by K. L. Donn
Laying back on her bed, she tried to relax her mind enough so that some thoughts or memories could bleed through. The warmth from the fireplace and laughter from the front rooms lulled her into a deep sleep where she almost wished she hadn’t gone.
“Come on, Pepper!” her best friend Tami called for her again. It was her first blind date, and she was a nervous wreck. Alex worked with Tami’s brother Ray as a firefighter for the local station, and Ray thought they’d hit it off, so she was going against her better judgment and trusting his.
Looking down at herself in the slinky black dress and peep toe kitten heels, she wasn’t sure she was ready. What if he hated her? What if she hated him? Her hair was curled and pulled to one side, for once not doing whatever it pleased.
Her main fear was that she was going to be too curvy for the fit fireman. She’d never met him, but Tami said he was buff—all muscle not fat. More than anything else, that made her nervous. She had love handles from one too many pieces of cake, and she wasn’t about to change. Which also was part of her problem, according to her ex, Paul.
He hated her curves, always complaining she was an embarrassment when they went out. Never letting her order anything but salad and water. Who can live off that, really? She liked her sweets, and her ass enjoyed her meats. Sue her.
She was healthy, she exercised, didn’t over-eat. Her hips would always be wide, her breasts would never be less than a D-cup, and she was happy with that.
Until Paul.
His obsessive need to make her into some Barbie figure had finally gotten on Pepper’s nerves, and she’d dumped him six months ago. Now Tami was determined to get her back in the game, so to speak.
Pepper wasn’t sure she even wanted to.
As hard as she tried to ignore his put-downs, Paul had gotten into her head. Ruined her confidence and self-esteem. Now it was hard to see any man wanting her and not trying to changing her.
“Pepper Nicole Wallace! If your sexy ass isn’t down here in ten seconds, I’m coming up and dragging you out the door!” Tami yelled again, and she knew her slightly neurotic friend would do it, too.
“I’m coming! Hold your tits, would you!” she called back.
Taking a breath, she smoothed her hands down the front of her dress, grabbing her purse on the way downstairs just as the doorbell rang, making her wince. Before she could do or say anything, Tami was opening the door and letting Alex inside.
“No backing out now,” she mumbled to herself.
“Hi,” Alex greeted as she made it down the stairs. “You look…” His hesitation made her cringe. “Stunning,” he finally finished making her smile softly.
“Thank you, you look nice as well.”
“I’m Alex by the way.” He stuck his hand out to shake.
Taking it, she replied, “Pepper. It’s nice to meet you.” He held her hand longer than necessary, and she got a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“You ready to go?” he asked her. At her nod, he held out his arm for her to take. “Nice seeing you, Tami.”
As they walked out the door, she looked back to Tami who gave her a smile and two thumbs up.
Startled awake by the crackling of burning embers in the fireplace, Pepper struggled to recall her dream. She knew it was important to who she was and what had happened. Nothing was coming through, though. It was like blank space. There one second, gone on the wisp of wind in the next.
Frustration was eating at her. Something had to break, or she was afraid she was going to go insane. Climbing off the bed, she went and sat on the floor in front of the fire with hopes of relaxing her mind and possibly bringing forth her dream Pepper. She concentrated as the flames engulfed the smoldering wood behind the fire gate.
As sparks flew and heat wafted over her in waves, her mind wandered elsewhere.
“Yo, kid. Time to go,” James called for her.
“Aww, five more minutes, James. Please?” Pepper begged.
She loved the new park. For as long as they lived there, the park had always been falling to pieces. The wood was so splintered she couldn’t touch a piece without getting a sliver. Now, finally, the city built a new park with cool new equipment. It was the best she could ask for on her ninth birthday.
“Not this time, Pep. I got stuff to do, and so do you.” Her brother was awesome; he always made time for her. Last week, he’d gotten his driver’s license, and she was afraid he wouldn’t have as much time for her.
She didn’t have very many friends, and being the odd girl out didn’t always mean she fit in. She loved to experiment with science, whether it was making something explode or growing things in petri dishes. She was fascinated with the subject, and some of her peers considered her weird because of it.
“Can we come back tomorrow?” She flashed her puppy dog eyes at him. He always had a hard time saying no to her.
“Tomorrow’s your party kid.”
Right, the party she was sure no one was going to come to. “So?” She did her best to hide from her family the hurt that came from having no friends.
Giving her a look that left no room for argument, she finally desisted and followed him on the short walk home. Like a dog being kicked, she tried to guilt him into hanging out with her longer. It didn’t work.
A wet tongue on her cheek brought her back from the indulgent memory. “James,” she uttered in awe. She had a brother. He must be looking for her.
Turning to the animal at her side, Pepper pat her head as she got up, not realizing how late it was until she entered the kitchen to find the cabin quiet. The clock showed it was after midnight.
“Huh,” she mumbled, shocked she’d slept so long. “Think his computer is password protected?” she asked Roxie, who had taken up residence beside her, not expecting an answer.
