by Sable Hunter
Touching his face, she whispered, “I knew it had to be something like that, you’d never willingly leave me. Would you?”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m just thankful Jaxson saw me down there, recognized me and called Noah.”
She looked at Noah, who came over to where they sat. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Her look was hurt and a bit accusatory.
“I had to be sure. You’d been hurt enough.”
She realized he was talking about the memorial from the Cattle Barron’s Ball and the fact he had questioned where Aron was and why he hadn’t come home. “I’m strong.” She lifted her chin.
“Yes, you are,” Aron agreed. “The people who took me in told me my name was Austin Wade. I worked at a ranch in northern Mexico. But soon I realized they were into more than just cattle. The rancher’s brother-in-law and daughter were the head of a massive drug operation, responsible for millions of dollars of drug sales a day and countless deaths.”
Libby drew in a harsh breath. “What did you do?” Oh, God. “I could have lost you so easily.” She nestled down in his arms. “Nathan dreamed about you!”
“He did?” Aron didn’t understand her meaning. “When my memory started coming back, they felt threated. And well they should have, because I started gathering information to use against them. When they realized that, they gave me something which erased my memories.”
Libby froze. She was just about to ask a question when there was a car honking outside. Nathan ran to the window. “It’s Jacob and Jessie. And BT!” Everyone got up. Aron kissed Libby and she walked slowly behind the group, deep in thought.
They all walked out on the porch to see the little family get out of the car. Jacob ran around to open the door for his wife and to unstrap the carrier. “Look who’s here!” he announced. The whole family cheered at seeing the proud parents and the new baby who had had such a rough start to life.
Aron was filled with pride. Looking at each face, he knew he would remember. He wanted it all back, he wanted to know their habits, what expressions they used, their likes and dislikes. He wanted to know it all.
“Come in out of the cold.” Cady opened the door and urged everyone back in.
Jessie took in the decorations. “Oh, it is so beautiful! Where are you going to stand for the ceremony?” she asked Cady.
“Next to me.” Joseph teased.
Everyone took turns holding BT, but it was soon evident that Nathan had appointed himself as the baby’s guardian.
The atmosphere in the room was celebratory. Libby had never heard so much laughter. The relief she felt was tempered with fear. Something was wrong. He had all but told her, but she couldn’t bring herself to even think the thought, much less say it out loud.
An ache was centered in her chest. It was evident. The way everyone kept explaining everything. And the nicknames he always used to call her, they were missing. He looked the same. He sounded the same. He kissed the same. But he wasn’t.
He didn’t remember her.
Libby was devastated.
Then she was embarrassed.
It took a while, but Aron finally realized Libby wasn’t near him, not like she had been. He looked around the room. She was standing as far away from him as she could get and still be in the same room. This wouldn’t do. When he gazed at her, something familiar spoke to him. True, his mind was having trouble placing her, but his body responded with a heated ache. He had touched this woman, kissed her, made love to her. His heart remembered, even if his brain did not. And he wanted more.
“Excuse me,” he told Joseph and Cady. Aron had just consented to be Joseph’s best man at the wedding, which was only two days away. Christmas was only two days away. According to what they had told him, he had been gone since October the 17th, over two months. Two damn months of his life had been stolen and so had his memories. The time, he’d never get back. But he fully intended to remember, especially Libby. He was greedy. He wanted it all—every nuance, every image, every word they’d ever whispered, every secret they’d ever shared.
Aron moved across the room toward her.
Libby saw him coming. Her heart clenched in her chest. What was she going to do?
“Hey, why aren’t you standing by me? Are you tired of me already?” He grinned.
“You don’t know who I am. Do you?”
For a moment, he was taken aback. “Of course, I do. You’re Libby McCoy, my wife.”
She held her ground. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
He was quiet for a moment. She closed her eyes as if she was in great pain, then she took off across the room and ran upstairs.
Everyone was quiet. They were all watching. Aron looked around at his family. “I’m so happy to be back. I don’t have the words to tell you grateful I am that you cared enough about me to throw another Texas revolution. But I need to take care of my wife. Please, excuse me.”
No one tried to stop him.
Aron went upstairs. Hell, he didn’t even know which room was his. Looking around, he saw his bags sitting by one door. Surely she hadn’t set them out? No, that was probably where Joseph or Isaac had put them when they’d come in from the airport. Going to the door, he tapped on it. “Libby?”
Silence.
“Libby?”
“What?” He heard her small voice.
“Can I come in?”
“It’s your room.”
“It’s our room, isn’t it?”
“Used to be.” She was speaking into the pillow.
Aron stopped at the edge of the bed. The sight of the beautiful woman lying among the pillows, her heart-shaped behind turned up for his delectation, made it hard to keep his mind on the matter at hand. He was still a little weak, but he was a man. “Libby, talk to me.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
At least she was honest. “I didn’t choose for this to happen, you know.”
She sprang from the bed. “God, I know that.” She batted away tears from her spiked lashes. “I don’t blame you, Aron.” Hiccupping back a sob, she went to her knees in front of him. “I’m so glad you’re alive. I promised God all sorts of outrageous things if he would just bring you back to me.”
