The Secret of Spruce Knoll Read Online Free Page A

first instinct was to wipe her palm on her shorts, but then she saw the flash of red. Blood. Instead, she lifted her hand and looked at it. When she did, it stretched the skin over her elbow and a dull pain made her realize where the blood was coming from.
    “Oh man, you’re hurt! I’m such an idiot! I’m so sorry, come on, let’s get that cleaned up,” the boy said.
    He grabbed her hand and pulled her down the steep embankment after him. She was too busy concentrating on her footing to fight him. Besides, she liked the feel of his hand around hers. It was more than just a good looking boy touching her. He had an almost magnetic feel. They reached the rocky bank and he hesitated as he looked down at her shoes. Barefoot as he was, he hadn’t stopped until he was up to his ankles in the water and she had finally resisted.
    “Thanks, but really this isn’t necessary. It’s only a scrape,” she protested.
    He turned those hazel eyes on her and anything else she was going to say slipped her mind. Normally she was fine around boys, confident even. Most boys didn’t look like they’d just stepped out of a trendy storefront window, though. But it was more than that. The confident way he held himself and the soft way he spoke with a lilt that hinted at an accent, was even more attractive than his looks.
    Ignoring her protests, he scooped up a handful of water and began rubbing the blood from her arm. His fingers were gentle when they touched her scraped elbow. The sting was nothing compared to the flush his touch sent spreading through her. At this point, she wasn’t even sure it hurt at all.
    “I’m so sorry,” he muttered.
    He inspected the damage with a frown, and somehow even that managed to look cute. The scrape had already stopped bleeding. It really wasn’t all that bad but she wasn’t about to stop him from fussing over her.
    “You’re Eren aren’t you?” he asked as he sat down on a boulder next to her.
    “That obvious?” she said with a laugh.
    “Small town,” he said with a smile.
    “That it is,” she agreed as she sat down beside him.
    His smile made her want to blush again so she looked out over the river. It was wide and riddled with good swimming holes. Where it passed beneath the bridge it appeared particularly deep. The water was so clear she could see all the way down to the pebble-strewn bottom. Spruce and aspen hugged the banks on both sides.
    “That sucks about your parents,” he said.
    At that moment she was relieved he wasn’t looking at her. She didn’t want him to see the pain that she felt contort her features. People turned away from pain like that.
    “So you’ve heard about that already, huh?” she mumbled.
    “Small town,” he said.
    “Thanks for not saying something stupid like, ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ or ‘the pain will get better with time,’” she said.
    It was refreshing to meet someone who didn’t say the same old garbage or act like she had the plague. Of course it didn’t hurt that he was tremendously cute either. But there was still a chance he’d cut and run from ‘the damaged girl’ as soon as he could. Everyone else had.
    “Usually people are sorry they have to say anything. They’re not really sorry for your loss. As for the pain, I haven’t noticed that it gets any better,” he commented.
    His voice was quiet and when Eren looked at him she saw a familiar look in his eyes.
    “You’ve lost someone too,” she made it more of a comment than a question. That look was undeniable, she knew what it meant.
    “Hard to lose someone you never really had, but yeah. My parents died when I was a baby,” he explained.
    “Wow, that sucks,” Eren said as she shifted her gaze back out over the water. It seemed only fair to extend him the same courtesy he’d given her by looking away. The pain on his face was far too personal to intrude upon.
    After a few moments of a surprisingly comfortable silence, he struck up a conversation about where she