Quietly entering Nick’s office with fingers crossed, she clicked on the mouse. “Ah hah!” she cheered quietly seeing a guest user that was open. Pulling up the browser, she froze. Unsure of what exactly she was searching for.
The only information she had was her first name and her brother’s, and new park built when she was nine. She didn’t even know how old she was now.
“Shit,” she mumbled.
Deciding keywords might be easiest, she typed in James’ name, then hers, followed by missing woman, with high hopes of something popping up.
As the icon swirled in thought, she closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for some type of success. Opening them again, she was disheartened to see over a million search results.
Roxie laid her head on Pepper’s lap with hopeful eyes. “You’re right, I’ll just have to look through them all.”
“Stupid flipping internet,” Ace heard being mumbled for the second time as he looked at the clock beside his bed.
After his eyes had cleared, four a.m. flashed back at him. “What the hell?” he grumbled, climbing from bed. Grabbing a pair of basketball shorts as he walked past his dresser, he slipped them on once he was in the hall. Noticing light coming from Nick’s office, he made his way there to see Pepper hunched over, squinting at the screen, and Roxie laying at her feet.
“What are you doing?” he asked, clearing his throat.
“Shit!” she screeched, jumping from the chair. “You scared the crap out of me.” Her eyes never left the screen.
“Well?” he asked again when she didn’t answer him.
“Huh?” Now she wasn’t even paying attention.
“Pepper,” he scolded. “What are you doing?” He asked for a third time before she finally looked at him.
“I had a dream, and then I had a daydream, and I have a brother. But I don’t know how damn old I am, so it’s making this search impossible. A last name would help more, but beggars can’t be choosers, right? A million results! Can you believe that? I’ve barely put a dent in it, and I’m nowhere.” Taking a deep breath, she looked at him questioningly.
“Uh,” he paused. Was he supposed to understand the jumbled mumbling that came out of
her mouth? “How about you start from the beginning, and maybe, take a breath so I know what the hell you’re talking about?”
“Oh, right, sorry. Apparently, I ramble when I’m frustrated. Not such a great trait to have I guess.” Going back to her search, she failed to explain anything. Ace didn’t even think she noticed.
“Christ,” scratching his chest, he told her, “I’m going to make coffee, then you’re talking.”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” she agreed.
He didn’t think she heard a word he said to her. Again.
Chuckling at her single-minded focus, he went to the kitchen to start a fresh brew, knowing full-well that if he wanted her to tell him what was going on, he would have to get her to focus.
As the fresh grounds began to percolate, he pulled out some bread to make toast for her. She often forgot to eat if he or Nick didn’t remind her. Wondering if that was a characteristic from her real life or one she’d picked up since meeting them, he almost burnt the bread.
Once everything was ready for consumption, he made his way back to the office where she hadn’t moved an inch in the ten or so minutes he’d been gone. Placing the plate and cup on the desk, he pulled her chair back. Picking her up, he sat in her place with her planted firmly on his lap.
“Oh!” She startled easily, he found.
“Morning,” he whispered against her neck, handing her the coffee cup with one hand while the other held her firmly around her waist.
“Thank you,” she sighed gratefully. Taking her first sip, a moan escaped her lips as she swallowed.
His mind went into an entirely different direction. The thought of her moaning as he gave her pleasure had his cock hardening to unreasonable proportions.
As Pepper continued to sip her coffee, nibble on her toast, and search the internet, Ace had to close his eyes and count backwards from a hundred, twice, in order to calm his libido down.
By five in the morning, she still hadn’t explained what was going on, and for now, he was fine with it because it meant he got to hold her on his lap as she did her thing.
“Grrr,” she began growling. “Why does this have to be so damn impossible?”
He figured it was rhetorical but answered anyway. “How about you tell me what it is your looking for?”
Finally turning to him, he saw just how deep the moss color in her green eyes ran. Stunning.
“I had a dream about something important, but I can’t remember any of it. If only I could, I’d know… Something.” Taking a breath, she looked at the computer then back to him. “So, I decided to sit in front of the fire, relax my mind, and it worked!” Triumph blazed in her gaze back at him. “I have a brother; his name is James. He’s older than me, and on my ninth birthday, he took me to the park by our home that had been rebuilt. I was so happy he was spending time with me.” Her wistful smile was intoxicating as it softened her frustrated features.
“Sounds hopeful,” he commented, earning himself a dirty look.
“It could be if only I could remember a last name, or a city, or maybe even my age. But none of that is forthcoming, and I think I might be going insane.” She huffed out an irritated breath upon finishing her explanation.
“How about we take a break? In order for your mind to keep recalling these memories, you can’t force them.” He tried to bargain with her. “Nick’s gonna take you to see the doctor today, so you can get more information about how to recall the past, and while you’re gone, I’ll keep searching. I’m sure if you’re not home when you’re supposed to be, your brother will be looking for you. I’ll set a sequence of keywords into a police missing persons search engine and see what we come up with before we take you into town. Sound good?”
“Yes, thank you.” Her grateful smile was a sight to behold.
