Always Remember Read Online Free PDF Page A

turning for the better part of the night. Once, he’d used that same tone with her, a blend of anger and frustration — and love.
    She kicked at the tangle of blankets, rolled onto her stomach, and buried her head beneath the feather-soft pillow. This was senseless. If she didn’t focus on something besides Nate and whoever-she-was-Sara, she’d never get to sleep.
    One hundred sheep, ninety-nine sheep, ninety-eight, ninety-seven...
    Sara, sweetie.
    Why couldn’t she get those two silly words out of her head?
    Because she’d wanted it to be her name on his lips.
    Jessie glanced at the glowing green hands of the clock. Two a.m. With a groan, she shoved the blankets aside and climbed out of bed.
    The open window on the far side of the room beckoned. Outside, the light of the moon made the snow capped mountaintops glow in the darkness, while the crickets in the creek sang a symphony of mating songs.
    A lover left behind. A child never seen. A lifetime of regrets, of never knowing what became of the baby she would have loved...did love.
    Loneliness enveloped her, as profound and deep as her memories of the past. She speared her fingers into her hair, massaging her scalp in an attempt to ease her troubled thoughts.
    For a time, life in the city had solved her problems. Always occupied with her career. Never permitting others to get too close. She simply hadn’t allowed herself the time to stop, to remember what might have been — what should have been.
    But here, things were so different, quiet and unhurried. She’d be a nutcase if all she did was sit by her mother’s side with nothing to do but remember the dreams that had been crushed with the single stroke of a pen.
    Images danced through her mind. Memories of Nate on the porch swing beside her, holding her in his arms, kissing her till the sun came up or till her father chased him home.
    She’d been running half her life, trying to escape the truth, all so he wouldn’t grow to hate her. What a laugh.
    The bag she’d tossed on the dresser caught her attention and drew her forward. Hands trembling, she slid open the zipper, pulled the single white sheet of paper out of the envelope, and unfolded it. She didn’t need to turn on the light to read the words.
    Dear Ms. Adams, your birth daughter has been in touch with us and wishes to meet with you...
    Weeks ago, she’d penned her answer and she’d been waiting for a reply ever since. Nothing. Not an I’ve-changed-my-mind or a let’s-meet-for-coffee. Waiting was killing her. But once she met her daughter — touched her, held her in her arms — the worry and sorrow that had been her constant companion would disappear.
    In the moonlit darkness, she tucked away the letter, then dragged on her blue jeans and stuffed her T-shirt into the waistband of the jeans. As she crept out of the bedroom and down the staircase, the floorboards creaked beneath her weight.
    On the main floor, she stopped in the entryway of the room where her mother lay still and silent. Only the rise and fall of her chest indicated she was still of this earth.
    Her mother looked pale, as white as the pillowcase beneath her head, so different from the woman Jessie remembered. Back then, Maude Adams had been strong and forceful, determined to see her only child reach for the stars and capture a fistful.
    She’d achieved her mother’s goal, but in the process, she’d given up so much. They’d given up so much.
    A tap on the shoulder made Jessie jump. With a squeak, she spun around and came face to face with Harley Jane Davis, her best friend since kindergarten. “Oh my God, you’re still here.”
    Harley grabbed her by the arm, tugged her into the living room, and a welcoming smile spread across her pixie-like features. When she stopped, she threw herself at Jessie with all the enthusiasm of a long lost sister. “You’re home. I’m so glad you finally came home.”
    Jessie returned Harley’s hug. “Me, too.” Surprised by the fact that she