Lessons Learned Read Online Free PDF Page A

tell me about your parents?”
    I sighed as I gazed at the picture of my mom and dad, one of the last photos taken before the accident.
    “My mom’s name was Carol.” My finger ghosted across the print. “She was a Kindergarten teacher. My dad’s name was Jason. He’d worked in the mines for most of his life, but when I came along, Mom convinced him it was just too dangerous, so he took a job with the local newspaper. The pay wasn’t great, and he didn’t enjoy working behind a desk, but my mother rested easier at night.”
    I continued to flip through the pages, pointing out special pictures of the three of us together.
    “What happened to them?”
    “Car accident,” I whispered.
    He said nothing, but I could feel his eyes on me as I focused on the photographs.
    “I was spending the day with my grandma while they went into town to do some shopping. An eighteen-wheeler hit them head-on. The driver had fallen asleep.”
    I blinked back my tears and continued turning the pages.
    “I’m sorry, Sarah.”
    Sniffling quietly, I nodded my thanks and pointed at a photo of my parents at Christmas.
    “Your mom was really pretty. You look just like her.”
    I felt my blush creep across my face. “Thanks. Growing up, I looked more like my dad.” I smiled down at a picture of me swimming in the river when I was about eight years old. “See? I have his dimples.”
    “You do.” He laughed lightly, lifting his hand and slowly brushing it against my now flaming cheek. His piercing eyes locked with mine. “Those dimples were one of the first things I noticed about you.”
    His hand lingered there, and I felt my heartbeat quicken. Nervously, I flipped the page, and he dropped his hand, settling it once again in his lap.
    “Is that your grandmother?”
    I nodded. I loved this picture with the two of us smiling brightly into the camera. The little white church stood proudly in the background and a blanket of snow covered the mountains.
    “This was our last Christmas together. She didn’t force me to go to church every week, but I went on Easter and Christmas because I knew it made her happy to have me there.”
    “Church is very important here, it seems,” Lucas said. “My family isn’t particularly religious.”
    “I struggled with it, especially after the death of my parents,” I admitted. “When you live in a small town like this, it’s not always easy to question things. We aren’t encouraged to question. We’re supposed to have faith and believe there’s a reason for everything. That concept was a little hard for a sixteen-year-old girl to grasp.”
    “What about for the twenty-seven-year-old girl? Is it any easier?”
    Suddenly, my vision was filled with the cold, dead eyes of a teenage boy, and my hands began to tremble.
    “No,” I whispered weakly. “Sometimes, it’s even harder.”

 
     
    Chapter 4

     
    Despite the fact that it was late summer, there was a distinct chill in the air. Soon, the leaves would begin to change. Honestly, there were few things more beautiful than the crimson and gold which would soon be visible along the mountains. A little later, the leaves would fall, and what was once a beautiful mosaic of mountain color would turn into a brown, crunchy mess in my yard.
        I couldn’t wait. Raking leaves would just be another sign I was home.
    Just like the meteorologist predicted, it rained on Saturday. The dreary weather gave me the chance to lie around the house in my fuzzy socks, curled up on the couch with a book and a cup of hot chocolate. It was peaceful and relaxing, but as the day lingered, I couldn’t deny I felt a little lonely. I’d gotten rather used to having Lucas around, and for the first time in a week, I was alone.
    “You’re being ridiculous,” I muttered, tossing my book aside and heading toward the kitchen. I searched the pantry shelves for something quick and easy to fix for dinner. I’d just decided on mac and cheese when the phone rang.
    “You’re