Aron sat down on the bed, drawing her into his lap. This was his world, right here in his arms. His wife and his children. One day he would remember their past, but he had no trouble at all seeing their future. “I want to remember. Don’t think I don’t.”
Easing up out of his lap, she went up on her knees facing him. “This is almost a new beginning for you, I guess.” She looked into his eyes, trying so hard to read his expression.
He didn’t know what she was getting at. “What do you mean?”
“My faith was strong,” she told him. “I don’t think I want to wait till Christmas to give you this.” She got on her knees and dug under the bed. “Pulling out a present, she gave it to him.
“What have you done?” He couldn’t help but feel a little thrill. “I guess I like presents, I feel like a kid.”
“Well, this isn’t a game or anything, you’ll have to wait for Christmas Day for those.” She pointed to their entertainment center so he could see his array of video games and players.
Aron laughed. “Super! Do we play together?”
“Yea.” She winked at him. “I beat you all the time.” She didn’t really, but for right now – he wouldn’t know that.
“I bet.” He winked at her. She was fun, his wife. He couldn’t wait to find out more about her. Unwrapping the gift, he found an album. “What’s this?”
“While you were gone, Noah had an identity crisis.” He might as well know, he would find out eventually. “Noah is adopted. You have the same dad, but different mothers.” He was looking at her sort of blankly. “I didn’t know. No one knew but you and Jacob. The family more or less ignored it. Which was a good thing, until he accidentally stumbled on the truth.” She could see this was not ringing any bells. “If you get your memory back, I’m
sure you’ll be able to shed some light on the situation, but apparently, Noah’s mother was a woman your dad met on the rodeo circuit.”
“Shit.” He stared at the floor as if he were trying to conjure up answers.
“Anyway.” She waved her hands. “While he was digging in the attic for answers, he came upon these boxes of papers and photos. I thought about making you an album of your life and family.”
He opened it. “Wow,” he breathed, turning page after page.
She knew it was probably asking too much, but she began to hope something would ring a bell, or jar loose whatever was damming up his memories. Libby sat by him and pointed out people and times and places. “Yea, you won every award you can think of.” His high school and college sports days were fully chronicled.
“That’s Kyle Chancellor.” He pointed at a teammate. “He helped get me out of that hellhole.” He picked the book up closer. “The son-of-a-bitch won the Heisman?”
His incredulity made Libby laugh. Then there was his rodeo days and his sculpting awards. “Yes, you sculpt.”
“No.” He laughed. “Really?” Aron stared at the accolades and newspaper articles about his art career. “Who woulda thought?”
“You’re very talented. And handsome. And smart.” He thumbed on over until he came to pictures of the two of them. “Way out of my league.”
There it was.
She had always wondered how in the world Liberty Belle Fontaine had won the heart of Aron McCoy. It had been a fluke. An aberration. A once in a lifetime miracle.
And there was no way she could expect it to happen again.
Aron’s hand stilled. He lifted his head and looked at her. “Have you lost your mind?” She didn’t answer. “I’m the one who’s been tortured and starved and had the shit beat out of him.” His words were harsh, but his heart was breaking. He didn’t know what to do. “I know things don’t make sense. Especially for me. I look in the mirror and don’t know who I am half the time.” He went to the door and pulled his bags in. Picking up the duffle, he took out the shaving kit. “When they found me, I was clasping this coin in my hand. I held it so hard that it cut a circle in my palm. See?” He held his hand out to show her.
Libby touched his hand. Just like the first time, she felt an arc of energy. “What you must have gone through.” She kissed his hand. “I nearly died when you didn’t come up out of that water.”
Aron swallowed a lump in his throat. “If I could turn back time, I would. You don’t know how often I’ve fought and struggled and agonized over not remembering you or our life.” He took her hand. “But if you ever say that you’re out of my league, again.” He got right in her face, smiled, kissed her nose, then frowned again. “I’ll spank your sweet ass.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Gee.” She laughed. “That almost sounds like the Aron I know.”
“I am the Aron you know. I just need you to help me find myself.” Holding up the coin, he showed it to her. “Best I can piece together, I found this while we were diving.”
“Gold?” She took it from his hand.
“Yea, best I can tell, but that’s not what makes it valuable.” He touched her cheek. “Look at the image on it.”
Libby stood up and went to the light. Amazed, she looked again. “It favors me?”
“Yes, it does. I held on to that coin. Even when I didn’t know anything about home or you, I held on to that coin.”
She smiled at him. “That makes me feel better.”
“It should, shows that you were on my mind at some level.”
“Hmmmm.” She nestled against him.
“Don’t hmmmm me.” He pulled her close, going back to the photos. Laughing, he pointed at one picture. “What are you doing here?” He found one of her racing across the pasture, looking back, and smiling.
“You’re chasing me.”
“Did I catch you?”
She rubbed her tummy.
“What do you think?”
He put the photo album down and went to his knees by the bed. Laying his head on her stomach, he said, “Tell me about them.”
“Boys. Two boys.” She hesitated, but couldn’t stop herself. She ran her fingers through his hair. “They’re due in a few months.”
