Trusting A Texan (Try to Remember)

by Leann Harris

  With his big body next to hers, the room seemed to shrink in size. She was aware of every inch of his six-foot-plus frame. And his hard muscles, which she vividly remembered from her ride on his horse. Although she couldn’t remember her own name, she could describe in minute detail the breadth and strength of Rafe’s legs and chest.

  Oh rats, she was in trouble.

  He washed the affected area, and handed her a towel. Then he squeezed out a small amount of antibacterial cream and gently rubbed it into her hand. She didn’t notice any discomfort. She only felt the heat of his body next to hers, the touch of his palm on her. And all sorts of images came to mind.

  She must have made a sound, because he looked up. “Did I hurt you?” There was such concern in his voice that all she wanted to do was lean close and cover his lips with her own.

  What she was feeling must have shown on her face. Rafe slowly released her hand and stepped away. “I think that should cover it.”

  He didn’t know the half of it. “Thank you,” she managed to say, forcing the words through her embarrassment. It was odd to have a man care for her. She didn’t have any memory, but there was a feeling deep in her soul that this man’s concern was something she’d never come across.

  She felt as if she were on a roller-coaster, up one minute, then plunging to earth the next. The question was, how did she remember there was such a thing as a roller-coaster when she couldn’t recall her name?

  “Are you hungry?”

  Rafe’s question was a welcome diversion from her thoughts. “Yes.”

  “Then why don’t we go make dinner?”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “After dinner, I’ll check with the folks down in Austin—see if they’ve come up with a match for your prints.”

  April didn’t know anymore whether she wanted to be found on that list or not.

  They watched the local news as they fixed dinner. Being with April, working with her in the kitchen, brought a host of unbidden thoughts to Rafe’s mind. How much he liked the feeling of sharing dinner chores with her. How much she filled up the vacant corners of his soul. How alone he’d been over the last few years. And how right it felt to have her here.

  Each time he told himself he was asking for trouble, April would smile, or laugh at a local story on the news about a man getting caught crawling out of his neighbor’s bedroom window when the husband came home early. Her laughter was like spring rain, cool and refreshing, bringing life to his cold heart.

  After the meal was finished and the dishes were done, he turned to her. “Do you want to come with me and look at the missing persons lists?”

  “You don’t mind if I come in?”

  “Why would I mind?”

  “Well, you mentioned you like your office neat.” Color stained her cheeks.

  “Are you planning on trashing the place?”

  Her eyes widened. “Of course not.” There was a slight note of indignation in her voice, which made him smile.

  “Then I don’t have a problem with it.”

  “Oh.”

  They walked down the hall to his office. April paused at the entrance to his private world. He walked in and pulled a chair beside the desk.

  “Sit down, and I’ll turn on the computer and see if Austin has any answers for us.”

  April sat and folded her hands in her lap. He could see her knuckles go white with tension. He wanted to lay his hand over hers and comfort her, but he didn’t dare. The heat between them was increasing, and common sense was telling him to keep his distance.

  “Don’t worry. No matter what we find, at least we’ll know more than we do now.”

  She didn’t look at him, but simply nodded her head. It was the trembling of her lower lip that knocked a hole in his stomach.

  Before he could turn on his machine, the phone rang. It was the DPS helicopter pilot, reporting that they hadn’t located the missing car in their search that afternoon.

  “Thanks, Mike,” Rafe said, hanging up the phone. He told April about the results of the search, then added, “Hopefully, we can find something out another way.”

  Rafe turned on his machine, tapped in to the state computer, identified himself, and typed in the request for the results of the fingerprint match. Since he’d been okayed for access, he requested the results of the inquiry sent by the Brewster County sheriff on a “Jane Doe.”

  The screen blinked back that the match on Jane Doe had come back negative.

  It was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. April’s eyes darted toward the screen. Negative. “Does that mean I’m not a criminal?”

  “That’s right, but it also means that you didn’t work for the state.”

  “But what if I committed a crime in Louisiana? Or Kentucky, or—”

  He laid his hand on hers. “We’ll forward the prints to the FBI. That should help.” He picked up the phone and, since it was so late, dialed Derek’s home phone number.

  Derek answered, and Rafe let him know what he’d discovered. “I forwarded the prints to the FBI to run through their computer.”

  “How’d your trip into Alpine go?” Derek asked.

  “It didn’t turn up anything. But April will be in the paper tomorrow, so be aware that you might get some calls on her.”

  “No problem.”

  Rafe hung up the phone. When he turned to April, he was surprised to find there were tears in her eyes. She swallowed, then stood and walked to the window. The darkness outside turned the window into a mirror, and he could see clearly the tears glistening on her cheeks.

  Rafe knew he needed to stay away from April, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t ignore her pain. Standing, he walked up behind her, slipped his arms around her waist, and pulled her back against him.

  Chapter 6

  Rafe turned April around and tucked her close, his hands stroking her back, trying to comfort her. She fit exactly right into his arms.

