Lessons Learned (5 page)

By the end of my first week in Sycamore Falls, I found that I loved my new routine. Lucas arrived like clockwork around seven each morning, and we’d share breakfast before he headed out to work on the house. I would spend my time unpacking, shopping, or playing hostess to the many neighbors who dropped by unexpectedly. Everyone had been so kind and always offered a gift to welcome me home—usually something edible. Catherine Thomas, the cashier from the grocery store, had stopped by with an apple pie, much to Lucas’s delight. She’d sat with us at the kitchen table and sighed happily while he devoured three slices.

I couldn’t be certain, but I was pretty sure that was how the rumors started.

I first noticed it when I went back to the hardware store to purchase more paint. I’d smiled patiently while Mr. Johnson told the old men around the counter Lucas was “spending an awful lot of time at Sarah’s house.” And yesterday, when I’d stopped by the grocery store, Catherine had eyed the items in my cart, reminding me Lucas preferred swiss cheese on his sandwiches..

It was inevitable, really. This was a small town and we were two single adults. When you combined those earth-shattering details with the fact he was painting my house, and our classrooms were side-by-side . . .

We really didn’t stand a chance.

It was late in the afternoon, and I was curled up on the couch with one of the photo albums when Lucas appeared in the doorway, announcing it was starting to drizzle.

“There’s a chance of rain tomorrow, too.”

It was disheartening that the weather was suddenly being uncooperative. He couldn’t paint in the rain, which meant we’d be even more behind schedule. It also meant he wouldn’t have an excuse to come over, and I’d be cooking for myself.

This disappointed me more than it should have.

“I thought about asking Tommy to help, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

The house was huge, and I’d worried all along it was too big a project for one person.

“I could paint some on Sunday, too.”

“I don’t know if you should risk it,” I said teasingly. “You might get stoned in the town square for working on the Sabbath.”

The color drained from his face, and I burst out laughing.

“I’m kidding! Just make sure you have all the supplies you need because nothing is open on Sundays around here.”

“I’ve noticed,” Lucas chuckled. He then nodded toward the photo album in my lap. “What are you looking at there?”

“Just some old family pictures.”

I offered him a seat, and he leaned close while we examined the faded photographs, listening intently as I showed him my family history.

“Sarah, will you 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 coming over to our house for dinner, and I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“Hello to you, too,” I laughed into the receiver. “Aubrey, seriously, I appreciate the offer, but I’m just going to make some mac and cheese and call it a night.”

“Nonsense, I want you to meet the baby. Tommy is dying to say hello, and I know for a fact you’re alone in that big old house. Now, grab a pen and jot down my address.”

The red brick house was easy to find, especially with Aubrey standing on the porch, waving wildly.

“You’re here!” Aubrey greeted me with a hug. “Don’t kill me, okay?”

I was just about to ask why I’d want her dead, but then she led me into the brightly lit kitchen, and the mystery was solved.

“Hi,” Lucas said, smiling in my direction. He was sitting at the table, bouncing a toddler on his knee, and for the very first time in my life, my biological clock went into a ticking frenzy.

“Hi,” I managed to whisper.

“Sarah Bray!” Tommy shouted, grabbing me into a bone-crushing hug and lifting me in the air. In school, he’d always been the life of the party. It was nice to see that hadn’t changed, even if he was cutting off my oxygen supply.

Tommy grinned at me and lowered me down to the floor. “Well, Lucas was right. You’re still as good lookin’ as ever. I don’t know what it is about you country girls, but all of you just seem to get prettier with age.”

“Your wife especially,” I said with a laugh.

“Don’t I know it!” Tommy proudly wrapped his arm around Aubrey’s shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, girl.”

“Thanks, it’s good to be back.”

Aubrey headed toward the stove while her husband pushed me toward the empty chair next to Lucas. He seemed to be having a very animated conversation with the child in his lap.

“Who’s your friend?”

The little boy grew silent, but his bright eyes watched my every move.

“This is Daniel,” he said. “Can you show Sarah how old you are?”

Daniel held up three fingers.

“Wow, you’re three?”

He nodded and shot me a toothy grin.

“He’s a little shy around strangers,” Aubrey said as she placed another glass on the table. “Trust me, it won’t last. Lucas was a stranger an hour ago, and now look at them.”

I couldn’t look at them. Seeing Lucas with a baby in his arms was doing crazy things to my heart.

I was going to kill Aubrey.

Dinner was delicious, and the four of us chatted like we’d known each other forever. Of course, three of us had, but Lucas fit right in as if he’d always been a part of our circle.

As the conversation continued into the night, I marveled at the fact that these two people had welcomed me so easily back into their lives. We’d been the very best of friends growing up, and I’d tossed them aside. Nevertheless, here they were, looking at me with friendly eyes and forgiving smiles as they told Lucas a few of the many embarrassing stories from our childhood.

“The river was always freezing,” Tommy said, chuckling lightly. He was trying to be quiet because Daniel was asleep in my arms. As Aubrey predicted, the little boy’s shyness had disappeared. Sharing my mashed potatoes with him probably had a little something to do with his change of heart. After the dishes had been cleared and we settled around the kitchen table, the little guy had crawled right into my arms, and with some gentle rocking, he’d promptly passed out.

Aubrey grinned at me. “Sarah always loved the rope swing.”

“It always scared the rest of the girls, but Sarah was fearless,” Tommy said, draping his arm across the back of his wife’s chair. “She’d just dangle from the rope and jump right in.”

“Wasn’t it dangerous?” Lucas asked me, clearly disturbed I’d so willingly fling myself into a river.

Tommy laughed. “Hell yeah, it was dangerous, but we were kids and thought we were invincible.”

“But we weren’t,” I whispered, gazing down at the baby 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.”