I nodded again. I wanted to touch my face but I couldn’t move my hands. The nurse must’ve figured that out because she said, “Your hands are restrained because patients like to pull the breathing tube out. We’ll release your hands as soon as we take out your tube. Okay?”
Now I was on a nodding loop. The tube made me feel like I wanted to cough, only I couldn’t. Tristian held my hand and squeezed. “Welcome back, starshine. I missed you.”
There were a million things I wanted to ask him, but that damn tube was in the way. My head throbbed. What was up with that?
“Do you want me to tell you what happened?”
My head went up and down.
“As far as we know, you were in a car accident coming home from the riding lessons with Landry.”
Who was Landry and why was I taking riding lessons? Only I couldn’t ask him.
“Do you remember the accident?”
How could I say ‘kind of’ with my head? I shrugged instead.
“It’s fine. We can wait for all of this when you can talk. I’m just happy you’re awake.”
I nodded, this time slowly. I was getting super-sleepy. My eyes closed and I dreamed of that car wreck again.
When I woke up, Tristian was still there holding my hand. Why was he being so nice? Hadn’t he been a dick to me?
I slept on and off for most of that day and then a doctor came in to tell me they were taking that dumb tube out. My throat burned like fire after, but at least I could talk.
“Hey,” I said. My voice was gruff and sounded like a man’s.
“Hey, yourself.” Tristian sure was pretty when he smiled.
“How come you’re being so nice to me? You’re usually a dick.”
He acted surprised. “I used to be but that was a while back.”
“What do you mean?” My brows squished together. He wasn’t making sense.
“A lot happened since then. Don’t you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“Um, how about going to Vegas? Remember the Elvis chapel?”
“Nope. Want to fill me in?”
A crinkled forehead clued me in that he wasn’t certain of what to say. He cracked his knuckles and stood. “I’ll be right back.”
Only he wasn’t. My parents showed up instead.
“Hey, darling, how are you?” Mom kissed my cheek.
“Munchkin, you’re looking better every day,” Dad said.
“Thanks. What’s this about Tristian and me going to Vegas?” Might as well get right to the point.
Tristian returned with a nurse, followed by a doctor.
“Mrs. Baines, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
“Why did you call me Mrs. Baines? I’m English Bridges.”
“That’s what I want to discuss with you,” the doctor said. “It appears your memory is a bit foggy. That’s perfectly normal after sustaining a head injury. Can you tell me what you do and don’t remember?”
“I don’t remember getting married.” I glanced at Tristian to see him staring at the floor.
“But you remember Mr. Baines.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. Good.”
The doctor asked me a series of questions relating to work—what I did and who I worked for, things of that nature. Then he wanted to know what year it was and who was president. He asked my birthdate and middle name and then my address. Apparently, I answered them all correctly.
“Do you remember anything at all about your accident?”
“No, not really. I have this dream about a car wreck, so maybe my brain is trying to reconstruct the scene?” I asked.
“That’s a possibility. The brain is an amazing thing, but don’t worry. With everything you’re telling me, I believe you’ll be getting your memory back. I can’t say when and it may take some time, so be patient. And don’t beat yourself up if you can’t remember something.”
“Do you think it’ll affect my work?”
“I’m not sure. The only way to find out is when you’re released to try to work a little. But I won’t clear you to go back to work for a while. You have other injuries that need to heal.”
“Other injuries?”
“Yes. You broke some ribs, had some internal injuries, and sustained a broken foot. You probably didn’t notice that yet.”
I lifted my head and saw my foot was elevated and in a cast. “I guess that coma helped the foot.”
“Probably, because it kept you off it, but that’s the orthopedic surgeon’s department, not mine. If you need anything, just call.” He gave my good toes a squeeze and was gone.
“I don’t like not remembering everything. So we got married?” It was weird because what I remembered was Tristian was a giant butthole. Why would I marry a giant butthole?
He smiled. “We went to Vegas and tied the knot.”
“I have a question. If I don’t remember, can that Vegas knot be untied?”
He actually paled. I mean turned the color of a ghost. What was up with that? “If you find you can’t stand me, then yes, we can untie the knot.”
“English, don’t you think you should give it some time? This is all so new and you’ll get your memory back,” Dad said.
“What if I don’t?”
“Oh, darling, you will. Besides, someone else is very anxious to see you,” Mom said.
“Who?”
“Easton.”
“Who’s Easton?”
They all gawked at me until Dad said, “She’s your daughter.”
I gulped.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Tristian
I left the room with sinking spirits. Fuck, fuck, fuck. She hadn’t remembered getting married and had asked if we could get divorced. I was madly in love with this woman. Letting her go wasn’t going to happen if I had a say in the matter. She didn’t even remember her daughter. How was this going to affect the adoption proceedings? Devastation pummeled me.
A hand touched my back. “Tristian, it’s going to be fine.”
“I can’t lose her, Sheridan. I love her, am in love with her.”
