Quite the Catch

by Quite the Catch [Evernight] (mobi)

  Maybe not, but the idea scared the bejesus out of him. He tossed back the covers to get out of bed and search for his clothing. When he did, he realized he wore nothing but skin. But somewhere he must have a driver’s license or wallet or something.

  The woman frowned and flipped the blankets over him. “You’re not getting up until we get your core temperature back to normal. Let me get the thermometer.”

  Before he could process any of it or respond, she whipped out a device and loomed over him. “You’re not sticking that in my mouth,” he told her. “No way, lady.”

  “Tina,” she said. “My name’s Kristina but everyone calls me Tina. And, not to worry, that’s not where it goes.” She thrust the device into his right ear and used her free hand to hold his head still. After the thing beeped, she pulled it out and looked at it. “You’re getting warmer but it’s still just 96.5.”

  Digital, he thought, the damn thing is digital. “What’s my temperature got to do with anything?”

  “You’re suffering from hypothermia,” Tina said. “I treated it first because it was the most critical but you’ve got a lot of other injuries. Like I said, you banged your head pretty hard. You were wounded in the left side, more of a graze than anything, although I imagine it hurts. And you’re bruised all over your body from your wild trip down the river, not to mention your fall from the railroad bridge.”

  Either he had lost his mind or she had. For now, he didn’t believe any of it. His body hurt, yeah, but more like he’d gotten into the losing end of a bar fight. “I don’t think that’s what happened.”

  Tina shrugged. “Well, it is. Now, I have no idea why you were running or who was chasing you, but I saw you jump from the trestle and hit the river myself. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t believe it either.”

  Joshua glared at her. Her blue eyes met his, open and candid. He liked the way her dark brown hair tapered around her face, chin length and straight. Damn, but she’s pretty for a crazy gal. “I don’t remember any of that and I’d think I would.”

  “You should, within a day or two. If you don’t, we’ll deal with it then. Do you want something to help the pain?”

  “Yeah, what’ve you got?”

  “I have some Darvon or Vicodin. If you’d rather use something not as powerful, I’ve got all kinds of OTC pain relievers.”

  She rattled off the selection like a pro. “Vicodin will do,” Joshua said. “What are you, a drug dealer or something?”

  Her laugh exploded. “No, sweets, I’m a nurse who took care of her terminally ill grandfather. I know, I know I should’ve gotten rid of the meds but I haven’t, and this is an unusual situation. Would you like some herbal tea to wash them down?”

  He made a face. “Coffee would be better.”

  “No caffeine until you get warmed up,” she said. “Maybe you’d rather have ice water?”

  “Yeah, water’s fine.”

  Sitting up proved to be both painful and difficult. If Tina hadn’t helped him, he doubted he would have managed. She propped him against a bank of pillows and kept the covers snug, topped by a quilt. “Do you think you can manage a little soup or something?” she asked. “It’s probably better if you don’t take the pills on an empty stomach.”

  Joshua finished most of the bowl of chicken and rice soup, with Tina’s help, and it was then that he realized his situation seemed rather surreal. He’d awakened in a strange place, in bed, tended to by a pretty woman, and he had no idea how he’d landed there. It smacked of strange, of something out of the sci-fi novels he sometimes read. Then he wondered how he remembered his taste in novels when he’d failed to know his name.

  “Hey,” he said. “I’m freaking out a little. You’re treating me like family or a guest and I don’t even know where in the hell we’re at. Before I take pain meds and get zonked, I’d like to know how I got here and why you brought me.”

  Tina put the soup bowl on the nightstand. “I guess it might seem a little weird. Here’s my side of what happened. I had promised my grandfather I’d scatter his ashes on the river, but it rained most of the time since he died three weeks ago. Today was the first day it seemed possible so I talked Charley into letting me take the boat down the river to keep my promise.”

  He might have amnesia but he wasn’t stupid. “Who’s Charley?”