He kissed the swell. “What are we naming them?”
“Well, we hadn’t picked out names. I was planning on talking about that on our honeymoon. But I like Colt and Case. When you think of some, I’d like to hear your suggestions.”
“I like your choices.” He turned his head sideways and Libby worried over the marks on his neck.
“You’re tired. Why don’t you take a shower and get in your bed.”
“That sounds like a good idea.” He rose and began to undo his clothes. She helped. When they got his shirt off, Libby gasped in horror. “Oh, my god.” She looked at the scars and marks from the whip. “What kind of monster did this to you?”
“A crazy woman, Libby.”
She stepped back in horror. “A woman?”
“Yes, that was the whole problem.” He began to relate the tale. “I had met Martina Delgado years ago. And apparently she developed some kind of crush on me. When she found me floating in the water off Seven Mile Beach, she decided it was a sign. She lied to me, told me I was her fiancé.”
Libby closed her eyes. Stop it, she told herself. Your prayers have been answered. Your husband is alive. This woman had nearly killed him. There was no place for jealousy in any of this. “Is she still alive?”
“Yea, Jacob handcuffed her to the table after she tried to kill us and I suppose the authorities have picked her up by now. I put together a tidy case against her. Why?”
“I am thinking about whipping her ass.”
Aron barked his laughter. “Like the barfight?”
She perked up. “You remember?”
His smile faded. “No, baby. The guys told me on the way back. They told me everything they could think of. Trying to acclimate me, I guess.”
“Go take your shower. I’m going to go get some salve to put on your sores.”
He thought about asking her to join him, but he couldn’t find the words. What was the proper etiquette for amnesiac husbands?
Libby slipped downstairs. Thankfully, everyone had retired to their rooms. She was trembling, vacillating between elation and worry. Aron was back! He was alive! That was all that mattered. Checking in the guest bathroom, she found the ointment and returned upstairs. Just knowing her husband was in the shower, in their bedroom gave her an enormous feeling of well-being. She had to stay positive.
She also had to stay realistic.
Sitting on their bed, she waited. Listening. The water turned off. She closed her eyes. He was stepping out of the tub. Toweling off. God, he was a gorgeous man. “Whoops.” She forgot to send him in some clothes. Digging in one of his drawers, she pulled out a comfortable T-shirt and some lounge pants.
The door opened. And out he walked in just a towel.
Lord have mercy.
“Here.” She gave him the clothes. “I hope you sleep well.” She went to him and went up on tiptoe, kissing his cheek. “You’ll never know how thankful I am to have you home, alive and well.” She started for the door.
“Where are you going?” he asked dryly.
“I’m going to sleep in the guest room.”
“Why?”
“Because….” She stopped. “Well, because…”
“Because why?”
She put her hands on her hips. “You don’t know who I am! I can’t sleep with a stranger!”
“I’m not a stranger to you, Libby. I’m your husband.”
“But I’m strange to you!” She fumed.
“Just a little.” He teased. When she turned to go, he said, “Get that sweet ass back here, Libby-pearl.”
With mouth wide open, she whirled. “What did you call me?”
He looked at her blankly. “What?” He hadn’t noticed.
“You called me Libby Pearl!” S
he flew to his side, very careful of his injuries. “That was a thing between us.”
He still looked confused. “The nicknames!” She emphasized. “You always called me Libby-mine, Libilicious, Libtastic, Libby-boo.” By the time she finished, they were both laughing.
“See, I told you, I’m still me.” He pushed her hair behind her head. “Just give me a little time. I’ll remember you, Libby. I promise. I’ll remember us.”
***
They didn’t make love that night, but it wasn’t because he didn’t want to, he did. But it was just too soon. Aron could see it sticking out all over, he was gonna have to woo his Libby again. She loved him, he had no doubt on that score. But she had lost her confidence in their love and it was his job to give it back to her.
During the night, he bonded with her. Oh, she wasn’t awake to know it. But he stayed up most of the night just looking at her and touching her. He traced the line of her arm, loving the smoothness. He stole tiny kisses from her neck. He smelled her sweet scent. And he relearned how she slept on top of him. God, he loved that. While he’d been gone, he knew his nights were cold and lonely. Something was missing. And here it was, it was her. She used him as her security blanket, one arm across his middle, one leg across his. Sometimes her head was on his chest and sometimes it was on his arm. He didn’t care. He loved it all.
Deep in the night, he lifted her sleep shirt and rubbed her back. One of the few times when she was on her back, he picked up the shirt and kissed her belly, letting his babies kick him in the cheek. She needed her rest, but he got something he needed to. He used those twilight hours to relearn his wife and what he found was beyond rubies.
In the early morning hours, he looked around their room. Their wedding portrait stood proudly on the dresser. He picked the photo album back up and finished looking at every picture. They had been together only a few months, married only one day when they had been parted. But as far as he could tell, they had packed a lifetime of living in that little space of time. Some of his sculptures set around the room. As he looked at them his fingers itched. Soon, he’d have to go outside and try his hand at it, see if the skill would resurface.
