Page 28 of Found By You
I examined my reflection, pausing when I noticed a large bruise on my shoulder.
There was a little knock at the door, making me jump. “Yes?”
“Hey, do you care if I just do my makeup after you’re dressed? We could do our makeup together.”
Deciding to actually trust someone, I let her in. “I’m mostly done, but tell me what you think of these bruises.” I showed her my back, ribs, and shoulders.
Her face turned somber, but she was clinical with her diagnosis. “It looks like someone came up from behind you and grabbed you, and you struggled, and then maybe he pushed you down and kicked you in the ribs.”
I wasn’t as afraid today. I just wanted to uncover what had happened to me. “That seems right.”
Kayla searched my face. “You still don’t remember anything?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. And I’m going to tell you something: part of me is grateful for that, because whatever happened to me, it must have been pretty traumatic, right?”
Kayla nodded and moved back to the bathroom mirror. “Let’s not worry about it today. I was reading some stuff online, and it says it can take a couple of weeks for short-term amnesia to go away, but the more you push, the more your subconscious might push back. So just let it come.”
I felt myself relax, and moved toward the bedroom to put my clothes on. “Thank you.”
After we got ready, we headed out in the Jeep with the top off. She gave me sunglasses, and I felt so free driving around town with the wind blowing through my hair.
Kayla pumped up the radio, and I recognized most of the eighties, nineties, and early two-thousand music. It was fun. We were laughing, but she turned into something of a tour guide as well, pointing to different spots—a cozy café with outdoor seating where locals gathered, a small bookstore with a bright blue door, and a park where children played on swings.
She mentioned a place where everyone liked to get together for cards. “It’s the back of Jim’s Burgers,” she said. “When everyone is home, they usually drop the kids off at Mom and Dad’s. Do you want to go?”
“Sure. McCrae pointed that out the other day.”
“It’s a destination in this town, that’s for sure.”
Around lunchtime, Kayla pulled into the police station.
I felt a tad overwhelmed. There were people walking in and out, dressed in all their police officer gear. The station was a solid brick building with official-looking flags standing at attention by the entrance.
She shot a text to McCrae. “I guess there’s a lot of stuff going on, so I told him we’d come to him.”
I nodded and got out of the Jeep, feeling a lot less carefree. I looked in the mirror and calmed my hair, noticing that little bandage toward the back of my head. Those stitches probably needed to come out soon. Maybe we’d go in tomorrow and have the doctor do it.
We walked into the police station, and it was more or less what I had expected. There were desks with computers and stacks of papers, and there were sounds of people talking and hurrying to complete tasks.There was a guy in handcuffs sitting toward the middle of the room who looked really upset.
McCrae was strolling up from a nearby hall. He stapled some papers together, telling someone else about how this guy needed to be held in the jail overnight.
And then our eyes met.
I didn’t know how many romance novels I’d ever read, but something inside me took notice when I watched him walk toward me. His eyes were laser focused, and my heart beat rapidly. McCrae was the real deal. He was a good person. He was a cop. He was someone I could trust. I didn’t know why I didn’t trust many people, but Ididtrust him.
He grinned at me and Kayla. “I had some lunch brought in. Let’s go sit in the break room for about fifteen, if that works.”
It was fun to sit with McCrae and Kayla and laugh and joke over lunch. She told him about all of the places that she’d taken me.
When the three of us were walking out of the station, ready to part ways, McCrae said, “My parents and everyone who is camping will be home later today, but I was thinking we would stay at my house, if that’s okay.”
“Sounds good.”
“Oh, and if you’re up for it, let’s go play poker with everyone later.”
“Okay,” I said, processing all of this information. “I can stay alone at your house if you want to join them by yourself.”
Kayla laughed, turning to her car. “He’s asking you out on a date, Sky.”
