KGI - 1 The Darkest Hour by Maya Banks

Author:Maya Banks
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2010-08-31T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

RACHEL gripped her glass and stood with a smile frozen in place. She didn’t even know what

was in the glass, and she hadn’t tasted it.

Who were all these people? She knew all of the Kellys, or at least what was considered the

immediate family of Ethan’s brothers and parents. But the room was crammed full of people

she’d never seen before in her life.

She grimaced. Of course she’d seen them. She just didn’t remember them. It was hard to smile

and pretend when so many spoke to her as though they’d known her forever. Several even cited

specific instances that she had no recollection of whatsoever.

But she nodded at appropriate times and smiled until her teeth ached. After the sixth person

had approached her, she lost track of names and faces.

Ethan had remained at her elbow the entire night, but she felt the need to escape for just a few

minutes, so she turned and pasted a reassuring smile on her lips.

“I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”

He nodded and she broke away, threading her way through the crowded room. Instead of

going to the bathroom, she slipped through the kitchen, hoping that Marlene was otherwise

occupied. She signed in relief when she saw that the coast was clear.

She opened the sliding glass door that led into the back garden and stepped into the night air.

Her lungs filled with the fragrance of dozens of different flowers, all planted in boxes and brick

planters lining the walkway.

Marlene had told her that the two of them had spent hours designing the perfect garden and

then they’d turned their attention to Rachel and Ethan’s house.

Not wanting to go far in case anyone got to looking for her, she took a seat on the wooden

bench that overlooked the bird-bath and she concentrated on each breath. In and out. After a few

minutes, the tightness in her chest eased and she began to relax.

Her fingers uncurled, and she placed her palms on the smooth finish of the bench. Frank had

made it. That memory popped into her head, and she smiled, welcoming the information like an

old friend. She searched her memory for more, and little tidbits filtered through in scattered

blips.

Frank owned a hardware store. She knew that from the present. But he was also good with his

hands. Loved tools. When Marlene had despaired of him ever building her the bench she wanted,

she’d gone to Walmart across the lake, in Paris, and bought a simple garden bench.

Frank had taken immediate exception and presented her with a sturdily constructed bench in

three days’ time. Marlene had smugly told Rachel that she’d saved the receipt and had never

taken the bench out of the garage. Her husband was predictable if nothing else.

Rachel smiled at the memory and hugged it close, savoring those pieces of information that

told her where she came from and where she belonged.

She was so ensconced in her memories that she didn’t realize she was no longer alone until

someone to the left cleared his throat.

Startled, she sat forward, her head jerking warily around to confront her company.

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