Page 17 of When I Forgot Us
“Poor guy. Isn’t he the only one?” She scrambled over a fallen log, not caring at all when moss and tree bark gathered on her palms.
“The only guy?” Chase threw his leg over the log. His boot slid on the slick dirt packed from years of hiking. “He’s the only one in the barn right now, but he’s that way regardless of gender.”
When he regained his balance and looked up, Michelle regarded him with a furrow between her brows.
“What?”
She put both hands on the sides of her head and closed her eyes. “I don’t know. Something.” A frustrated sound sent the birds into a frenzy of beating wings.
He racked his brain for anything about the moment that was familiar to him. Was she remembering him? Them? Or was it nothing more than the hike?
Her hands fell to her sides. “It’s gone.”
“We’re almost to the top.” He longed to comfort her, but what could he say?
“Thank you.”
He ducked under the last of the overhanging branches. He really needed to take a few hours and cut back the path. “For what?”
“For this.” She stepped out beside him.
The entire ranch stretched out into the distance. Hills and valleys dotted with shadows from the clouds were interspersed with horses grazing. Herds of cows grouped together in thefurthest pastures. He scanned them, habit driving him to check their status, even if he couldn’t quite see them all from here.
“It’s beautiful. Like a painting.” She put her back against the tall oak and crossed her arms loosely at her waist.
“I like seeing the world from up here.” He sat on the edge of the hill and leaned back on his palms. “It’s like everything comes into focus up here. All that I’ve worried about, tried to control, it’s out there. I can see it, but I can’t grab hold of it.”
“That’s how my memories are. Like trying to hold water in a fishing net. They flow right through.” She stood behind him, out of his line of sight, but he heard the deep melancholy. “This is the first time I’ve felt peace since I woke up in the hospital.”
His chest burned with a mixture of hope and dread.
“Even if I never regain my memories, at least I’ll have this.”
Mom’s dinner bell clanged before he found the right words to answer her. Whatthisdid she mean?
Chapter Six
Yesterday’s hike with Chase and the lunch afterward became the highlight of Michelle’s night. It was as though her mind latched onto the day and demanded it be put on replay, every second of the day playing out in minute detail. She remembered the way Chase smiled at the church, the feel of his hand around hers as they bolted.
It had felt genuine and good. Two things she had no memory of feeling before.
The steady ache in her heart refused to abate, so she fed it the memory to keep the pain controlled.
Aunt Sarah had talked all the way back to the assisted living facility, and Michelle had walked her inside, checking out the place where her only remaining family lived.
Aunt Sarah had a quaint little apartment tucked into a corner, with roommates on either side. Both women had come out to greet Sarah and meet Michelle, and she’d been thrilled to sit with them for two hours as they taught her how to play cards.
No one asked her any questions. They couldn’t care less about her lack of memory. All they cared about was whether she understood the rules of war.
War, she learned, was a card game that could go on for hours. She’d eventually given up and handed her cards to Sarah, much to her neighbors’ dismay. Aunt Sarah had cackled and kissed her on the cheek while wishing her a safe trip to the B&B.
The night passed in that slow, methodical way she’d learned to accept. Her fractured dreams teased her and left her annoyed upon waking.
It wasn’t until she pulled up outside Chase’s barn and climbed out of the truck that peace returned. Her muscles relaxed the instant her feet slammed into the packed ground. A horse whinnied in the distance, and another answered. She followed the sound, turning and dropping her hands on top of the car to get a better look.
Chase and two other cowboys rode her way. She recognized his outline and experienced a jolt of admiration at the easy way he sat in the saddle. Of course he rode well. He’d grown up in the saddle.
An image flashed in her mind, followed by a voice…a much younger version of her voice. She didn’t know how she knew, but the knowledge locked in.