  The feel of her was rich, touching every one of his senses. Her face rested against his neck, and her cheek was smooth and heavenly, teasing him, making him want to touch more. Her lips brushed against his skin, mingling with her tears, creating an exquisite texture of sensations, making it hard to concentrate on anything else but the here and now.

  It was as if her heart were breaking. Although Rafe knew it was a mistake, he couldn’t stop himself—his hands softly brushed away the strands of hair stuck to her face.

  “April, it’s all right.” They were lame words. Words he wasn’t even sure were true.

  Her eyes, filled with confusion, met his. As naturally as the sun setting in the west, he leaned down and with his hands framing her face, covered her mouth with his. It was as if she were dying from lack of water, and he were the cool drink that saved her. Her mouth flowered under his, inviting him to deepen the kiss. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, and immediately she opened her mouth, welcoming him in.

  Her hands clutched his shirt, then slid up and around his neck.

  He needed more contact. Walking her back a step, he pressed her into the side of the bookcase that stood by the window. Every inch of their bodies, from shoulders to knees, was pressed together.

  When he reached for the buttons on her blouse, she made a sound—of pleasure or protest, he couldn’t be sure—but he lifted his head long enough for sanity to return. Her gaze met his. He saw wanting in those green depths, but he also saw confusion—even fear. And that dashed his ardor more quickly than a bucket of cold water.

  Stepping away, he gave her an uncomfortable smile. “Try not to worry, April. That won’t help anything.”

  she nodded, but didn’t meet his gaze.

  “Why don’t you take the first round in the bathroom, while I check on the stock outside.” He didn’t wait for her answer, but walked out into the night, praying that the drop in temperature would cool the heat in his blood.

  April hurried into the bedroom, gathered up her toothbrush and the T-shirt she’d slep
t in last night, and hobbled back to the bathroom. She was going to take a bath and wash her hair. She felt grubby and irritable; maybe a bath would improve her frame of mind.

  But afterward, April discovered that her attitude hadn’t changed much. She was still tied up in knots, trying to forget what had happened between her and Rafe. Oh, it had started innocently enough: he had been trying to comfort her. But it had quickly escalated into something else entirely.

  And she guessed that was what disturbed her the most. She was attracted to Rafe. When he looked at her, a thrill raced through her body. Every time she glanced at him, she remembered every kiss he’d given her. And she had much more now to recall and relive.

  “Enough,” she scolded herself. “This isn’t helping anything, mooning over something you can’t have. Stop it.” She shook her head. If anyone overheard her, they would think she was losing her mind.

  And that wasn’t far from the truth.

  Rafe looked at the night sky. The stars were wonderful out here in this sparsely populated part of Texas. There were no large cities around to hide them. The Milky Way was brilliant, reminding him of nights when he was a kid and sprawled out in the grass telling stories to his best friend.

  Taking a deep breath, he considered the problem he had just escaped. He knew he had wanted to make love to April. But she was under his care, and she didn’t need him panting after her like a stud bull. The problem was, the woman drew him like no other female ever had.

  Well, he needed to reassure her that what just passed between them wouldn’t happen again. She needed to know that. Ah, hell, who was he kidding? He needed to hear himself promise not to touch her.

  One of the Angora goats that he kept poked her head out of the night pen, wanting him to pet her.

  “You’re a spoiled lady, Callie,” he told the goat. “What am I going to do, huh?”

  The goat calmly chewed, enjoying his attention.

  “You’re right, Callie. I messed up.” He gave the goat a final pat, then turned and strode into the house. He walked through the kitchen, heading toward April’s room. As he stepped into the hall, the bathroom door opened and there stood April, dressed only in his T-shirt. His body surged out of control. Again.

  April’s face turned red with embarrassment. “Uh—I forgot to get a nightgown and robe today, so I just...uh...used your T-shirt again. I hope you don’t mind.”

  His eyes went over her body. Oh, no, he didn’t mind. “Of course not. I wanted to tell you that what happened in my office a few minutes ago won’t happen again. Things kind of got out of hand.”

  There was an odd look on her face, but it vanished quickly. “I understand.”

  “We don’t know anything about you. I mean, if you’re married or not.”

  She looked down at her empty left hand. There was no indication that she had recently worn a ring.

  “I know there’s no sign of a ring, but Alex doesn’t often wear her wedding ring while she’s practicing medicine. It’s easier to leave her wedding ring at home. I know other married ladies who don’t wear a ring. You could be one of them.”

  She shrugged, and it was obvious to Rafe that April didn’t have anything on under that shirt. Things were going from bad to worse.

  “Well, I want you to know you’re safe with me.” While he spoke, his eyes were fastened on her long, shapely legs.

  Hypocrite, a voice in his head nagged. He expected her to react with gratitude, but oddly enough she seemed disappointed.

  “Thank you.” She scurried around him and went into her room.

  As the bedroom door closed, Rafe rested his head against the wall. He wondered if Alex’s baby was still contagious, because he didn’t think he should remain alone with April much longer—or he was going to have a lot more conversations with Callie.

