by B. J Daniels
He felt as lost as he had when he’d crawled up the beach on that island. He didn’t know where he was, nothing looked familiar, all this immense wide-open country with no one for miles made him feel as if he was on the moon. Had this really been his home?
He could feel AJ’s gaze on him. She’d been watching him. He could feel her hope, the strength of it making him weak. He wanted to please her more than take his next breath. But he wasn’t remembering. He might never remember.
That thought terrified him because he feared AJ would never be able to live with that and he would lose her.
“So where’s the ranch in relation to town?” he asked, needing to say something. Needing to show an interest.
“It’s set against the Judith Mountains overlooking the town.” Clearly she hadn’t understood his question.
“So it’s not so isolated?”
She laughed. “Yes and no. You love riding up in the mountains where you aren’t going to see another person all day.”
“So I’ve always liked solitude?”
“And hard manual labor. You said only your brother Hawk could string barbed wire fence faster than you.”
“So I have always worked with my hands,” he said, looking down at his calluses. “And we raise cattle.”
“Black Angus.”
Just outside of town he’d seen a pasture full of rust-and-white cows. Herefords. His eyes widened. “Those cows right outside of town? Were those Herefords?”
“Yep.” She froze for a moment and then glanced away from her driving for a moment to stare at him. “You know Herefords?”
“Apparently.”
She broke into a smile that lit up her face. Could she be any more beautiful? “Progress,” she said and nodded, still smiling.
“Maybe,” he said and looked ahead. “How much farther?”
* * *
JULIETTE EMPTIED THE drink in front of her and looked around the cabin, feeling sick to her stomach. She’d had a drink at the hotel and then headed for the liquor store where she’d bought herself a bottle of gin and some tonic. At the grocery store, she’d bought limes and a little food for her kitchenette.
That her life had come to this frightened her more than the thought of coming face-to-face with her...husband. If her family could see her now, wouldn’t they have just loved to see how far she’d fallen. She poured herself another drink, even as she warned herself she would need her wits about her when Cyrus arrived. He’d probably bring his sheriff brother with him.
She groaned at the thought as she started to lift the drink to her lips. Her phone rang. Putting down the drink, she pulled out her cell, feeling a little sick and hating that apparently she couldn’t hold her alcohol anymore. She saw who was calling with a sense of relief. At least she could put off dealing with Cyrus for a little bit longer.
“Could use a little good news,” she said, picking up. “Cyrus and his girlfriend are headed home. Unless they aren’t... Tell me the sheriff’s information is flawed.”
“Sorry, but we couldn’t stop them,” Otis said.
She swore, leaning against the makeshift bar for support. This whole thing had been a gigantic nightmare. “I should have listened to Arthur.”
“Or me,” the ex-cop said. “But it’s not too late to cut your losses and get out.”
“That’s your sage advice?” she snapped. “Let’s not forget how little money I have in the bank, shall we?”
“Go to the south of France, some fancy resort. Put it on a card and pick yourself up another sugar daddy. Or marry me and stop all this foolishness.”
She laughed. “And how will we live?”
“We aren’t that broke.”
“I don’t want to live like that anymore. I can’t.” She shook her head and felt dizzy. That drink was probably a mistake. She hadn’t been feeling good all day. Her stomach. She blamed this town, this situation, this mess.
“I don’t think we really have a choice at this point,” Otis said. “Cyrus could already be in Montana. Depending on what flights they managed to get, he could be in Gilt Edge by tonight.”
She swore and stumbled over to one of the threadbare chairs to sit down. “I thought you said you hired some islanders to take care of this?”
“Two of the locals were almost killed trying.”
She couldn’t believe this. “Are you trying to tell me that Cyrus, in the shape he’s apparently in, fought off these men?”
“Maybe it was his girlfriend,” he joked.
“You think this is funny?”
“Julie...”
She got up, feeling light-headed and nauseous. She stepped into the first bedroom. She just needed to lie down. “You should have taken care of it yourself. You know how hiring someone to take care of these things often gets...messy. What if they sing like canaries?”
“Neither of them are credible and both have iffy relationships with the law, so I’m not worried about that.”
“What do you know?” she demanded angrily.
“His girlfriend purchased plane tickets to San Juan and from Miami to Minneapolis with the final destination Billings, Montana.”
“Wait how are they getting from San Juan to Miami?”
“Private jet I would imagine. Apparently his girlfriend has money.”
“Are you just trying to piss me off?” she demanded.
“Just trying to warn you. With any luck, they could be in Gilt Edge at any time.”
She lay on the bed, staring up at the cracked ceiling as she tried to get her stomach to settle down. It felt as if the room was going to start spinning.
“I don’t know what more we can do, Julie. If you’re determined to play this out, when they get back to Montana, I think things could get worse. Much worse unless you do something drastic.”
“Drastic? Like hire someone here to take care of them? In Cyrus’s hometown where his brother is sheriff?”
“No, I’m telling you I think it’s a mistake not to end this and cut your losses. I told you to pass this one, but you thought he would be easy pickings.”
