Read Online Remember Me by Sharon Sala - Free Book Online

cry.
    He took her finger and placed it directly on the gold ankh.
    â€œThere.”
    Her eyes were dark and huge with shock. “What’s it look like?”
    Clay frowned. Fear wasn’t the reaction he’d expected. Then he wondered exactly what he had expected.
    â€œLike a cross with a loop on top. It’s Egyptian, I think. It’s called an ankh.”
    â€œThis is my mark. In the eyes of the world, you will always be mine.” The words echoed in her head.
    Frankie closed her eyes. “Don’t touch me,” she whispered. “I’ll never be yours.”
    She slumped forward, passing out in Clay’s arms.

Five
    T he sun was weak but persistent as the nurse wheeled Frankie out of the hospital. When the cool air penetrated the thin sweater she was wearing, she shivered. It occurred to her then to wonder about her clothes. Had Clay given them away, believing her to be dead? Her lower lip trembled as she resisted the urge to cry. The familiarity of her world had been stripped away and she couldn’t even remember being gone. My God, my God, how had this happened?
    Sometimes she could feel something pushing at the edge of her consciousness, other times, her thoughts were a blur. She couldn’t help but compare the emptiness she was feeling now to the emotions she’d suffered after her parents were killed. One day she’d had a mother and a father and a wonderful home. Within weeks, she had become a ward of the courts, living in an orphanage and crying in the dark for a mother who never came.
    Now this.
    The last thing she remembered was getting caught in the downpour and then coming home with a headache and crawling into bed. She’d woken up to a nightmare. Only this nightmare didn’t fade, it was getting worse by the day. The emotional distance between her and Clay was as real as the air that she breathed, and it was scaring her to death. Clay was her rock. If he quit on her…
    She shuddered. The consequences were impossible to consider.
    â€œCold, dear?” the nurse asked.
    Frankie shrugged. It was easier to admit being chilled than to face how frightened she was.
    â€œA little, I guess.”
    The nurse pulled the wheelchair back a bit into an alcove out of the wind.
    â€œThere comes your husband now,” she said, pointing to a gray sedan.
    Frankie didn’t recognize the vehicle, but why should she? Her spirits plummeted even lower. In two years, a lot of things could change.
    She watched as Clay parked and got out, her eyes narrowing as he came toward her. The first time she’d seen him, she’d been working in a restaurant. She’d looked up and caught him staring at her from across the room. Even then, she’d known they would be lovers. She sighed. Had she ever told him that?
    Then she lifted her chin. The present was more than she could handle. There was no need dwelling on the past.
    Silently, she continued to watch Clay’s approach. He was so very much a man. Two years was a long time to be without a woman. Had he given up on her and found someone else? She moaned softly. The mere thought made her sick.
    â€œMrs. LeGrand, are you in pain?” the nurse asked quickly.
    â€œI’m fine,” Frankie mumbled, blinking back tears. She had to be. She had no other choice.
    And then Clay was beside her. She met his gaze, trying to read his thoughts. His expression was bland, almost polite. She wanted to scream.
    â€œYour wife is getting chilled,” the nurse said, speaking to Clay as if Frankie was no longer present.
    Clay’s glance shifted to the stiff set of Frankie’s shoulders.
    â€œI’m sorry, honey, I didn’t think,” he said, and quickly shed his own jacket.
    As Frankie stood up to walk to the car, Clay put it on her, working her arms into the overlong sleeves and overlapping its breadth around her waist.
    Her tears came closer to the surface. He’d called her honey. Did that mean he