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Back A Flicker of Light
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Half Title Page
  3. Books by Katie Powner
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Dedication
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. TWENTY
  27. TWENTY-ONE
  28. TWENTY-TWO
  29. TWENTY-THREE
  30. TWENTY-FOUR
  31. TWENTY-FIVE
  32. TWENTY-SIX
  33. TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. TWENTY-NINE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. THIRTY-FIVE
  42. THIRTY-SIX
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. THIRTY-NINE
  46. FORTY
  47. FORTY-ONE
  48. FORTY-TWO
  49. FORTY-THREE
  50. FORTY-FOUR
  51. FORTY-FIVE
  52. FORTY-SIX
  53. FORTY-SEVEN
  54. FORTY-EIGHT
  55. FORTY-NINE
  56. FIFTY
  57. FIFTY-ONE
  58. FIFTY-TWO
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. About the Author
  61. Back Ads
  62. Back Cover

“I’ve always wondered why my dad is an only child. Most people from my grandma’s generation had like a dozen kids, especially farming families.”

“You’re an only child.”

“I know, but that’s more common now. Back then . . .”

“I’ll do some research. See if I can find anything out.”

“Okay.” Bea drew in a slow, deep breath, then turned. Night had fallen in earnest. “We should head back.”

As they walked side by side, she felt there was more Jeremy wanted to say, but he remained quiet. Snow and gravel crunched under their boots, unusually loud in the stillness. The snow-covered mountain glowed in the moonlight. As they approached a rugged old shiplap house, Bea slowed her pace.

“Look at that.” She jerked her chin at the house.

“Isn’t that your old teacher?”

“Yep.”

“And the old guy from the four-wheeler? Ernest?”

“Earl.”

“He looks happy.”

Through the window, they could see Earl sitting at a table across from Mr. Jamison. A chessboard sat between them with various pieces placed all around as if the game was in full swing. Earl made a move, and Mr. Jamison threw his hands up in mock protest. Earl laughed. Maybe he didn’t need a social worker for the elderly. He just needed someone like Mr. Jamison.

Bea couldn’t help but smile. “His family all moved away, you know. On to bigger and better things. They come visit once in a while, mainly to tell him what to do, but for the most part he’s on his own.”

Jeremy stomped his feet, a sure sign he was losing feeling in his toes. “Looks like he found a friend.”

Bea started walking again but looked back once before the house was out of sight. It was a powerful thing to have a friend. She’d never thought much about it before, but couldn’t just one friend make a world of difference in someone’s life? She thought of Amber. And her dad. He used to have Pastor Frank, but now he kind of had no one.

She had Jeremy. For better or worse. She reached out and took his hand, and he gripped hers back tightly. All those trillions of stars floating around the limitless sky, and she was a speck of dust in the vastness of forever. But she had Jeremy.

THIRTY-ONE

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Her dad paused at the door, keys in hand. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

Bea looked down at Steve as he rubbed his head against her ankle. Part of her wanted to tag along to Grandma June’s appointment, while another part—the part that could barely drag itself out of bed this morning—screamed that this was a rare Friday morning off, and she needed to rest. Plus, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be stuck in the truck with her dad.