by Pepper North
Her growing headache made it hard to concentrate. Accepting his explanation, Rita couldn’t think of the implication in his words. “Sorry. I’m Rita,” she said, trying to keep it all together.
“Bart.”
For some reason, his name made her smile. It fit this large cowboy perfectly. “Nice to meet you, Bartholomew.
“I’m worried about you, Rita. I’ll head to the emergency room and let you out there. They can see if you’ve given yourself a concussion and bring in the police to address whatever was going on in that parking lot,” he gently said.
“Do you have a last name?” He turned to smile at her before looking back at the traffic.
“Of course,” Rita answered quickly. She searched for her last name and twisted her head to look at him, making herself sick again with the quick movement of her eyes.
As she took long slow breaths to calm her stomach, she tried to think of her last name. It dangled just outside her thoughts like something on the tip of your tongue. When she no longer risked throwing up, Rita admitted, “I don’t know my last name. It’s gone.” She moved her head slowly to meet his eyes.
Worry filled her gaze. She didn’t know what to do. Her head hurt so bad. “I don’t think I remember a lot of things. I just bumped my head,” she whispered.
Chapter 3
“Hold on, sweetheart. I’ll get you to the hospital, and they’ll fix you up.” Bart pulled out his phone and selected a number.
“Jim, I need a favor. I have Gumdrop with me, and I’m on my way to SANCTUM. I need to stay here for a while. Could I borrow a stall in your barn for the night?” he asked. His eyes continued to jump from the road to the young woman next to him. He could tell that she was trying to hold it together but on the edge of panicking.
He cradled his phone between his ear and shoulder to reach a hand to the passenger side of the vehicle. At the feel of her icy cold hand, Bart wrapped his hand around her twisting fingers. At his touch, her fretting motions calmed.
Jim’s voice brought his attention back to the call. Bart breathed a sigh of relief. “I owe you one, Jim,” Bart said, thanking his friend.
Disconnecting the call, Bart slid his phone into his flannel shirt. “Okay. I found a place for Gumdrop for the night. I’m going to take you to the hospital and get you checked in. While they check you over, I’m going to take my mare and give her a nice place to sleep tonight. Then, I’ll come back to check on you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she protested. “You don’t even know me.”
“I know you’re Rita and that you need a Daddy,” he answered easily, squeezing her fingers before lifting his hand. “I know you’re scared. I’m sorry the pole got you.”
“Me, too,” she admitted. “Could I hold your hand? I know it’s silly, but it makes me feel less… lost.”
Bart simply held out his hand to allow her to mesh her fingers with his. “That’s why I’m here, Little girl. To make sure you feel better.”
This time she didn’t protest when he called her Little. Bart didn’t know how he knew that she was a Little girl, he just did. The veterinarian had been looking for his own Little since he’d been in high school. Being a Daddy was just how he was wired. He’d enjoyed an age play relationship with a couple of women but hadn’t ever found his one. Something in this curvy woman who needed him told him she could be his Little.
If nothing else, he wanted to make sure she was okay. The hospital would diagnose her with a severe concussion. He was sure her memory would come back, but that could take a while. The trauma of having those men after her followed by the blow to her head seemed to have wiped away her memory. Her mind had retreated to protect itself.
Squeezing her fingers before lifting his hand away, Bart turned into the hospital and parked the long trailer and truck at the back of the lot. He slid his six-foot three-inch frame from the cab and circled the front of the truck to open the passenger door. Taking care to avoid the metal rod that he had installed months ago to hold equipment and gear so he could grab it easily as he drove alone, Bart scooped her body into his arms.
Rita tried to wiggle from his arms, but he held her firmly in place. He could tell that even a slight movement to protest him carrying her had made her nauseous again. “Shhh, Little one. I will not drop you. You will always be safe with me,” he promised her, looking down at her white face drawn with pain.
