BooksBarbecue
Back A Flicker of Light Save as PDF
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

“It’s Bea.” She pulled her coat from the rack and snatched the keys to the Toyota off the hook on the wall. “And I need some fresh air. Tell Jeremy I’ll be back in a little while.”

Mitch opened his mouth in protest, but she slipped through the door and slammed it behind her, leaving a blast of cold air and her angry words lingering in the hall. He hadn’t meant it about Jeremy. It wasn’t Jeremy he blamed, it was himself. And he hadn’t meant it about the cat, either. Steve hadn’t given him any trouble. He’d keep them all here forever if he could, but wasn’t he allowed to be concerned about his only child? About her future?

What about two years ago? Had he shown concern for her then or only himself?

He’d blown it big-time.

An elk bugle broke into his thoughts, and he realized he was still staring at the door. Shaking his head, he hurried to the kitchen to find his phone. Who would be calling him on a Sunday? It better not be the town office calling about another pothole emergency.

He saw his father’s name on the phone screen, and his throat constricted.

“Hello? Dad?”

“Mitch, it’s your mother.”

His heart dropped a beat. “What happened?”

“I spent the morning riding Rattler. I needed some time. I took the truck keys with me, in case she got any ideas, but I never dreamed . . .”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“Your mother.” It was the voice of a man who blamed himself. “She’s gone.”

TWENTY-THREE

ch-fig

The car jolted over a pothole as Bea raced out of Moose Creek, knocking the Toyota off track. She yelped and jerked the steering wheel to correct her course. What was Dad’s problem? How could he say those things? Ever since she and Jeremy had arrived, he’d been looking to pick a fight.

It wasn’t his life. She should’ve known coming back here wouldn’t work. Nothing had been the same since Mom died, especially her relationship with her father. He couldn’t even look at her the same way anymore.

The miles flew past under her pathetic little tires as she ignored the speed-limit signs. The farther from Moose Creek she drove, the better she felt.

The morning sickness had hit her hard this morning. Every smell throughout the entire house had wrenched her stomach enough to make her want to gag. She cracked her window and turned up Pass Creek Road. Ah, the smell of the mountain. That was more like it. Her life was coming apart at the seams, but the mountain? The mountain made more sense than anything else.