by Hope Jones
Graham woke me up with kisses to the back of my neck, eliciting a shiver that racked my body. We made out for a little bit, not taking it too far knowing we had an appointment with Mr. Carson shortly, and we couldn’t afford to be late.
We pulled up five minutes before our appointment and the panic I thought I would face coming back to my house wasn’t there.
I believed I had to thank my husband for that one. He gave me the courage I needed when I was holding his hand, his strength wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
Together, we removed the yellow caution tape from around the front porch. Graham ran inside, grabbing a few trash bags and tossing the tape in one.
A few moments later, we heard the gravel crunching and looked up to see a small, sporty car pull up to the house.
Mr. Carson was a few minutes early.
Well, the faster we got the system installed, the faster we could get back to our normal routine. Graham bounced down the steps to greet Mr. Carson and I followed behind a little slower. The man that stepped out of the car was not what I was expecting. He was tall, an inch taller than Graham, which was saying something because I guessed Graham was at least six three. He had very dark brown hair, green eyes, and arms that consisted of nothing but muscles. If I wasn’t married to Graham and slightly already in love with him, I probably would have dry humped Huxley Carson.
Graham was shaking Huxley’s hand when I walked up. He smiled down at me and told Huxley, “Carson, this is my wife, Henley Vano.”
“Pleasure. Please, call me Hux,” he informed me, giving me a firm shake that I appreciated.
Just because I was a woman, didn’t mean I didn’t deserve the same handshake he would give my husband.
I gave him a small smile and opened my arm to lead the way to my fucked-up house. Graham walked behind me, next to Hux and gave him the rundown on what was going on. I blocked them out as I walked in the house, leaving them to handle the system while I began the cleanup on the living room.
***
A WHILE LATER, Hux was still working on setting up all the window alarms, door alarms, and cameras all around the property and Tuesday had come over to help me clean up after I texted her telling her there was eye candy.
The few times Tuesday and I had hung out after I woke up in the hospital, she expressed how much she loved her husband. It was obvious he had her heart, but when I told her she needed to see who was at my house, she pulled up less than ten minutes later.
We were currently in the living room, a trash bag in our hands, giggling.
“I’m almost positive it’s a crime to be that hot,” Tuesday informed me, referring to Huxley Carson and cackling.
“I know!” I chuckled back.
Graham took that moment to pop around the corner, his eyes held a mischievous glint narrowing on me.
“That hot, huh?”
My cheeks flamed as my eyes widened and I glanced at Tuesday for help. She held her hands up defensively and shook her head, letting me know she was not helping me out of this one.
My gaze flew back to Graham as he stalked toward me, a slow, devilish grin taking over his face and I knew he was teasing me.
I stepped away from him, to the other side of the couch and his eyes narrowed further. We were playing a game of cat and mouse. I was the mouse, and Graham was the cat, ready to eat his mouse.
Graham lunged over the couch, making it look easy enough and I ran around the corner, laughing loudly as I tried to get away from him. He caught up much quicker than I had hoped and grabbed my waist from behind, stopping me in my tracks.
“Hot, huh?” he repeated, turning me in his arms and tickling my sides. I threw my head back, belly laughing and tried to wiggle free from his embrace, but there was no point, he had me and knew I wasn’t going anywhere.
“I… I didn’t say anything!” I giggled, gasping for breath as he continued tickling my sides until I could no longer stand, and he had to hold me up.
Gazing up at Graham, a beaming smile had taken over his face. Thinking back on what he looked like when I first woke from my coma, his shoulders weighed down by worry, lines around his eyes told me he was in pain. Looking at him now, I couldn’t even tell he had ever been distraught.
Despite the situation we were stuck in, he had relaxed and decided not to carry the weight of the world on his back. He was carefree, teasing me to no end and having fun.
My heart warmed and when the tickling stopped, I leaned on my tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tightly.
“Thank you,” I whispered up at him.
His head cocked to the side and he asked, “For what?”
I shook my head, not knowing how to put into words what I was feeling. “For everything. For staying by my side, even when I woke up and didn’t know you. For being you and allowing me to be me.”
Graham’s eyes darkened. I was learning they did that when he was aroused.
“I took vows, Henley,” Graham growled. “For better or worse, in sickness and health. That is never going to change, no matter the circumstances.”
I felt every word he said course through my body. He meant what he said. He would never leave my side.
“I think I love you,” I murmured, watching his eyes narrow and his mouth lower to mine. He slowly opened my mouth with his tongue, giving me a gentle kiss that took the breath from my lungs.
A throat clearing interrupted our passion fueled kiss and Graham pulled away after giving me one more soft peck. My head landed on his chest with a thump as I realized that we weren’t alone. I didn’t mind Tuesday seeing me make out with my husband so much, but Hux was a stranger that was in my house for business.
After tamping down the embarrassment, I came back to my senses and Huxley was telling Graham that the installation was done, and he needed to show him how to use everything. Graham peered down at me, and I nodded my head, allowing him to give me one more squeeze on my waist before he left to follow Hux to the front door.
