How I Came to Sparkle Again by Kaya McLaren Read Free Book Online Page A

one. I’ll orient you.”
    “Take her out for some turns tomorrow!” Eric shouted from the other room. “National Weather Service says ten inches possible tonight!”
    Lisa’s face lit up. “Yeah!” she shouted.
    Tom turned to Lisa and said, “Lisa baby, I’ve got your ten inches tonight.”
    “Noted,” she said, and rolled her eyes.
    “Well, my offer stands,” Tom said. “All right, everybody, I’m out.” Stout woke up when Tom opened the door and trotted behind Tom as he jogged back to the trailer.
    “Hey, girl, thanks for lining me up with a job like that,” Jill said. “I mean, I know I can’t stay in Sparkle and hide forever, but it feels so good to stay here and hide for a while,”
    “Mm,” Lisa replied, watching Tom and thinking of the candle lit in his window last night. What was that feeling in her gut? Contempt? Jealousy? It couldn’t be jealousy. She would never want to be that girl. And “girl” was undoubtedly the operative word. Finally she snapped out of it and said, “This is going to be the best winter you’ve had since you were twenty.”

 
     
    chapter three
    SNOW REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 22
Current temperature: 28, high of 31F at 3 P.M. , low of 22F at 4 A.M.
Clear skies, winds out of the southwest at 15 mph with gusts of up to 20 mph.
28" mid-mountain, 35" at the summit. 0" new in the last 24 hours. 4" of new in the last 48.
    The day before Thanksgiving, Cassie and Mr. Nelson sat in silence across his desk from each other in the counseling office at her school. His blond hair was graying, and he looked tired. His body was turned sideways, and he had one leg crossed over the other. One elbow rested on the table for a moment as he took his glasses off, rubbed his eyebrows, and put them back on. Cassie didn’t think he was particularly smart, but she did think he was big-hearted. Some kids said he was an alcoholic, which made Cassie wonder if he simply didn’t know what to say to her, or whether he was wishing he had a drink.
    “So, Cassie, your teacher asked me to talk to you about this.” He pushed a paper across the desk to her.
    Cassie didn’t touch the paper or even look at it. She knew what it was. It was her Thanksgiving essay. The topic was, of course, “What I Am Thankful For.” Across the top, she had written the heading with her name and date, and then the title, as Mrs. Campbell asked them to for all of their assignments. Under the title, she had simply written, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” in capital letters, underlined twice.
    Mr. Nelson looked at her and waited for her to say something.
    Cassie hoped he wouldn’t back her into a corner. She liked him and didn’t want to unleash all of her anger, but she was prepared to. He can’t make me apologize, she thought. He can’t make me do anything.
    “How about your dad? Are you thankful for your dad?” Mr. Nelson asked.
    Should I have to be thankful for my dad? Cassie wondered. She looked sour and said nothing.
    “How about your health? Aren’t you thankful for that?” Mr. Nelson asked again.
    She didn’t really care. Now that she didn’t have enough will to race, her health didn’t really matter to her anymore. God, don’t let him talk about all the kids less fortunate than me, she thought. I don’t care. I’ve got my own problems.
    Mr. Nelson changed his approach and reached for a picture of his father and him in hip waders and fishing vests, both holding up large trout. He handed it to her. “That is my dad. He died two years ago. I miss him like crazy. Whenever I catch a big fish, I wish he was there to see it.”
    Cassie looked at the picture and softened. Then she looked up at the sadness in Mr. Nelson’s eyes and handed it back.
    He looked at it again and smiled a heartbroken smile. “When we were together, I felt peaceful, like he just understood everything.”
    Cassie listened sympathetically, but still, she did not speak. She couldn’t find the words even if she wanted to. She looked at the