To his relief, she didn’t protest any longer. Her big brown eyes simply closed. She trusts me, Bart thought with a slight smile breaking through the concern etched on his face.
Carrying her through the parking lot, Bart appreciated the soft feel of the beautiful woman in his arms. How anyone could want someone that was all bones and angles when they could have someone this voluptuous baffled him. She filled his arms to perfection.
Walking through the automatic doors into the emergency room, Bart placed her gently into a wheelchair. Her small sound of protest at leaving his arms struck him deeply. Steering her chair to the desk, he said, “This is Rita. She had a couple of men chasing her in the parking lot earlier this evening and then struck her head as she hid inside my truck. She’s got a good size knot on her head and doesn’t remember very much, other than her first name. I thought she needed to have someone make sure she’s okay.”
When the desk clerk tried to hand him a clipboard of papers to fill out, he waved them off. “I can’t tell you anything other than her first name, and neither can she. Could we see the doctor, please?”
“Who are you?” the clerk asked with a snarl. The older woman didn’t like puzzles or confusion. The look on her face revealed that she suspected that he might be the cause of the injury. If not, surely there was some information that he could provide.
“Hi, Doc! What are you doing here?” a friendly feminine voice drew his attention and that of the scornful desk attendant.
“Hi, Joanne! I brought in someone who needs some help. I was just explaining that I met Rita in a parking lot when two men were searching for her with obvious plans to hurt her. As I helped her escape, she jumped into my truck and struck her head on a metal bar. She can’t remember anything now other than her first name. Could you help her?” Dr. Bartholomew Jennings asked the mom of one of his four-legged patients.
“We’ll try our best. Peggy, wrap an orange amnesia wristband around Rita’s wrist, and let’s get her into a room so we can have a doctor look at her, stat,” Joanne ordered as she took charge of the situation. She’d been an emergency room nurse for a lot of years. That pale, white look on Rita’s face was enough to tell her that something was seriously wrong. Combined with her favorite vet’s concern, she wasn’t taking any chances with this patient.
“I have a new mare in my trailer outside. I’m going to take her to a friend’s stable and then I’ll be back. Will you add my name to Rita’s records so I can get back in to see her?” Bart asked, torn between concern over Rita and the unfamiliar mare. He didn’t want to see either one get hurt.
“Of course. Peggy, add Dr. Jennings to Rita’s visitor’s list.” Joanne looked at Rita’s white-knuckled grip on Bart’s hand.
Squatting down to be at eye level, she said to Rita, “My name is Joanne. Dr. Jennings saved my five-week-old puppy when she ate something that she shouldn’t have. I owe him one. I’m going to take as good of care of you as he did of Twinklebutt.”
Standing to meet Bart’s worried eyes, she said, “Go take care of that new horse. We’ll be fine. If she can’t remember anything, the police will want to talk to you.”
“I’ll be back in an hour,” he promised.
The handsome man leaned over to whisper in Rita’s ear, “As fast as I can, I will be right back. Be good, Little girl,” he encouraged before kissing the back of the hand that clung to his.
Brown eyes opened to look at him. Squinting in the glare of the florescent bulbs that Bart knew would increase her headache, Rita looked at him as if memorizing his face. “I’ve wanted a Daddy for so long.”
Her big brown eyes were filled with pain, but she tried to smile, “Never!”
Bart watched Joanne wheeled Rita back into the emergency room. He knew she’d take care of her. That didn’t make it any easier to go take care of Gumdrop. He knew that he hadn’t hurt her himself, but his stomach twisted in knots hoping that she wasn’t seriously injured. Bart’s gaze never left Rita until the emergency doors closed behind her, blocking his view.
Chapter 4
Joanne had helped Rita up onto the exam table. When she was lying comfortably, the kind nurse went to get an ice pack for her head and a warm blanket before starting to enter information into the computer. Logging her in as Rita Doe, Joanne signaled that the police needed to be informed that she was here.
