Here With Me Read Online Free PDF Page A

thank you,” she said, trudging through the thick mud and taking the can from him, opening it and taking a quick drink.
    “So,” he said, staring down at her boots again. “What exactly are you doing?”
    “Clamming.”
    “Clamming?  I’ve done a lot in my life, but I can honestly say that is something I’ve never done before,” and then he hesitated, but then a smile spread across his face. “Or something I’ve ever seen being done before.”
    “That’s because you grew up in Arizona,” she said, walking back over to where she’d left the rake and shovel.  She pushed the soda can into the sand and began combing for clams again. “Wanna try?” she asked holding the rake out to him after she’d found another clam.
    “Are you serious?” he laughed, looking at her skeptically.
    “Yes, I’m serious.  Every well rounded person has to go clamming at least once in their life.  Give it a try.”
    “Um…I don’t know.”
    “What?  You’re not afraid of the water…or clams, are you?”
    “No,” he said quickly.
    “Then take off your shoes and get in here.”
    “Fine,” he said, slipping them off.  He rolled up his jeans to his knees and began walking towards her.
    “What do I do?”
    “First, you need this,” she said, handing the rake to him. “The clams are usually a foot or so below the surface.  Just start scraping until you pull one up.”
    Ryan looked at her skeptically, but did as he was told. 
    “Am I doing this right?” he asked her as he continued to scrape. 
    “I guess we’ll find out if you find a quahog.”
    “Okay, you’ve lost me now.  I thought I was searching for clams.”
    “You are.  Quahog is another name for clam.”
    “I know I just got here, but I’ve already discovered you all talk strange.  It’s like another language with all your different names for things,” Ryan chuckled as he continued to dig.
    “You don’t even know the half of it.  Just wait till I introduce you to stuffies and hot weenies.”
    “Do I even want to know what those are?” he laughed. “They sound obscene.”
    “They are not, I assure you,” she told him with a smile. “Stuffies are just stuffed quahogs and hot weenies are a special kind of hot dog you can only get in Rhode Island.”
    “Then I guess you’ll have to take me to have my first stuffie and hot weenie,” he laughed. “Hey!  I think I got one!” he exclaimed a moment later as he lifted the rake into the air.  He reached to the end of it and pulled out a large clam.
    “I guess you were doing it right after all,” she said, taking the clam from him and adding it to the others in the bucket.
    He grinned at her and began raking again.  He pulled up another clam a few minutes later.
    “I think we’ve got enough,” she said as she put his latest catch into the bucket.
    “What are you going to do with them anyway?”
    “I’ll just take them home and steam them for my mom.  It’s too late to add them to the pot tonight,” she said, trudging out of the thick , wet sand onto dryer land.  Ryan followed and she set the bucket and rake against a large black rock and then sat down and removed the boots.  Ryan sat on a rock next to her and unrolled his pant legs.  He dusted off his feet before putting his shoes back on. 
    They sat quietly for a while, both of them staring into the ocean and she hoped Ryan would say something, but he didn’t.  She glanced back over to the fire, where Kenna and Nate looked to be engaged in a conversation.
    “I think your friend’s got it in for Nate,” Ryan said suddenly and she saw that he was looking over at them too.
    “Yeah, looks like.  Once Kenna puts her mind to something, there’s pretty much no stopping her,” Mallory laughed. “I just hope she doesn’t scare you guys away.”
    “She might scare him away, but not me,” he said, bringing his eyes back to hers. “Kenna might do Nate some good actually,” he continued. “She might loosen him