“Beck said as much. She’ll figure it out too. It’s just going to take some time. Like the doctor said, the brain is strange. She’ll remember.”
“What will we tell Easton?”
“Nothing yet. English may remember everything tomorrow. For now, we’ll just say that her mommy can’t have visitors yet.”
“Easton will pester you for answers.”
“I know. She already is, but I took a picture of English to show her. That should help.”
“I hope so. I’m going home to shower and then I’ll be back.”
I was torturing myself with visions of English telling me she wanted out of the marriage. This had to stop. An attitude adjustment was in order. After my shower, I popped in to see Easton. She always cheered me up and it was time I bucked up and did the manly thing. Here was this six-year-old whose mom didn’t even remember her and I was acting like the baby in the group.
“Daddy!” Easton ran straight into my arms and a warmth settled straight into my heart.
“Hey, pumpkin pie.”
“I wanna be blueberry pie.”
“Then blueberry pie it is. How’s my girl?”
“I’m sad. Mommy is still in the hospital from the axdent. I don’t know when she’ll be home.”
“But guess what? That’s the best place for her to get better.”
“But, Daddy, I wanna see her and I can’t cuz I’m too little.”
“I know. But maybe she’ll be home soon. How’s your arm?”
“Wanna put your name on it?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
I set her down and she ran to get a marker. Turned out to be a bright pink one. I wrote Daddy and drew some hearts around it. “How’s this?”
“I like that. Can you make a oonicorn?”
“I’m not too good with those but how about this?” I quickly drew a pink rainbow.
>
“That’s cool, dude!” She held up her hand for a high five.
I then handed her a bag that contained some trinkets we bought in Vietnam. “This is for you.”
She opened it to find wooden toys and a T-shirt. “Thank you. I’m going to save it and give it to Mommy.”
“That’s very sweet of you.”
I stayed for about thirty minutes then left. On the way to the hospital, I picked up a huge bouquet of roses for English.
“Hey,” I said, entering the room. “These are for you.”
“Wow. Those are gorgeous. Thank you. You know something? You’re not so bad when you’re not being a butthole to me.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Can you sit?”
“I’m planning on it.” I set the flowers on the ledge near the window and then sat.
“Why did we get married when I really don’t like you?”
“By the time we got married, you’d changed your mind.”
“And there was no other reason?”
“Yes, there was. It revolved around your daughter and my family.”
“Will you tell me?”
“Let’s begin with the part about Easton, your daughter. Does the name Stuart McLure sound familiar?”
She squinted and said, “Yeah. Old high-school boyfriend. No, wait, college too.”
“That’s it?”
Massaging her eyes, she said, “Something’s nagging at me but I can’t put my finger on it.”
“Should I tell you or not? Up to you.”
“You can tell me. Maybe it’ll trigger something.”
“Before I go and tell you everything, let me check to see if it’s okay. With the doctor, that is.”
I went to the nurse’s station, which was located out in the center of the grouping of rooms and checked. She said they dealt with it all the time and it was fine.
“Got the okay,” I said as I sat down again. “So, you and Stuart were together during the first two years in college until you got pregnant. He wasn’t too nice to you and you broke up with him after. You had your daughter, Easton, after you moved back home.” I continued to explain the story of Easton, us, and the McLures, bringing her up to the present.
She squeezed her eyes shut as her hand touched her throat. In a quivering voice, she said, “I remember getting choked.”
I touched her arm and she flinched. My shoulders drooped at her show of fear. “English, I will never ever lay a hand on you. You don’t ever have to fear my touch.”
I watched the tension ebb out of her, but it was still distressing to see the memory of what Stuart’s actions did.
“He choked me and… you! You came in and saved me. You beat him up!”
“I’m not proud of beating someone, but I am of knocking the lights out of him. No man should ever lay hands on a woman.”
“Thank you.”
“No need. It’s water under the bridge.”
“For you maybe. But for me, it’s like it just happened. Did he go to jail?”
Nodding, I added, “Not once, but twice and he’s still there. He violated an order of protection.”
“What did he want from me?”
“So here is where it gets sticky.” I explained about Easton, and how they wanted custodial rights. “And that brings me to our marriage and how we ended up in Vegas and proceeding with me adopting her.”
“You would do that?” Her hand reached out for mine.
“English, I love you.” There, it was out in the open now. I wasn’t going to hide it from her or anyone. “I love Easton too. I want you and her as my—our—family.” My heart bumped in my chest, banging a tune against my ribs. I prayed she didn’t send me away, but accepted my love instead.
She eyed her hands, which were gripping the bedsheet. “I can’t say it back yet.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t expect you to. I just wanted you to know, since you asked.”
She glanced up at me through her long spiky lashes. “Can I ask you something else?”
“Of course.”
“Was the sex good?”
A mighty laugh leapt out of me. Of all the things, I hadn’t anticipated this. “The very best.”
She looked up. “For me too?”
“You screamed my name. A lot.”
“I did?” She was shocked and I was sad she didn’t remember that part. But I’d get that back.