Chapter Six
Nick saw the defeat beating like a drum in Pepper’s eyes as the doctor had told her she would have to exert patience in order for her memory to return. When he’d explained to her that it was possible she may never regain her memories, Nick had been tempted to toss the man in jail for making her so upset. Thankfully, Pepper’s tears and upset were enough for the older man to reassure her that it was highly unlikely that would happen, but it had to be said, and that what she needed was time to heal. Nick didn’t care if it was a lie or not, he just didn’t want her so upset.
“Time?” she questioned for the fifth time in a row.
He was getting rather annoyed with the damn word, too.
“Who the hell has time for this?”
Figuring it was rhetorical, he kept his mouth shut, letting her finish her tirade.
“I mean, seriously? How is there not some magical pill to take to regain your memories? Why has nothing been invented yet? This is ridiculous.”
It was becoming increasingly difficult for him not to laugh at her outrageous rants. Not because what the doctor told her was funny but because she was so offended by the simple word.
“It’ll happen,” Nick tried to reason.
“Shut up,” she snapped as he was turning onto the drive back to his cabin. He caught the small smile she tried to hide, but even she was having a hard time not laughing.
Noticing that Ace was sitting on the front step with Roxie as they pulled up, Pepper jumped out of the SUV, stomping towards the porch. Slipping from the front seat, he tried to wave Ace off from asking her how it went.
Giving Nick a funny look, the jackass asked her anyway. “How’d it go?”
Hanging his head, he couldn’t help the laughter trying to escape as she told him.
“Time! Give it time, the doctor says. You need more time, he insists. Who has time for this, Ace? WHO? You tell me who, and I’ll give it time.”
The poor guy looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she carried on about needing time. Nick swore he was never going to say that damn word again, especially not in front of her.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he looked up to the sky as clouds blocked the sun’s warm rays. Seeing dark, stormy clouds in the air, he just knew they were in for another snow storm.
Realizing it had gone quiet, he looked back to where Ace was currently devouring Pepper. He held her curvy body against him, practically inhaling her face. A grin bigger than he could ever remember smiling crept across his face.
“Damn does that look right,” he whispered to himself.
Interrupting their moment, he sidled up behind their girl and brushed her hair to the side, kissing the length of her neck. When she began to squirm and moan between them, he murmured, “Ready to go into town?”
Ace growled his frustration as she pulled away to answer Nick. “Oh, umm.” Looking back and forth between them, she blushed a bright red as she realized her current position.
“Yeah, baby,” Ace whispered in front of her. “You look good just like this.” A predatory gleam in his eyes matched the smirk on his mouth as a gasp left her.
Clearing her throat, she side-stepped out of their grasp. “Town? Right, yes, we should go.” Glancing around, she added, “Now.”
Chuckling at her predicament, they followed her back to the vehicle. Leaving the cabin again, Nick hoped the storm would stay away long enough for her to enjoy Golden and its residents.
The twenty-minute drive into town was quiet as everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Him included. With the impending storm, he knew he was going to be pulled away from Pepper and Ace as soon as the snow started falling.
Some days, he hated his job.
There was a predicted foot or more of precipitation in store for them in the next forty-eight hours. So far, they were hitting record highs for snowfall. Luckily, they hadn’t had any deaths or missing person reports. Nonetheless, he knew it would only be a matter of time.
“Wow.” Pepper spoke softly from the backseat as she took in the picturesque town. Experiencing it through fresh eyes, he could admit to the beauty of a sight he was treated to every single day. “It should be on a postcard,” she said wistfully
.
He couldn’t agree more.
“It’s similar to a sight from some old, small-town movie or author’s story setting. It’s just so perfect.” He loved her innocent comments about the town he loved so dearly.
“Wait ‘til summer when the wildflowers are in full swing,” Ace responded.
Her smile faded slightly, and for a moment, he didn’t understand why. Then it hit him. She didn’t think she’d be here come summertime.
“You could always come back,” Nick told her. It would kill him if she left, but he’d understand. Knowing she had a brother, she obviously thought she had a whole other life somewhere that she had to get back to.
Ace was quiet after that, his eyes watching the scenery as they drove down Main Street to the local coffee shop. Nestled between the hardware store and the department store, it was the prime hangout in town for both the older and younger crowds.
“Are you hungry?” he asked her as he parked in front of the building.
“Not really, no.” There was a sad quality to her voice as she answered him, and he couldn’t help hoping that meant she didn’t want to leave them.
“Let’s shop then!” He tried to be enthusiastic. He wanted her happy.
Watching as Ace turned in his seat, he was extremely glad his cousin wasn’t so shy. “We won’t make you leave, you know. You can stay as long as you want.” She seemed to perk up at his words. “So long as it’s what you truly want and not just because it’s what we want.”
So close, he thought. Except it was true. He wanted her to stay because she wanted to, not because she felt obligated to.
“Something to think about, yeah?” he said to her as they left the warm vehicle for the cooler temperature and blistering breeze.
