He glanced over at Jesse, who was taking full advantage of the extra legroom first-class had to offer. “I know you told me to chill, but I gotta ask.”
Jesse let out a quiet groan. “Can’t help yourself, can you?”
“Listen, we touch down in New York and you won’t hear another word about this from me.”
Jesse opened one eye and peered at his smart watch. “Fine. You have five minutes.”
“We don’t land for another three hours.”
“And you think I’m talking to you about Evie for the next three hours? You are out of your mind.”
“Fine. I just have one question anyway. Why you?”
“Why me what?”
“Why did Evie have you down as her emergency contact?”
“You sure you want to know?”
Zach paused a moment and ran through all the worst-case scenarios. The one that topped the list had his brother and Evie in a sexual relationship that they somehow managed to keep under wraps for ten years. Luckily, even though Jesse could keep some secrets, he rarely left Charming. A secret affair was out.
“Yeah, tell me.”
“I didn’t know she made me her emergency contact. She didn’t tell me.”
“But you know why she did. From where I’m sitting, I don’t see the difference between her putting down you or Sam. Or Miss Leona.”
“Are you saying if there was an emergency you’d call our baby brother, who is available two months out of the year, or our eighty-year-old grandmother before you called me?”
“’Course not. You’re my emergency contact. Then Lilah. Then Pops.”
“I answered your question. This little chat is over.”
“I have a few more minutes and you’re still not being all that slick. Why you?”
“I’m going to tell you and then you are immediately going to let this shit go. I would like to at least get an hour of sleep before we land.”
“Fine. Go.”
“We’ve kept in touch.”
“This whole time?”
“Yeah, this whole time.”
“Woooooooow,” Zach said as he leaned back against the headrest.
“Now. Let it go.”
“You mean to tell me—”
“That since you broke her heart and she decided she couldn’t deal with your wishy-washy noncommittal crap—”
“Noncommittal?!” Zach hadn’t meant to disrupt the peaceful quiet of first class, but his brother was on some first-class bullshit.
“Hey, maybe don’t get us arrested as soon as we step off the plane.”
“Sorry.” They might be wealthy, but Zach couldn’t forget they were still flying while tall and black.
“Anyway. You couldn’t decide whether you had feelings for her or not, and she was the one who ended up getting hurt. End of story.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“Right now, man, I don’t really care. We have to do what’s best for Evie now. You have to deal with your revisionist history on your own time.”
“Whatever.”
“Your time’s up. Watch a movie or something.”
Zach just grunted in response. A movie wasn’t going to distract him. “When you say you kept in touch, how often are we talking? Like birthdays and holidays, or do you and her have a group chat with Sam and you’re just yukking it up seven days a week?”
Jesse opened his eyes and leaned against the armrest between their seats. He fixed Zach with the glare he’d learned from their father. The glare that meant if they pushed one more step they were going to get worse than a spanking. Luckily the glare had been so effective, none of them had had a chance to experience Jesse Sr.’s full wrath firsthand. Not that Zach thought his brother would actually fight him mid-flight, but he didn’t really wanna see what pushing Jesse to the limit meant for him. Fired up Jesse and the Hulk had a lot in common.
“Drop it, Zach.”
Zach searched his brother’s eyes for a moment. Jesse wasn’t playing this time. “Jesus, you’re just like Senior.”
Jesse sat back and stroked his beard as he closed his eyes. “I know. It’s why he left me in charge.”
“He left us in charge. Check that FAQ on our website.”
Jesse finally cracked a small smile and Zach knew that order had been restored. Sensing sleep still wasn’t in the cards, he pulled out his phone and connected to the inflight network. He’d distract himself with unread emails instead of dwelling on just how many times he’d wished a new text alert from Evie would appear. He couldn’t think about the fact that in a few hours they would finally be back together, face-to-face, and she would have no clue who he was.
Chapter 4
Evie couldn’t climb out of the ravine. Nana had told her more than once not to chase after the boys, but Evie didn’t listen. She followed them down the narrow path on the promise that they had something cool to show her, but now she was all alone, trying to scale the smooth diamond-coated walls that lined the shallow stream.
“You want a boost?” Evie heard the familiar voice say, and for some reason an angry heat spread out over her face. She looked over and there he was, squatting beside the water. He picked up three pink acorns and skipped them all at once to the other side. Hot tears bit at the back of Evie’s eyes.
“No. I don’t want a stupid boost. This is all your fault.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m trying to help you. Come on.” He came closer and laced his fingers together. All she had to do was step in his waiting palm and he could hoist her up, but the wall was too high. Even with his help she would only be able to reach halfway. “Hop on, Buck.”
“No. I got it.”
“Yvonne! We gotta go!” Evie looked up and saw Nicole in a puma mascot costume standing on the ledge above, the furry fierce head tucked under her arm.
“I’ll be right there.”
“Just let me help you.” He chuckled some more.
