The Last Daughter (Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the hike.” Within seconds, she’d filled a plastic bag with animal crackers and munched them the whole way. The wind was fierce. Their hair blew haphazardly in every direction. An animal cracker actually blew out of Rayna’s hand.
    “This is crazy!” She turned and walked backwards, her thick dark hair flying around her face.
    Laughing, Trent pointed at her. “You look like an underwater mermaid in a tsunami.”
    “Aren’t all mermaids underwater?” she teased then hit at him playfully. “I read that it’s always windy like this. I wonder if all the women in Oklahoma wear short hair.”
    Trent started singing “Oklahoma” at the top of his lungs, getting especially loud during the “wind sweeping down the plain” part. He finished the chorus before he pointed at her hair blowing around her face. “You want to go back?”
    “Of course not—too hungry.”
    “You’ve probably ruined your lunch scarfing down all those animal crackers.”
    “Hors d’oeuvres,” she answered and smacked her lips. “Someday I’d like to go to Bricktown. I read about it online.”
    “You know more about this place than I do, and I’ve been here several days longer. Bricktown will have to wait. Today it’s The Red Cup. Come on, race you.”
    Trent took off, and Rayna fell hot on his trail. She laughed and shoved him like a kid on a playground. By the time they got to the quaint little restaurant, she felt as if she’d been through a tornado, tattered and windblown. And Trent certainly looked it with his thick unruly hair. Thankfully, they fit right in with the crowd; The Red Cup wasn’t the kind of place with a dress code. In fact, it looked like a throwback from the 60s, and Rayna loved the atmosphere. She ordered vegetarian Frito pie, and explored the original artwork on the walls. Trent talked her into topping off the experience with coffee and pastries. When they were finished, Trent playfully begged her to go get the car and come back for him. They both wished they’d driven.
    They walked at a leisurely pace, letting the wind push them back up the hill to the Wounded Heart.
    “I appreciate your hard work. You’ve come in quite handy,” Trent said, kicking a rock out of his path.
    “How so?” she asked, figuring he would compliment her ability to work fast and quietly.
    She was surprised when he said, “Someone to share a laugh and meals with. It’s been awhile since I’ve done that with anyone other than family.”
    “Family. I’d give almost anything to have what you’re taking for granted, or should I say what you just disparaged. “
    “Disparage my family? Never. But there’s a difference in breaking bread with your parents and doing it with a pretty girl.”
    Rayna’s skin heated, yet she rubbed her bare arms as if she were cold. She looked up at the sky and pointed. “Look at the birds! There are so many of them.”
    “Look at that stranger stealing my garbage—or is he a friend of yours?”
    Rayna cut her eyes toward the house. Sure enough, a tall man in a white tee shirt heaved their trash bags into the back of his truck. “Why would he be a friend of mine? I don’t know anyone around here. Are you saying you don’t trust me?”
    Trent glanced at her. “Most of the time I do,” he answered, “but I stay alert to odd happenings.”
    “I think you’re an odd happening,” she teased, then waved at the man who was now standing beside the blue truck, watching them. He looked to be in his early thirties and wore a faded red baseball cap. He didn’t wave back, but he kept his eyes on Rayna until they got closer and Trent spoke to him.
    “Can I help you?”
    Rayna detected suspicion in Trent’s voice.
    The man glanced once more at Rayna then motioned to the stack of bags. “Can I haul these off for you? No charge.”
    Trent pursed his lips. “I’ve never known anyone to do anything for free. What’s your game?”
    Rayna pushed him jokingly. “Trent, how rude! Not everyone has a game.