  “He’s my cousin. Anyway, I scattered Gramps along the way and then just kicked back to enjoy the day. After I floated under the old railroad trestle bridge, I heard voices. I thought it was a bunch of guys out hunting until I saw one man running. The rest of them chased him and I watched. You were the man running. They started shooting at you about the time you started across the trestle and they were catching up, fast. You bailed over the side and down into the river. I thought you’d been hit and figured you were a goner.”

  Joshua thought he would remember such a dramatic sequence but he didn’t. “Did I jump or fall from the bridge?”

  She hitched her shoulders in a shrug. “I think you jumped. That’s what it looked like. I saw you come up, fighting against the current, and I tried to row against it to pick you up.”

  “Why?”

  Her blue eyes darkened and she met his gaze without blinking. “Charley asked if you were my catch of the day—not quite. I’m not the kind of person who’s going to sit in a boat and watch someone drown,” Tina said. “Or die from hypothermia.”

  He shook his head, skeptical. “Why would you help a stranger? Especially one running from armed men? I might be a fugitive or a criminal.”

  The corners of her mouth twitched, then transformed into a smile. It lit her face with radiance and turned pretty into beautiful. “You might be but I don’t think so. I’m a keen judge of character, most of the time. I worked as an ER nurse in Dallas for six years and I’ve seen some pretty gnarly people. And after awhile, you get a knack for knowing.”

  Joshua took a deep breath and blew it out. “God, I hope you’re right, but I don’t know.”

  When he shifted position, pain radiated outward from his side and every aching muscle twinged. Although his slight moan came out soft, Tina heard it. “You will,” she said. She picked up the bottle of Vicodin. “You need to take a couple of these and rest.”

  “Sure.” After he’d sat up and had some soup, he’d felt better for a few minutes but now, his brief burst of energy ebbed away, as awareness of his many pains returned with vengeance. “I don’t feel very good.”

  “I didn’t think you would. Let me check how your temp’s doing.”

  Tina thrust the digital device into his ear and this time when it beeped, she grinned.

  “You’re back to normal,” she told him. “Ninety-eight point six. In the morning, after you’ve rested, we’ll see if you’re up to taking a shower and I’ll clean your wound again. It’s gonna’ take a few days at least, of taking it easy, to recuperate.”

  His sense of time, like everything else, seemed skewed. “Morning? What time is it now?”

  “It’s after dark,” she told him. “It’s around eight thirty.”

  “How long have I been here?”

  She titled her head to the right. “About six hours, I think. Go to sleep if you can. It’ll help more than anything.”

  Joshua shut his eyes and willed the pain to stop. It didn’t but a wave of fatigue threatened to swamp him. He yielded to it as the powerful pain reliever spread through his body. A stray thought struck him and he opened one eye. “Is this your bed? I don’t want to take your bed. I can sleep on a couch or something.”

  “It’s not,” Tina said. “My room is upstairs but I’ll be looking in on you a lot, so if you wake up, I’ll probably be here.”

  He would rather she sleep and told her so. Tina laughed. “I worked night shift for years and I’ve never quite adjusted to sleeping at night. I wander a lot anyway.”

  Drowsiness clouded his mind but he managed to ask another question. “You told me the truth, right? About seeing me jump and all? You’re not really my gi
rlfriend or something, playing some elaborate joke on me?”

  “Yes, I told the truth,” Tina said with quiet dignity. “And no, I’m not your girlfriend. I never laid eyes on you until today. I’m just a good Samaritan type trying to help someone in need.”

  “Okay,” he said. As he drifted off to sleep, he mumbled, “That’s too bad. I could do a lot worse.”

  Once he realized what he’d said, Joshua wanted to take it back and erase it from her memory. He couldn’t believe he’d said such a bone-headed thing, even though he meant it. Tina possessed a lot of what he liked in a woman, a quiet beauty, charm, and capable hands. She nurtured, and although a lot of guys didn’t care for that, Joshua appreciated it. On some deep level, down somewhere he couldn’t remember, he thought he needed some tender care. He’d meant the statement as a compliment but women could be tricky. She might take it wrong and be insulted. Maybe she’ll take it the way I meant it, in a good way. Or maybe she didn’t even hear it. That’d be best.

