Hers To Remember. Karen Lawton Barrett

her first husband. Now she’d forgotten her second.

      “Are you okay?” He leaned forward and reached for her hand.

      “I’m fine,” she said, although it seemed an anemic word to use for how she felt.

      Sam was so big and strong. Sitting so close, he made her feel almost delicate. Yet, he hadn’t tried to intimidate her physically like other men had. He’d made her feel safe and protected. That’s what had scared her so much when she’d believed he’d been sent by Vaughn, that he could have taken her in so easily. When she’d finally accepted that not only wasn’t he involved with Vaughn, but that he was her husband and the father of the baby she carried, she’d felt relieved and somewhat vindicated.

      Now she felt curious. Not only about him, personally, but about her life with him. She moved restlessly. “Sam, for all intents and purposes, we’ve just met. I know nothing about you beyond these last few hours.”

      He released her hand and sat back, as if reading her need for a little space. “I’m not sure I know where to start.”

      Start with why you married me. The thought came full-blown to her mind, but she didn’t voice it. She’d asked Vaughn that once, and he’d answered with the required pretty words. But it hadn’t taken her long to realize pretty words meant nothing. Or that she wouldn’t have wanted a man like Vaughn to love her, even if they had.

      Sam seemed like a good, honest man. But she wanted to know him a lot better before she asked him a question whose answer she’d have to analyze. So, she decided to start with something simple.

      “I know your name is Sam Delaney. How old are you?”

      “I’ll be thirty-five April third. That’s about three months from now.”

      It seemed impossible so much time had passed. Like some modern Rip van Winkle, she’d gone to sleep and woken up over three years later. But old Rip hadn’t gotten married and pregnant during his nap! Thinking about the time that had passed, another thought occurred. “I missed my thirtieth birthday,” she said. There were probably women who’d rejoice at such a fact, but she only felt strange to have missed such an important milestone.

      “When is your birthday?” Sam asked. “We’ve been using October seventeenth, the day of the accident.”

      “December thirty-first.”

      “Well, we didn’t know it was your birthday, but we did celebrate.”

      She laughed. “Us and the rest of the world. It is New Year’s Eve.”

      His blue eyes sparkled. “I bet when you were a kid you thought the celebration was all for you.”

      “You win.”

      But that hadn’t lasted long, she thought. People had been quick to tell her the celebration had nothing to do with her. Just like Vaughn had been quick to tell her their success had nothing to do with her. It was his work, his brains that made their advertising company a huge success. The campaigns she’d designed, he’d told her, would never have gotten off the ground if it hadn’t been for him.

      “Hey, what’s wrong?” Sam interrupted her dismal thoughts.

      Adrienne rubbed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt very tired and emotional. “What could be wrong? I’ve forgotten three years of my life. I’m pregnant with a child I don’t remember conceiving with a man I don’t remember marrying.”

      Seeing the stricken look on his face, she regretted snapping at him. “Look, I’m sorry. My head is aching again. Would you mind if we postponed this question-and-answer session for a while?”

      For a moment she thought he was going to refuse. There was a stubborn look on his face that told her he wanted to. Instead, he got up and moved the chair he’d been sitting on back next to the wall.

      Grateful for his compliance, she felt a need to reassure him. “I just need a little rest, Sam. It’s been a big day.”

      Sam managed a smile. “That’s putting it mildly. Get some sleep. I’ll be down the hall if you need me.”

      “You don’t have to stay.”

      He looked a little hurt. “Yes, I do.”

      Adrienne was glad. She liked the security she felt knowing he would be near. Even though she knew Vaughn lived a couple thousand miles away, in blessed ignorance, she couldn’t quite shake the fear that he’d come running should he ever learn of her circumstances. Then, she suspected, there would be no more safety. No matter how big and strong Sam was.

      SAM LEFT THE ROOM reluctantly. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what. He walked down the hall toward the waiting room, though he already hated the sight of those rose walls and cranberry couches.

      He understood that Amy had been through a lot. She probably just needed some time to assimilate what she’d learned so far. He certainly did.

      But he also suspected there was something she hadn’t told him. Something about her ex-husband. Why else would she be worried about whether he had a hold on her and the baby?

      Once in the waiting room, Sam found it difficult to keep still. He sat. He stood. He paced, then sat again. Had he made a mistake letting her distance him like this? What else could he have done?

      He picked up a magazine and leafed through the pages, but never saw one. His mind never left the woman lying in the hospital room down the hall. He couldn’t force her to talk to him. He knew that. So he stayed where he was, knowing also that if he pushed, she’d run. She’d already done it once.

      Twice, if what he suspected about her arrival in California had any validity.

      So, he’d wait. Because next time he might not find her so easily. Frustrated by his own logic, he threw the magazine across the room.

      Casey strode in as the magazine settled itself on the floor next to the couch. “Hey, big brother, what are you doing here?”

      “Amy needed some rest.”

      “Told her you were her husband and she kicked you out, huh?”

      Sam glared at him. “That’s not funny.”

      Casey sat down beside him and slapped a hand on his back. “It ain’t gonna happen, either. So quit worrying. You’re much more interesting than that stiff she left in Boston.”

      That got his attention. “Her ex-husband’s dead?”

      Casey laughed. “Not that kind of stiff. You’ve been hanging around cops too much.”

      “How did you find him so fast?” He’d just found out the Vaughn she’d kept mentioning was related to her himself.

      Acting insulted, Casey moved to the chair across from him. “Will you ever stop underestimating your little brother? I put the names Vaughn and Winston together, called a friend who’s good at tracing people. Winston’s in advertising. Has a big company in Boston called Advon Inc. He and Adrienne started it five years ago. Right after they got married.”

      “So the ID was fake,” Sam said, only surprised that Amy hadn’t made that clear when he’d talked about trying to find her next of kin.

      “Yep,” Casey said. “A good fake, too. She must have paid a bundle for it.”

      Restless, Sam picked up a magazine, then put it back down. “I can’t believe Amy has her own advertising company. Why would she leave it to run to California?”

      Casey sat forward. “Had. She signed it over to him right before she left town.”

      “What?” That made less sense than her running away from it. “Why?”

      Casey shrugged. “Maybe that’s the price she had to pay to get rid of him.”

      Remembering his own comment about survival skills earlier, Sam felt a shiver of fear. “She must have wanted to do that