Memories of Heaven

by Melissa Storm

  Kate licked her lips. “Well, my mom…”

  Brenna shook her head adamantly. “Nope, that’s not going to fly. I don’t believe for a second that she wouldn’t want you going out and having fun. Do you really, honestly think she would rather you stay by her side every waking moment rather than taking a few well-deserved moments for yourself? Trust me, your mom wants you to be happy. And I’m sure she would like to know you haven’t put your life on hold because of her. Even if that’s exactly what you have been doing until now.”

  Kate leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know. It just feels like I should be spending my time with her. She needs me right now. I feel like I’m abandoning her.”

  Brenna pushed away from the corral and came into the stall beside Kate. “Stop being so hard on yourself. You’re not abandoning her by going out for one night. If it makes you feel better, I can go hang out with her while you’re out. Although the last time I did that, she walloped me in cribbage pretty bad. Hmm, how is your mom at Hearts?”

  Kate shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it won’t be that bad.”

  Brenna gasped. “Bad? Are we talking about the same Doctor Jack Young here? It’ll be good. Very, very good. You’re going to have a great time, and that’s just what you need.”

  “Now you sound like him,” Kate pointed out.

  “Yet another point in his favor,” her friend said, sticking her tongue out in jest.

  It all made sense, but she still felt as if she was abandoning her post by leaving for a full evening away from the ranch. At least during all her time with Hope in the barn she was still near at hand if her mother needed her for anything.

  “Fine, I won’t cancel,” Kate said at last. “But maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll forget.”

  Brenna exploded in laughter. “Oh poor, naïve Kate. That man is crazy for you. I’m not sure anything else has been on his mind. Believe me, he’s got something special planned, and you’re going to have the time of your life.”

  Kate worried her lip. Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if she and Jack had a miserable time and were able to tamp out the sparks between them once and for all?

  Brenna put a hand on Kate’s arm. “Stop worrying so much. Just go and let yourself have fun. Your mom and Hope will still be here when you get back.”

  Kate knew Brenna was right, but she also worried she’d already fallen so hard for Jack that she’d never be able to get back up again.

  Chapter 11

  A few days later, a knock at the cabin door sent Kate scurrying through the room, double and triple checking everything. She brushed at invisible wrinkles on her blouse, unable to look up for fear he’d notice the fire in her cheeks. Even though they’d formed a comfortable friendship the past few days, tonight changed everything—and that made her incredibly nervous. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

  Jack stood there sharply dressed in jeans with a plaid scarf tucked into his pea coat. A smile played at the corners of his mouth as he studied her appreciatively.

  “You look amazing, Kate,” he said, running a hand through his hair and letting loose that stray curl Kate loved so much. “I think this is the first time I’ve seen you with your hair down.”

  She stood back to allow him entry, clearing her throat as he passed her. “I don’t really have many dressy clothes, so this was the best I could do,” she explained without meeting his eye.

  “Well, your best is pretty darn good,” Jack said with that ubiquitous smile.

  “I hope so since you wouldn’t tell me where we’re going. For all I know we could just as easily be headed for ballroom dancing as we could be skydiving.”

  “It’s neither of those,” he informed her with a chuckle.

  She was embarrassed that she only had a good pair of denim jeans to wear, unless she wanted to pull out her one pair of dress pants she used for funerals and weddings. But Jack had told her jeans would be perfectly acceptable for their date when she’d mentioned it.

  Of course, she’d tried more than once to find out where they were headed to make sure her casual look wouldn’t be out of place. Jack had assured her that anything she chose to wear would be fine, which wasn’t really helpful at all. At least she had a couple of nice blouses she’d been able to choose from.

  As for her hair, leaving it down had been her mother’s idea, even though Kate herself felt very self-conscious about the change from her normal style. She didn’t know the first thing about taming her frizz, but her mother had helped with that, too.

  They’d had a fun time getting her ready together, and because of that, she already considered the date a huge success.

  She turned to give her mom a quick hug before stuffing her arms through her coat. “Brenna will come by to get you for supper,” she informed her. “She also said she’s willing to play cards again with you but, seriously, try to let her win at least one game this time.”

  “I tried to let her win last time,” her mom said with a roll of her eyes. “She’s just really bad at cribbage.” She made a shooing motion with her hands, laughing as she did. “Now get going and have fun.”

  This was the mother Kate had known all her life—the kind, fun-loving woman who had raised her with everything she had to offer. She loved it when these glimpses of sunshine reached through the clouds. Now these episodes of perfect lucidity and bliss were much fewer and far between.

  Over the past few weeks, her mother had started forgetting more about their life together, and her short-term memory was whittled away more and more with each passing day. It wasn’t just thoughts, either. She’d now moved into the territory of forgetting processes and skills, too. This all worried Kate terribly.

  “Are you sure you’ll be all right until Brenna gets here?” she asked, biting her lip. Maybe she should stay behind and enjoy her mother’s good mood.

  She shook her head vigorously and shoved Kate toward the door. “What am I? A kid? Get out of here. Go!”

  Jack laughed. “Thanks for letting me borrow Kate for a few hours. I promise I’ll have her home by curfew, Mrs. Griffin.”

