She Never Knew Read Online Free Page B

the luncheon. No, she shouldn’t stay at the house. Yes, she should
leave and fly back south to her apartment. Her aunt and uncle would take care
of her parents’ estate.
    Her aunt’s words
stung Kat to the core. She felt like an outsider and knew that deep down, her
family held her responsible for the loss of her parents. It really was her
fault. If it weren’t for her, they would still be alive today. If she hadn’t
suggested vacationing another week after her graduation, they wouldn’t have
died. No matter how one looked at it, she was ultimately to blame.
    Heartbroken, Kat
desperately yearned for Michael. He always knew what to do and what to say. She
felt extraordinarily alone and frightened. And this time, she was on her own,
for good.
    Two weeks later,
Kat had received a package from her aunt. In it was a dinnerware set that had
belonged to her maternal grandmother. Her aunt had included a short note
explaining that Kat’s mother wanted her to have the dishes and that she would
soon hear from an estate lawyer, her father’s best friend, in regards to the
sale of her parents’ house. No words of affection were offered. No information
about Mary was provided. It was as if the package served as the final
communication link between Kat and her family. It would be a long time before
she would be in contact with them.    
    It had been over
six years since that fateful day. To Kat, the memories of losing them were
still quite fresh. She knew she would never get over their deaths. She also
missed Mary terribly, despite her sister’s treatment toward her. However, the
time had given Kat a chance to accept her losses and learn to deal with them.
She had to, for Tyler’s sake.
    A lone tear fell
slowly down Kat’s cheek. Not wanting Tyler to see her cry, she quickly brushed
away the tear from her face. She put her hand on Tyler’s back and rubbed it
gently.
    She said
quietly, “I miss all of them very much. I know that God is taking really good
care of them for us. And someday, when we go to Heaven, God will take care of
us too.”
    Tyler took the
picture from Kat and held it in his small hands. Studying his grandparents and
the man whom he believed was his father, “I don’t really remember them, Mommy.”
    “I know, honey.
They died before you were born.”
    “And before you
got married, right? What’s that word again?”
    “Engaged?” Kat
inquired, raising an eyebrow. She wondered where her son learned that word.
    Tyler nodded.
“Yes, engaged. Is that like when you pretend to be married?” He played with the
small diamond engagement ring that was still on Kat’s finger from when Michael
had proposed to her.
    Kat smiled at
her son’s inquisitiveness. “Kind of. Being engaged means when there are two
people who love each other want to marry each other.”
    “And live forever
with each other?”
    “Yes, forever.”
    Tyler appeared
content with his mother’s explanation as he continued to look at the three
people in the picture smiling at him. After a few minutes had passed, she said,
“All right. Let’s go eat dinner before it gets cold. You have Taekwondo class
in one hour.”
    “Okay, Mommy.”

Chapter 3
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Breathing a sigh
of relief that they had arrived safely, Kat and Tyler huddled together
underneath her oversized umbrella as they stepped out of her car. While the training
academy was only a few miles from her house, the drive over was a bit
unnerving. The soft rain had turned into a downpour, creating large puddles of
water in the streets and making it difficult to see. It didn’t help that it was
windy, too. Sprays of mist showered onto Kat’s face as she struggled to keep
Tyler dry as possible. As they quickly walked toward the entrance of the
building, Kat saw the lights inside the building flicker. I wonder if we’ll
lose power tonight, she thought .
    When they reached
the door, Tyler immediately spotted his best friend Eli and ran over to join
him. They