Beyond the Ashes by Karen Barnett

Author:Karen Barnett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abingdon Fiction
Published: 2015-04-21T04:00:00+00:00

24

For the fourth night in a row Ruby stared at the ceiling, her mind consumed by images of Gerald at the hospital—treating his patients, comforting the families, supporting her brother. She stirred, the weight of the blankets pressing her into the mattress. How can I be falling in love again? I didn’t want this, God. She tossed the covers off, a chill rushing to take their place. She preferred the cold to the stifling bulk.

During the weeks since Dee passed, each day blurred into the next. Avoiding Gerald had become Ruby’s primary occupation—an impossible task, considering they shared both a home and a workplace. During the daytime hours, she occupied herself serving at either the hospital or with Abby at the refugee camps. At night, she fell into bed so exhausted, her thoughts should have been unable to disturb her sleep.

In the next bed, Abby breathed slowly, the quiet rhythm of uninterrupted sleep.

Ruby rolled to her side, pulling both knees up to her chest and studying the single beam of moonlight piercing through the narrow opening in the draperies. Dee’s death left a similar gap in Ruby’s heart. Was she cut out for this line of work? Papa’s practice had been all about fractures and colds, gout and rheumatism. Her brother’s ambitions had taken them places their father never dreamed possible.

Ruby swung her feet to the floor and stood. She gathered her dressing gown, draping it around her shoulders. Sleep wasn’t coming anytime soon, and she didn’t want to spend another moment analyzing her life. Tiptoeing to the shelf, Ruby retrieved the portable writing desk and pushed the drapes back far enough to flood a corner of the room with moonlight.

Otto lifted his head from the basket and yawned. The dog thumped his tail three times before lowering his chin to the cushion.

A book rested on the wine-colored chair by the window. Ruby picked up the novel before sitting. Jack London, again. Abby’s devotion to adventure stories amused her. Ruby’s sisters had always read romances, and Ruby preferred classic literature. She flipped through the pages, pausing on an illustration of a snow-covered forest. She slid her finger down the lines of a particularly lovely tree.

Ruby set the opened book on top of her lap desk and rested her head against the wingback chair. The whole Larkspur/Fischer family reminded her of trees—standing tall in the face of storms and adversity. Their shared experiences of pain and loss in the past year drew them closer together. Her mind wandered over each member of the family—Clara, Herman, Mae, Abby—even little Davy. Strong trees bending in the wind, but not breaking under the strain. And Gerald stood tall, the heart of the forest around which the others gathered.

She touched her lips, the memory of his kiss flooding back. Only a fool would deny herself the love of such a man—one who made her weak in the knees and also demonstrated enduring strength. Ruby pushed a hand against her chest as memories of Charlie drifted through her thoughts.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.