Within a few minutes, an ER physician stopped by to check on the mysterious patient. Rita’s throbbing head and faulty memory couldn’t provide a lot of details. Rita tried to be brave, but her headache is so bad.
“I’m going to check your pupils, young lady. I’ll be fast. I know this will be uncomfortable,” the doctor says quietly. After a brief exam, he asks, “What’s your name?”
“Rita,” she whispers. Her voice is shaky.
“Tell me what happened,” he asks.
“I think I hit my head, but I don’t remember. I can’t remember anything,” she confessed. Big, fat tears welled from her eyes to roll down her cheeks. She was so frightened…and alone. Each time she opened her eyes, Rita hoped that she’d see Bart. In such a short time, she knew it was ridiculous, but she counted on him like her lifeline.
The doctor continued to ask questions. Rita did her best to remember but couldn’t answer anything definitively. Finally, the doctor told her to rest when she could while they ran some tests. He didn’t want to give her any pain medication until they determined whether she had a brain injury.
In the flurry of activity divided by brief quiet times, Rita endured being poked, prodded, and having all sorts of pictures taken of her skull. Through the whole thing, she hoped that on her next return to the small room in the ER that Bart would be there waiting for her. Each time, she was horribly disappointed to find the room empty.
The last time, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to sleep. Her dreams were tortured with two shadowy figures who pursued her. Rita knew that allowing these men to find her would be deadly. She jerked when a hand wrapped around her shoulder. Her body instinctively tried to flee, and she rolled away from that threatening touch. Her eyes shot open as she looked back at the man who had awakened her.
“Whoa, sweetheart! It’s okay. It’s just me. You were having a bad dream. I’m sorry for scaring you,” Bart tried to reassure her.
“Bart? You’re back?” Rita moved without thought as she rolled back to sit and throw herself into his arms. Her arms encircled his trim waist as she clung to him in desperation.
“Shhh!” Bart soothed the frightened woman with a tight hug before brushing his hands up and down Rita’s spine.
Rita’s heart beat ferociously inside her chest as she tried to recover from the scare. She forced herself to take several deep breaths as she willed him to continue to hold her close. After several minutes of listening to the steady throb of his heart against her cheek, Rita forced herself to talk. “Thank you for coming back,” she whispered.
“You don’t know me well, but you can be sure that I always keep my word,” he assured her in a firm tone that helped Rita understand that this was his oath.
Nodding against his chest, Rita whispered, “I’m glad.” She expected him to move away, but to her delight, he stayed close, allowing her to calm down.
“Are you doing okay?” he asked quietly after several minutes more.
“I still don’t remember things. It’s strange. I can remember my first name but I have no idea what my last name is. It’s like my memory is swiss cheese. I can remember some things but there a whole bunch of holes. I don’t know what I remember or don’t until I try to think about something. It’s really scary,” she confessed. Her brown eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“I think that’s probably normal. We’ll see what the doctor says,” he tried to reassure the Little girl.
A firm knock came on the door to the emergency treatment room. “Excuse me,” a tall uniformed police officer said before continuing when the pair turned to look at him. “I’m Officer Doug Hamilton. I’ve been informed that you were injured tonight and needed to make a police report.”
“Officer Hamilton,” Bart acknowledged with a dip of his head. “I’m Bart Jennings, and this is Rita. We met tonight when Rita hid in my horse trailer to escape two men who were hunting her down in the Albertson Pool Hall.”
“Sir, I’m going to ask you to step out of this room, please. I need to speak to Miss… Rita alone,” the officer instructed firmly as his eyes assessed Bart for guilt in harming the attractive woman.
“What? No!” Rita protested, tightening her grip around Bart’s waist.
The veterinarian simply dropped a kiss on her head before moving his hands around his back to unlatch her hold on him. “Rita, I’m not going anywhere. Let the policeman do his job to protect you. I’m going to step right out there,” he said, pointing at the nurse’s desk.
