recently graduated from college.”
He leaned back in his chair for a moment to study her. “When and where did you come to?”
“Four months ago I woke up on a dirt road just outside of Beartooth. I was confused. My only thought was that I had to see my daughters. I have six. The twins are the youngest.”
The doctor picked up his pen and turned it slowly in his fingers as if inspecting it for even the slightest of smudges before asking, “Why did you wait four months to come see me?”
“I’m not sure I want to know why I can’t remember.”
He frowned. “Were you involved in any trauma that you know of such as an assault or car accident or violent collision in, say, a sporting event?”
“I’m told I crashed my car into the Yellowstone River in the middle of winter before I...disappeared.”
He studied her again for a long moment before jotting down the information in her chart. “Does anything help improve your memory?”
She hesitated. “I get flashes like shadows that fade in and out sometimes, but they make no sense, so I can’t be sure they’re even memories.”
“You don’t have any short-term memory loss?”
“No.” She watched him write.
“So you don’t know why or how the memory loss began?”
“No.” She answered questions about her medical history—at least the years she recalled.
“Drugs? Alcohol?”
She shook her head. “Not that I know of,” she said, remembering the taste of vodka even though she couldn’t recall ever drinking it.
“I’m going to do a physical exam along with some cognitive testing. Then we’ll see about a CT scan to rule out damage or abnormalities to the brain. We’ll take blood to check for an infection...”
Sarah felt like a sleepwalker as she went through the process. Later she found herself back in the doctor’s office. She moved several things on his desk before he joined her.
When he came back into the room, he stopped before sitting down and asking, “Did you move something on my desk?”
“Why would I?”
He nodded. “Good question.” He quickly replaced both items she’d moved to their original locations before he sat. “Yours is a very interesting case,” he said once behind his desk again. “I can see no medical reason for your memory loss, no damage to the brain, no infection...” He closed the chart and steepled his fingers as he peered at her. “That leaves another possibility.”
“That my memory loss might be psychological,” she said, voicing her worst fear.
He nodded slowly. “I can give you the name of a psychiatrist...” She said nothing as he scribbled the name on a prescription pad he pulled from his top drawer. She took the sheet from him, folded it and put it into her pocket.
As she stood to leave, he said, “I would be interested to see how it turns out.” His gaze locked with hers, and she saw that he’d made up his mind about her.
The moment he’d realized that she’d moved items on his desk, he’d known she’d done it to mess with his mind. Just as he’d known she was lying when she’d denied it. Now he was probably wondering why a woman would lie about losing twenty-two years of her memory.
* * *
CURIOUS, EMILY WATCHED Alex Ross head behind the counter to get her another coffee. He’d been flirting with her! The thought surprised her. He was not the kind of man who normally gave her a second glance.
He wore an apron with Big Timber Java printed on it over his button-down shirt and chinos. His sleeves were rolled up, exposing surprisingly muscled tanned arms. She wondered what he did when he wasn’t working here in the coffee shop. Then she shook her head as she imagined what her ex Harrison would have thought of the guy.
She instantly felt defensive on Alex’s behalf. While he wasn’t her usual type—not in the least—he was nice and kind of cute in his way-too-straightlaced clothes. He’d been so sweet when he’d come over to the table. He wanted her to feel better. Harrison had never cared how she was feeling one way or the other.
Just the thought of the man who’d gotten her arrested made her go cold inside. He’d been mean, taking out his temper on her with hard words and fists. But that was all behind her, she told herself as the barista returned with another cup of coffee. She reached for her purse.
“It’s on the house. Your smile was payment enough,” he said. “I was worried about you. You looked so serious. Can’t have one of my favorite customers looking so sad.”
Yep, he was definitely hitting on her. She grinned, more amused than anything. She certainly wasn’t taking any of this seriously as she accepted the coffee. “Thanks.” She took a sip. “Nice job.”
He shrugged. “I try. I’ve seen you in here with Jace Calder. Any relation?”
“My brother.”
He looked pleased to hear that. Had he thought Jace was her husband? “So...” His gaze went to her ring finger as if he was double-checking to make sure there wasn’t a wedding ring.
“I’m not married,” she said, even more amused.
He raised his gaze, his grin broadening into an embarrassed smile. “But you do have a boyfriend.”
“Nope.” She joked that she couldn’t have a boyfriend until she could keep a houseplant alive. In truth, her priority was her daughter and had been for the past four years.
“Really? No boyfriend, huh?” One eyebrow shot up. “I thought... Never mind.”
“I have a three-year-old daughter,” she blurted out. If he was thinking of asking her out, which he probably wasn’t, she wanted him to know up front. So many men weren’t interested in a woman with someone else’s kid.
“I’ve seen you with her. She’s adorable.”
“Thanks.” She took a sip of the coffee, surprised how nervous she was. Alex was so not like the men she’d known. He had a job! True, it apparently was only part-time, but still...
She debated telling him she’d done jail time, but she reminded herself he hadn’t asked for her life history. Or for a date. And yet, if her daughter hadn’t scared him off...
“Would you like to go to a movie this weekend?”
“Really?” She hadn’t meant to sound so shocked. The word had just slipped out. But she couldn’t believe he was actually asking her out.
“You do go to movies, don’t you?”
She laughed nervously. “Sure. I mean, yeah, I’d like to.”
“Great. We can go to Bozeman and see one that’s rated for kids if you don’t want to get a sitter.”
Who was this man? “You’d be all right with Jodie coming along?”
“Sure. Or we can see something else if you’d rather. I’m new at this, but I’d be happy to pay for the sitter.” He sounded as nervous as she felt.
She laughed, and he seemed to relax. When he smiled, his brown eyes shone. “Maybe it should be you and me the first time.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she’d said. She felt her face flush with embarrassment. “I mean—”
“Then it’s a date.” He smiled broadly and asked for her number. She watched him type it into his phone. A moment later she heard her phone ping, alerting her to a text. “I just sent you my phone number. Text me with what night would work best for you, and we’ll come up with a time. Might as well have dinner before the show. Do you like Italian,