Read Online Out Of The Ashes (The Ending Series, #3) by Lindsey Fairleigh, Lindsey Pogue - Free Book Online Page A

an
intruder, and her eyes grew wide and questioning. Instinctively, he offered her
a curt nod before he turned and strode for his tent.
    “Hello,” came a soft, raspy voice.
    Jake turned around to find Becca
standing directly behind him. He let out a shaky breath. He was still getting
used to seeing his sister’s gray eyes, no longer the violet color he’d been
used to growing up.
    Jake’s hands found his pockets as
he stood there, feeling an uneasy excitement.
    “Are you hungry?” she asked,
offering him a bowl of stew. “I noticed that you have not eaten much today, and
you have been overworking yourself.”
    He eyed her curiously, wondering
if it was concern that slightly changed the cadence of her voice. “Aren’t you hungry?” He gestured to the bowl.
    Becca smiled timidly and shook her
head, her wavy brown hair brushing against her shoulders. “I’ve already eaten.
This”—she took a step closer—“is for you.” Her eyes shifted between Jake and
the bowl. “Please, take it.”
    Realizing she might take his
surprise as some sort of rejection of her kindness, Jake offered her a grateful
smile. “I’m starving. Thanks.” He wrapped his fingers around the warm bowl and
walked back toward the fire, lowering himself into an empty chair and accepting
a red- and white-checkered napkin from Becca as well.
    “Sarah has been teaching me how to
cook,” Becca said as she pulled over a chair to sit beside him. A faint scent
of herbs wafted off of her.
    Becca had never been much of a
cook; neither of them had, and Jake wondered if that happened to be the only
thing about her that hadn’t changed. He stared down into the bowl and then back
up at her, hesitant.
    When her eyes met his again, they
were expectant.
    Clearing his throat, Jake took a
deep breath, leaned forward, and put a spoonful of stew into his mouth. The
broth was warm and salty…and surprisingly delicious. He looked at his sister
askance.
    She was fidgeting beside him,
worrying her bottom lip. “Well,” she said, “what do you think?”
    After chewing and swallowing a
hunk of meat, Jake took another bite. “It’s good,” he said, proud of Becca’s
effort to become part of the group. He was comforted by the fact that she was
going to the trouble to have a conversation with him, too. “It’s really good.”
    Becca smiled. “I am glad.”
    “You like cooking, then?” he
asked, taking another mouthful.
    Her brow furrowed, and she looked
at his bowl thoughtfully. “I think I do,” she said. “At least, I do not dislike it.”
    “Good.” He offered her a
reassuring smile before taking another bite.
    Becca sat beside him while he ate,
watching him intently. Although he wondered what she was thinking, he didn’t
want to push her, so he sat with her in companionable silence.
    “Jake,” she finally said.
    His gaze shifted to her as he
swallowed another spoonful.
    “I wanted you to know that I am
sorry.”
    Nearly choking, he set his spoon
down and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “You’re sorry for what?” he asked.
    Becca’s eyes focused on his. “For
not remembering.”
    Jake was the one who’d gotten her
into this mess. He looked away from her and into the fire, frustration
resurfacing as the events of the past couple months came crashing back down on
him. “It’s not your fault, Becca. None of this is. I should’ve—”
    “Perhaps not,” she interrupted and
placed her hand on his arm. “But it still hurts you.”
    Jake was surprised she cared much
about that; she’d been reticent to believe all he’d told her about her past in
the first place.
    “Although I do not have strong
emotions like you and some of the others seem to have, I cannot imagine what it
must be like to have me sitting beside you with no recollection of our past
together. And now…” her eyes traveled over to Zoe.
    Jake’s chest tightened.
    “I know it is not easy for you,
and I am sorry there is nothing I can do to help.”
    Her final words to