The Lake (The Lake Trilogy, Book 1) by AnnaLisa Grant Read Free Book Online Page A

to read the classics over and over again. I must have read The Chronicles of Narnia ten times, but last year something happened. I don’t know how or why, but a switch got flipped and an interest emerged for what I used to call “girly books.” Ok, I didn’t call them that as much as I mocked them. They’re books about life, relationships, and romance. The classics were safe and dependable. Many were so fantastical that I didn’t get emotionally involved because I knew there was no way any of the characters could be real people…mostly because they weren’t people . They were hobbits, ice queens, and animals, but this new genre is different. I don’t know why I started reading them. Maybe I was trying to find out about what I knew I had no one to teach me. I’m levelheaded enough to know the stories are fiction, but they’ve helped me understand the idea of love in a way I never had. Love can be wonderful and romantic, but it can also be the hardest thing to encounter. Somehow, I connect with the characters and trust them.
    My contemplation is interrupted when Claire calls to me that it’s time for lunch. I’ve been lost in my thoughts since after breakfast and it’s time I rejoin the cognizant. I collect myself and walk downstairs to the kitchen where Claire is standing at the island chopping what I assumed are salad ingredients: cucumber s, carrots, lettuce, onions, tomatoes. “Can I help?” I ask eagerly. I figure if I phrase it as I’m helping, rather than working, she’ll let me do something.
    “Definitely!” Claire smiles really big. “Do you enjoy cooking, Layla?”
    “Yes.” I hesitate before I continue, weighing my options. Do I tell her that I was my mother’s sidekick in the kitchen or not? Will it conjure up the bad blood between my father and Luke? If it does, will she take sides? I decide I have to put it out there sooner rather than later so I know what the expectation is. Gram made it clear early on and, while I didn’t like it, at least I knew where the lines were drawn. “I used to help my mom in the kitchen all the time. She taught me how to cook. I’m no gourmet, but I’m pretty good,” I say and wait.
    “Well , maybe we can add that to your list of chores,” she says, smiling and making air quotation marks at the word chores . “I love to cook, but Luke thinks I make spaghetti too much. I bet you could teach me a few things!” she chuckles.
    Not so much as a flinch at the mention of my mother. Not that she would have rolled her eyes or been disrespectful ; Claire’s too classy for that, but I could have been talking about anyone. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was, or maybe it’s Luke that will lay out the perimeter for conversation about my parents. I will test those waters soon. I have to know if I will continue my silence, or if the ban on discussing my parents has been lifted. Oh, how I hope it’s been lifted.
    As I’m getting some left-over chicken from the fridge , Claire informs me that Luke’s assistant on the basement project is here and asks me to get four plates from the cabinet. Luke comes in hot and sweaty from the door to the basement with his apprentice close behind.
    “We meet again,” Will Meyer says as he emerges from behind Luke.
    I’m going to pass out. This can’t be happening.
    “Will, you remember my niece, Layla,” Luke says.
    “How could I forget? It’s nice to see you again.” He wipes his hand on the side of his pants and reaches out to shake mine, flashing his irresistible smile. Even dirty and sweaty, he is still handsome and charming. His hands are strong, like they’ve seen their fair share of work. I’m surprised to see him here. I hadn’t pegged him for a blue-collar-work kind of guy. I thought his people used hired help, not were the hired help. I can’t help but be both confused and impressed at the same time.
    “It’s nice to see you, too.” Too bad no one gets two chances to make a first impression. I’m