Page 66 of Luke

Twelve

Luke smiled as Kaitlyn sat down on the bench next to him. She'd changed into leggings and a sweatshirt, and with her hair down and damp from a shower, no hint of her usual heavy makeup, she looked very much like a young, sweet girl.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Okay." She looked around. "I've never been up here before."

"Really? Never? It's a perfect place for stargazing." He turned his gaze upward. "I always feel good when I can see the stars. It makes me feel like the world is bigger and that my problems are very small. And away from the city, the stars shine so much brighter, don't you think?"

"Yeah. There are a lot out tonight. Not like LA where I used to live."

"They're there—you just can't see them."

She nodded but didn’t reply, and he didn't bother with another question. She had something on her mind, and she'd tell him when it felt right.

Finally, she said, "I miss my parents."

"I know." He paused. "I miss mine, too, and I'm a lot older than you. I don't need a mom and a dad anymore, but it still feels wrong that they're gone."

"Do you remember your mom?"

"Not as well as I wish I did. I was seven when she died. My memories are fleeting, but even when I can't really see her face, I can hear her voice, and I can remember the way I felt when she was with me. I was one of seven kids, but I always felt like she saw me. She saw each and every one of us." He took a breath, then added. "It was different with my father. To him, I think we were just a pack of boys. Sometimes when I'd get in trouble he couldn't even remember my name. He'd run through a couple of my brothers' names before he'd get to me. Although, he rarely started with James. James was my perfect older brother. I was nowhere close to perfect."

"What did you do that was bad?" she asked curiously.

"A lot of things I shouldn't have done. Luckily, I often had a brother looking out for me. That probably saved me a few times."

"I wish I had brothers or sisters. Then I wouldn't be so alone."

"You've got Lizzie," he reminded her.

"I know, but she—she should hate me. I've said some mean things to her. I hurt her feelings."

"But she doesn't hate you. She loves you like crazy. You need to let her in, Kaitlyn. She's not going to try to take your mom's place, but you can give her a place of her own, can't you? She'd die for you. She proved that today."

"I know. I couldn't believe it when she climbed down the mountain to get me. I never thought she was brave at all. I mean—she's afraid of spiders."

He smiled and tipped his head, remembering all the spiders he'd killed for Lizzie. "You're right. She hates spiders. But we all have fears. It's how we deal with them that matters. And if you'd landed in the middle of a nest of spiders, she still would have gone down that mountain for you, because she loves you. You're her blood. She will do anything for you. I hope you know that now."

"I do." She licked her lips. "I wasn't very nice to you, either, when you caught me with Rex and Will."

"I'll give you a pass on that one, but I hope you don't make that mistake again."

"I won't. I know it was stupid to go with them. I don't even like them that much."

"I'm glad you know it was stupid. You're in a fragile state right now. You need to let the people around you protect you. Your aunt wants the best for you and so does everyone else around here. In case you didn't notice, you have a lot of supporters here."

"I don't know why," she said in bemusement.

He smiled. "Because you're young and you've suffered a terrible loss, and everyone can see that your anger covers your pain. But I also see a lot of strength in you, Kaitlyn. You've got guts. And you've got passion. You just need to let your brain into the mix."

"I was scared when I went past Last Chance Rock, but I thought if I could get to the top, I would feel better. I would make my mother proud again. But I didn't make it."

"I think you got to exactly where you needed to be," he said.

"What does that mean?"

"One of the Sherpas on my Mt. Everest climb told me that he sees more people fail than succeed, but they never go home a loser, because they got where they needed to go. They learned what they needed to learn. For some, that's a mile up. For me, I had to climb the whole damn mountain."

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