Read Forget Me Not for Free Online

one."
    Helen tried not to look at him. Was he playing this game with Mallory because he had nothing better to do? He used to be preoccupied all the time, his thoughts a thousand miles away.
    "Oh, I know," he said, sounding confident this time. "It's coming up now. It's this one on the left." He pointed out a high-tech structure that might have been a museum for modern art.
    "No-ho," Mallory hooted, enjoying herself.
    Helen flicked a look in the mirror. She'd thought her daughter had been happier without Gabe around. Apparently she wasn't. Her green eyes were dancing in a way they hadn't danced for months.
    With too much to think about, Helen guided the Jaguar around the bend and pulled into their driveway, beside the Jeep that didn't run.
    Theirs was a modest, wooden contemporary perched atop a dozen fat pilings. It was two stories high, with the laundry room, shower, and workshop on the ground level. Steps zigzagged up to the front door. A balcony hugged the entire right side, overlooking a yard in the front and the Atlantic Ocean at the rear. Wildflowers splashed color onto the beige sand, creating an effect like a Monet painting. Helen had invested a lot of energy into getting the valerian, chicory, and black-eyed Susans to grow. She glanced at Gabe to gauge his response.
    He was staring at the house like he'd never seen it before. How strange not to recognize his home, she thought.
    Mallory leaned over the seat and peered at his profile. "You don't remember," she guessed.
    "No," he admitted. "But I like it. Especially the flowers."
    Helen blinked. She wouldn't have guessed Gabe would say something like that. He'd never slowed down long enough to notice things like flowers. She pushed open her door and jumped out.
    Today she'd dressed in a denim skirt and a peach top. Warm sand crept into her sandals as she rounded the back of the car to fetch Gabe's stuff from the trunk.
    The hospital had sent him off with a bag of souvenirs, including a business card from someone at the Defense Intelligence Agency. She'd dropped his prescriptions into the bag, and he'd left the hospital with just a few meager possessions.
    Closing the trunk, she hurried to help Gabe to his feet, but Mallory was already putting her shoulder under his arm.
    Helen paused at the picture they presented. She'd never seen Gabe lean on anyone, let alone a teenager.
    Gabe could hear a dog barking frantically inside. It was a welcoming sound, almost as welcoming as the flowers waving in the wind. Helen hurried up the steps ahead of them, her sandals slapping against the soles of her feet. He found himself admiring her shapely legs and marveling that he was married.
    "You got us a puppy before you left," Mallory explained. "You were going to train her to behave, but you never had time, so she's still a little wild."
    Helen cracked open the door and a nose appeared. The dog pushed its way forcibly through the aperture and broke free. Gabe saw it was a yellow Lab as it scrabbled down the stairs and launched itself at him.
    "Whoa!" he cried, catching himself from tumbling down the steps. "Hello there."
    "Pris, down!" Helen scolded.
    Mallory tried to pry the dog off. Gabe laughed under the onslaught of the dog's wet tongue. He'd never experienced a more joyous reunion in his life. He loved it.
    "Pris!" Helen called again, her tone worried.
    Mallory caught hold of the dog's collar and hauled it off. "Sorry," she said, looking contrite.
    "That's okay." Gabe patted the dog, who now sat on its haunches grinning at him. "Good boy."
    "It's a girl," Mallory said. "Her name's Priscilla. We call her Prissy for short, but you never liked that."
    "Maybe I thought the dog would get a complex," Gabe explained.
    "Yeah," said Mallory with an airy laugh.
    He looked up at the front door of his house, just a few steps away. Nothing about it looked familiar to him. But there was Helen, standing in the doorway, clutching his bag. Looking into her gold-brown eyes made his pulse accelerate.