  He gave up that hope when she sighed, soft and low. Joshua kept still, eyes shut, and pretended to be asleep. Tina tucked the blankets around him and brushed back his hair from his face. “So could I,” she said aloud. “So could I, Joshua.”

  Then her lips touched his forehead in a light kiss. Yeah, it was the kind of kiss you’d give a little kid or an old man, but he liked it anyway, probably too much. He wouldn’t have read anything into the gesture if she hadn’t spoken but because she had, he did.

  Chapter Three

  Tina kissed Joshua—something she would never have dared to do if he’d been awake. She shouldn’t have yielded to the temptation but a warm rush of caring prompted the action, a chaste kiss on the forehead. Although she tried hard to chalk up her feelings for being a nurse, she knew better. This man with no memory and trouble on his tail appealed to her. Her last relationship with one of the doctors at the hospital ended when his fiancée from Connecticut arrived, and since then she hadn’t bothered. Her long shifts and tense duties in the ER hadn’t been open to much of a relationship and once Gramps became ill, her focus had been on his health.

  Get a grip, Barlow. Don’t get emotionally into this guy. He’ll heal and leave. That’s all.

  Trouble was, she wanted more.

  After Joshua settled into a light sleep, Tina took his dishes to the kitchen. She ate the rest of the soup and cleaned up. The shower she’d promised him sounded good so she gathered her stuff and took one in Gramps’ bathroom. She thought she should stick close and if she used her bathroom upstairs, she wouldn’t hear Joshua if he called out for any reason. Instead of putting on her comfortable flannel nightgown, she pulled on leggings and a T-shirt. Then she curled up into the big easy chair near the windows and grabbed a clean quilt from the cedar chest. If she happened to fall asleep, she’d sleep here, close.

  Insomnia wasn’t a word she wanted to use. She still blamed her absence of sleep on working the night shift, and her time served as Gramps’ caregiver. Since his death she’d dozed at odd times, usually when she would rather not. Tina fell asleep over her e-reader, watching television on the rare occasions when she tried to catch a program, and twice out on the deck.

  Now, however, when she preferred to stay alert, she became drowsy. The room remained a little warm for her taste and the easy rhythm of Joshua’s breathing relaxed her. Although accustomed to living alone back in Dallas and here since her grandfather’s passing, having someone in the house seemed cozy and comfortable. When her eyes became too heavy to hold open, she put aside her reader and yielded.

  Shouting woke her, loud and masculine. For the first few moments, Tina failed to comprehend where or what the noise might be, then she remembered. She tossed aside the quilt and made the few steps to the bed. Joshua, though sound asleep, thrashed with enough force that all his blankets were in a twisted knot at the foot of the bed. He lashed out with both arms, throwing punches and kicking his feet. He yelled, cussing and complaining. Fresh blood seeped from the gauze she’d wrapped around his injured side. She had to wake him but she didn’t want to get hit.

  “Joshua!” she called. He failed to respond so she repeated his name until he stopped flailing and opened his eyes. Before he had fully awakened, he swung a punch her way and she caught his fist between her hands. He blinked and she thought his awareness returned. His response might be progress, she thought. Maybe he remembered his name, maybe more.

  Breathing hard, he stared up at her with confusion, then pushed up onto his elbows to rest higher against the pillows. He winced and she knew how much the movements must hurt his battered body. Tina sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for his wrist to check his pulse. It raced as she’d expected. She took his hand and held it. “Nightmare?”

  After a few seconds, he nodded. “Yeah, I had a hell of one.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Damned if I know. Yeah, I guess.”

  Tina put her free hand on his chest. Beneath it, his heart pounded hard. “Take it easy and calm down. Whatever you dreamed, it’s not real.”

  He drew several long, deep breaths. “Yeah, well, the thing is, I think it was.”

  Understanding dawned. “You dreamed about something you think really happened?”

  “Yeah,” he said. After a pause, he added. “I think I’m a cop.”

  She’d thought so too, from the time she pulled him into her boat. “I’d say it’s likely but why?”

