.”

Julia’s maternal instincts kicked in. “Is this about Lucas?” she asked.

Her daughter’s pained expression was answer enough.

Every fiber of her being told her a dire revelation loomed on the horizon, but Julia would have to wait, because Taylor insisted Izzy begin.

“She needs to know about Susie and Anna,” Taylor urged.

It took Julia a moment to place the names. “The missing women? The lake lore? Why? What have you both been up to?”