by Misty Malone
The deputy looked down for a moment before answering. “To be honest, Bryce, I'm not real sure. I've talked to Sheriff Hollinger about that and he's doing some checking into it. The doctor says she's still weak, so he can keep her another couple days. After that, though, we're going to have to come up with some kind of answer. She didn't have any purse or anything with her, did she?”
“No, not that we saw. I went back this morning and took a closer look, and there's nothing there. I take it there wasn't anything in the car, either?”
“No, and we haven't even been able to establish yet if that car's hers for sure. The owner of that car seems to be quite mysterious. We haven't been able to find out much at all about her. There's no family, she resigned from her job, and her employer didn't know of any close co-workers that would know much about her. She's not answering her phone, so we don't even know if she's our lady.”
“Is there anything else you can do to find out who she is?”
“We've contacted the local police in Indiana and explained the situation. They're going to her apartment, to check with neighbors, landlord, see what they can find. We have her picture from the driver's license, but it's a bad picture. The hair color is different, but you can't go by that. The height is about the same, the weight is close, although this lady I'm sure is not as heavy. There again, though, the picture and information are from almost four years ago.”
“So what now?”
“I just took her picture and we'll put it on the news. We're going to say she was in an accident and has amnesia.”
Bryce wasn't sure he liked that idea. “Is that safe?”
“We aren't going to say where she is. We'll tell people if you have any information or know who she is to please call the sheriff's office. If someone calls, we'll try to get their name and have them describe her and tell us where she lives, or something about her. We'll be able to tell pretty quickly if they know her or not. We can check their story out then before we let them see her.”
“That might be okay then, as long as no one tells them where she is before you've checked their story out.”
“The sheriff is going to tell all the deputies he's handling this personally. The only ones at the sheriff's office that will know where she'll be is the sheriff and myself. That way if someone stops one of the deputies and asks them, he won't be able to tell them anything. The sheriff is going to tell all deputies, though, to let him know if someone asks about her.”
“That sounds good. I wish we could find someone that knew her in Indiana. They could tell us if this is the same lady, and maybe a little about her, like where she may have been going.”
“That would be very helpful,” Deputy Armstrong agreed.
“Could you put her picture on the local station in Indiana and ask that anyone who knows her contact the sheriff's department?”
The deputy's eyebrows shot up. “I hadn't thought of that. I'm planning on putting it on the air here in case she's not the owner of that car and she's someone local, but that sounds to me like a good idea, Bryce. Let me check with the sheriff and I'll see what he thinks.”
“I appreciate you keeping me informed.”
“Not a problem. Go visit her now, Bryce. She seems to look forward to your visits.”
“That's good. I don't know if she's starting to think of me as a new friend, or I'm the closest thing she has to any friend, but I'm glad to help her however I can. In fact, if she hasn't regained her memory when she's released, she'd be welcome to come to the ranch.”
The deputy raised his eyebrows as he looked at Bryce. “Are you—”
Seeing the look in the deputy's eyes, Bryce clarified his offer. “I have a housekeeper and cook that has a room at my house. She's a wonderful lady who worked for my grandfather in the same capacity. She stayed on when I moved in. She'll be there, and I'm sure she'd be happy to have another lady around the house. As long as we don't tell people she's there, she should be safe. There are enough ranch hands around that if we're all watching out for her she should be as safe there as anywhere.”
“I'll talk to the sheriff about that generous offer, too, Bryce. That might be our solution. Without a purse or her name, she doesn't have any money to get a motel room or anything.”
“Talk to him and let me know. The offer stands.” He nodded to the deputy and went into her room.
Bryce had a nice visit again. As soon as he walked in her room she turned toward the door with a hopeful look on her face. It soon lit up with a big smile. “Hi, Bryce.”
“Good evening, Sunshine. You're looking radiant. How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” she said with a big sincere smile. “Thank you for coming to see me.”
“Trust me when I say it's my pleasure.” Without thinking, he did what felt natural to him. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before sitting down in the chair beside her bed.
She gave him another award-winning smile, which he was coming to love. Before he had a chance to say anything she surprised him. “So how was your day, cowboy? Were you busy poking cows or whatever it is that cowboys do?”
Bryce's eyebrows shot up at her question. He looked down at the innocent look on her face and had to laugh. “Poking cows?”
Her face turned what he considered to be an adorable shade of red. “Don't they call cowboys cowpokes?”
Bryce laughed again as he picked up one of her hands and gave it a quick kiss. “You are absolutely adorable. I take it you didn't grow up on a farm or ranch?”
Her smile faltered a bit, but she recovered quickly. “I can't say for sure, but I don't think so. I was thinking about you today, wondering what you were doing, and I don't seem to know anything about ranches or what you might have been doing all day. So I'm guessing no, I didn't grow up on a ranch. Did you?”
“Yes, I did. My dad's got a ranch. I grew there, and we used to visit my grandparents regularly on their ranch. That's my ranch now, where I live.”
“So you live on and run the ranch that used to be your grandfather's? That's nice.”
