Remember Me? (Book 1) COMPLETED

Something New

KATHERINE

The end of September hit me like a baseball bat. Only two months to prove my worth to the Committee. I took the day off work on September 29th and waited until Matthew came down for breakfast.

"Pancakes?" I asked, pouring the batter into the pan.

"Sounds good, Kat." He said, smiling. "What's on your mind?"

I blushed and cleared my throat. "I need your help with the Committee," I said. "I don't have any ideas, but I want to keep my shares."

He shot me a sympathetic smile. "I get it. I can't tell you what to do, only what I would do in your place." He took a breath. "And I would go to church."

I blinked. Church? The spindly teen I'd known in my youth hadn't breathed a word about church. Now that he was a man, Matthew believed? What had changed?

He went on. "God always helps me clear my thoughts."

I frowned.

He glanced over my shoulder, grinning now. "I think my pancakes are well done, Kat."

Oh crap. I slid the blackened pancake onto the plate and started another one. Facing burning hot with shame, I kept my back to him. When I caught a glimpse over my shoulder, it seemed he was preoccupied on his phone.

I put the plate in front of him.

He thanked me, then went on as he poured syrup over his pancakes. "Don't worry about Erland today, I'll take him to school so you can head out to work later."

I thanked him and headed upstairs. A while later, I heard Erland come down and the two of them leave the house. Around mid-morning, I got a text from Matthew: If you want to come, service is at 7:30pm tonight. You can take the Jeep so you don't have to stay late either.

I didn't respond.

Out of the past month of being with Matthew, I'd learned a lot about him. He'd gone to church a few times, of course, and maybe he had expressed something about God, too, but I'm not sure I've always been listening. Why now? He said God helps him clear his thoughts. What does Matthew have to worry about?

I remembered the suitcase in my room, where I had stored the manuscript. Grey told me that it was undergoing editing at the moment. He didn't say anything about the author—Grey would have no reason to know that Richard Chase is the same unknown investor who wants to buy part of the company—but I had to be careful not to get him suspicious.

My old laptop, the one I had written it on, was on the way in the mail. Betsy had shipped it to me last week. Hopefully, it arrives soon. Then—maybe—I can see what happened to Starlight Crows in the first place. And how Chase got his hands on it.

Even though I was off of work, I still had to finish reading a manuscript, so I set about skimming the pages until Matthew and Erland stepped through the front door at 5pm.

Erland ran upstairs to take a shower, while Matthew set about starting dinner.

We ate and laughed as Erland told us about his new friends at school. He still called his other friends daily over Xbox, but he didn't seem to drag his feet as before on his way out the door in the morning. He also mentioed a girl named Bella. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it—and before I could ask, Matthew announced that he had to clean the kitchen before heading out for church.

"Can I hitch a ride with you?" Erland asked, standing with his plate and moving to the sink.

I sat, jaw dropped, at my brother's eager move toward attending services.