Lessons Learned Read Online Free PDF Page B

sleeping peacefully in my arms. We’d just been kids, without a care in the world and with no idea how fragile life could be. We took it for granted, as most kids do, and had no clue of the dangers that lurked outside our sheltered little world.
    I looked up to find Lucas’s eyes on me, all warm and soft. We shared a smile while Tommy and Aubrey continued telling their stories. They really didn’t need our input. They were finishing each other’s sentences, just like always.
    “How’s your arm?” Lucas asked softly.
    “Numb,” I mumbled, making him laugh.
    “Oh, let me put him to bed,” Aubrey offered, rising to her feet. “I have a feeling the boys are getting ready to desert us.”
    Tommy was already standing and looking forlornly toward the living room.
    “Football,” Aubrey muttered, rolling her eyes. She lifted the baby into her arms. “We’ll be right back.”
    “But it’s the Colts . . .” Tommy’s voice faded as he followed her down the hallway, leaving Lucas and I alone at the kitchen table.
    “Isn’t it a little early for football?” Granted, I wasn’t a sports fanatic, but football was typically on television in the fall, and we were still in the middle of August.
    “It’s a preseason game.”
    “Oh.” I nodded, as if this made perfect sense.
    “Speaking of football, Tommy is going to bring some of his players over on Monday. He thinks with their help, we can probably get the house painted in a couple of days.”
    This was great news, although it definitely meant another trip to the store to restock the fridge. I didn’t know much about football players, but I had a feeling they liked to eat.
    “That’s nice of them, but I think they just want the free food,” I teased.
    “I can’t blame them. The food’s great.” Lucas grinned at me, leaning a little closer. “He also invited me to church tomorrow at Sycamore Baptist. Everything in this town is Sycamore something . . .”
    I laughed.
    “Yeah, we aren’t really creative with the names. Are you going?”
    He nodded thoughtfully.  “I think so. Everyone has been so welcoming to me, and I’ve been invited many times. It seems like I should make an effort, you know?”
    “I can understand that, yeah.”
    “What’s it like?”
    “Church? I wouldn’t know. I haven’t been inside Sycamore Baptist since my grandma’s funeral, but I imagine it’s the same. Very traditional, a lot of shouting . . .”
    He looked puzzled. “Shouting?”
    “It can get very . . . spirited.” I smiled at him. “You’ll see.”
    “You could come with me.”
    It wasn’t the first church invitation I’d received, but it was the first time I actually felt guilty for saying no. Just because I’d found some peace with religion didn’t mean I was ready to sit in a pew.
    “I don’t think I’m ready, Lucas.”
    Just then, Tommy and Aubrey reappeared, and I breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Lucas offered me a gentle smile before following Tommy into the living room, and I joined Audrey over at the sink.
    “Now, aren’t you glad you came?” Aubrey asked with a mischievous grin.
    “It was fun,” I admitted, smiling as she handed me a hand towel. “Tommy hasn’t changed a bit, and Daniel is adorable.”
    “Lucas is pretty adorable, too.”
    I shot her a glare.
    “Come on, you can’t tell me seeing him with a baby didn’t make your heart beat just a little faster. I know it did, because there is nothing sexier than a man who is good with kids.”
    I said nothing, which was a mistake because, in my silence, she had her answer.
    “I knew it,” she sang triumphantly.
    “Aubrey, this little matchmaking scheme of yours isn’t going to work.”
    “It might work. You should have seen his face when you were holding Daniel.”
    “You’re crazy.”
    “I know what I saw,” Aubrey said, handing me a plate to rinse. “He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
    “I am not having this discussion with you.”
    “Why not?”
    “Oh,