Page 73 of Sheltered by the Lawman

Mulling it around in her head, she shrugged. “No. Should I?”

“You probably should.” He dropped his half-eaten slice of toast to his plate. “He was actually here to see you.”

She stared at him, trying to wrap her head around what he was saying. “To see me? He knows me?”

Cull nodded. “He’s your fiancé.”

The space between them grew heavy and solid. The lines around his eyes appeared deeper. “My fiancé? That’s not possible,” she stammered.

“But you can’t be sure.”

“Yes, I can be. I’d know if I was engaged. His name would be a trigger of a memory,” she said firmly. “You’re not believing him, are you?”

With a shrug of his shoulder and a swipe of his hand down his angular jaw, he sighed. He stood, went over to the cabinet and took out an envelope. He handed it over to her. “You should look at these.”

“What are they?”

“Pictures.” He clasped his hands together in a fist. “I checked him out, and you too.”

“Me? What’s my name, Cull?”

“Sally Holloway.”

One corner of her lips played with a smile. “Yes, that’s me. I know it is.” She could feel that it was right. Going back to the chair, she sat down. She took out the stack of pictures and looked at each one as fuzzy memories filled her head. “I do remember him some.”

There was a long, tense silence and then Cull got up, went to one of the drawers in the kitchen and took out a folder. He placed it in front of her and sat back down.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Kace faxed me over information. Look at it.”

“I don’t think I want to.” She held his gaze, beseeching him for…what? “I don’t care about the past. I like where I am right now. With you.”

He reached across the table and placed his hand on hers. “Don’t be afraid, sweetheart. You need to know who you are.”

“Maybe I already do know who I am. I’ve found myself here, at the ranch.”

“But this isn’t just about you. He’s been looking for you. He wants to see you.”

“He’s here?” Her stomach dropped.

“He’s staying in town.”

The hair on the back of her neck lifted and she choked back a sob. “What if I don’t want to?”

“I won’t force you to do anything, but I don’t think he’ll give up. You owe it to yourself, sweetheart.”

She let her eyes close, taking a moment to absorb the news. They’d been living in a fantasy world here on the ranch, one where Cull had become her lover, her protector…a man she wanted to spend her life with. He felt like home to her and she wanted nothing, nor no one, to ruin that.

Opening her eyes, she took in his sincere expression and stood, going to the window to look out. Hugging herself, she watched as a bird sat on a branch outside. It looked for breakfast and finally it swooped down and grabbed a worm. This morning should have been different. They should have woken up together, made love again, shared breakfast and talked about what they’d do for the day. She saw his reflection in the window. He had his head lowered and his shoulders were slumped. She could see this was hard on him too. Maybe she could convince him that she didn’t need to know who she was, or what that folder held sitting on the table. Something told her it wouldn’t fly. There was a lot she could lose here. What if she met this Burke and everything came back, including the love she had for him? That couldn’t be possible because the only man in her heart was Cull.

He was a man with such great strength and she’d leaned on him a lot for the past few weeks. Most importantly, she trusted him. She knew he’d never steer her wrong, or betray her, and certainly never let her down. He was a good man.

Why did a strong sense of betrayal flood her heart?

Had she been betrayed before? Had this man who showed up on the Cade’s doorstep betray her? Why didn’t she have any recollection of loving him?

If she refused to do this there wouldn’t be a future for her and Cull. To have a future she needed to clear her past, whatever there was to take care of. She squeezed her arms tighter around her shoulders. She needed to be brave and do what was best.

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