  Her mother slapped his arm playfully, almost flirtatiously. “Oh, I’m sure you will, you smooth talker,” she said while batting her eyelashes. “I just wish I’d had the chance to meet you first before you took my daughter out.”

  Kate’s heart sunk. So much for lucidity. She cleared her throat, waiting to see what Jack would say to dispel the situation.

  He took both of her mother’s hands in his. “My name is Jack and we have met before, Nancy. You come to my office a few times per week to talk about things as part of your treatment, and you’re one of my favorite patients.”

  Her mom gave him a puzzled look then slowly nodded. “Oh, right,” she said in a way that told Kate she was still very much confused but just trying to save face in the awkward situation. “Well, just take care of my little girl, okay?”

  Kate knew her mother was trying to set everyone’s mind at ease but also that she must be quite distressed at having forgotten Jack’s acquaintance.

  She leaned in close to him and whispered, “I think I better stay here.”

  He put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. “I know you’re worried, but there’s nothing you can do right now. Brenna will be here soon. Everything will be fine,” he assured her.

  Kate glanced back toward her mother, a frown tugging down both corners of her mouth. “Mom, are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”

  “No!” she snapped, ripping her hands away from Jack. “I’m going to have a nap. I think I can manage that on my own, for goodness sake.”

  “I’ll be home soon, Mom,” she said, fighting back tears for all of their sakes.

  Jack waited for her pass through the door before him.

  She tried to push the feelings of guilt away as she walked beside him toward his car parked up at the main house. With the upcoming change of seasons, the sun now hung in the sky into the early evening hours
, which meant they thankfully still had a bit of light by which to navigate the paths.

  “I promise,” Jack said, taking her hand in his and giving it a gently squeeze. “Everything’s going to be all right. Try to relax and have some fun tonight, if you can.”

  She shrugged and kicked at the path. Would the intense guilt ever let up?

  “Hey, stop scowling like that,” Jack said, bumping her shoulder with his. “We don’t want anyone thinking I’m holding you at gunpoint to get you to spend some time with me.”

  Kate couldn’t resist the smile that blossomed on her face. Jack was right, of course. Even though she still hadn’t learned their destination, he was taking her somewhere fun, not dragging her in front of a firing squad.

  “You know,” she said, noticing his hand hadn’t yet let go of hers. “I could’ve driven in to town to meet you so that you wouldn’t have to drive me back after.”

  Jack clucked his tongue. “That wouldn’t be a very gentlemanly thing for me to do, now would it?”

  The laugh that bubbled from her chest felt so freeing. Jack’s hand emanated so much warmth it seemed to be sending the heat right through her whole body. Did he realize he was still holding her hand? Did he enjoy this simple touch as much as she did?

  When they reached his car, Jack bowed and opened the door with a flourish.

  Her cheeks had already begun to hurt from smiling so much over the past couple minutes, and they hadn’t even left the ranch yet. It was amazing how quickly he had helped to lift her spirits. “I swear, if you tell me my chariot awaits or anything else even remotely corny like that, I’m turning around and running back to the safety of my cabin.”

  He brought his hand up to his chest, pretending she’d mortally wounded him. “I wasn’t going to do any such thing.”

  She slid onto the leather seat, and before Jack could close the door, he bent down and grinned at her. “Besides, it’s not a chariot. It’s a Honda.”

  Chapter 12

  The simple strip mall had a quiet, unassuming façade, but as Jack and Kate entered the building, it was like they’d been transported to an indoor Renaissance fair. The smell of cooked meats and wood chips permeated the air.

  “Should I have worn a costume or something?” Kate asked with a giggle, eyeing the colorful banners that festooned the large open space.

  “Don’t worry about it. We’re actually headed downstairs,” he assured her.

  “Ooh, what’s downstairs?”

  Jack simply shook his head and gave her a sly wink as he led her through minstrels and jugglers and around a fighting pit where two knights in armor beat on each other with metal bars. The atmosphere was certainly lively, confusing, and exciting—and all at once, too.

  Even as they descended the shield covered stairwell, the jovial atmosphere filled Kate with a nervous sense of wonder.

  “You ready to throw some axes?” Jack asked with a sweeping gesture towards a surreal bowling alley of wooden stalls set up with racks that held a variety of axes and knives.

  Groups of people stood around laughing as their party members attempted throws, sometimes clumsily and sometimes with expert precision.

  “You want me to do what?” Kate widened her eyes. It was the only way she could take in the whole scene as Jack guided her right into the fray, pointing at a wooden target riddled with large welts.

  “We’re throwing axes. C’mon. Just line up here,” he said, matching his actions to his words. “Grip the axe, raise it up and release!”

  Kate watched as the axe tumbled end over end finishing with a loud thunk! as it hit the center of the wooden target. Had he lost his mind? Who brought a date to some place where you threw deadly weapons around?

  She could see now that it was a good thing she hadn’t worn anything dressier. If she’d tried doing this in a skirt, she was sure she’d have looked ridiculous—and possibly taken an eye out, too.

