From a Distant Star

by McQuestion, Karen

  “Huh.” She gave Lucas a nod of approval. “But everything is okay now?”

  “Never better.”

  I reached into my purse. “One more thing.” I pulled out her gun, safely in its case, and put it on the table. “I want to return this. Thank you. You were right. It was good to have.”

  “I had a feeling it might be,” she said, putting it back in the kitchen drawer.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  That night, Lucas and I took a walk behind the barn to look at the stars. It was a good night for doing just that—the night sky seemed to stretch endlessly overhead, the stars shining brilliantly, all of them competing to be the most beautiful. I swear I even saw a few of them twinkle.

  I thought about how we’d look from above. Two tiny people out of billions living on planet Earth. One planet, in one solar system, in one galaxy. Insignificant in number, and yet out of all the people on this particular planet, we were the ones Scout had wound up coming to for help and friendship. Us. It had to be fate.

  I said, “I always knew it was possible that there were other planets like ours, with intelligent life, but it didn’t seem real, you know?”

  “I know,” he said, putting his arm around my shoulders. “But it is real. They’re out there.” I still had Scout’s pod in my closet at home, and occasionally Lucas and I took it out and marveled over it. Proof that the whole thing had actually happened.

  More proof that it happened? The night before Lucas and I had watched a movie on TV, and we didn’t shut it off when the news came on, the way we normally would have. When the anchorwoman announced an upcoming story, I sat up and held my breath. The banner across the bottom of the screen repeated her words: a little girl in northern Wisconsin miraculously cured of cancer. When Chloe and her mother, Amy, appeared on the screen, I grabbed Lucas’s arm. “I know them,” I said, excitedly. “That’s the girl I told you about.”

  We watched in silence as Amy spoke, her eyes filling with tears. “They told us that the cancer was throughout Chloe’s entire body and that they couldn’t do any more for her. I prayed and prayed and prayed.” She put her hands together to illustrate. “But instead of getting worse, she seemed to get better. She had so much energy and she gained some weight. When her hair started growing back, I asked them to run some more tests. When they said it was gone, no cancer anywhere, I knew it was a miracle.”

  Chloe bounced in her seat next to her mom, a big grin on her face. The headscarf was gone and her hair was short and fine as dandelion fluff, but she looked more like a little girl with a cute, short haircut than a cancer patient. When the anchorwoman asked how she was feeling, Chloe proclaimed, “I feel great!” I thought of Scout leaning over to let her rub his head. He’d done a good thing. The world was a better place because he’d been here. And now he was home, and both he and Lucas were where they belonged.

  As we stared at the night sky, a question came to me and I turned to Lucas. “Did you go to Scout’s planet, do you think? Do you remember?”

  He shook his head. “It’s pretty hazy, but I think everything happened on the ship while it was hovering above Earth.”

  “Tell me again what it is you remember exactly from when they took Scout out of your body.”

  Lucas looked up at the sky, thinking about that night. “It almost felt like going into surgery on Earth. I was lying flat on a table, and I had that groggy feeling. I couldn’t see anything, but I knew they were all around me, working on me. I could tell when Scout was lifted out. There was sort of a rushing feeling, like a wind going through my body, and then I was myself again.”

  “And then they brought you down and I found you on the road.” My own personal happy ending.

  “You know, I just remembered something else,” Lucas said, pulling me closer. “At least, I think I remember it.” He shook his head, like trying to shake it off. “So weird that I forgot about this until just now.”

  “What is it?”

  “Right before they brought me back, Scout communicated with me. He must have done it telepathically, because I heard it in my head. It was a message for you, but it doesn’t make sense, so maybe I’m not remembering it right.”

  “A message for me?” I straightened up in surprise. “What was it?”

  “Let me think how it went.” He put his hand up to his forehead. “I think it was, ‘tell Emma that I am sending her less than three.’”

  I couldn’t hold back my smile, a smile so bright it radiated beams out into the night sky and off to the rest of the universe. “That guy is unbelievable,” I said, grinning.

  “So you understand it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “But what does it mean?”

  I gazed at the velvet sky, scattered with bursts of light, and imagined Scout on his planet looking at his glowing indigo sky with Regina at his side. I’d wanted him gone in the worst way, but I missed him now. If Scout was indicative of what people on other planets were like, we were missing out by keeping to ourselves. He had a good heart and was true to his word. He’d kept his promise to return Lucas to me and he’d left us a gift for the future as well.

  “It means . . .” I said, trying to think of how to break the news to him, “. . . that he loves us. And there’s something else too.” Lucas regarded me curiously and I felt a wellspring of joy rising up from within. “Wait until I tell you,” I said. “You’re going to be so happy.”

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A heartfelt thank-you to everyone at Skyscape and Amazon Publishing for helping this book find its way into the world. It’s an honor to be associated with such a dedicated, talented group of people. For this book and others, I’ve benefitted from the expertise of Courtney Miller, Terry Goodman, Jessica Poore, Jeff Belle, Daphne Durham, Vicky Griffith, Sarah Tomashek, Gabriella “Gabe” VandenHeuvel, Brooke Gilbert, Katy Ball, Nikki Sprinkle, Thom Kephart, Verena Betz, Jessie Hughes, and Jacque Ben-Zekry. To anyone I’ve inadvertently left out—my apologies!

  I am incredibly lucky to have friends and family who are willing to read my manuscripts and give me honest, helpful feedback. My love and gratitude to Kay Bratt, Kay Ehlers, Geri Erickson, “Eagle Eye” Alice L. Kent, Charlie McQuestion, and Michelle San Juan.

  To Roy Atkins, a note of appreciation for the use of your name and for providing my first taste of moonshine!

  A big thank-you to my copyeditor, Anna Rosenwong, for saving me from myself many times over. Your work on the book is greatly appreciated.

  My family helps me in so many ways. Greg, Charlie, Maria, and Jack McQuestion—I hope you know how much I love you.

  Book bloggers are the unsung heroes of the publishing world. You are a powerful, insightful group and I’ve benefited greatly from your kind words. I’m sending virtual good wishes your way. Thank you!

  Finally, I want to acknowledge the readers. Because of you, I’ve fulfilled my lifelong dream of writing novels for a living. As long as you keep reading, I’ll keep writing.

  And before I sign off, one final request: If you have enjoyed this book, and it’s not too much trouble, a short review posted on Amazon or Goodreads would be appreciated. And if you’d like notification of my upcoming book releases, visit www.karenmcquestion.com and sign up for my newsletter. Thank you!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo © Greg McQuestion

  Karen McQuestion writes books for all ages but has a special love for young adult fiction. She lives with her family in Hartland, Wisconsin.