“Yeah, it is,” Bryce agreed. “I miss grandpa, but a lot of times I see something on the ranch that reminds me of him, and I like that.”
She was smiling, and he hated to break that happy mood, but he felt he had to bring something up with her. “I talked to a friend of my dad's today. He's a doctor that treats people who have had head trauma. He's back in Kansas, where I grew up, but I wanted a little information about amnesia.”
She looked anxious, but interested. “And?”
“And he said people with amnesia recover in a lot of different ways, but often it's triggered by small things. You may see something that triggers a memory and hear something that triggers another memory. Eventually enough small memories grow and you soon have your memory back. But he warned to be patient. If something seems somehow familiar, don't try too hard to remember, just let the memory come to you in its own sweet time.”
“That makes sense,” she said, “and I'll try. But I won't make any promises. I really want my memory back.”
“I know, sunshine, and I don't blame you. But try to be patient.”
She looked at Bryce for quite some time, smiling. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“No one knows what to call me, and that fact makes me sad. It's almost like they don't know what to call me, so they just don't talk to me. It feels like they're talking about me, not to me. You came up with something to call me, and I don't know why, but it feels good. Thank you for that.”
He reached over and kissed her cheek. “You're a beautiful lady and I'm sure you have a beautiful name. Until we know what it is, though, your big bright smile reminds me of a sunny day. Even after we know your name, I'll still think of you as my sunshine.”
“I hope so,” she said sincerely.
Her comment went straight to his heart. He was quickly acquiring feelings for this little mystery lady. He just had to hope she didn't have a husband somewhere out there lookin
g for her. He already knew he'd have a hard time letting her go.
*****
He went to visit her daily while she was in the hospital, and they got along well each time. He could tell she looked forward to his visit each evening, as did he.
The next evening he planned to talk with her about staying at the motel. Their visit started in a similar fashion. She smiled when he walked in the door. “Good evening, sunshine,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. “How are you doing this evening?”
Her smile left abruptly, though, which had Bryce concerned. “What is it? Don't you feel good?”
“I feel fine, and I guess maybe that's part of the problem.”
“How can feeling fine be a problem?”
“I will be released tomorrow. Bryce, I don't have anyplace to go.”
“Sure you do. You can come to my ranch.”
“No, I can't do that. What would people think?”
“Well, let's back up and take this a little slower. First, it won't just be you and me at the house. My housekeeper and cook, Lena Humphries, lives there. She's worked on that ranch longer than I have. She's a wonderful lady and is excited as can be that there'll be another lady in the house. She gets tired of having no one to talk to all day but a bunch of cowboys. She's home right now getting your room all girlied up. I haven't seen her this excited in quite some time.”
“She's excited about it? You've already talked to her about it?”
“Of course I did. I asked her about it the day after we found you. I figured she'd love the idea, and boy, was I right. She set to work planning it then, and she's got a room all ready for you. When I left she said she was adding a few last minute touches, but it'll be ready when you get there.”
She looked at Bryce thoughtfully. “So you've had this planned?”
“Well, I planned on asking you nicely, inviting you, but I didn't know you were going to be released tomorrow. I thought it was going to be the next day, and I planned on asking you tonight so you'd have a full day to think about it. I apologize for that. I should have asked you last night. I was waiting on the okay from the sheriff.”
“The sheriff knows you were planning on asking me?”
“Of course. I've been talking with Deputy Armstrong daily, seeing if there's any progress in figuring out who you are and where you're from. I asked him a couple days ago where you'd go once you're released. He said he and the sheriff had talked about the possibilities, but they hadn't come up with any ideas. So I asked about you coming out to stay on the ranch. They talked it over and decided if you liked the idea, they're okay with it, as well.”
Her expression was rather blank, which worried him a little. “If you don't want to stay there, they have a couple other options,” he said.
“No, it's not that I don't like the idea. It's just a little overwhelming.”
He picked up one of her hands and rubbed it with his thumb. That always seemed to relax her. “What is overwhelming to you, sunshine? I know you've gone through a lot. Is that what you meant— that this whole thing is overwhelming?”
“Well, that,” she agreed, “but I was thinking about the fact you've been checking with the sheriff, and planning to make sure I had a place to stay.”
“This might be a good time for me to explain something to you. I'm rather protective by nature. My dad was, too, and I guess I've inherited it from him. I protect the animals on my ranch, but I also tend to protect the people I care about. I'm very safety conscious, and my hands all know it. I've fired a hand for doing something dangerous. Accidents happen, you can't always prevent them, but that doesn't mean you should invite them. I don't want any of my men to get hurt, and I do what I can to make sure they're working in a safe environment.”
“That's commendable.”
Bryce shrugged, but continued. “That goes double for family or friends. I've cared about you ever since I first saw you lying in the branches of that tree, unconscious. You were so little and vulnerable, and I want to protect you in every way possible. The more I've gotten to know you, the more I care about you, and the more I want to keep you safe and happy. That's why I asked about where you would go. I knew it had to be someplace I approved of and felt would be safe for you.”
