Page 11 of Love and Memories

Travis stepped away from the wall and looked at Isabella. His gentle brown eyes locked on her, silently calming her from across the room.

She didn’t want him to go. Would he stay? Would he come back?

Who else was here for her? Where were her parents? Her life felt blank and empty.

Wait. Who was here for her? Why was a stranger sitting with her while she lay unconscious in a hospital bed?

Her heart pounded like the merciless hooves of a herd of wild horses. Why couldn’t she grasp the answers? She sucked in breath after breath as she tracked the man’s slow movements toward the door. Why did her dry throat constrict, and why were her eyes tingling with unshed tears?

The man who calmed her raging fear kept his attention on her until he turned at the doorway and walked quietly out of her life.

5

TRAVIS

Travis paced outside the same hospital door the next morning. He’d driven all the way from Blackwater just to dance in the hallway because he couldn’t make the move to knock on the door.

Why was he here again? Why had he cut his gym session short to run to Cody first thing this morning?

His phone dinged in his pocket as he made another turn in front of the door leading into the woman’s hospital room. Travis pulled out his phone and read the text from Dawson.

Dawson: No news. Sorry, man.

Great. The police knew the mystery woman’s name now, but Travis hadn’t even bothered to ask what it was. It was probably protected information. Besides, how would knowing her name help him? If Dawson and the Blackwater Police Department didn’t have any leads on a missing woman with her name, what could Travis possibly do to help?

He kept ending up at the hospital, drawn back here by a nagging sense of responsibility and concern. She’d woken up yesterday just before he left, but he hadn’t learned anythingabout her. Today, she had no obligation to answer any of his questions, but he was back anyway.

Travis sent Dawson a quick thanks and pushed his phone back into his pocket just as the door he’d been pacing in front of opened and a nurse with bright-red hair stepped out.

“Excuse me. I’m a paramedic, and I responded to the call about this woman’s incident. Can you tell me if she’s awake?” Travis asked.

The nurse smiled up at him. She was probably between the ages of fifty and sixty, but it was hard to tell beneath the colorful makeup she wore around her eyes. “She is. You know her?”

“Um, not really. Has anyone been to see her?”

Shaking her head, the nurse sighed. “Not yet. She’s having memory problems, so she hasn’t been able to give us the names or phone numbers of anyone who might be looking for her.”

Travis rubbed a hand over his beard. “She’s not remembering anything?”

“Well, she gave us things like her name and parents’ names, but she doesn’t remember anyone else. She lost her phone and doesn’t have identification.”

“She doesn’t remember her address?” Travis asked.

“She remembers one, but she knows it’s an old one,” the nurse said.

In the twenty-four hours she’d been coherent, that wasn’t a lot of information to go on. “Will her memories come back?”

The nurse shrugged. “It’s very possible, but head injuries are unique. There’s no way to predict how her recovery will go. It’s all in the Lord’s timing.”

Travis glanced at the door. “Is she awake? Do you think she’d want a visitor?”

The nurse grinned. “She just woke up, and she said she slept well. Now might be the best time.”

Travis gave the nurse a farewell nod. “Thanks for all your help.”

“Just page me if she needs anything. And remember, she needs rest.”

“Right. I won’t stay long.”

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