Page 63 of Luke

She wanted to stay in this warm circle of love forever, but they needed to get off this mountain before dark. She pulled away, and gazed up at Luke with so many words she wanted to say but no time to say them. So she settled for, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said with a smile, letting go of her, but not stepping too far away. "I'll make a rock climber out of you yet, Lizzie."

"I don't think so. That adrenaline rush will last me a good long time."

"It does feel a little good though, doesn't it?" he teased.

She had to admit that conquering her fears and climbing both down and back up did make her feel rather triumphant. "Maybe a little," she conceded. "Now let's go home."

"You've got it." Luke collected the ropes and put them back in his pack and then led the way down the path.

Lizzie took Kaitlyn's hand when they had enough room to walk side-by-side, and when they didn't, she followed close behind her niece, keeping Kaitlyn safely between Luke and herself.

When they got back to Wolmer Falls, they took a break by the pools. Luke pulled out water bottles and they each took long, welcome drinks.

"So, time to fill me in," Luke said. "I didn't hear much of what you and Kaitlyn were talking about." He turned to Kaitlyn. "Why did you come all the way up here by yourself? Were you looking for the gold?"

Liz knew Luke was curious, but she wanted to protect her niece from his questions, in case they triggered more bad memories. "It's okay. She doesn't need to talk about it now," she said quickly.

"I can tell him," Kaitlyn said. "I—I want to tell him, and I want to tell you."

"Okay," she said, thinking she'd gotten past the heart-pounding stuff, but maybe not.

Kaitlyn licked her lips as she faced both of them. "I was thinking about the accident today because it's my mom's birthday. I pulled out the photo albums and when I saw how happy we used to be, it made me sad, and it made me angry."

"That's understandable," she murmured.

Kaitlyn licked her lips. "The night of the accident, my parents were arguing in the car. It was really late at night and we were driving through the mountains. My mom had wanted to leave earlier, but I was at a party with some other kids, and I wanted to stay, and my dad said it was okay." She drew in a breath. "On our way home, it started to rain, and it was hard to see out the windows. Mom was scared. I was feeling sick because the road was so curvy. And then a car came out of nowhere, and the lights blinded me and Dad, too, I guess. My mom screamed and then we crashed through something and we were flying. The car flipped over a couple of times, and I was crying and crying. I thought we were all going to die."

Lizzie's heart tore apart at Kaitlyn's words. Kaitlyn wasn't just describing what had happened to her but the last few moments of her sister's life. A part of her wanted Kaitlyn to stop, but another part of her wanted her to keep going.

"When we finally stopped, we were at a slant. The front end of the car was smashed against the trees. Daddy's eyes were closed, and there was blood coming down his face. Mommy was trying to get her seat belt off, but she couldn't. She told me it would be okay. She said I should get out of the car. See what was around us. I told her I would get help, and she said she was proud of me, that I was being brave." A tear fell from Kaitlyn's eye, and she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

"But I wasn't brave," she continued. "I got outside, and it was really dark and rainy. There was a big hill in front of me. I went over there, and I started to climb up, but I slipped, and then I was too scared to try again." She took another breath. "I went back to the car, and I was going to get in, but it started to slide so I jumped out. I tried to talk to Mommy through the window, but she wouldn't talk back. So I sat down on the ground. Then the firemen came and they took me up the hill, and I never saw Mommy or Daddy again."

Lizzie stepped forward and put her arms around Kaitlyn's trembling shoulders. "Oh, honey, I am so sorry you had to go through that. Your mom wanted you to be safe; that's why she told you to get out of the car. She wouldn't have wanted you to climb that hill if it was dangerous. I know that."

"But if I'd gotten to the road, maybe I could have saved them," Kaitlyn said, pulling away, anguish in her eyes. "I could have waved down a car, but I was too scared so I did nothing. I should have died with them."

She immediately shook her head. "No, Kaitlyn. You deserve to live, and your mother and your father would want you to live. You were their greatest joy. I know they're watching down on you right now. They want nothing for you but happiness and a long, long, happy life."

"You should hate me. You lost your sister."

"Never," she said fiercely. "I don't hate you at all. It's not your fault what happened."

"But if I hadn't wanted to stay at the party—"

"You can't think of all the things that could have happened differently," she told her. "Your dad made the choice to stay later. It was just an accident. It wasn't anyone's fault. I'll tell you that as many times as you need to hear it in order to believe it. Because it's the truth."

"I came up here today because I thought if I could go past Last Chance Rock and be really brave, my mom would somehow know that I wasn't a coward."

"Your mom knows. It was her necklace, the one she gave to you, that led us to you. I think she was watching over you."

A look of wonder came over Kaitlyn's face. "Do you think so?"

"I do." She gave Kaitlyn another hug, then glanced over at Luke.

He was watching them both with compassion and kindness in his warm brown eyes.

---