The big smile she gave him did wonderful things to his heart. “That's really sweet, Bryce. Thank you for caring about me.”
“My heart chooses who to care about. My protective instincts kicked in right away with you, and they've only gotten stronger as time has gone on. So what do you say, will you come stay at the ranch, at least until you remember who you are?”
“That's a very kind and generous offer, Bryce.”
“So is that a yes?”
“I have a question first.”
“What's that?”
“What did you mean when you said the sheriff had some other ideas, but none they cared much for? Why would it matter to them where I stayed?”
“That's the other thing we need to talk about tonight. I don't know how much Deputy Armstrong has said to you, but he thinks it's a good idea for you to stay at my ranch, but he doesn't want people knowing where you are.”
“He did mention that,” she said, “but I don't understand. Why doesn't he want people knowing where I am? Nobody even knows who I am.”
He continued to rub her hand as he tried to explain the situation without scaring her. “Well, that's the thing, sunshine. As far as we know, no one knows who you are. Did he tell you he's been putting your picture on the news?”
“Yes, he did. I hope someone knows me and comes to me. Maybe I'll remember them.”
“He's not announcing where you are. He's going to have anyone who thinks they may know you to call him, and he'll filter the calls.”
“Filter the calls?”
“You still don't remember anything about how you got in that tree?”
“No,” she whispered as she looked down.
He pulled her chin back up, so she was looking at him. “Until he knows that, he doesn't want people knowing where you are. What if you were running from someone?”
She looked appalled. “Why would I be running from someone?”
“I don't know, but why else would you be in a tree in the middle of my ranch? Maybe someone was chasing you. Maybe you had done something in the past and it was catching up with you. I doubt that now that I've gotten to know you a bit, but you don't know. He wants to make sure you're safe.”
She shook her head. “I'm sorry, I still don't understand. What could I be running from?”
Bryce ran his hand through his hair, something he only did when he was frustrated or nervous. “I don't know. What if you found a bunch of stolen diamonds and were going to turn them over to the police when the thief found out you had them? Maybe he was chasing you. If that's the case, the sheriff doesn't want to show your face on television and announce where you're staying.”
Her eyes opened wide, but she understood what he was saying, and nodded. “Okay, I guess it makes sense. So he will put my picture on the screen and say if you know her call the sheriff?”
“That's what he's been doing, yes. He'll screen the calls then and make sure they're for real. He'll have them describe you and tell him a little bit about you, where you're from, where you were going, how they know you, that sort of thing. Then he can check their story out, verify it to be sure they're telling the truth. If they are, then I'll take you to the sheriff's office so you can meet them and we'll see how it goes. If you don't recognize the person and the sheriff doesn't have a good feeling, he'll probably tell the person he wants to see some proof. They should have photographs or other family members that can verify it, or co-workers, or whatever that can verify who you are and any relationship you may have with the person claiming to know you.”
“Wow. You guys really are going to protect me, aren't you?”
“We're going to try our best, sunshine. Are you okay with that plan?”
“Yeah, sure. It feels kind of nice knowi
ng someone's got my back.”
“Good. One other thing I need to warn you about before you say you'll come stay at my ranch though.”
“What's that?”
“I already warned you my protective instincts have kicked in big time with you. That means you need to listen when I tell you something involving your safety.”
She looked confused, but said, “Okay.”
“I'm serious about that. If you come stay with us there will be certain rules you'll have to follow so I can be sure you're safe, especially if you're not used to being on a ranch.”
“Oh,” she said, “you mean things like don't go in the pen will the bulls?” She giggled. “I don't know much about ranches and what cowboys do, but I have no intention of going into a pen with bulls.”
“I don't have a pen of bulls, so we won't have to worry about that one,” Bryce said with a smile. “But there are other rules, like don't go out roaming around alone, and no taking a horse out until I know you can ride it, and then only after you tell me where you're going.”
“You mean I can't walk around on your ranch?”
“I said you couldn’t wander around alone. I don't care if you walk around some as long as you can still see the house. I don't want you getting lost. That's a pretty good sized ranch with lots of places that aren't the safest if you're not familiar with the area.”
“Okay, that makes sense, I guess,” she admitted. “And I have no idea if I can ride a horse.”
“We'll find out,” he assured her, “if you think you'd be interested.”
“I'd like to try,” she said. “I'm not sure if I've ever done it, but I've been thinking it sounds like fun.”
“You've been thinking about riding horses? Have you been hoping I'd invite you out to stay?”
She laughed as she explained, “Actually, I've been wondering what cowboys do. I don't know that I've ever met a real cowboy, and I've been thinking about it some today.”
“Well, you come out and stay and see for yourself. Although,” he said, his voice taking on a more stern edge, “there are some things you won't be able to do, like ride out with them, or get too close if we're breaking yearlings or branding. There are things that are dangerous, so that's where you'll have to listen to me and obey the rules I give you. If you don't listen to me there'll be consequences to pay.”
