Page 33 of Silos and Sabotage

Johnny grinned and pushed open his door. “I’ll be right outside the vehicle.” He pointed two fingers at his eyes, then pointed them at her and Gage, making it clear he’d be keeping an eye on them. Then he picked up his enormous bag of lunch and took his precious time exiting the Bronco.

It was all Ella could do to continue holding in her laughter, especially after he slammed the door harder than necessary. A lot harder. A tiny squeak of mirth escaped her.

“He knows you think he’s funny.” Gage gave her a disgruntled look. “Trust me. The guy doesn’t need that kind of encouragement.”

Ella couldn’t resist teasing him. “Who thinks I’m funny?”

He raised his eyebrows at her.

“Who are you?” She pretended to squint at him. “Have we met before?”

His expression relaxed. “Is this your idea of cracking an amnesia joke?”

“Maybe.” She gave him an innocent look. “You don’t look very amused.”

“It was a nice try, though.” He shook his head at her.

She pointed at his mouth like Johnny had done to her. “I almost made you smile.”

He leaned his elbow on the console between them, bringing them to eye level. “You always make me smile.” The scent of his aftershave wafted between them.

Her breathing grew shallow from his nearness. “Could’ve fooled me, since you’re still not, you know…smiling.”

“I’m smiling on the inside,” he informed her huskily. “Have been since the day we met.”

“Gage,” she sighed, wishing they’d met under different circumstances. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of a murder investigation, and the inside of her head was still a hot mess.

He touched her hand. “You okay now? You seemed a little wigged out after you met with Dr. Jones.”

She filled her lungs before answering and let the air out slowly. “Dr. Jones called in sick. I met with Dr. Avery Radcliffe instead.” She paused before adding, “My mother.” She braced herself for an explosion. All he gave her was stark silence. “Say something,” she pleaded.

“Your mother,” he repeated. Then his expression changed. “Unbelievable!” He let out a low whistle.

“You don’t seem surprised,” she accused.

“I knew she divorced your father, then had a miscarriage overseas.” He shook his head. “I just assumed he never told me about the child he lost because it was too painful for him. It never once occurred to me that you might be that child.”

“That’s more than I knew. Maybe,” she added ruefully. She was still missing so many of her memories that she wasn’t too sure of anything anymore. “How did you find out all of this stuff?”

“I’m investigating your father’s murder,” he reminded. “If it’s public information, I’ve dug it up.”

“I thought she was dead. That’s what my dad told me.” She couldn’t believe he’d lied to her about something so important. It was the first time in her life she’d been put in a position to doubt her father. Had he lied about anything else? If he had, did those lies have anything to do with why he’d been killed?

“And now you live in the same town, and she’s back in your life.” Gage sounded sympathetic. “It’s a lot, I know.”

“I wouldn’t say that she’s back in my life.” She told him about her mother’s request to pretend like they don’t know each other, along with her mother’s warning to stay away from the Bolanders. “I almost wish she hadn’t bothered to tell me she was my mother,” she concluded with a grimace. “In some ways, it was easier not knowing.”

Gage toyed with her fingers. “Would you care to hear the thoughts of a fly on the wall listening in to all of this?”

She nodded mutely.

“My gut says Dr. Avery Radcliffe is scared. Scared for your safety and scared for her own safety.”

Ella scowled in frustration. “Then why continue to be so secretive? Why not come clean to me about everything?”

He spread his hands. “To the daughter she thinks is still suffering from full-blown anterograde amnesia?”

She tipped her head up to the ceiling, groaning. “Good point.”

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