“He should have been,” she said under her breath. “Otis, I need you.”
He chuckled. “I do like the sound of that. But it would be dangerous, me coming there.”
“More dangerous than leaving me in the same small town as Cyrus and his girlfriend?”
“I think you need to find out just how much he remembers,” Otis said. “He either doesn’t remember anything or he has his reasons for not talking. Otherwise, we’d all be in jail right now. I suspect that blow to his head when he hit the railing jarred something loose and he doesn’t remember what happened.”
She scoffed at that. “If so, that doesn’t mean his memory won’t come back and when it does... We can’t let that happen,” she said, closing her eyes. “Cyrus must still be in bad shape if it has taken this long for him to return home. A man like that could be suicidal, don’t you think?”
He groaned. “You’re talking about taking a hell of a chance.”
She sat up abruptly and felt the room spin. Had she caught some bug going around?
“You still there?” Otis asked.
“Yes.” The room had stopped spinning. At least for the moment. “We can’t have Cyrus Cahill testifying against us. It would be the final nail in our coffins. So far the investigations in Arizona and Florida have hit dead ends. Okay, I screwed this one up, but I need your help to fix it.”
“But what about his girlfriend?”
“I’ll take care of her. She’s really been a fly in the ointment. So she’s mine,” Juliette said, realizing she needed to get off the phone because she was going to throw up.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
AJ COULD SEE that Cyrus was nervous as she drove into Gilt Edge. Cyrus was staring out the window at the small western town as if he’d ne
ver seen it before.
She tried to imagine what it would be like to have no memory of any of this. Not knowing your name or your family or anything about who you were. Her heart went out to him at just the thought of how hard this must be for him.
Cyrus seemed to be worried about what kind of person he was. Before all of this, she would have said he was down-to-earth, responsible, solid. A man who didn’t make hasty decisions. A man a woman could depend on.
Had there been a side to Cyrus Cahill that no one, including his family—and especially her—hadn’t seen?
She braked for a stoplight along the main street of town. “Your brother Flint said he’d be waiting for us at the sheriff’s office—”
“I want to see Juliette.”
“Juliette?” she asked, surprised and a little taken back. He wanted to see his wife first? “Have you remembered her?” A sharp blade of jealousy cut into her heart.
“No. But she’s supposedly the reason I ended up on a cruise ship, married and later near drowned after going overboard. I want to see her.” He looked over at AJ. “I have to know how I could have fallen for another woman when it was clear to me that I was falling for you before I left Montana.”
She smiled at him, even though her heart felt close to breaking. He could say that now, but who knows how he felt the night he met Juliette at the bar after a couple of drinks. Being in a large city where no one knew him, it was hard to say how he could have reacted to Juliette making a pass at him. Or how he would have felt the next morning.
“Okay, Juliette first.” She was terrified of what would happen when he saw the woman he’d married. Would he take one look at the woman and remember everything? Was that what he was hoping? “It’s just that your family is anxious to see you.” The light changed and she drove on through the intersection. “But we can start wherever you want. I can drop you at her hotel—”
“I want you to come with me.”
AJ shot a look at him. “Me?”
“Yes, if you don’t mind.”
It took her a moment. “Not at all. Actually, the last thing I want you to do is be anywhere near that woman alone. Once you get your memory back—”
“Nothing will change,” he said as he touched her shoulder. He gave it a squeeze. “Where is she staying?”
“At the hotel.”
AJ pulled the rental car up in front of the hotel, cut the engine and looked over at Cyrus. He looked as nervous and anxious as she felt. “Are you all right?”
She’d driven the two hours since Cyrus had no idea where they were headed even if he’d had a valid driver’s license on him. If Juliette really had filed the death certificate, then it might take a while to get him identification even if he remembered who he was.
Nerves jangling at the thought of what would happen when he saw his wife again, she said, “I can wait here for you.” Would he instantly remember Juliette? AJ tried not to think about it. So much was riding on him remembering, and at the same time if he remembered Juliette would that mean that he had fallen in love with her?
“I was hoping you’d come with me,” he said.
She shot him a look. “You want me to go with you?”
“Is that asking too much? You’ve already done—”
“No, I’d be happy to.”
He smiled. “Thanks. I figure this can go down one of two ways. I don’t know her from Adam.”
“Or you recognize her and remember why you married her,” she said, looking away.
“I don’t think either of us believes that is going to happen.” His voice was as soft as his touch. He brushed his fingers over her cheek. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned to him. “I know this is hard on you and I’m so sorry about that.”
She couldn’t speak. He looked out at the lights of the town. She followed his gaze, feeling as if she was seeing Gilt Edge with different eyes. She’d fallen in love with this place and the man next to her. Now she was taking him to see his wife? “I’m not sure I can do this,” she said, her voice breaking.
He reached over and put a hand on her arm. “Trust me.”
She shot him a look. Something in his voice... “Are you remembering something?”
