Free Remember by Karen Kingsbury

on every wall, the attention to detail in the learning environment her sweet sister had created for her students.
    Erin was a stabilizing force, really. She looked like their 57

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    mother, acted like her, and had the same calm demeanor. Erin’s life-even when she was younger-had never been anything but normal and good. At least it had always seemed that way. Erin’s, presence in their lives was something Ashley had always taken for granted.
    The same way she’d taken Landon Blake for granted.
    Ashley closed her eyes for a moment. Maybe she was wrong about him. Maybe he wasn’t upset by her lack of emotion. Maybe he’d fallen in love with someone else or had plans he wasn’t willing to share-that could be the reason he was acting so stiffly toward her. Whatever it was, Ashley knew she couldn’t wait any longer to find out.
    She exited the elevator and nodded to the nurse on duty. They all knew her by now-Dr. Baxter’s daughter, the one who couldn’t stay away from the injured firefighter. Ashley was sure the nurses had created a marvelous love story in their minds, marrying the two of them off before Christmas.
    That was fine. People could believe what they wanted to. She and Landon knew the truth. Despite their history, and despite the attraction they felt for each other, a romance between them would never work. It couldn’t. They were simply too different. Regardless of how things looked to her family and friends or even to the nurses at St. Anne’s Hospital.
    Ashley walked down the hall and turned into room 312. Landon was sitting gingerly in bed, keeping his weight off the bandages that covered his burns, staring at the television monitor anchored near the ceiling. A baseball game played silently on the screen.
    “Hi.” She smiled at him, clutching her crocheted bag to her waist. She sat in the chair beside his bed.
    “Hey, I didn’t think you were coming.” His eyes met and held hers. What was it she could see there? Regret? Anger? Uncertainty? Ashley wasn’t sure, but something was definitely wrong.
    “It’s Erin’s birthday.” Ashley leaned back in the chair and set her bag on the floor. “Baxter dinner parties can run pretty late.”
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    Landon’s smile did not erase the distance in his eyes. “I’m sure.”
    Ashley studied him. “You look good.” There was more color in his face. “How long before they let you go?”
    “Not sure. No skin grafts, so that’s good news. They want my lungs to function better.” He grinned. “I have a strict doctor.”
    “You’re telling me.” Ashley rolled her eyes, a smile tugging on her lips. “I grew up with him.”
    They were quiet, and Ashley looked at the television again. This was the moment, her chance to ask him what he was thinking. But before she could find the words, Landon broke the silence.
    “Why, Ash?”
    Her eyes returned to his. “Why, what?”
    “Why are you here?”
    She shifted positions, her heart thudding against the wall of her chest. She couldn’t back out now. “I’m worried about you.”
    “I get that.” He motioned toward his monitors. “But I’m not in danger now. I haven’t been for twenty-four hours.” He looked at her, his gaze working its way deep into her soul. “So why are you here?”
    What should she tell him? Had he heard the words she’d spoken when he was near death the other day? Was he waiting for her to say them now, to his face? She bit the inside of her lip and searched desperately for the answers. “I’m your friend, Landon. I care. That’s why.”
    Landon let his head fall back against his pillow. For a moment he watched the ball game again, staring at the screen while a burly batter missed two pitches and hit the third out of the park. Ashley watched, too, not sure what to say.
    When the game broke for a commercial, Landon used his remote control and clicked the Off button. The screen went black.
    Once more Landon turned his attention to her. “I heard you.”
    Ashley felt the