Finding West by June Gray Read Free Book Online Page B

do every Monday.”
    A sensation similar to getting doused with ice water came over me. “It’s Monday? What’s the date?”
    “December twenty-second .”
    “I didn’t real ize it was almost Christmas,” I said, running a hand through my hair. “We should check the missing persons report. I’m sure somewhere out there, my family or friends are looking for me. It’s almost Christmas, for fuck’s sake.”
    “I’ve alr eady checked the missing persons reports.”
    “And?”
    She shook her head.
    I blew out a breath. “I must have been a real asshole if nobody even cares that I’ve been gone two, maybe three days.”
    “If it makes you feel any better, nobody cares about me either. The only one who does is in jail and won’t even know I’m in trouble until it’s too late.”
    “ No, that doesn’t make me feel better,” I said, my chest heavy with an unfamiliar feeling of empathy. It was sad to think that she had nobody else in her life, nobody to even check in on her when a storm hit. She was utterly alone. “If it’s any consolation, I care what happens to you.”
    She gave me a hard stare. “Until you regain your memory and go on your merry way back to Hollywood or Fashion Week or wherever the hell it is you belong.”
    “You know you don’t always have to push people away,” I said in frustration. “Especially if they’re being sincere.”
    She pinned me with a hard stare but for the first time that morning, I rendered her speechless.
    “So what is it that you do?” I asked.
    “I don’t work.”
    “How can you afford to live here, get groceries and such?”
    “I’m living off my dad’s oil royalties.”
    “So you sit here all day, doing nothing?”
    S he flipped her laptop shut. “No, I don’t just sit here and eat truffles while watching soap operas all day. I keep busy.”
    “With what?”
    “Fuck, you’re nosy,” she said, rising from the couch and stalking away. She stopped at the hallway and hooked her hands on her waist. “Well, are you coming?”
    I followed her down the hall to a narrower hallway at the back of the house I hadn’t even realized was there. Beyond that was an addition to the house, a larger, more colorful room. In the center was a large table with a sewing machine on top and scraps of material and paper all over the place. Bolts of colorful fabric sat on shelves and three dress mannequins lined the back wall, each one wearing a beautiful gown that was miles removed from this sullen, dark place.
    I walked over to the nearest wall and studied the drawings that were held up by tape. “You’re a fashion designer?”
    She snorted, but more out of surprise than derision. “ Hell no. I just like to sew.”
    “You came up with all of these on your own?”
    “Sort of,” she said, standing beside me. “I learned to sew on my own, watching videos on the internet and basically just trial and error. I look at designs and pick and choose what I like and try to replicate them.”
    I turned to her with new eyes. Just when I thought I had her figured out, she found another way to surprise me. “Do you sell your designs?” I asked.
    “ No.”
    “Why not? Even if you never leave this town, there are places online where you can sell your work.”
    She flushed. “I just don’t, okay?”
    “Y ou don’t want to or you’re afraid to?” I knew my goading would set off her already short temper, but I didn’t care. Something in me wanted to push her, to make her step outside the safe confines of her life. Seeing the drawings on the wall and the fully realized clothes across the room revealed her talent—if only she would see it.
    She turned on a heel and stalked out.
    “Why won’t you answer the question?” I asked.
    She spun around but instead of the fury I was expecting, her face was awash with indifference. “It doesn’t matter. You’re out of here the instant the snow melts.” Her eyes sparked. “In fact, we should get started on that.”
    I followed