He shook his head. “Maybe I’m starting to trust that I’m the man you believed in. That man wouldn’t have done what I’m told I did. Isn’t that why you came looking for me? Because you didn’t believe it.”
She nodded. “I felt that something was wrong with the story.”
He smiled at her. “I’m so glad you did. You’re so strong.”
“I wish I was as strong as you think I am,” she said with a chuckle as she turned to look at the old brick hotel.
“Oh, you’ve already proved that.”
AJ tried to relax. There was still so much on the line, but he was right. She was strong enough to see this through and Cyrus wanted her to trust him. She realized she would trust him with her life.
She straightened her shoulders and looked over at him. “Ready?”
He smiled at her. “Let’s get this over with.”
She opened her door and he did the same. Stepping out she looked up at the towering structure. Cyrus’s reaction to Juliette would confirm her greatest hope—or fear.
But she was also anxious to see Juliette’s reaction to seeing Cyrus. That he’d changed was impossible not to notice. Some of his scars had healed, but there were others that she feared might never heal. Nor was he the easygoing shy cowboy AJ had known and fallen in love with.
This Cyrus was wary, suspicious. He was more direct just as she suspected he was more dangerous. But there seemed to be an even greater strength to him. He was ready to face whatever had happened to him. The man she’d found had been scared. This man was determined. If he feared what was ahead, it didn’t show on his face.
He led her through the front door of the hotel. At the main desk, he asked for Juliette’s room.
“Last name?” the clerk asked.
“Cahill.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Cahill has checked out.”
She shot Cyrus a surprised look.
“When?” he asked.
“Earlier today.”
Today? The day Cyrus was returning? AJ wanted to scream.
“Did she mention where she was going?” Cyrus asked.
“I’m sorry,” the clerk said, shaking his head.
As they turned and walked out, Cyrus said, “She must have known I would be coming by to see her.”
AJ had been afraid of what would happen when Cyrus and Juliette came face-to-face. Now she was just angry. “This proves that she’s guilty as hell.”
Cyrus seemed more amused than angry. “You said she’s trying to get money out of my family. If so, then she hasn’t gone far or if she has, she’ll be back.”
She was boiling mad as she slid behind the wheel.
As Cyrus climbed in, he said, “Let’s go see my brother, the sheriff. Maybe he knows where she’s gone.”
“He said he’d be waiting for us at his office.”
* * *
AT THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE, they walked in and Deputy Harper Cole came rushing over. “Cyrus, unbelievable,” Harp said. “You really did survive falling off a cruise ship?”
“So it would seem,” Cyrus answered.
“Wow, what a story you will have to tell,” Harp said, clearly excited. Cyrus, she realized, was now a local hero.
“The sheriff is waiting on us,” AJ said, anxious to get to Flint’s office. This was hard enough on Cyrus.
“Well, it’s good to see you.” Harp went on out the door, but kept glancing back at him.
“Does everyone know?” Cyrus asked.
“It’s a small town,” she said.
As they neared Flint’s office, Cyrus seemed to slow his steps. Her heart went out to him. She co
uldn’t imagine how hard this was for him. Everyone was a complete stranger whether friend or family. They had expectations that Cyrus couldn’t meet. Might never be able to meet.
She took his hand and squeezed it before starting down the hall, knowing that Flint had been waiting for this for a very long time.
* * *
FLINT HAD JUST glanced at his watch, anxious and getting more worried, when he looked up to see AJ standing in his office doorway. His heart took off like a wild stallion in a storm as AJ stepped in. He stared at the open doorway, afraid for a moment that Cyrus wouldn’t appear in it.
Several heartbeats later, a man filled the doorway. The hair was bleached lighter from the sun, the skin a deep, dark brown, the body leaner. A quarter moon scar marred one cheek and there were lines around his eyes that Flint didn’t remember.
But the biggest change was the gray eyes themselves. He looked into his brother’s gaze and felt his heart break at what Cyrus had been through. There was no recognition. Just pain. Flint couldn’t bear to think about what horrifying things had happen to him and what he was still going to have to face.
The sheriff blinked. AJ had said that Cyrus had changed but still it came as a shock. His heart though instantly swelled to overflowing. He pushed himself up out of his chair and rushed around his desk to throw his arms around his brother. It didn’t matter that Cyrus stiffened in his arms. Nothing mattered now that his brother was home, alive and safe. At least for the moment.
“Oh God, Cyrus, I can’t believe it. I thought you were gone.” Flint’s voice broke. He pulled back to look into his brother’s face. He looked into those familiar gray eyes and saw absolutely no recall. He couldn’t help the part of him that winced. He hugged him again and stepped back.
“Sorry,” Cyrus said and tapped his temple.
Flint nodded. “It’s okay. I’m just glad that you’re alive.” He cleared his voice. “It’s a miracle.” He couldn’t help staring at his brother. “Can I get you anything?” Cyrus shook his head. “Have a seat. Did you have any trouble getting here?” he said and stepped to AJ to give her a hug and whisper, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
