Make Me Remember by Beth Kery Read Free Book Online Page A

people think of how I look,” he said, frowning furiously. “Shit. Where’s that cream for your blister?”
    “Liar. You care. And stop cussing so much. It doesn’t sound good coming out of your mouth.”
    “Harper—” he began, a dangerous expression on his face.
    She cut him off by lunging toward him, grabbing the backpack, and immediately finding the ointment in a side pocket. Scowling furiously, he set about tending to her wounds.
    Harper consoled herself with the fact that despite his edgy state, he still seemed to take as much comfort in having an excuse to touch her as she did him.
    * * *
    She didn’t need Jake to tell her that they wouldn’t be allowed a fire that night. Emmitt might see it if he was stalking them and close on their trail. She’d never camped out in the relative open, like they would tonight. Last night’s close run-in with the mountain lion still had her traumatized. She’d
never
sleep tonight, envisioning either a mountain lion pouncing on them and ripping at skin and muscle with sharp teeth, or Emmitt grabbing them from the realms of sleep. She couldn’t decide which scary thought was worse, but was leaning toward Emmitt versus the starving mountain lion.
    Of course, she couldn’t voice any of these fears out loud to Jake. She and her stupid blister were the reason they were exposed tonight, anyway. And while Emmitt Tharp might have something horrible in mind for Harper, he probably would kill Jake . . . possibly right in front of her.
    Her fears began to smother her by nightfall.
    They wrapped themselves in all of the blankets and huddled on the hard earth, clasping each other tight for warmth. Harper thought of that first night they’d slept together, and how she’d been so shy and uncertain about suggesting they share body heat. Now she couldn’t imagine sleeping in that black, oppressive darkness without Jake holding her tight against him. He’d single-handedly kept her terror at bay for the last several days. He’s saved her from Emmitt Tharp. She shivered upon saying the name of their stalker again in her head. Homesickness overwhelmed her, a bone-deep longing for the sight of her parents’ faces, the safety and confidence her father always instilled . . . her mother’s touch.
    She squeezed back tears with her clamped eyelids.
    “Shhh,” Jake soothed, his mouth near her ear. She should have known she couldn’t hide her misery from him. Her fear. He pressed his lips to her temple. “It’s going to be okay, Harper. I’m going to keep you safe.”
    “I’ll keep you safe, too,” she insisted raggedly. “I’m going to tell my parents all about you. They aren’t going to let Emmitt see you or hurt you anymore. I know they won’t. Jake?” she asked in a small voice when he didn’t say anything.
    “It’s okay, Harper. I can take care of myself.”
    That feeling of unfairness she’d been having amplified even more. It wasn’t
right
, that this amazing, smart, nice boy had to carry so much weight on his narrow shoulders. Surely her parents would see that? They would come to care about him, maybe as much as Harper had.
    Maybe she could convince them to take Jake in! Their town house in Georgetown was large. Her mother hardly ever used her den. She preferred to write in the atrium. They could clear the den out for Jake’s bedroom.
    The idea burned in her, chasing away her boiling fear.
    She wouldn’t say anything to Jake yet. She didn’t want to get his—or her own—hopes up. But her parents trusted in her opinion, much more so than any other parents she knew trusted their child. For now, her plan would have to stay her secret, though.
    She exhaled shakily, her head tucked beneath Jake’s chin. His fingers flexed on her shoulder.
    “You hear that?” he asked softly.
    She listened, fear welling up in her.
    “What?” she squeaked. “Not . . . not Emmitt?”
    “No. That sound, way off in the distance,” he whispered. “Listen.”
    She listened