Into the Storm Read Online Free PDF Page A

when I gave her the bag. Would she remember everything?
    A sudden gust of wind rattled the windows. Rabbit jumped slightly with the unexpected noise.
    “ It’s okay, Rabbit. It’s just the wind. You’re safe, I promise." I spoke without thinking.
    Her head tilted to the side as she regarded me. “Rabbit?”
    I shrugged sheepishly. “I have to call you something. ‘Hey you’ doesn’t seem right. And you remind me of the little grey rabbits that are around here.”
    “ I don’t understand. I’m furry?”
    I laughed. “No, you’re small, kinda jumpy and, dressed the way you are right now, you’re all grey. And they look at me apprehensively when I approach them, just like you do.”
    She regarded me quietly for a moment, her eyes locking me in their gaze. “Are you hunting or feeding them when you approach?” she asked.
    I smiled soothingly. “I’m a sucker. I feed them. I don’t hunt. At all.”
    Her shoulders relaxed a little. “Rabbit’s okay then.”
    I grinned. “Rabbit it is.”
    After we were done, Rabbit moved back into the chair upstairs, Bear hot on her heels. I was pleased to see she wasn’t as unsteady on her feet as she had been. She did, however, take some more painkillers when I offered them to her and she didn’t argue about not cleaning up after we ate. After I tidied, I went back to the mudroom and grabbed her bag. I threw more logs on the fire and went upstairs. I approached her slowly and stood in front of her
    “ What’s that?” she asked quietly.
    I knelt down, gingerly, on the floor in front of the ottoman and placed the bag on top. She looked at the bag with no recognition. I pushed it towards her. “I think it’s yours. I got it out of your car. I’m hoping your ID will be in it.”
    “ You didn’t look in it?” she asked surprised.
    I shook my head. “No. It’s yours. Not mine.”
    She stared at me briefly then reached for the bag. I watched as she pulled out various pieces of clothing, the store tags all intact, a few toiletries and then pulled out an envelope and opened it up. Inside was a large pile of cash. She looked up at me, confused. “That’s it. Just some clothes and this money.”
    “ Does any of it look familiar?” I asked.
    She held up a few of the clothes, studying them, and then set them down, looking discouraged. “No. Not at all.”
    She looked at me with a sudden burst of hope. “What about the glove box? Maybe there’s a registration card? Or insurance papers?”
    I shook my head. “I looked everywhere. This is all there was.”
    “ I don’t understand. Why don’t I have any ID? And why do I have all this money?”
    “ I don’t know, Rabbit.”
    She looked down at the clothing and money again. “I don’t even know if this is mine.”
    Abruptly, she dumped the money out of the envelope and slowly sorted it. I watched her silently as she counted it and then looked up at me. “Eighteen hundred and fifty dollars, Joshua. Why would I be traveling with a few pieces of clothing and eighteen hundred and fifty dollars in cash?”
    “ Maybe you were running from something, Rabbit.”
    She looked at me. “You think that because of the bruises, don’t you?”
    I glanced down to her bruised hands, which were now tightly clutching the edge of the blanket. The overriding need to comfort her hit me again and I leaned forward and loosened her hands and wrapped mine around them. I spoke gently. “ Something happened to you. Something put you on that road in the middle of a storm.”
    Her voice was unsteady. “Why don’t I remember?”
    “ You hit your head. Hard. There is a very good chance you’ll remember everything in a few days. You need to rest and let yourself heal.”
    She sighed shakily and was quiet for a few minutes. I sat with my hands still wrapped around hers, gently rubbing them in comfort. Suddenly, she looked at me with fresh trepidation in her eyes. “What if …” her voice trailed off.
    “ What if what?” I prompted
    Her