THE RIPENING (Dark Side of the Moon Book 1) by MJ Riley Read Free Book Online

she'd intended and the receptionist's lips pursed in displeasure.  Yuna steadied herself before trying again. “I'm just a bit confused. Isn't he here every day from eight to four?”
                  “Yes. Every day. Except today.” The blonde took a moment to answer the phone that beeped on the desk before her. “Yes, Dr. Douglas's office. No, he's not in at the moment, would you like to leave a message?”
                  Luther's father may not have been the most friendly man, but his small psychology practice was well known. Indeed, several of his patients came from out of town for their weekly appointments, a few from as far away as Seattle. Though the tiny office was tucked well away from the more busy thoroughfares of the town, almost everyone knew of it. Dr. Douglas was in said office, without fail, every Monday through Friday, eight to four. People set their watches by his comings and goings, and as his practice seemed indeed to be one of the only ways in which people got to see the reclusive man, his working hours were a gossipy town's common knowledge.
                  But today, he was out.
                  “Now, as I said before,” hanging up the phone, the blonde raised her head again to address Yuna, “if you'd like to leave a message, I can pass it along to him when he gets back.”
                  “When is that supposed to be?” The young woman interjected, carefully controlling her tone as to avoid offending her only source of information.
                  “He didn't say. Just mentioned that he needed some time away for family matters. Asked if I might still come in regularly to field his calls and work for the doctor coming to fill in for him.”
                  Yuna took a breath. She had to think. Luther had disappeared and so had his father. There was only a week before another family trip was due. Hopefully that meant that they couldn't have gone far.
                  Unable to help it, Yuna let out a nervous little titter at the idea that something so infantile as a family trip could really dictate where two grown men could be at any given time, but it was the only piece of information she had to go on. The Douglases had never missed a trip, according to Luther. It just wasn't done. “I think I'll just wait for him to come back, thanks.”
                  Leaving the somewhat confused receptionist in her wake, Yuna left the office, barely noticing the chilly drops of rain that covered her sweater as she returned to her car. Once inside, she merely sat cushioned against the leather seat, wracking her brain for possible ideas.
                  It was probably safe to assume that wherever the doctor was, Luther was too. She couldn't quite believe that Luther's parents would force him to go somewhere that he wouldn't go willingly, so that ruled out the idea that her closest friend had been taken somewhere against his wishes. No, she was sure that this had something to do with the Douglas family and whatever secrets they had. Drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, Yuna thought furiously.
                  In town, she herself was widely considered the individual who might know the most about the Douglases. She had, in fact, been close with their son for so long that many people just assumed that she was close with his family too. Anyone who had spent time with them, however, would realize immediately that the Douglases weren't a family to get close to anyone. They barely came into town except to convene at the Doctor's practice or to visit the supermarket and order groceries.
                  Groceries.
                  That was it.
                  Starting up her car, Yuna backed out of the office parking lot, quickly making her way to the main road to head back toward the market. She might not know where Luther and his family