Page 13 of Montana Freedom

“No. I mean, I remember cutting myself, but I don’t remember anything else. I’ve been in a cabin in the woods trying to figure it out. I just kind of…showed up there.” The lie wasn’t a solid one, but he didn’t seem to question it.

What I did see was a shade of disappointment. Why? He didn’t remember me, so why wouldmymemories matter?

I needed to go back to sleep. Or leave. Whichever made it easier tothink. It felt like my brain was stuffed with cotton, and my thoughts were moving in complete slow motion.

“Can you drink something?”

Daniel picked up a glass of water and held it toward me, and all my instincts made me back the hell up, pressing myself into the far corner of the bed even though I knew he wasn’t going to be the one to hurt me.

“It’s okay. It will be here when you want it.” He put the glass down on the table at the side of the bed.

We stared at each other, and I took the time to look at him. Really look at him. All these months, I’d been living off a half-formed dream of his face, and now, every detail was here for me to drink in and remember. Now my dreams would be much more vivid. That was nice.

“How did I get here?”

“I brought you,” he said. “You were about to fall in the parking lot of a grocery store. Do you remember that?”

I did remember that. The last few moments of consciousness came back to me with clarity. I’d seen it was him, and I’d known. Had I said it out loud? If I had, this lie I was telling wouldn’t hold up.

“Yeah.”

“A doctor I know is helping take care of you, but she would like you to go to the hospital, if you’re willing.”

“No.” Even in this state, I managed to make the word forceful. “No hospitals.”

“I figured you’d say that. Which is why we’re taking care of you here.”

I frowned. “Where is here?”

“Resting Warrior Ranch. We’re a little way outside Garnet Bend, to the north.”

That was the right direction, at least. If I needed to get out of here.

He leaned forward, and I was briefly distracted by the way his shirt stretched over his arms and chest. It would be a lie to say the dreams of him had always stayed innocent. They hadn’t. Now that he was here, I was thinking about them, and I was out of my mind enough to imagine stretching across the space between us and kissing him.

“What do you remember? If you don’t mind my asking. We’d like to help you if we can.”

I swallowed. How much did I tell him? The lie I’d already told was delicate. I wasn’t well enough to keep track of the threads. “I…guess I woke up in a cabin. There was food, and I just stayed there, trying to remember and figure out what was going on.”

The only part that was a lie was my waking up there. I had stayed there, searching my memory and trying to figure out where Simon had gone.

“Do you remember me?”

Shock hit me first. So, hedidremember me? I was suddenly dying to know what he remembered and what he thought of me, but I’d already told the lie. I couldn’t turn back now.

It hurt to slowly shake my head. That was a lie I might regret later, but I needed to be safer than sorry. I hoped he would understand that if I ever had to tell him the truth.

“Do you remember your name?” he asked again.

“Emma.” I immediately winced. Probably should have given him a fake name, but the pain and the heat and the dizziness…

I sank back down onto the bed, resting my head. That felt better.

“Emma,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

The way he said my name would stay with me. I knew that much.

“We’re giving you fluids and antibiotics. Whatever cut you gave you a nasty infection. You need to rest for a while. The doctor made it clear to stay off your feet.”

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