But even in a fairytale, there was always a struggle to overcome, and I knew mine could potentially destroy everything I held dear.
Mackenzie
I TOSSED AND TURNED, sleep evading me as the sky began to turn from black to a deep blue. Giving up on getting any rest, I extracted myself from Tyler’s warm arms and pulled a silk robe around my naked body, sliding open the glass door and emerging onto the balcony overlooking the ocean below. Our time here on the beach was coming to an end, and I was both excited and apprehensive about returning to South Padre to get ready for the next stage of my life…moving to Boston.
As I sat contemplating whether I made the right decision in agreeing to give up my life in South Padre in favor of Tyler’s family in Boston, my cell phone vibrated in my robe, startling me. I looked at the caller ID to see the call was coming from a Texas number. My curiosity getting the better of me, I answered.
“Hello?”
“Kenzie…,” a familiar voice said.
“Charlie,” I whispered softly. “Why did you call me on this phone? And from an unblocked number? Someone could be tracing this call and can find you! Is everything okay?”
“Do you want the truth or just an empty reassurance?”
“The truth scares me,” I admitted.
“Me, too,” he said, his voice muted.
Silence fell between us as I listened to the combination of his gentle breathing and the ocean waves. “Why are you calling, Charlie?”
“To say congratulations. You looked beautiful last night.”
I bolted off the lounge chair, my eyes scanning the barely illuminated beach. “You’re here?”
“Yes. Well, I was.”
“Why?” I asked, frantic, pacing the balcony. “What if someone saw you?”
“Still worried about me even after everything?”
“Of course, I am,” I answered quickly. “I’ll always care about you, Charlie. No matter what.”
He took a deep breath. “I wish you wouldn’t. I don’t want to cause you any pain.”
“What do you mean by that?” I pulled my robe closer, a sudden chill washing over me.
“Like you told me once, my luck’s eventually going to run out. I can’t keep running forever. And the longer I run, the more people will get hurt. Maybe it’s time I stopped…”
“You’re giving up?” My voice was trembling. This didn’t sound like the Charlie I knew. He sounded defeated, as if he knew it was useless to continue on the path he had been on. It made me lose hope that we would ever get to the bottom of what happened all those years ago…and what was still happening now.
“You know me better than that, Kenzie. You know I’ll never go down without a fight, no matter what. I just have a bad feeling that if I don’t do something to put an end to all of it, it never will end. If it takes me throwing in the towel to finally open people’s eyes to what’s really going on, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. I made an oath years ago, the same oath I still repeat each and every morning… ‘I, Charles Patrick Montgomery, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me. So help me God.’ I know it may not look as though I’ve followed that oath every day, but I have. And I’ve come to the point where I need to stop running in order to continue fulfilling that oath.”
I tried to fight back the tears. Not only was my father willing to give up his fight, but now Charlie was, too? “What do you know?”
“More than I probably should. That’s what has gotten me into this mess. I just want you to know that if anything happens to me, no matter what anyone tries to make you believe, I am a good person. I’ve always done what I thought was right, and I’ve done everything to defend our country against any threat. So has your father.”
“My father?” I asked in surprise.
“I’m glad he was able to see you get married. It’s good you now have the memory of this day. Never take advantage of the importance of family. They can be taken from you too soon.”
“But he will be taken from me. He’s sick with the amount of blood on his hands from the years of hiding. He’s ready to use himself as bait to put an end to all this.”
“I figured as much,” Charlie said.
“You did? How?”
He chuckled slightly. “You forget that I can see things most people can’t. Your father wouldn’t come out of hiding if he didn’t have an end game in the works. But I promise you, Kenzie. I will do everything in my power to make sure it doesn’t come to that, that you will always have a family. Okay?”
“What do you mean by that, Charlie?”
“Sometimes we have to change our course to keep those we love happy.”
“Charlie,” I urged, panic in my voice. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”
“I’ve made that promise to you in the past, but I’m not going to do it this time.” His voice was solemn and I couldn’t help but let out a low sob at the idea of something happening to him. Last year at this time, I never anticipated seeing him again but, over the months, something changed in our relationship. I knew he was the caring, compassionate, loving man I was convinced he was when we dated all those years ago.
“Nothing’s going to happen to you, Charlie,” I said through my tears, unable to shake the feeling that this was his way of saying goodbye. I didn’t know how many more goodbyes I could go through.
“I know I’ve never done anything to win back your trust, but I’m glad you saw it in your heart to forgive me. Goodbye, Kenzie…”
“Charlie, wait!” I shouted, hoping he hadn’t hung up just yet.
“Yes?”
“That friend of a friend,” I began. “The one who asked you to look for me… Was it Damian?”
I heard a loud exhale. “Yes. It had been years since you disappeared, but he never gave up hope he’d find you. Even got himself arrested doing so.”
“They have him, don’t they?” I asked hesitantly, remembering everything my father had told Tyler and me at the hospital all those weeks ago.
“It appears so, but I don’t want you to worry, Kenzie. I’ve been doing everything I can to locate him. I’m doing this all for you. Please remember that.”
“You don’t have to…,” I wept.
“Yes, I do. You have a chance to have the life I never could. Don’t waste it. Promise me you won’t.”
I shook my head, refusing to say the words.
“Kenzie, please…”
“I promise,” I squeaked out, wiping at my cheeks.
“Enjoy the sunrise. It’s sure to be a beautiful one. Goodbye, Serafina.”
“Goodbye, Charlie,” I murmured, remaining on the line until I no longer heard any background noise and I knew he had hung up.
“What did Charlie have to say?” Tyler asked, startling me. I spun around to see him standing in the doorway, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his stature slightly intimidating.
“Nothing.” I shrugged him off. “Just wanted to offer his congratulations and…”
“And…?” Tyler pushed, stalking toward me as I leaned against the railing of the balcony.
“And I think he’s going to do something stupid. Something that may cost him his life.”
He saw the tears reforming behind my eyes once more and pulled my body into his, trying to calm me. “Don’t worry. Remember what you’ve always said… Charlie’s a brilliant man. If he’s gone this long without anything happening to him, who’s to say anything will happen now?”