Page 16 of Luke

"Of course you have. So you know how much this area has to offer. With just a few changes and a little more investment, this resort could be a premier destination vacation for not just families but also thrill seekers."

"You hate thrill seekers. Why would you want to attract them?"

She sighed. "I don't hate thrill seekers, and we are not talking about us, Luke."

"Maybe we should."

He stepped forward, and she had to fight the urge to step back, but the last thing she wanted was to show any weakness.

"This place is not you, Lizzie," he said, giving her a puzzled look. "Why are you fighting so hard to stay here? I can't imagine you like it that much. You never even wanted to go camping with me. You said there was too much dirt, too many bugs, that nature wasn't your thing."

"That was a long time ago." She paused. "You're right. I wasn't into country getaways before; I was a city girl. But since I've started working here, I've come to appreciate the beauty around me. I thought I would hate all the quiet, but it's comforting after the year I've had. Most importantly, this place is good for Kaitlyn."

"But what about your music? Your career? It meant everything to you. If you couldn't play the piano, you couldn't breathe. Why couldn't you rent a place in LA or some other city and raise Kaitlyn there? Why did you have to come all the way out here?"

"I tried to make Los Angeles work in the beginning. I couldn't keep the house my sister was renting; it was too expensive. But I was able to get a one-bedroom apartment for Kaitlyn and myself. I gave her the bedroom and I slept on the couch. I wanted to keep her in her school and with her friends, but she went wild after the funeral, Luke. She was angry and rebellious and getting into all kinds of trouble. She turned away from her old friends and fell in with a wild crowd. She came home after school one day, and she was drunk and had two new piercings in her ear. I had no idea what to do. Then one of the moms at the school called me and said she saw Kaitlyn smoking with a bunch of older boys outside of a sandwich shop when she was supposed to be at school. She was worried about Kaitlyn, and so was I. That's when I realized I had to make a big move. It was terrifying, but the job up here with a place to stay was the very best alternative."

He gazed back at her. "But you gave up your whole life."

"So I could protect Kaitlyn's. Someday maybe I'll get back to music, but I can't worry about that now. I have bigger problems. Life isn't always about dreams; sometimes it's just about survival. Right now, I'm raising a kid who doesn't like me much and likes her new home even less. But I still think it's the best place for both of us. So that's it. That's my story."

Luke's stare was unreadable and went on far too long.

Finally, she turned away, looking out at the view. Unfortunately, the view reminded her of the last hike they'd taken, the one where Luke had told her that he was leaving school and wanted her to join him for the summer…

She didn't want to think about that day.

"We should go back," she said, turning to face Luke.

"It's like the last time, isn't it?" he asked, either reading her mind or letting the same old memory run through his head. "We climbed to the top of Mount Baldy on the first day of summer between our junior and senior year."

"You talked me into it, and I let you, because I had a feeling you had something big on your mind, and I had to hear it. I think I knew even before you said the words that you were leaving. You were dropping out of college; you were going to travel the world and have adventures."

"And you said you'd go with me, at least for the summer. But you didn't show up at the plane. I waited so long I missed the flight. I called, texted—no answer from you."

She swallowed hard at the reminder. "I couldn't go with you, Luke. I couldn't give up my dream."

"I didn't ask you to give up your dream; I asked you to give me three months. You could have gone back to school in September."

"It wouldn't have been any easier to say good-bye in September, not after a summer together."

"Why didn't you just say that, Lizzie? Why leave me hanging?"

"Because I was young and scared of making the wrong choice. I was afraid if I told you I wasn't going, you'd find a way to talk me into it. It was cowardly not to tell you to your face. I'm not proud of what I did."

"You shouldn't be," he agreed. "You owed me more than that."

"I felt awful after you left, Luke. It hurt so bad. I missed you so much. I almost jumped on a plane to follow you a dozen times."

"But you didn't, and it took you almost three months to answer a text."

"You were so angry with me."

"Hell, yes, I was angry," he said, waving his hand in the air. "You broke us up."

She shook her head. "No, that's not all on me. You broke us up when you decided to leave school. We could have had that summer and another year together. You didn't have to go then. But you wanted to have everything your way. You wanted to travel the world. You wanted to start making films. Did you ever once ask yourself what I might want or need—beyond you? Not playing piano for three months wasn't going to be good for my career."

He gave her a look of disbelief. "You were brilliant. You could have taken off a year and still been better than anyone else. But I wasn't asking for a year, only three months."

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