Lang, Chloe - Captured by Cowboys [Doms of Destiny, Colorado 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Chloe Lang

  “Yes, I’m sure. I’m the best climber of the three of us and you know it. You might’ve been the calm one when Emmett broke his legs but I was the one who was able to climb down and get him.”

  Bryant nodded.

  “Maybe that’s true, but I would feel better if you waited until tomorrow when we all can be here to support you.” She wasn’t about to throw in the towel on what she thought he should do, and he couldn’t help but love her more for it. “Emmett, don’t you agree?”

  Emmett shook his head. “I do not. Amber, you might think this isn’t safe, but I trust Cody.”

  “So do I,” Bryant added.

  “But there’s no cell service here.” The worry in her voice couldn’t be missed. “If he insists on doing this, shouldn’t one of you two stay?”

  “I grew up in these mountains, Amber.” Cody gazed at the woman who he would never stop loving no matter her past or who was in it. He’d resigned himself to the fact that he might have to let her go, but he prayed it wouldn’t come to that. “I know how to traverse them. I won’t be long. This should take me no more than an hour and a half to get down and back up.”

  “Can’t you wait until we talk with the sheriff? Once we finish up with him, you can take me to your house in town and we can all get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow we can head back up here. I won’t be so worried then.”

  “Baby, I’ve got the best climbing gear made. Besides, I want to be prepared and know more about you before we make any decisions.”

  She turned and faced him with her long lashes fluttering like two frightened butterflies. “Why? What will that change? You saw the photo just like I did. How can you deny it’s not me?”

  “I’m not giving up on you, on us. I won’t.”

  “But the report said that I’m married.”

  “It didn’t say you were ‘happily married.’ There might be something in the van that will show me a way how I can keep you.” He pointed to Emmett and Bryant. “How we can keep you. I have to believe that, Amber.”

  She’d clearly been stunned by what they’d learned from Jason. Now the cloud around her seemed to be lifting slightly. “So do I, Cody. I hope you’re right.”

  “I am certain that I am right,” he lied, wishing to calm her fears and his own. “There might even be divorce papers in your van.”

  * * * *

  Emmett stared down at the damaged van below. “The cliff is unstable, Cody. Be careful.”

  “You’ve always said I was part monkey. This will be a piece of cake.”

  Bryant spoke in a quiet, calm tone. “I could stay like Amber suggested.”

  Cody shook his head. “I’ve climbed worse. Besides, she needs as much support as she can get.”

  Bryant nodded. “Doc, first. Then the sheriff.”

  “I want to get Amber’s identification and whatever else will give us a clue to the pieces of her life that aren’t in that report. That’s what I want.”

  “No, Cody. You can’t.” Her voice was filled with worry for Cody’s safety. “Please, listen to me. I’m not going anywhere no matter what anyone says. I need time to let everything sink in.”

  He watched intently as Cody stepped in front of her.

  His brother grabbed both her hands and pulled them up to his chest. “Feel that. That’s my heart, Amber. It’s beating.”

  “Yes, I feel it.”

  “It will still be beating when you see me again. I promise. Trust me. I’ll be fine. Go with my brothers to town. I’ll be along in a flash and in my hands will be what we need to fix everything. You’ll see and so will these two pessimists.”

  He admired his brother’s tenacity and unbending faith in what might be.

  She leaned in and kissed Cody. “Okay, but you better not be long. Promise me that.”

  “I promise, baby.”

  “How far is it to Destiny?” she asked.

  “The roads get better after here,” Bryant said. “Less than an hour, I’d say.”

  She turned to Emmett, and his heart thudded in his chest like a jackhammer. “Would you mind if I ride with Bryant the rest of the way?”

  “I don’t mind at all, sweetheart. I also understand why you want to.”

  “Thank you.” She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

  Her lips felt good on his skin. Too good. Emmett thought about telling her he’d changed his mind and that she should ride down to town all the way with him. But Bryant deserved time with her, too. This was likely their last time together. He would have to be satisfied with seeing her in front of his brother in the saddle. He’d admired how quickly she’d taken to horseback. Another month at the ranch, and he bet she would be broncobusting on her own. His jaw clenched tight as he doubted she would ever be back in their cabin.

