Ruby Falls by Nicole James Read Free Book Online Page B

uncomfortable.”
    “I’m glad you weren’t, Summer. Damn glad. But I still think my theory holds water. At least, it’s one possibility.”
     
    Later that evening, Summer decided to flip through the phone book, looking at all the ads for local business, trying to see if anything rang any bells. Steve was right. What had she been doing up in those woods? Did she live around here? Would anything in the surrounding area be familiar to her?
    She sat at the kitchen table, flipping through each page of ads, one by one, studying every one until she got to the end of the phonebook. She slammed the book shut. This was futile. The whole search was futile. In an explosion of frustration, she shoved the phonebook violently off the table, taking the phone with it. They slammed to the floor with a bang and a clatter.
    All this searching was for nothing. She had not one clue to go on. Not one. She’d never find out who she was. Never. She put her head down on the table and started to cry.
     
    Steve heard the loud bang from the living room and got up. He stopped in the doorway, taking in the scene. The phone and phonebook scattered on the floor, Summer bent over the table, her shoulders shaking with her silent sobs.
    He picked up the phone and quietly hung the receiver back in the cradle and set the phone on the table. Then he squatted down next to Summer’s chair. “Hey, sweetheart.” He pulled her around to face him. “Look at me.”
    She shook her head, covering her face with her hands as a new series of sobs burst out.
    Steve couldn’t bear to see her this way. He didn’t know how to help her. He wished he could fix everything for her, but the fact was, he couldn’t. Slowly, he stood up, pulling her into his arms. His hand cradled her head against his shoulder as she continued to cry. Her arms went around him and she clung tightly. He stroked the back of her head softly and gently rocked her.
    He knew he couldn’t tell her that it was all going to be alright or that everything was okay. He couldn’t imagine how it must feel to suddenly have no past, no family, no friends, and no home. How totally alone she must feel. And even worse, to know that somewhere out there you had a life and a family that was probably searching for you.
    “Summer.” He pulled back and tried to look in her eyes. “Listen to me. You’re not alone. I’m here for you. You don’t have to do this alone. I know this doesn’t feel like home to you, but I want you to know you can consider it your home, for as long as you want to stay. You hear me?” He shook her slightly.
    She looked up at him and tried to smile. She nodded.
    “Maybe…maybe if you stop trying so hard to remember, and just enjoy being here, and all the little day-to-day meaningless things in life, like…like…I don’t know…picking flowers, or roasting marshmallows.”
    “Roasting marshmallows?” She let out a shaky little laugh.
    It was a start, Steve thought. “Yeah, roasted marshmallows. Hey, at least I got you smiling again. Here I am trying to make this real serious speech and you’re laughing at me, woman.”
    “Was there a point to that ‘serious speech’?” She giggled.
    “Point? Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, maybe if you just stop thinking about it so much and trying so hard to remember, your memory will return on its own.”
    “And if it doesn’t?”
    “If it doesn’t, then I guess you’ll just have to get used to the listening to the farm report every morning.”
    She rolled her eyes. “I can’t stand the farm report. I hate that you change the station every time you walk in, by the way.”
    He pulled her along, heading outside. “I know what you need. Did I ever tell you I make a mean marshmallow?”
     

 
    Chapter Four
     
    It was dinnertime on Friday night, and everyone was gathered at the dining room table.
    “Is anyone going to town tomorrow?” Summer asked as she passed the bowl of potatoes. “There are a couple of things we are running low