Wait for Me Read Free Page A

and turn into a full blown blizzard.  Building a fire in the main fireplace, a chill ran through his body and a sense of unease filled him.  It wasn’t like Lucas to feel restless.  He’d grown accustomed to his isolation and found that he’d made peace with being alone. 
    His knee ached and his muscles were sore from exertion.  Walking around the house searching for something, for what, Lucas couldn’t be sure, all he knew was that everything felt suddenly out of sorts.  After checking all of the rooms and seeing that nothing was out of place, he found himself back in front of the fireplace.  It was completely quiet in the house with the exception of the occasional popping coming from the fire.  When his phone rang, he jumped higher than a grown man should.
    “H’lo,” he answered gruffly, not even bothering to check his caller I.D.
    “Lucas?  Are you okay?” His father.  There were few things that Lucas could count on anymore but one of them was that his father would call him at least once a day just to make sure that he was doing okay and had a conversation with another human being.  While at times it annoyed the hell out of him, other times, like now, these calls were a comfort.
    “Fine, Dad.  How about you?”
    “Oh, your mother and I are up here by you.  She is positively giddy about the snow.”
    Lucas laughed.  As much as Lucas hated being cold, he loved the way the snow looked.  He clearly had gotten that fascination from his mother.  “She always gets like that,” he said with a laugh.  “You just up here for the weekend or staying longer this time?”
    “Depends on the storm,” William said, his tone a little distracted.
    “Dad?  Are you okay?”
    “What? Oh, um, yes, yes; just fine.  How about you?  Do you have everything that you need in case we get snowed in?”
    “Today was my day to stock up so I’m good for a while.”
    “This storm really came out of nowhere, didn’t it?” William asked, worry now lacing his words.
    “Not really,” Lucas said.  “It’s been in the forecast but it’s just a little more intense than they originally thought.  Nothing new for this area.  What’s going on, Dad?  Sounds like you’ve got something on your mind.  You’re not worried about this storm are you?  We’ve lived through ones like this dozens of times before.”
    “I know, I know, it’s just that…,” his voice trailed off.
    “No, I don’t know.  Are you sure you’re okay?”
    “I’ll be fine,” William lied.  “What about you?  Are you there by yourself?”
    Lucas laughed.  “That’s an odd question.  Of course I’m here by myself.  Who else would be here with me?”
    Nervous laughter escaped before William could stop it.  “What was I thinking?” he said, trying to sound lighter.  “As long as you have everything you need.  You’ll call if you have a problem, right?”
    Lucas pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it like it was a foreign object.  Call if he needed anything?  What in the world?  “I’ll be fine, Dad,” he reassured.  “In case you’ve forgotten, I prefer a good storm; it keeps me inside where I like to be.”
    “Lucas,” his father began, “it’s not good for you to be by yourself all the time.  You need to get out of the house more, maybe come back to work or…”
    “I appreciate the concern,” Lucas said with frustration, “but I really don’t feel like having this particular conversation right now.  I just got done stocking the wood shed and I was just about to go and take a hot shower to ease some of the soreness out of my body.”
    “You know I only nag because I love you, son, right?”
    No words could have taken the wind out of his sales more than those.  Pinching the bridge of his nose, Lucas closed his eyes and mentally counted to ten before answering.  “I know you do, Dad; I honestly do.  This is my decision, though, and I need everyone to back off, okay?”
    William didn’t