“Uh-huh. I can show you when you’re released.” I smirked.
“I bet you can.”
“I gave you this special toy—”
“Oh, my God! I remember that!”
For fuck’s sake. She remembered the damn toy and not me. Talk about an ego-buster.
“Don’t look so deflated. I’m sure I remember it because of how you wielded it.” She acted like the thing was in her hand.
“Mmm. Okay, I’ll take that, but you’re handling it more like a sword.”
“Maybe it’s because of…” Her eyes went straight to my crotch. Well, damn, I hadn’t expected that at all.
“There is something else I’d like to ask. Do you remember anything at all about the accident? Like where it happened?”
“No. I’m a blank slate.”
I wrote in the empty spaces for her.
“Okay, let me reiterate,” English said. “I took Easton to ride at your family’s home with your brother, Landry. The accident happened on the drive home.”
“There are more details than that, but it sums it up. The police are investigating why the brakes went out.”
She mumbled, “The brakes went out. The brakes went out.” Her fingers snapped and she said, “Oh, my God. Not only that, someone ran me off the road in a silver Mercedes!”
My sister owned a silver Mercedes.
Chapter Forty-Eight
English
Three days after I woke up, they moved me to a regular room. I begged them to set me free, to unchain me from my prison, but they weren’t quite ready yet. Hospitals were the worst for getting sleep. Every little noise awakened me and then the nurse came in every few hours to check my vitals. If I didn’t go home soon, they’d be sending me to the nuthouse instead.
On the positive side, my memories were trickling in. I had yet to remember getting married but every once in a while a steamy sex scene would pop into my head and I knew it was a memory fragment. I’d get all sweaty and hot, and would force myself to think of something less dirty. If this was any indication of what we’d done together, I was ready to get back in the saddle. Or hop on the pony. Or ride the man-stick. Or whatever you wanted to call it.
“What is wrong with you? Do you have a fever?” Tristian reached for my forehead. “You are a red as a beet.”
In an attempt to change the subject, I said, “I never could figure out that analogy. Aren’t beets purple?”
“Whatever. Are you okay?”
“Perfect, thank you.”
“Why are you flushed?”
“It’s hot in here.”
“It’s only sixty-eight. I’m chilly.” Then a salacious grin spread across his face. “English, what were you thinking?”
“Nothing exciting.”
“Great, then share.”
I crossed my arms. “Nope. Let’s watch TV.”
“Okay, but after you tell me what you were thinking.”
“Fine. I think I’m getting more memories back.”
“Fantastic! Which ones?”
“Sexy ones.”
“Even better.” A wicked chuckle from him knocked into me. Damn his voice.
“No, it’s not. They leave me all hot and sweaty.”
“It’ll be great when you get out of here, then. I can, erm, help you out with those.”
Someone cleared their throat and we glanced over to see Mom and Dad in the doorway with Easton. These visits were uncomfortable as I didn’t remember everything about my daughter yet, which disturbed me. She must’ve known because whenever she came to visit, she was alwa
ys tentative. I had vivid memories of her being very inquisitive and exuberant. She had yet to show me that side of her personality, but it came out with flying colors for Tristian.
“Daddy!” She ran to him with her arms out. One of them had a cast on it from the accident, but it must not have bothered her as she didn’t act cautious about it. After Tristian set her down, she looked at me and waved. “Hi, Mommy.”
“No hug for me?”
“I, uh, don’t want to hurt you.”
“Easton, you won’t. I’m getting better every day and I might be coming home soon.”
“Does that mean I can sleep in my bedroom again?”
“Yes, it does,” I said. A toothless grin appeared. “Hey, is that a big tooth trying to poke out up there?”
“Yep. It’s coming out. Wanna see?”
“You bet,” I said. She came over and opened her mouth. The rough and jagged edges of the new tooth were seen breaking through the gum line. “Wow! That’s an awesome tooth. Good job!” I held out my fist and she bumped it, like we’d done this forever. Maybe we had and I just couldn’t remember.
“And look!” She wiggled a lower tooth to show me it was loose.
“Oh, boy. Looks like you’ll be getting more money from the tooth fairy soon.”
“Yep, and I’m putting it in my piggy bank. I’m saving up for a big princess bike with pink and silver sparkly streamers.”
“Sounds like the best idea.”
“And guess what else? Geepa found us a little Bucker.”
“What’s a little Bucker?”
“Our new puppy. He’s only going to be this big.” She held out her hands about six inches apart. I guessed little Bucker was the smallest dog in the world. I laughed at my own funny joke.
“So the little Bucker is a little bucker.” Heehee.
Easton stared at me, not getting the joke.
Dad piped up, “Your Geepa said it should only weigh twenty pounds. He found it at the pound and showed us all a picture. He took Easton a while back to look at other puppies, but they ended up getting sold before he could buy one. But this little fella, he really is a cute… little Bucker.”
For The Love of Easton : A Single Parent Romance and Sequel to For The Love of English Page 24
