Page 51 of Found By You
I shook my head, disappointment settling heavily on my shoulders. “Nothing specific. Just a feeling of … unease.”
We spent the next hour exploring the area around the cave, following the climbing routes up the rock face, examining the ground for anything unusual. Nothing. No sudden memories, no flashes of recognition. Just the persistent ache in my head and a growing frustration that threatened to overwhelm me.
Eventually, we found ourselves in a small meadow-like clearing a short distance from the cave.
Exhausted and discouraged, I sank down onto the soft ground and lay back, staring up at the endless blue sky above.
After a moment, McCrae lowered himself beside me, our shoulders almost touching as we both gazed upward in silence.
“I’m sorry,” I said finally. “I really thought coming might help me remember.”
“Don’t apologize,” he replied, his voice a comforting rumble beside me. “Memory doesn’t work on command. We’ll figure this out.”
I turned my head to look at him, his profile outlined against the blue sky. “What if we never do? What if I never remember who I am?”
He considered this, his expression thoughtful. “Then you build a new life. One day at a time.”
“With you?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.
His eyes met mine, intense and unreadable. “If that’s what you want.”
I rolled onto my side to face him fully, propping my head on my hand. “What about Rose? Will you get back with her?”
His expression immediately hardened, irritation flashing across his features. “No. I told you, I’m over her.”
“But if she stays in Refuge Falls, you won’t give her a second chance?”
McCrae mirrored my position, turning on his side so we were face to face, only inches apart. His blue eyes captured mine, fierce with conviction. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” I pressed. “Don’t you believe in second chances?”
He sighed and rolled onto his back again, one arm flung across his forehead. “All I know is that I was about to ask her to marry me, and she … ghosted me. Completely.”
I lay back too, bumping against his shoulder. “That’s true.”
“I’m done with her. The other night, I kept thinking how I finally saw her as the fake she is.”
I could feel the pain radiating from him; not fresh and raw, but a dull ache, like an old injury that still flares up in cold weather.
“My siblings always told me they didn’t really like her.” His voice grew harder. “Kayla told me time and again that she was a fake, but I defended her.” He sighed. “Now I see it. Yesterday, she kissed me and then tried to act like … like everything was fine and now we would just pick up where we left off. She disgusts me. Sheisfake.”
I processed his words, feeling a strange mix of sympathy for his pain and selfish relief that he was truly done with Rose. Then a troubling thought occurred to me. “Aren’t I fake?” I asked quietly. “I don’t even know who I am. I’m calling myself Sky, but that’s probably not my real name. I could be anybody.”
McCrae rolled his eyes, turning his head to look at me. “No. There’s a difference between actually faking versus not knowing at all.”
I was about to respond when a sharp crack echoed through the canyon.
A gunshot.
McCrae was on his feet in seconds, pulling me up with him. His body shifted, positioning himself between me and the direction of the sound. “Get behind me.” His hand was on his weapon as he scanned the surrounding area.
We stood frozen, listening intently.
The birds had gone silent.
After several tense minutes with no further sounds, McCrae relaxed slightly, though I could still feel the alertness humming through him. “Probably just hunters.”
I wasn’t convinced.