“But you just got back,” she whispered. The tears that filled her eyes threatened to spill over onto her cheeks. She hadn’t cried during this whole ordeal. She couldn’t bear to have him leave again.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he repeated as he stepped away. Nodding again to the police officer, Bart left the cubicle and walked across the hall, being careful to stay in Rita’s line of sight.
“He didn’t hurt me. Bart saved me,” Rita said defensively to Officer Hamilton as he pulled a notebook and a pencil from his pocket.
“I understand, miss. It’s just police procedure that I speak to you alone, first. Can you tell me your name?” The curvy, young woman’s assurances did not sway the officer. He asked question after question as he tested the validity of her memory loss and tried to catch her in a lie.
After several minutes, Rita leaned back against her pillows once again. Her throbbing head ached, and she missed Bart. Still, she tried to answer the questions, but most of the answers eluded her. Some questions seemed silly, like where she grocery shopped or the color of her car. Others focused on the incident preceding her head injury.
Unfortunately, she didn’t remember much. Just like the nightmare she had just dreamed, Rita was sure that two men had been after her. She didn’t know why, and she didn’t know their names, nor could she describe them. The menace scared her still, her pulse racing as she struggled to remember the details.
Finally, the police officer motioned Bart back into the room and asked him what information he could give. His eyes watched their interaction closely. Officer Hamilton had interviewed many women who he’d known were abused partners in a relationship. He did not get that vibe from these two. Pushing that from his mind, he focused on getting as much information as possible.
“I stopped at the field next to the pool hall to allow my new mare to have a break from the trailer. I bought her at the Thompson Stables this morning and was transporting her to my property to the west. One man talked to me, asking if I’d seen a Hispanic woman and claiming that she was his angry wife who’d left the bar. He was not very complimentary,” Bart said with a sideways glance at Rita, who lie with her eyes closed. When his eyes met the police officers, there was visible anger in his gaze.
“What did he look like?” the officer demanded.
“The man I spoke with was shorter than me-probably just under six feet. He had brown hair and dark eyes. The edge of the parking lot wasn’t well lit. Average build. His demeanor was threatening-not to me, but toward the lady he was looking for. I saw him on the other side of the lot where it was lighter, that’s how
I know he had brown hair. He was talking to another man who was dressed more professionally than the man I talked to. He was wearing khakis and a blue polo shirt. There was some logo on the pocket of the polo, but he was too far away for me to see it.”
Rita’s eyes opened, and she sat up slightly before shaking her head. She almost remembered something she knew was important. Her left hand rose to press lightly against the swelling on her head. The nausea that resulted from moving her head seemed to decrease, but the pain seemed to fill her mind, preventing her from thinking.
“Did you remember something, miss?” the police officer asked quickly.
“I’m sorry. I thought I remembered something but it’s just not coming to me. I hate this,” Rita answered with a frown.
“I think that’s all of my questions,” he said as he reached into his pocket for a card to leave with each of them. “Here’s my contact information. Please call me if you remember anything. Leave a message if I don’t answer. I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible. I’ll need your contact information. Mr. Jennings.”
Joanne bustled into the room with a fresh ice pack for Rita. “It’s Dr. Jennings, Doug. He’s the best veterinarian around,” she added to clarify the type of doctor that Bart was. “I just wish he wasn’t only going to be working part time now.”
The policeman’s stance relaxed a bit more. He’d worked with Joanne several times in the past when he’d interviewed someone in the hospital. He obviously knew that she was a good judge of character. “Dr. Jennings?” he asked, correcting himself.
Bart provided his cellphone number and his address in town. His hand brushed through Rita’s richly dark brown hair, carefully avoiding her injury. “I’ll let you know immediately if she remembers anything.”
Rita’s eyes closed in the enjoyment of Bart’s caress. Without thinking, she rattled off a phone number. Her eyes blinked open in surprise. Everyone was looking at her with a shocked expression except for Officer Hamilton, who quickly finished jotting down the numbers.
