Page 14 of Forget Me Not
“I’ll meet you at the table. I need to piss.”
I headed toward the back, needing a moment to gather myself. What I wasn’t expecting was to bump into her—literally.
“Excuse me.” She glanced up and froze. “Do I know you? You seem familiar.”
My heart dropped. There was no way she knew who I was. Everything about me was different. “Don’t think so. I’m new in town. Drake Powell.” I stuck my hand out.
As soon as her fingers wrapped around mine, I was struck with an intense jolt. I could tell she felt it too because her eyes dilated as she held my gaze. “Nice to meet you. I’m Mackenzie Stanton.”
Stanton. Huh? She had kept her maiden name. Made me wonder why. “My buddy Alex and I own P&D security.” I pulled a card out of my pocket and handed it to her.
She smiled as she took the card. “Thanks. Good to know.”
“Mom.” A young boy burst into the hallway and grabbed her arm. “Mr. Craig said we can go get ice cream once you come back to the table.”
“Alright, honey. Calm down. It was nice to meet you, Drake. I’m sure we’ll see you around.”
I watched as she and her son walked away. My eyes trailed her all the way to her table, where Doctor Craig stood and kissed her cheek. Something told me she wasn’t married to him, but even more peculiar was the fact she had a son—and he was not likely the doc’s either.
The question was… who was the boy’s father?
Mackenzie
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I knew Drake from somewhere. It was an overwhelming sense of Deja Vu. Austin could tell something was on my mind as we walked down the sidewalk toward the creamery, but he said nothing. At least not in front of Danny. Once we ordered our cones, Danny sat down on the bench and delved into his ice cream. I stood behind him, watching him eat with such happiness, I couldn’t help but smile.
“There’s that smile. I was getting worried.” Austin licked at the melting bits of his frozen treat.
I watched as his tongue lapped at the vanilla cream, making me blush. “Sorry. Have you ever bumped into someone and had a sense you met them before? That man I just met at dinner—I feel like I know him from somewhere. Silly, isn’t it?”
“Not really. I’ve had it happen before.”
“I just can’t shake the feeling. It’s making me nuts.”
Austin wrapped his arm around me and pressed a kiss to my head. “I’m sure I can help you forget it later. If you want me to?”
“As much as I would like that, I have Danny.”
Austin seemed to mull over my words. He glanced down at Danny and grinned. “True.” I watched as he took out his phone and grimaced. “Fuck.”
“Let me guess… hospital?”
“Yeah. I need to go. I’m so sorry, Mackenzie.”
“You’re leaving?” Danny glanced up from his perch on the bench.
“Yeah, duty calls. Can I take you guys home?”
“Nah, I think he and I will walk around a bit. I can call my father-in-law to get us when we’re ready to go.”
Austin hesitated for a moment. “You sure? I hate leaving like this.”
“It’s alright. You go be a doctor.”
He pressed a kiss to my lips and then ruffled Danny’s hair. “Take care of your mom.”
“I will, Doctor Craig.”
I plopped down on the bench beside Danny and watched as Austin hurried to his truck. This was the second time work had interrupted our time together. I wasn’t sure I was cut out for this relationship. Being alone for so long, I had gotten used to things being my way. This was a new frontier for me, and so far, I hated it. I stood and slipped my phone out. I called David. I knew Catherine was out with some of her friends playing Bridge, but David was supposed to be home. Unfortunately, he wasn’t answering.
