Lost by Christina Draper Read Free Book Online

the old family home and spent his time fixing up the lake
house as he called it. The three older boys used to love to go out and help
him putter around the house. They would do projects together, and then fish
from the dock in the late afternoon sun. I used to get picture after picture on
my cell phone—Sam holding a fish, Carey pushing Sam into the lake because he
couldn’t catch a fish, and Brian’s dad always laughing at his grandsons.
Occasionally, Brian would join them, leaving the girls and I to enjoy our girlie time.
    And when
Brian’s father passed away, he left the house to us with the request that we
continue to fix it up. And we did. There was still a list on the fridge of
projects that Brian wanted to get done. I refused to throw it out, thinking
that one day the boys and I would complete that list.
    But in my
dreams the future didn’t have just the boys and I fixing up the place. Brian
was there too. Maybe we would sell the house and move there permanently after
the boys had moved out. Brian would build that boat house he wanted with the
party deck that I wanted, and we would have our friends over. And one day,
maybe our grandkids would come over to swim. He would finish the kitchen we had
designed together with the concrete countertops that I had to have. The tree
that Sam, Carey, and Jimmy planted out back would be big enough for a tire
swing, and the girls—teenagers then—would swing on it as their father looked
on.
    We had so many
dreams, and now they only lived in my mind. Sometimes they felt so real that I
found myself crying when I woke up, angry that I was ripped away from what
should have been.
    And now it was
bittersweet, because I forced myself to see the lake house with just the six of
us. Maybe, I would sell our house and move everyone there. Maybe Sam and I
could figure out how to pour the concrete countertops into the forms that Brian
had built the last time he was up there. Maybe our grandchildren would come
visit me, and maybe I would buy a dog to keep me company.
    Thinking about
the lake house without Brian there beside me hurt so deeply I couldn’t describe
it, and yet a part of me felt like finishing that list of projects. I’m sure
it’s what he would have wanted.
    I drifted off
to sleep, thinking of trees and tire swings and what should have been.

Chapter
11
    “God, my head hurts!” I sat up and
clutched my head between my hands, willing the pounding headache to go away.
    I looked around
the room, searching for some sign of the girls. The other side of the bed was
empty, the covers thrown back, and the door was open. I heard Maggie’s voice
drift up the stairs. I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I
jumped in the shower, thankful for the towels Bee must have put out for me. The
warm water running over my sore body felt good, and the headache quickly
receded as the warm water did its job and woke me up. I quickly shampooed my
hair, and then ran soap over my body. After rinsing off, I jumped out of the
shower ready to tackle whatever it is animal control brought my way. I pulled
on the shorts and T-shirt I had hastily grabbed last night and walked down the
stairs. The girls were in the kitchen with Bee, Anthony, Jimmy, and Ant. No
sign of Carey and Sam yet.
    “Hi, Mommy!”
Maggie danced over to me and slipped her arms around my waist. “Mrs. B said to
let you rest.”
    I thanked Bee
with my eyes and walked over to sit next to Anthony. “Thanks for last night.
For helping with the kids, what happened at the house...”
    Anthony put the
newspaper down and looked at me. Anthony was about 5 years older than Bee and
I. As a retired Army colonel he had seen a lot in his life, but he was also one
of the kindest men I knew. Concern was evident in his soft, chocolate eyes.
    “Jules, we are
here for you. Always. No matter what.” He sounded just like his wife. He turned
around and said to Ant and Jimmy, “Why don’t you guys take the girls out back?
It’s a beautiful