  “You know we’re into sharing, sweetheart. Trust me, we’re going to share you for the rest of our lives and you’re going to love every minute of it,” Cody suddenly blurted out.

  Her face clouded with a heavy realization. She knew, as did Emmett, what was likely to happen once they came directly in contact with her past. She was claimed. There was no doubt about that any longer.

  Cody was grasping at straws, but he wasn’t about to try to tell his brother to toss his hopes aside. Let Cody have whatever fanciful dreams he needed to get through this nightmare. It would come crashing in on all of them soon enough.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Amber walked through the door to the sheriff’s office with Emmett in the lead and Bryant bringing up the rear. They’d been so careful with her, insisting that she be thoroughly examined by the town doctor. He’d given her a clean bill of health, as she knew he would. The doctor hadn’t seen any evidence of brain damage. He’d told her that her memory would likely return at some point. The concern Emmett and Bryant had shown for her made facing the truth about her identity that much harder.

  The man behind the desk had to be Sheriff Wolfe, but who was the guy in the chair opposite him? An officer from Chicago? She found it strange that he wasn’t wearing a uniform.

  “Jason.” Emmett shook the sheriff’s hand. Then he pointed to the chair next to the other guy, a few feet away from the stranger. “Sit, Amber.”

  “Lubov moya, it is you,” the man said with what sounded to her to be a Slavic accent. The guy stood and reached for her, but Emmett and Bryant moved in front of her, blocking him from moving closer. “What the hell is this? Who are these two broken-down cowpokes, Sheriff?”

  “Emmett and Bryant Stone, two of the three who rescued your wife, Mr. White.”

  She gasped and her knees buckled under her. She would’ve fallen to the floor, too, if Emmett and Bryant hadn’t responded so quickly. Wife? This is my husband.

  “They look a lot like gunslingers to me.” The man’s squinty eyes fixed on Emmett’s and Bryant’s weapons, still holstered to their sides.

  Her cowboys guided her to the chair Emmett had just moved.

  “Take a deep breath for us, Amber.” Bryant’s gentle command soothed her some.

  “Her name is Kathy. Katherine White, to be exact.” The man claiming to be her husband remained on his feet but didn’t move an inch closer to her.

  “It may be in that fucking report, but she’ll always be Amber to me.” Bryant’s entire body seemed like a loaded weapon, safety off, finger on the trigger.

  Mr. White’s glances moved from Bryant and Emmett then back to her several times. He seemed cagey.

  “I’m okay now,” she told the Stone brothers, though her heartbeats sped up with each passing tick of the clock.

  “Are you sure?” Bryant asked, holding her hand.

  “Relax,” she urged him, though doubting that, like her, either of her cowboys would be able to feel even the least little bit of ease at the moment.

  “Do you recognize him, Amber?” Emmett’s question didn’t surprise her.

  She turned to Emmett. He wasn’t looking at her but was instead sending an icy stare Mr. White’s way. If her cowboy’s gl
are had been daggers, her presumed hubby would’ve been sliced to tiny bits.

  She shook her head. “I remember nothing.” Her big invisible wall remained fully intact, storing her memories on the other side, away from her conscious mind. “My name is Katherine?” she asked the stranger. “The report said ‘Kathy.’”

  “It is your legal name, honey. Kathy is a nickname.”

  “Usually a missing persons report uses a legal name and then lists nicknames.” Jason Wolfe rubbed his chin.

  “Typos I suppose, Sheriff. I’m so glad I found you, Kathy. I’ve been looking for you for some time. You can’t imagine how scared I was you might be hurt or worse.”

  She studied his look, wondering if even a smidgen of her memory would return. He wore a black suit, which looked expensive, a black shirt, and a black tie.

  I’m not green right now. That’s for sure.

