Page 42 of Luke

"She was mad at me," Kaitlyn murmured, her voice so soft Lizzie could barely hear her.

"Even if she was mad about something, she still loved you."

"You don't know that. You weren't there. You weren't ever there. You act like you were so close to my mom, but you weren't. So stop trying to pretend you know anything."

She frowned at another reminder of some estrangement she hadn't even been aware of. "If your mom was angry because we didn't spend enough time together, I'm sorry. I didn't know that. She didn't say anything to me. I loved her."

Kaitlyn gave her a disbelieving look.

She sat down on the bed. "That's the truth, Kaitlyn. After our dad left, Kelly took care of me. My mom worked all the time, and she had other issues with depression and drinking, so sometimes she forgot to make dinner or buy groceries. Kelly was the one who helped me with my homework and made sure I had something to eat. She was only six years older than me, but she was like a mother to me." She drew in a shaky breath. "I miss her, Kaitlyn. I know you do, too. We have that in common. I wish you could see that."

Kaitlyn's eyes glittered with unshed tears, but she didn't let them fall. She wiped her eyes, then got up from the bed and walked to the door.

"Wait," Lizzie said, feeling like she'd blown it again by talking about Kelly, but maybe she should just be happy that she'd gotten some response out of Kaitlyn, even if it was negative. She rose to her feet. "I really wish you'd come with us on the hike."

"I hate hiking. I'll be at the pool."

She sighed as Kaitlyn left the room. Since her niece hated pretty much everything, it wasn't surprising hiking was on the list.

As she went downstairs, she replayed their conversation in her head, realizing that she had learned one important piece of information, and she probably should have focused on that. Kaitlyn had said her mother was angry with her before she died. It was probably over nothing, just teenage girl stuff, but maybe she needed to find out exactly what it was.

Later, she told herself. She'd go hiking and give Kaitlyn a chance to calm down, and then she would try again.

* * *

"When did you start hiking?" Brad asked Luke as they waited for the others to gather outside the lodge.

"When I was seven," he replied. "It was here in this valley. My parents used to bring me and my brothers to the resort for family vacation."

"So you've been to Wolmer Falls?"

"No. We went to a waterfall, but that wasn't the name, and it was not very far from here."

"Sweetheart Falls," Brad said with a nod. "It's a half mile behind the lodge. It's not very big, but the little kids love it."

"It seemed big to me at the time," he said with a grin. "Anyway, years later, in my late teens, I climbed Half Dome and about seven years ago, I did El Capitan. I included some of that footage in my first film."

"I remember. You captured the experience perfectly. I've had the pleasure of doing both twice. It never gets old."

"No, it doesn't."

"But you've been all over the world. You've climbed Everest. That's amazing." Brad gave him a sheepish smile. "As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan. You're a rock star to the guys I hang out with."

He laughed. "Trust me, I have met a lot of people far more bad ass than me," he said, genuinely meaning it. "I push the boundaries, but I've filmed people who have never heard of boundaries."

"When is the next film coming out?"

"Hopefully in six weeks to two months. We just shot the last segment. Now it's onto editing."

"And then what?"

He grinned at Brad's enthusiasm. "I have some ideas; we'll see how they develop."

"What ideas are those?" Lizzie asked, joining their conversation.

"For my next film," he said.

"And…" she asked, curiosity in her eyes.

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