Shadow of Doubt Read Online Free

snow. I breathed deeply, inhaling the cedar-y scents.
    â€œSmells great, doesn’t it?” Ben said. He slipped his arms around me. “Kind of romantic, don’t you think?”
    I smiled and looked up into his green eyes. He pulled me close and kissed me.
    â€œYou’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he murmured.
    I pulled back a little. “What do you mean?”
    â€œI mean I like seeing you. I like being with you. The best days, Robyn, are the days when I know we’re going to be together.” I let him pull me close again. That way he couldn’t see the expression on my face.
    I liked Ben. I liked when he kissed me. I liked when he held me. I liked that Morgan and my mother both liked him. But I was starting to get the feeling that he was more serious about me than I was about him.
    He held me a little longer. Then he said, “Come on. Wait until you see the spot I picked out for lunch.”
    The sun shone in a cloudless sky overhead, making the snow-covered terrain sparkle. My breath hung in white puffs in front of my face, but it didn’t feel cold as I trudged up a hill and along a ridge behind Ben. Every now and then he turned and smiled at me, and I smiled back and reminded myself how sweet he was. He cared about other people. He volunteered at a shelter for the homeless where he knew most of the clients and treated them just like anyone else. I also reminded myself that Nick had walked out on me without a word of explanation and that Ben would never do anything like that.
    â€œWell?” Ben said finally. “What do you think?”
    We had been climbing steadily, but I had kept my eyes down most of the way, watching the uneven terrain, the rocks and tree roots that lay buried beneath the snow. I was breathing hard too. I’m in pretty good shape, but I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken a long—a
very
long—uphill hike.
    I came to a stop beside Ben and looked around.
    â€œWow,” I said.
    Ben broke into a blissful smile. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
    What an understatement! From the edge of a high ridge we could see over the tops of pines and spruces to a frozen lake beyond. A long, narrow piece of rock jutted out like a huge finger over the landscape below. Ben walked to the end of it and gazed around. I stayed where I was, on more solid ground. But even from where I stood, I had a perfect view of the lake and of the land that rose around it, which was studded with more pines, spruces, birches, and firs. There wasn’t another human being in sight.
    â€œIt really is nice,” I said, although it made me queasy to look at Ben as he stood at the edge of the finger of rock. Then, without looking down, he stretched out his arms and threw back his head. Slowly at first, and then faster, he began to spin out there on the edge.
    â€œBen! Ben, be careful.”
    He whirled and whirled, his feet taking him around faster and faster.
    â€œBen!” My heart was in my throat. Was he crazy? What if he got dizzy? What if he fell?
    Then it happened. One of his feet slipped off the edge.
    â€œHelp!” he shouted.
    His eyes grew wide and his hands pinwheeled frantically in the air as he scrambled for something to grab onto. But there was nothing but air.
    I lunged forward and grabbed at his jacket. My hand closed around the collar, and I yanked him toward me. I was terrified to look down. At first I was afraid that he was going to pull me over with him.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” I said, relieved and angry and scared all at the same time. “You could have killed yourself.”
    He looked at me and tugged me toward him. I resisted. My heart was pounding, and I was angry with him for spinning around out there in the first place. But he was stronger than I was and, despite my resistance, I found myself pressed against the front of his parka. I was breathing hard, but I didn’t dare struggle. We