  She guessed him to be in his late thirties, which seemed a little old for him to be her husband but not out of the realm of possibility. The guy’s hair was thin, and his hairline went back too far on his head, making his forehead quite prominent. She could see streaks of gray hair on both sides of his temples. Where Emmett and Bryant were stunningly handsome, this man was at his best average. He wore a scraggily goatee that embellished his already-too-round face. His eyes were dull, lacking any deep color.

  Had she really married this man? No emotions welled up inside her while she continued to examine his features. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

  “You can’t imagine how hard this is for me, mister. I don’t remember you.” Her heart was breaking. How was she going to live in a future without her cowboys? It would kill her to say goodbye.

  “You will, Kathy,” Mr. White said. “There’s no rush. Let me take you home tonight.”

  “Hold up, buddy.” Emmett put his arm around her, which made the man frown, but she didn’t care. It felt good to have her cowboy touch her. “She’s not leaving Destiny until my brothers and I are certain you are who you say you are.”

  The guy turned to Sheriff Wolfe. “Are they in charge or are you?”

  “Sit down, Mr. White. There’s no rush, is there? You’ve found your wife, but she can’t remember you. Let’s take our time and see if you can jog her memory loose. Isn’t that what we all want?”

  Hearing not a single word from anyone to the sheriff’s question, she didn’t voice what she wished down to her very soul. She didn’t want to remember anything. Letting her memories remain locked up behind the big wall was what she really hoped for. Her time at the cabin had increased her want for a future with Emmett, Bryant, and Cody. Not this guy, this man claiming to be married to her. On the other side of that wall were many unseen memories and other things, but not love. Love couldn’t be contained by a mere wall, could it?

  An older woman in a pink wig walked in carrying two folding chairs. “Sorry it took so long, Jason. These were in the back of the closet behind some boxes of files.”

  “Thanks, Shannon.” The sheriff stepped from behind his desk and took the chairs. “If Officer Flowers or Officer Grinin calls, put them through, okay?”

  “Will do, boss.”

  “Anyone else, just send them to my voice mail.”

  The woman left the room with a wink and a nod.

  Sheriff Wolfe placed the chairs near the one she was sitting in. “Let’s all have a seat and see what we can do to resolve this, okay?”

  None of them moved to sit, but continued their silent, harsh stares at one another.

  Mr. White didn’t seem happy with the sheriff’s idea, and he was definitely not thrilled with Emmett or Bryant’s proximity to her. She didn’t give a damn what the guy liked or didn’t like. She wanted her cowboys near. They were the only ones who were keeping her sane in this crazy moment.

  “Gentlemen, please take a seat,” the sheriff pleaded once again.

  “Yes, please,” she added, hoping to grab onto a sliver of sanity for all of them.

  Mr. White sat first. Then Bryant and Emmett did the same, scooting their folding chairs until they were touching hers on either side.

  “Thank you, fellows.” Jason looked her directly in the eyes. “Let’s start again, shall we? Amber, I’m so pleased to finally get to meet you. I can’t even picture how hard this has been for you.”

  The sheriff seemed kind to her, though also a man fixated on rules and order. He wasn’t someone who tolerated chaos for long.

  “I’m glad to meet you, too, Sheriff.”

  “What will help you right now? I know you don’t remember Sergei, but he’s brought in your marriage license and a couple of pictures with you in them. One of the photos is the same one the Chicago PD sent to my office which I gave a copy of to Cody and Bryant.”

  “I saw it. It’s me.” She shook her head. How would she be able to live her life without her cowboys? Despair flattened her out completely.

  “Do you have some questions for him?” the sheriff asked.

  The image of the boy flashed in the back of her mind. “Yes, I do have questions for him. Do we have children?”

  “We don’t.”

  “The only person I can remember, and only glints of him, is a boy. He looks to be about eleven or twelve years old. I think he might be Hispanic. Dark hair, dark eyes. A cute kid. Do you know him?”

  Mr. White pursed his lips out and shook his head. “Not a clue, Kathy. Sorry.”

  She watched Emmett’s hands curl into fists. His words were harsh, like nails on a chalkboard. “You don’t seem to know much at all, mister.”