  Rafe looked down the hall toward his room and knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Instead, he walked to his office and sat down at his desk. He logged onto his computer and checked the missing persons list again. After close to an hour of going over every list he could think of, Rafe leaned back in his chair. There’d been two women who were close to April’s description, but when he called up picture IDs, it was obvious they didn’t match.

  Something wasn’t right here. If he’d been married to April or if she’d been his sister, and she had been missing close to forty-eight hours, he would’ve been raising hell, putting her name on every list he could think of, rousing the police. So why hadn’t someone reported her missing?

  His gut clutched. There was something wrong here. It was screaming at him. But what?

  He stood and walked to the window. This wasn’t the first time he had had a strong feeling about a situation, but it was the first time his heart was involved.

  And he didn’t like it.

  April dressed in the jeans and T-shirt that Rafe had purchased for her. She looked into the dresser mirror at the face that was still unfamiliar. It unnerved her every time she saw her own face. Why couldn’t she remember who she was? And why....

  She bowed her head and took a deep breath. She could spend all morning in here asking “what if” and “why,” but what good would that do? Besides, she smelled the coffee brewing and wanted some.

  Stepping into the hall, the image of Rafe kissing her filled her brain. She ached as she relived that scene and the accompanying feelings that had been with her all night.

  As she entered the kitchen, she made herself sound cheerful and tried to put away the erotic memories. “Good morning,” she greeted Rafe.

  Rafe stood against the counter, drinking his coffee. He looked well rested and so appealing that she wanted to walk into his arms and let him surround her with his strength. When she could tear her eyes away from him, she noticed that he had placed another mug on the counter by the coffeemaker.

  “Help yourself.” He nodded toward the delicious brew.

  After she poured herself a cup, he said, “I was thinking of driving into Saddle this morning. We could have breakfast at Mabel’s and then pick up a newspaper and read the story they did on you. How’s that sound?”

  April was struck by the fact that this lawman was asking her opinion. For some reason, she felt it was a new experience for her. “That sounds fine to me.”

  Nodding to her ankle, he said, “How do you feel this morning?”

  She glanced down. “It’s still tender.”

  “I’ll take you by the clinic and let Alex look at it.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I’m sure she’s busy.”

  Rafe grinned. “Yup, I’m sure you’re not from around here.”

  She frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “During the TB epidemic a couple of years ago, the clinic was busy. That was the last time Alex was busy morning ‘til night. She’ll be glad to see you.”

  “But it’s Saturday.”

  Rafe shook his head. “Quit making excuses, April. Alex won’t mind. Trust me.”

  She did.

  Rafe stopped his truck in front of the newly remodeled post office. “I’ll be back in a second with the newspaper.”

  He raced into the building. “Hey, Norma.” He opened his post office box and got his mail and the newspaper.

  “Rafe, that was some story in the paper this morning about your mystery guest. I guess it hasn’t been long enough to get any reaction, has it?”

  “That’s right. But I’m hoping something will shake loose in the next couple of days.”

  Norma looked around. “So did you leave your mystery lady at home?”

  “I call her April. She’s out in the car if you want to meet her.”

  An expression of delight lit Norma’s face. “I sure do. Why, we haven’t had this much excitement since the doctor came to town.”

  Norma followed Rafe out to his truck.

  “April, I want you to meet our postmistress, Norma Mayer.”

  Smiling, April reached through the open window and shook Norma’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, N
orma.”

  “Oh, my, how are you? Is it true that you don’t remember who you are? Why, that newspaper article sounded like you were on death’s door. You look pretty good to me, except for that bruise on your head.”

  Rafe had to grin at Norma’s eager questioning of April. But he was also interested in seeing April’s reaction to it. April politely answered all Norma’s questions as best she could. Finally, after about five minutes, Rafe broke in. “Norma, we’re going to Mabel’s for breakfast. Would you like to join us?”

  “Oh, my, I’ve been rattling on, haven’t I? No, you two go to breakfast. I’ve already eaten.” She walked back into the building.

  Rafe climbed into the cab and handed April the newspaper. “Let’s go eat and over breakfast we can read the article.”

  Rafe’s truck and Alex’s car pulled up to the clinic at the same time. “How do you feel this morning?” Alex asked April as she unlocked the door of the clinic.

  “My ankle is sore this morning, more so than yesterday,” she commented as she used the crutches to walk inside.

  “Anything else?” she asked as she threw her purse on the desk. “Any headaches or some return of your memory?”

  “I’ve got a headache, and occasionally I’ll get a memory or see a scene, but it’s only for a moment.”

  “She remembers how to cook,” Rafe offered.

  “I’m sure that you appreciate that,” Alex remarked. “But is there any headway on the return of your memory?”

  “No.”

  “Well, it’s early yet. Don’t give up hope. That article in the newspaper this morning should help. If someone out there knows her, you will hear.”

  “That’s what we hope,” Rafe replied.

  After a quick examination, Alex confirmed what they already knew: she was getting better. “I wish I could do more, but Mother Nature can’t be beat. What April needs now is time to heal. She should put heat on that ankle today. I don’t think she’ll be dancing tonight at Dick’s party, but the outing will be good for her.”