Tuesday materialized by my side and looked at me.
“Mm-hmm, and I thought Huxley was hot. He doesn’t have shit on that kiss I saw.”
My cheeks flamed again, but I wouldn’t apologize for falling in love with my husband again and expressing that to him.
I rolled my eyes and moved back to the living room, picked up my trash bag, and finished gathering all the trash on the floor.
Several hours later and the living room was cleaned, save for the red paint on the walls. We had removed all the broken furniture and sat on the floor admiring the daunting red letters.
Graham’s hand went around my waist and pulled me closer until we were hip against hip. Tuesday had left an hour before, saying she needed to see her husband and daughter before her husband had to go to work the night shift.
“I’ll wipe off as much as I can, then grab a can of paint to repaint the whole living room.”
I hummed my approval and rested my head on his shoulder.
I was happy to be spending time with him.
I was freaked out last night about everything, but since then a calm had settled over me. I knew that someone was targeting me. The reason was still unclear, but I knew I couldn’t let this deranged person screw with any other part of my life.
I needed to focus on getting my memories back, building a life with my husband and just enjoying life in general. I couldn’t change the actions of whoever was after me, but I could change my reaction to everything that was thrown at me.
“Have we gotten the insurance check to get me a new car yet?” I asked Graham, resting my chin on his shoulder and smiled when his eyes came to me.
“Yeah, it’s been sitting in the bank, but I figured you weren’t ready to drive yet.”
Shaking my head, I told him, “At some point, I have to get back on the horse. No better time than now.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, concern flitting through his eyes.
“Positive,” I assured him, giving him a blinding smile and hoppi
ng up, holding my hand out to help him stand.
“Now?” he asked incredulously.
“Well, duh. All the dealerships will be closed in an hour. Let’s go get it now,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.
Graham laughed, shook his head but got up and loaded us in his truck.
***
TWO HOURS LATER I was pulling out of the dealership with a brand-spanking-new Dodge Durango. Graham tried talking me out of an SUV, instead, wanting to put me in a small car, but I insisted on the Durango.
When Graham kept on about a smaller vehicle, I explained, “Look, you said before my accident we were trying for kids. When all my memories return, I would assume that we would want to continue trying for kids eventually. If I get a small car, in a year, I could be trading it in for something bigger to fit a baby. Let’s skip the middleman and just buy the SUV.”
Graham’s mouth snapped shut after my rant and I told the salesman that we would take the Durango.
He was very happy to comply.
After he walked off, Graham spun me around, slammed his mouth on mine then told me, “Fuck, I love you, woman.”
After signing the paperwork, Graham and I decided to head into town. He needed to grab something more industrial to clean the walls with and paint, and I needed to order a couch, so we didn’t have to sit in the kitchen or on the floor in the living room. Luckily, the stores we needed to go to were in the same shopping center. Graham wasn’t comfortable letting me drive by myself for the first time, but because we were going to the same place, he let me be.
I was grateful for the sense of independence I had lost after needing so much help when I came home from the hospital.
Other than my memory loss and very rare headaches, I felt normal.
Pulling into a parking spot, I shut the car off, locking the doors and headed to the spot next to me so I could kiss Graham before we parted ways.
“I’ll be right over there,” he said, pointing to the store three shops down from mine. “If you need me, call. I’ll wait for you when you get out.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Yes, Dad.”
He narrowed his eyes at me but gave me a kiss and walked to his store.
As I was entering the home goods store, I heard someone shouting my name. Turning, I saw Olivia, the woman from the hair salon, rushing to catch up to me.
“Oh,” Olivia said, breathing deeply from running. “It’s so good to see you again. How are you?”
“I’m doing well, thank you. How are you?”
She smiled, opening the door and holding her hand out to allow me to enter.
“I’m doing great. What brings you into town?”
Something about Olivia rubbed me the wrong way, but she had only ever been nice to me so I smiled and told her, “Our house was vandalized and the couch was torn up in the process, so I am couch shopping.”
“You poor thing! You can’t seem to catch a break, can you?”
“No, I suppose not.”
Olivia grabbed a shopping cart and followed me into the store. “Do you mind if I shop with you? Friends are hard to come by these days and you seem like a genuine person.”
Despite something screaming at me to decline her offer, I smiled and said, “Sure.”
We walked through all the aisles, chitchatting idly.
She explained how she had just moved into town and was starting a new job tomorrow and needed everything for her place.
My stomach sank when I asked her where she was working and she told me, “Vano Tire and Services.”
I gave her a tight smile but told her, “My husband is the owner of Vano Tire and Services.”
“Well, what a small world we live in, am I right?”
I gave her a forced chuckle, but quickly picked out the new couch I wanted and hoofed it to the checkout. While I was at one checkout line, setting up the delivery, Olivia was in another. We exited the store at the same time, and I told her, “Well, it was lovely chatting! Good luck on your first day.”
“I’m actually parked right in front of you,” Olivia told me while pointing to a red car directly in front of my new Durango.
