Always Remember Read Online Free PDF

actually meant it, she kept her focus on the shorter woman. “What are you still doing here? Are you and Nate—?” She held up one hand and entwined her index and third fingers.
    “Eeeww, he’s like my brother.” Harley wrinkled her nose in distaste and raised one brow. “Besides, he’s yours.”
    A nervous laugh escaped her. “Not anymore. Not for a long time.”
    The other woman leaned forward and pinned Jessie with an intense look. “So where did you go? Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you call anybody ?”
    Jessie glanced back toward her mother. For now, it was their secret to bear. She shrugged and turned back to her friend, her voice a soft whisper so as not to carry and wake the rest of the household. “I was busy.”
    Harley eyed her and Jessie tried to look innocent. With a snort, the smaller woman relaxed. “Fine, keep your secrets. But if you ever need someone to talk to—”
    “I will.” Silence drifted between them, until Jessie broke it with a laugh. “So, Harley the Menace. Are the boys still refusing to play with you?”
    “I was only eleven.” Laughter burst from Harley. She clapped one hand over her mouth to stifle the outburst. Over her shoulder, she glanced at her patient. Maude slept on. “I’m sure they’d still rather gag and bag me. Heck. I don’t know what all the fuss was about.”
    Crossing her arms over her chest, Jessie leaned against the wall and barely managed to contain a smile. “I believe it had to do with testosterone and hormones and male pride.”
    Harley’s dark chocolate eyes danced with delight. She’d always been up to some prank, always into trouble, always making trouble. Maude had once said the poor motherless girl had the devil in her. The woman hadn’t known the half of it. She hadn’t known what any of them were up to.
    Until it was too late.
    “The four of them were full of it, weren’t they? Nate and George, Mike and Gage.”
    “And you, my friend, were just dying to get their attention.” Jessie glanced down at the other woman’s left hand and noticed the lack of a ring. “So, whatever happened to Mike Toryn? Last I recall, you were going to marry him and have a dozen kids.”
    A wry grin curved Harley’s mouth. “He married Hannah instead. Didn’t you hear?”
    “Your sister? But I thought—”
    Harley shrugged. “So did I. It was a few years back and I’m over it.”
      “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be. They have the sweetest twin girls and I get to be their favorite aunt.”
    “That’s nice.” An awkward silence fell between them. With her toe, Jessie nudged a speck of lint on the carpet. “What about Gage Toryn? Whatever happened to him?”
    “He graduated with the rest of us, then disappeared. I heard he joined the city police department. I guess everyone eventually grows up.” Harley leaned forward and grabbed her hand. “My heart breaks. I wish it didn’t have to be like this.”
    Memories rushed in, of her mother tucking her into bed, of her dad giving her one last peck on the cheek before he turned off the light. Jessie swallowed back the thickness in her throat, willed herself not to cry. “This must be so hard on Dad. He worshipped the ground she walked on.”
    Harley gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Don’t worry. I’ve been taking care of them like they’re my own parents, just like you asked.”
    “They are your parents. Remember? I gave them to you the summer we turned eight...”
    “...when I lost my own,” Harley finished. “God, I missed you. I used to pray that they’d adopt me so I could be your sister.”
    “We were sisters.” Jessie touched her hand to her breast. “In here, where it counted the most.”
    She’d discarded so many good memories in an attempt to forget the bad ones. Why had she stayed away for so long? She could’ve faced Nate years ago, confessed her mistake, then been free to return to visit with family and friends. She cleared her throat, blinked back the moisture