  The stranger turned to Jason. “Nice little Podunk town you have here. Quite the welcome. These two may want to keep me and Kathy apart, but I will burn every building here to the ground before I let that happen.”

  Jason’s eyebrows shot up and his fingertips touched the handle of his gun holstered to his side. “You think so?”

  Sergei glared up at him but then held up his hands in what seemed to her like defiant resignation.

  Amber needed to calm the tempers rising in this room. “Why was I driving my van here, Mr. White? Do you know where I was headed?”

  “Call me Sergei, Kathy. Please.” He leaned forward in his chair. “We live just outside Chicago. Your parents are in Arizona. I’m not sure how you got here. Central Northern Colorado is quite remote, babe. Maybe you got lost. It is the first time you’ve driven the trip alone.”

  “That doesn’t even make sense.” Bryant shot him a look of pure rage. “Not one fucking bit.”

  Emmett’s hands were curled into fists. “Jason, have you done a Google search on her name? Does she have a Facebook account we can check?”

  The sheriff nodded. “Too many Kathy Whites on Google. I found her on Facebook with Mr. White’s help. He doesn’t have an account and her page is set to let only friends see her personal information. Mrs. White, do you have any clue what your password is?”

  She shook her head.

  “I think we’re rushing into this,” Cody said. “Amber needs time to process.”

  “I don’t give a damn what you or your brother think.” The guy turned back toward the sheriff. “Speaking of the van, where is it? I’d like to recover my property as soon as possible.”

  “There’s no way this bastard is Amber’s husband.” Bryant’s sudden out-of-character outburst shocked her. “He’s more concerned with a beat-up old van than about her well-being, Jason. Am I the only one who sees that?”

  “Not the only one,” Emmett added.

  They were still trying to save her. They were going to fight for her. She loved them all so much.

  “Fuck this. I came here to get Kathy. I don’t need this bullshit, Sheriff.” Sergei turned to her. “Kathy, let’s go.”

  “Everyone needs to calm down right now,” the sheriff stated flatly. His tone reminded her of how Emmett’s had been back in the playroom.

  “Tell me where my van is and Kathy and I will be out of your hair in a flash.” Something about the way her so-called husban
d barked his words didn’t sit right with her.

  “Bryant and his brother found the van on County Road Twenty-Two. Actually, it’s not on the road but near it. From what they told me, where it landed, you’ll need a big truck with a heavy-duty winch to retrieve it. I know a couple of guys who can help you out with that, Mr. White.”

  Sergei pulled out his cell and typed something into it. “County Road Twenty-Two. Got it.” He tucked his phone back into the inner pocket of his suit coat. “Don’t worry, Sheriff. I’ll handle everything.”

  “Okay. Let me make myself clear, Mr. White. You may be her husband but you can’t make her go with you,” Jason informed. “She’s an adult.”

  The man’s face darkened. “But her mind is mixed up, Sheriff. She needs to come home with me. I’m sure her memory will return once she’s back at our place.”

  “That might be so, but you still can’t force her to leave.”

  Sergei leaned back in the chair. “I’ve got more pictures in my room at the hotel. Come with me, and I’ll prove to you that you are my wife, Kathy.”

  “No way.” Emmett’s tone held a big dose of threat.

  “Fuck, this is impossible,” her supposed spouse said. “I’m not a guy who likes jumping through other people’s hoops.”

  “What kind of guy are you? Enlighten us.” Bryant wasn’t playing around. One false move by White, and she was certain he would pulverize him with his fists.

  “It might be a good start, Sergei,” the sheriff said. “What do you do for a living?”

  “This is ridiculous,” the guy stated. “Fine. I’ll jump for you. I’m an accountant. Boring, right? Maybe you don’t understand why I want my van back, but money matters to me.”

  “And me? Do I matter to you, Sergei?” Calling him by name felt oddly familiar on her lips. Still no memory shot over the wall.

  “Kathy, of course you do. We’ve been together almost three years now.”

  “Sergei, can’t you understand why I’m hesitating to accept what you’re saying? These guys have protected me ever since they found me. You might think they are being overly cautious, but I don’t.” They were heroes in her mind.