Page 15 of The Cowboy and His Sleeping Beauty

"You can if you want to."

Not hesitating, he removes his jeans and shirt and slides into bed with me.Then he pulls me close so that my back is against his chest and there is almost no space between us.Without another word, he wraps his arms around me and holds me tight.

Safe in his arms, I can start to let my mind wander over everything that has happened since my accident.With my memories back, I can look at it all in a different light.

Now it makes sense now why Miles seems to hold me at arm's length.It’s like he didn't want to move further without me knowing the truth, and can I really be upset about that?

For a good hour, I lay there going over and over everything in my head.At some point, I drift off to sleep.But now I have a game plan and the truth on my side.

Chapter 13

Miles

Ilookoveratmy Rose, and still can't get over the pure panic I felt when I watched her crumble to the floor yesterday.Watching her pass out like that was worse than any of the other times before, and she still hasn't told me what memories she's regained.

We're in the truck on the way to her stepmother's house, and I can't shake the feeling that this is a really bad idea.But she insists she needs to be there.

"Are you sure about this?”I ask when we park the truck in front of her childhood home.

"I'm positive.This is just an in-and-out.But I have this urgency to be here."The way that she says it makes me think she's not telling me the whole truth, but who am I to push on being totally truthful?

As we get out of the truck, she takes my hand and offers me a smile before we walk up and knock on the door.When the woman that I only know through pictures as her stepmother answers to say that she is not happy to see us, well, that would be an understatement.

From what I now know, it's a huge convenience for her that my Rose has lost her memory.

"What do you want?We sent all of her stuff," she says to me, ignoring Rose.

"I know, and while I don't agree, she thinks that being here might help jog her memory since it's been coming back little-by-little," I tell her what Rose told me.

We all go into the living room and sit down and no one says anything before Rose speaks up.

"May I use the restroom?"

"Yes, down the hall on the right."Her stepmother gives her a weird look as we both watch her walk down the hall.

"Isn't she supposed to be going back to school?"her stepmother asks.

"Next semester.What's your relationship with her like?"I ask.

"Oh, you know how it is.I came in and took daddy’s time away.She didn't like me from day one, and I just couldn't reach her.When she left for school, I stopped trying."

I just nod because really, I don't believe her story whatsoever, especially not after what my Rose has told me.

A very awkward silence fills the room.Finally, her stepmother looks at me again, giving me a tight smile.

"She sure is spending a lot of time in the bathroom."

Realizing that she's right, panic grips my heart.What if she's fainted again with another round of memories?What if she hit her head this time, or worse?

I stand and run toward the bathroom.

Rose

With all my memories back and with what Miles told me about the attorney that handled my father's estate, something clicked.Dad always kept all his important things in a hidden part of his desk.

He showed me how to get to the hidden part a few times so I would know where it was.But he made it a point to tell me that my stepmother did not know.

So, after I was able to sneak away under the guise of going to the bathroom, I went right into my dad's office.Praying the keys were still in the compartment under the lamp like he showed me.

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