  “This doesn’t seem like the safest idea.” She examined the lightweight axe in her hand, moving it from side to side to get a good look at it. It looked really sharp and not at all like something she should try to fling across the room.

  “Here, put your legs like this, and just hold it up high enough that when you throw it you get a good, clean thrust.” He stood beside her with his legs spread slightly apart, knees bent and holding his hands up in the air.

  She tried unsuccessfully to hold her laughter in, but everything about the entire situation was so absurd. “You look like a caveman attacking a wooly mammoth.”

  He laughed and stood back up. “Okay, well, then why don’t you show me how I should be doing it without looking ridiculous?”

  She shook her head and shrugged. “I have no clue. This was your idea, remember?”

  “Then trust me a little bit. The last thing I want to see happen is you throwing an axe into your foot. Or mine. Ouch.”

  Her mouth dropped open in horror. “Are you serious?” The image of an axe stuck in her foot flashed through her mind in grisly detail.

  “Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I let my date get disfigured?” He lifted his shoulders. “Besides, who knows if you can do it until you actually try throwing it?”

  He came over and stood behind her, lifting her arms up in the air.

  She could feel his breath on her neck as he helped her get into the proper position. When he finally spoke, her entire body trembled from how close his body stood behind hers.

  “Imagine a large horizontal plane extending in front of you from your waist. These axes are balanced to help you throw them, so just make sure to release before you cross the horizontal plane. The earlier your release, the higher it will go. The later, the lower. Okay, now throw it as hard as you can so it sticks in the target instead of bouncing off. This is your chance to let your frustrations out. Trust me, it feels so good.”

  Her heart was racing, but she wasn’t sure if it was from the adrenaline for what she was about to do, or the fact that this man had her completely flustered. She really shouldn’t be throwing an axe when she was feeling like this.

  But then again, he had mentioned letting frustrations out and—oh—did Kate have plenty of those.

  When he stepped back, she brought her hands back to wind up and throw, determined to give it her best shot. When the axe flew through the air and hit the wooden board at the end, she jumped up and down with excitement. It wasn’t anywhere near the target, but she’d at least managed not to lop off any body parts.

  She spun around and faced Jack with a huge grin on her face. “That was amazing!”

  He was grinning almost as big as her as he handed her another axe and stepped back. “Good. Try again.”

  She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and hurled the axe through the air. With a fwip and a thunk, it embedded in the edge of the target. Clapping her hands, she laughed out loud at how good it felt.

  Jack walked past her to go retrieve the axes from the wood. He glanced back at her in mock concern. “Could you hold off throwing more until I get back behind you?”

  Kate tested the heft of the remaining axe. “Hmmm. I don’t know.” She laughed when he pretended to cower.

  As he stepped up next to her, he handed her back an axe. “Okay, so what do you say we make this interesting?”

  “What more interesting that hurling deadly weapons of Medieval warfare around?”

  Jack chuckled. “Yeah, how about a quick game to twenty-one? Outer ring is one, inner ring is three, and bullseye is five.”

  “What are the stakes?” The tension in the air suddenly seemed to shift, and she realized with a start that she’d been flirting shamelessly with him almost from the very moment they’d walked out the door of her cabin. It was a side of her she’d never known before.

  And he’d been right. She was having so much fun.

  “Oh, it’s pretty high stakes.” He pretended to think this over before widening his eyes. “If I win, I get a kiss.”

  Her breathing slowed and everyth
ing around them seemed to grow quiet. She could vaguely hear axes being thrown in the sections on either side of them, and people cheering, but right now, she was being held in the gaze of this man in front of her.

  “And what if I win?” Her mouth was suddenly dry.

  He caught her eye and sent her an exaggerated wink. “Well, that’s up to you.”

  She swallowed and tried to keep her breathing even. “I’ll have to think about what I want when I win, then,” she said with a wink back. Winning would be great fun, but it seemed losing might be just as nice.

  Carefully, she took aim and contemplated throwing it to the side and not even trying to win. But she didn’t want to be too obvious, and her competitive nature wasn’t going to let her just give up that easily.

  A flurry of axes made their way down the range into wooden targets, each hit accompanied by a shout of triumph or flirtatious joke. As the score slowly climbed, Kate felt like a rubber band untwisting, tightness leaving her body. Each axe left her hands with complete abandon, taking with it all of her pent-up anger over the unfairness of life. At the same time, it had become more than a game, almost a type of therapy. But as the tension released, nervous excitement built, too. Soon one of them would hit twenty-one points, and then…

  She swallowed just thinking about the prospect of this small intimacy with Jack. She’d daydreamed about it for so long, but now that it was a true possibility, she didn’t know what to wish for.

  "Okay,” Jack announced with a smirk. “That brings the score up to twenty and sixteen. Your turn, oh, and do you want some Chapstick?”

  “Don’t get cocky now,” she teased.

  With a fluid motion, she raised the axe high and let it fly. It tipped end over end twice before smacking right into the bullseye.

  “Ha!” she yelled triumphantly. “That makes twenty-one. I win.”

  Kate did a little jump but landed on shaky feet. Her entire body suddenly seemed too weak to hold her up, as though every emotion she’d been holding in for so long was all that had been keeping her going.