  “In the dream, I strapped on a sidearm and wore a badge,” Joshua told her. “Did I have anything like that when you picked me up?”

  “No.”

  “What was I wearing?”

  “Jeans, a green T-shirt with a flannel plaid shirt over it, running shoes, tube socks...”

  Joshua interrupted her. “Boxers or briefs?”

  The question surprised her but his faint grin indicated he was joking. “Briefs,” she replied.

  “Where are my clothes? Maybe there’s a clue in them.”

  Tina shook her head. “I’m sorry but there wasn’t. You had no billfold, identification, keys, or anything else in your pockets. The clothes are ruined, by the way. I cut them off to save time so I could get your body heat back up.”

  With that in mind, she straightened the tangled covers and pulled them over his nude body. His cheeks flushed for a brief moment but he said nothing.

  “Do you want to talk about the nightmare? Sometimes it helps.”

  He shuddered. “I don’t know. Not much of it makes much sense.”

  “It might if you talk it through.”

  “I don’t know.” He scrunched the covers higher on his chest. “Is it too early for coffee?”

  A glance outside revealed the first light of dawn on the eastern horizon. “No, I can make some.”

  “That’d be great,” he said. “Thanks. And Tina?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Something to wear would be great. Sweats or shorts, maybe a T-shirt. I don’t know what I normally wear but I’m feeling a little uncomfortable naked.”

  Tina nodded. “I already thought about that. I’m pretty sure you and Gramps are close to the same size. With sweatpants it won’t matter much anyway. Let me grab a pair and a shirt.”

  When she dug into the old dresser drawer, Tina found a brand new pair of navy sweatpants that Gramps had never worn. She searched deeper and found a light blue T-shirt, a package of never-opened briefs, and a plain white T-shirt. “Here you go,” she said as she handed them to Joshua. Most of these are new. If you want to get dressed, I’ll go make coffee.”

  “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

  “Sure. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Holler if you need any help.”

  Joshua glared. “I’ll manage.”

  As the fragrant aroma of coffee permeated the kitchen, Tina heated two sausage biscuits in the microwave. Like most guys, Joshua probably wanted to eat. She plunked them on two plates, added a package of chocolate chip cookies, and poured two mugs full of coffee. Then she arranged it all
on a tray, added sugar, and two spoons. From the bedroom, she heard a lot of banging and low-volume cussing. Before she had time to lift the tray, Joshua entered the kitchen with slow steps, dressed in the sweats and a white T-shirt. By the way he moved, Tina could tell how much pain he must be suffering.

  “You didn’t have to get up,” she said. “I would’ve brought it to you.”

  He shrugged, then winced. “I wanted to see if I could manage. I’m shakier than I thought, and I hurt like hell.”

  “It’s been long enough. You can take another round of pain pills,” she told him.

  Joshua sat at the table with a sigh. “Good. Can I have a cookie?”

  “Sure, or anything else you’d like, if I have it,” Tina replied. “I’ve got plenty of soup, some other canned things, like ravioli and chili, deli meat, cheese, chicken breasts, salad…”

  “Cookies will do for now.” He cradled the coffee mug between his hands and inhaled the robust aroma. Then he took his first sip. “Ah, God, that’s good. You make it strong, just the way I like it.”

  Before she could answer, he made a face. “Tell me, how do I know that when I didn’t even know my name?” His tone rankled with self-disgust. “Sorry, not your fault, I know, but it’s frustrating.”

  Tina nodded sympathetically. “I know it must be, and I’m sorry.”

  He dipped a cookie into his coffee and devoured it, then another. Then he picked up one of the sausage biscuits and took a bite. “Can I ask you something?”

  Nervous tension crawled over her skin but she said, “Sure, ask me anything.”

  “You saw me pursued by armed men and saw them shoot at me, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you watched me jump from a high railroad trestle into a flooded river?”

  Tina had no idea where he was headed with his questions. “That’s right.”

  “So you hauled me out of the water, brought me to your home, and saved my life. That’s what happened, isn’t it?”