Let's Get Lost Read Online Free PDF Page A

legs were falling asleep. “We were waiting for the coals to get hot,” Hudson said.
    â€œWell, looks like they’re just about ready to go,” Walter said, even though Hudson knew very well that they’d been ready for a while. Walter grabbed the tray of patties and put three down on the grill, smiling at the satisfying sizzle of the meat beginning to cook.
    â€œWant some help, Pop?”
    â€œI’ve got it, thanks.”
    Other fathers might have turned around and winked at their son, or smiled. But Hudson liked his dad’s reserved way of showing affection, the silent acceptance of cooking duties.
    â€œSo, Leila,” Walter asked when the burgers were ready, bringing them to the table, “Hudson tells me you’re not from Vicksburg. What brings you over here?”
    â€œI’m zigzagging my way up the country to go see the Northern Lights,” she said.
    Walter picked at the label on his beer, peeling until the corner curled away from the glass. “That’s one hell of a road trip. You’re doing it by yourself?”
    â€œYup.” Leila nodded.
    â€œWell, everyone needs at least one long road trip in their lives,” Walter said. “I was probably about your age when I did mine.”
    â€œWhere’d you go?”
    â€œCalifornia to New York. Sea to shining sea.” He kept peeling the label off, lost in thought. His dad always got that look on his face when he talked about that road trip. Hudson had asked him about it more times than he could remember, but no matter how much Walter told him, Hudson could never really get a feel for what his dad had been like back then. It was strange to think that there was a part of his dad he’d never know, two whole decades’ worth of memories that did not include Hudson.
    â€œThis kid hasn’t taken one yet,” he said, snapping out of it and motioning toward Hudson.
    â€œWhat are you talking about? I’ve been with you on tons of road trips.”
    â€œDoesn’t count,” Walter said, sipping from his beer. “On your own is what I meant. You get yourself a part-time job in college, something that won’t get in the way of your studies, and maybe you’ll save up enough to travel during the summers. And, if you really impress me with your grades”—Walter paused for effect—“I might give you a free oil change for your first trip.”
    â€œNow I see where Hudson gets his wit,” Leila said, kicking Hudson playfully under the table.
    He kicked back lightly, wishing that he was barefoot and then feeling a bit creepy for it. “Why the Northern Lights anyway?”
    Leila shrugged. “It’s just something I know I have to do.”
    â€œLife to-do list sort of thing?”
    â€œSomething like that,” Leila said.
    â€œIs this your first road trip?” Walter asked.
    Leila took another bite of her burger. God, she was attractive even when she was chewing. It made Hudson want to cook for her. She gave a slight nod.
    When she was done chewing, she took a sip of her soda and wiped at the corner of her mouth with a paper napkin. “I’m on a little break from school right now and thought it was a good time for some traveling.”
    Hudson nodded, then realized he had no idea what that meant. “Like, college? Did you take a year off after high school?” It was hard to tell how old she was. Between sixteen and...twenty? Maybe?
    â€œNope.” She took the last bite of her burger, and for a second it seemed as if she’d done that so she wouldn’t have to say anything else. Then she swallowed and said, “I’ve been stuck in kindergarten for years. This trip around the country is so I can finally learn the alphabet.”
    As his dad chuckled, Leila smirked at Hudson, and he could feel her face etching itself into his memory.
    â€œI’m kidding, Hudson. You haven’t been hanging around with a