Page 35 of Shrouded Past

When she opened her eyes, she could tell it wasn’t enough. “I know it’s not much to go on.”

He smiled. “It’s a start. Your memories are coming back. That’s good. Perhaps being away from Edmon’s perceived threat will help your brain pull more of them out.” He picked up both their plates and carried them to the sink.

Piper retrieved their cups. “Let me. You did most of the cooking.” She gently nudged him away from the sink. She rinsed the dishes while Bryce loaded them into the dishwasher.

Once the cleanup was finished, both carried coffee into the living room.

Piper sank down onto the sofa while Bella came over. “You want to be held?” Already the kitten had wormed her way into Piper’s heart. She lifted the cat into her lap.

“She likes you. Jenna was like that with people and animals. Every person she met loved her, and so did every animal.”

The pain in his eyes was difficult to see. “She sounds like she was a nice person.”

“She was. She was a veterinarian, but in her spare time she volunteered at the county’s homeless shelter . . .”

His voice trailed off. There was something in his eyes that had her sitting forward. “What is it?”

His wide eyes found hers. “I can’t believe I didn’t remember this before. I guess with what happened I pushed it out of my head.” He seemed to be gathering his thoughts. “A few days before Jenna died, she told me about a call she’d taken at the shelter. Someone—a man—was asking questions about a person who had stayed at the shelter the previous year.”

“You think it’s the same person who killed her?”

“I don’t know. It’s possible. Although she didn’t indicate as much when he held her hostage.”

“Maybe she didn’t recognize the voice. It would stand to reason. She was scared.”

His frown deepened. “No, wait. She did say something. Not aloud. She mouthed, ‘It’s him.’ At the time I thought she meant the drug smuggler, but what if she meant the person who called the shelter?”

For the moment, Piper forgot all about her troubles. Bryce had told her that he didn’t believe Jenna’s real killer had been caught. “Is there a way to check the phone records for the shelter?”

“Probably.”

There was something else. She could see it on his face. “What is it?”

Those troubled eyes met hers. “Jenna told me the woman he was asking about came in alone. She appeared to have been homeless for a while. She didn’t remember anything about her past . . .”

Piper’s expression froze on her face. “That could be anyone. I’ve never been to Wyoming before.”

“Possibly.” Bryce sat forward in his chair. “You said yourself you don’t remember anything about your past.”

Her thoughts went ballistic. Why would she have been in Wyoming of all places. It had to be someone else. Surely it was impossible that her life had somehow crossed paths with Bryce’s wife and because of it his wife had ended up dead.

“What happened to the woman?” Piper had to know.

“I’m not sure. Jenna never said.” Bryce retrieved his phone. “I think we need to let JT know. Even if it turns out to be a dead end, we can’t afford to dismiss it.”

Piper didn’t respond. All she could think about was if this were true, she was a link to Jenna’s death. How could she ever face Bryce again knowing this?

“Hey. . .” He set the phone down on the chair and came and knelt in front of her. “None of this is your fault. No matter what, you aren’t to blame for what happened to Jenna.”

She desperately wanted to believe him.

Bryce reached up and brushed tears away. Her pulse kicked up at the tenderness in his gaze. He’d gone through so much. He’d lost the woman he loved and had been fighting to move on, yet he hadn’t hesitated to risk his life to save hers.

He cupped her face, searching her eyes before he leaned over and touched his lips to hers.

The touch of his lips against hers was her undoing. A sob escaped and then she kissed him back, her hands resting on his shoulders.

When the kiss ended, they stared at each other for the longest time before he slowly smiled and brushed his fingers across her cheek. Like, he'd been wanting to do that for a long time.

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