Into Dust. B.J. Daniels

promised. And soon. She would call the man who’d found her when she’d literally been dumped off near an isolated road outside of town—retired rancher Russell Murdock.

      Over the months she’d been home, she’d grown to not just trust Russell, but also to love him. That was why she’d agreed to marry him when it looked as if Buck would never be free. With the death of Buck’s wife, though, she’d had to break her engagement, telling herself she belonged with Buck, the father of her children.

      Looking up now, she saw that Dr. Venable was studying her intently. “I promise that today you will have answers,” he said as if reading her mind—or accepting that she wasn’t going to wait much longer.

      “Now, please,” he said. “Look at these.”

      Sarah took the photographs he handed her and thumbed through them. “I don’t know any of these people. I told you that before.” She started to hand them back.

      “Look at them again.”

      She did, more slowly this time. There was one woman in the photographs and half a dozen men. None of them looked familiar. They all looked young and eager and maybe a little too bright eyed. She had no idea who they were, but something about them gave her an uneasy feeling.

      “Does the woman look familiar?” he asked.

      Sarah looked at the redhead in one of the shots. “She has a slight resemblance to me, is that what you mean?” Her hair was dyed an awful red color. With a small jolt of memory, she realized that she’d seen a photo similar to this some time ago, but couldn’t remember when or who had shown it to her. How odd that she couldn’t remember something that had to have happened since she’d returned.

      She frowned, the beginning of one of her headaches starting. Pushing the photos away, she rubbed her temples. “You’re giving me a headache.”

      He nodded. “Let me take care of it.” He removed the tie he’d been wearing and tossed it aside as he picked up the small golden pendulum on the slim gold chain. She felt her eyes widen, a sliver of fear piercing her skin, making her shiver as if she had reason to be fearful.

      “It’s all right, Sarah. You want answers. I can give them to you. Trust me.”

      She wanted answers, but she didn’t think she should trust this man. All her instincts told her that once he gave her back her memory, she needed to get as far away from him as possible.

      “I want you to relax. I can make you feel better.” He began to move the pendulum back and forth, back and forth. The shine of the gold caught the light. His voice was low and soothing. Within moments, she was transfixed. Somewhere in her subconscious, she knew this was not the first time Dr. Venable had hypnotized her.

      “Listen to my voice, Sarah. I am going to help you remember everything. You do want to remember the past, don’t you? You want to go back to where it all began. You want to remember that strong, intelligent, capable woman who could conquer the world. You are that woman. There isn’t anything you can’t do. You are a leader. Within you are all of the answers. Within you is a bright, beautiful tomorrow. I’m going to take you back. Back to another time. Back when you went by the name Red.”

      * * *

      “YOU’RE PUTTING THE ranch up for sale?” Destry Grant West sounded as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Dad, why? I know you haven’t been happy since...”

      Russell Murdock could see that his daughter didn’t even want to say Sarah’s name. “Since Sarah broke our engagement?”

      Destry let out a breath of obvious frustration. “I’m sorry that you’re hurt, but, Dad, she was all wrong for you. Surely, you realize that now.”

      He didn’t want to get into this with his daughter. Destry had forgotten no doubt what it was like to be so in love with one person that no one else would ever do.

      “You understand then why I want to sell the ranch and move away,” he said. “Not too far. I have to be able to see my grandchildren.”

      She nodded, her smile sad. It was clear that she worried about him. Her fear, though, was that Sarah wouldn’t remarry Buckmaster Hamilton. His was just the opposite.

      He hoped that someday Destry would understand that Sarah was in danger as long as she was around Buckmaster. It was why he had to get her away from him for good. Why he still couldn’t leave her. It was all too complicated to explain to his daughter, but still he tried.

      “I know how you feel about Sarah, but a quack doctor stole her memories, replacing them with ones that terrify her.”

      “Dad, you don’t really believe—”

      “I know it for a fact. At first I was as skeptical as you that a brain could be wiped clean of memories or that false ones could be planted, but it’s true. It’s modern science. I believe that Sarah’s husband did something so horrible that he had this doctor remove the memories and take her away from the past twenty-two years.”

      Destry was looking at him with a mixture of love and pity.

      “I know you must think I am the most gullible man in the world...” He smiled and nodded, knowing that was exactly what she thought. “But Sheriff Curry was able to track down the doctor—or at least where he was—and verify that he was experimenting with brain wiping.”

      “Dad—”

      “I’m the only person she can trust.” His voice broke and he saw that he wasn’t making any headway with his daughter. He looked to her like a man blinded by love for the wrong woman.

      “She broke your heart when she gave you back the diamond engagement ring,” Destry said kindly, but firmly. “She chose Buckmaster. You have to let her go.”

      He nodded. He was wasting his breath. “Which is why I have to sell the ranch. You and Rylan don’t need the property, so I’ve put it on the market.” He didn’t add that he was planning to use the money from the sale to relocate—with Sarah.

      He also didn’t tell his daughter that the quack doctor, Dr. Ralph Venable, was back in the States. All his instincts told him that the doctor would be contacting Sarah—if he hadn’t already.

      She was going to need him—and soon. She’d been having flashbacks of memory that scared her when she was with him. And now Buckmaster had won the primaries. He had the Republican nomination.

      The only fly in the ointment would be if Sarah’s memory came back and she knew the truth about what had happened all those years ago—and did something...crazy.

      * * *

      THE RING WAS CONSERVATIVE, the diamond not too large, the setting classic and tasteful. Buck held it up to the light. The owner of the jewelry store seemed nervous. He kept watching the door as if he expected photographers to show up any minute.

      “I’ll take this one. I’ll need it sized.” Sarah’s hands were small. “She wears a six.” At least she used to. Surely, disappearing for twenty-two years wouldn’t have changed her ring size.

      “It will only take a few minutes,” the owner said and hurried to the back.

      Buck walked around the jewelry store. This had been impulsive. Now he wondered if Sarah would be upset with him. He couldn’t imagine why. But then he couldn’t imagine why she hadn’t moved in with him already.

      Except that she must feel that he’d been stringing her along for the past year and a half, first because he was married and even after Angelina’s death, keeping her living on the ranch—but insisting she move into he main house only recently—and all because of his presidential campaign.

      But what choice had he had under the circumstances, he thought with a curse. He wasn’t the one who’d left, the one who’d driven into the river in the middle of winter trying to kill himself. He wasn’t the one who, failing that, had taken off for twenty-two years, leaving behind six daughters. Nor had Sarah gone alone. He