We walked in silence to our vehicles and when I got close enough, I saw Graham leaning against my passenger door, on the phone. He gave me the universal sign for one minute and I fitted my body against his while I listened to his deep voice talk to Jim.
He was frustrated, waving his hands around when he wasn’t rubbing my back. Whatever was going on with Jim at work had him slightly pissed off.
He finally ended his phone call and shoved the phone back in his pocket.
“Did you find the one you wanted?” he asked, his hands settling on my hips and pulling me up to him for a kiss.
“Yeah,” I told him with a tight smile.
He gave me a pointed look but before he could ask what was wrong, Olivia popped back up and said, “Well, I guess I’m gonna get going. I’ve got a few other things I need to do before the day is over with.”
I turned and said, “Olivia, this is my husband, Graham Vano. Honey, I met Olivia at the salon when Tuesday took me to get my hair done.”
Graham turned, giving her a polite smile and handshake.
“The pleasure is all mine. I can’t wait to start work tomorrow!” she chirped as she flounced to her car and drove off.
After watching her car leave the parking lot, Graham’s eyes turned to me and he had a crinkle in his brow.
“That’s who Jim hired?” He scoffed.
“I suppose so. There’s something about her I don’t like, though.”
“Unfortunately, Jim and I both need help at the shop. Even before I took time off to be at the hospital with you, shit was chaotic at work. It’s gotten a little worse since being home.”
Guilt filled my insides and I told Graham, “I’m so sorry I’ve kept you away. I’d be okay at home, if you needed to go back.”
“Hush,” he whispered, bending low and resting his forehead against mine. “I haven’t regretted a single second I’ve spent with you, before you woke up and since.”
I knew he meant what he said. He’d likely let his business run into the ground before he gave up the time he was spending at home with me.
“Are you sure you don’t need to go in, even if it’s for a few hours a day?” I asked, worrying my lip between my teeth.
“I’ll go in when you go see your mom tomorrow, if that will make you feel better?” he asked, pulling my lip out and running his finger over it.
Mom had called this morning, asking how things were and freaked out when I told her what happened to my house. I assured her I was safe, staying in a hotel and we were getting a security system, so there was no need to worry. She insisted I come over for lunch so she could see with her own eyes that “her baby was safe and healthy.” I knew how much my mom worried and loved me, so I agreed without a second thought.
“That would make me feel better. The new couch will be at the house around five tomorrow, I’ll get home before them so I can help the movers bring it in.”
Graham nodded and we agreed to go back to the hotel tonight, deciding to repaint the living room tomorrow.
I believed we were both exhausted from cleaning up today and could use a break.
Chapter Nine
Henley
MOM HAD A SPREAD of food on the picnic table on her screened-in back porch. We were having an unusually warm day considering it was the middle of November, but I wasn’t going to complain. The drive to my mom’s house was uneventful and I was grateful that I didn’t have any PTSD with driving. Yesterday, I only drove five minutes from the dealership to the home goods stores, and ten minutes back to the hotel so I couldn’t truly test it out. The drive to my mom’s was a good thirty minutes from the hotel and, thankfully, I didn’t have a panic attack while driving.
I called that a win.
Mom opened the sliding glass door carrying two coffee mugs.
“Breakfast for lunch?” I smirked, raising a brow an
d grabbing the mugs from her so she could shut the door and sit down.
“Why, of course,” she replied in the most southern voice she could muster. It still came out sounding very northern since her and my dad were both born and raised in New York before coming down to South Carolina several years after they got married.
We filled our plates and sat in her rocking chairs, looking at her view of the crisp lake, enjoying each other’s company.
“How are you really doing?” she finally asked after we cleared the bacon off our plates.
Apparently, I inherited my love for bacon from her.
“I’m fine, Mom, truly,” I expressed, taking a sip of my coffee and diving into my eggs.
“How are things going with Graham?”
I smirked at the mention of my husband’s name. Inwardly, I sighed dreamily. Even if I never regained the last five years, I knew I would stay married to Graham and make new memories. Every fiber of my being was for Graham. It was like I was a half of myself before him, and with him by my side we were whole.
“I’ve started remembering things here and there, in no order. I remember our fourth date, he got into a bar fight. I also remember him proposing.”
“That’s wonderful, honey,” Mom exclaimed, flashing me with a blinding smile. I nodded in agreement.
Moving on to a more somber topic, I picked at my food, suddenly losing my appetite. “I vaguely remember the night I was hit.”
I visibly saw my mom’s ears perk up and her head turned fully toward me, giving me her undivided attention.
“And?”
“The other night, when I came home and found the house a wreck, I started having a panic attack. In the middle of that episode, I started having flashbacks. Everything is fuzzy and I can’t make out the woman’s face clearly, but it was definitely a woman and she told me ‘finally, it’s time you got some bad luck.’”
Shaking my head to get rid of the memories, I sipped my coffee, forcing it down when all I wanted to do was upchuck.
“The police don’t know who it was?” Mom exited her chair and removed the plate from my lap to comfort me.