“No. I got it.” But she didn’t have it. She tried and tried, but her cowboy boots couldn’t find purchase on the slick diamond wall. She tried once more, jumping as if her quad strength would propel her some twenty feet in the air. It didn’t. She fell and kept falling, the desert floor swallowing her up. When she landed she was on a rainbow parachute, sprawled out on the floor of the old barn. A dirty green Coke bottle in the middle was pointing to her, but the barn was empty, except for him.
“I guess it’s your lucky day,” he said, with that damn chuckle.
Evie felt herself frown, but that didn’t stop her from crawling across the parachute. “Just kiss me and get it over with,” she grumbled. She closed her eyes and leaned in, but she felt nothing. When she opened her eyes, he was gone.
“Okay, now wipe your lips with this.” Evie took the damp paper towel from Blaire and wiped the sugary, exfoliating crystals off her lips. Instantly her mouth felt better. She rubbed her lips together, marveling at how soft and smooth they suddenly felt.
“Good, huh? Now put on this lip balm. Shanny recommended it, and we always trust Shanny.”
“She does my makeup?” Evie asked before she used her finger to apply a bit of the fresh-smelling balm. It had been three days since she’d woken up in the hospital. The doctors were somewhat pleased with her progress. She felt better moving around for short periods of time and she didn’t feel like she needed to sleep most of the day. Her head still ached, but the area around her stitches had stopped throbbing. Still, her memory hadn’t returned. Dr. Manzo had assured them all that Evie would be fine, but the more time she spent with Blaire and Raquelle, the more complicated she realized total memory loss was.
She knew nothing about her best friend or her assistant, nothing about the people and things they mentioned to her, nothing about herself. All she could do now was rest and heal, and pray her brain did what she needed it to do. If not, she’d just have to build new memories, learn new things, and possibly start her whole life from scratch. She couldn’t think about her career at the mom
ent. That was too much to consider.
Nicole had sent out a press release, stating that Evie was doing just fine and resting, but requesting privacy at this time. It didn’t stop people from sending tons of texts to Evie’s phone, texts Raquelle was thankfully managing. It also didn’t stop people from sending dozens of bouquets of flowers to her hospital room. Evie was overwhelmed by the continuous deliveries.
“Right.”
“And she sent the white and yellow roses.”
“Yup. You’re good at this!”
Evie tried not to sound disappointed with her pitiful progress. “Who are those from?” She nodded toward another bouquet of flowers on her bedside table.
“Let me see.” Blaire snatched up the tiny white envelope. “Oh, these are from Tiffany! You two are really good friends.”
“Does she live in New York?”
“I think she’s actually in Spain right now. That’s where her husband is from.” Evie knew sometime soon she was going to have to leave this hospital, and while Blaire had been amazing, she wouldn’t be able to hold Evie’s hand every day, filling the gaps and explaining the ins and outs of Evie’s personal and professional relationships, who was friend or foe. If Tiffany was a good friend, the idea of seeing her and not knowing who she was didn’t sit well with Evie, even if it was outside of her control.
“They got married a few months ago. You were a bridesmaid. You looked amazing.” Suddenly Blaire’s phone made that little chirping noise that signified she had a text. She’d shown Evie how her phone worked and how she usually silenced it when she was in her hospital room, but they were waiting to hear from Nicole. Evie watched as Blaire’s fingers moved quickly across the screen before she tucked the phone back into her sweater pocket. She offered Evie a warm smile.
“That was Nicole. She just met Jesse at his hotel. He came with his brother Zach. They should be here soon.”
Jesse Pleasant. The name had been rolling around in her head since Blaire had shown her a picture of the California rancher she apparently had family ties to. She’d asked to see his picture a few more times and found herself straining to place the man in the dark cowboy hat with the man who was now making a constant appearance in her dreams. It seemed like every time she closed her eyes, wherever her subconscious mind took her, the man and that brown horse seemed to be there.
The horse felt more like an accessory, but the man, his smile, Evie was now convinced he meant something to her. Every time she saw his face behind her eyes, an unexplainable warmth filled her chest. But while Blaire and Raquelle seemed to have a pretty comprehensive list of all of Evie’s friends and coworkers, this man remained a mystery. Maybe meeting Jesse in person would help her connect the dots. He might not be her mystery man, but at that moment he was the only person in her life who might know anything about that horse.
Not that the man or the horse was the most pressing issue of the moment. Jesse was coming to see her for a very specific reason. Nicole had done her best not to stress Evie out, but she saw things very clearly. If Evie’s memory didn’t return right away—or worse, ever—she needed a safe and private place to recover and rebuild, and that place wasn’t her Manhattan apartment.
Blaire couldn’t keep an eye on her forever, and babysitter was outside of Raquelle’s job description. Evie was worried about running into friends and not knowing their faces or their names, but she also knew how bad it could be for her, both personally and professionally, if she ran into someone looking to do her harm. They needed a plan of action, and there was a good chance that plan would involve Jesse Pleasant.
“What should I say to them?” Evie asked.
“What do you want to say to them?”
“I have . . . questions, but I guess I should just see how it goes. You and Nicole and Raquelle have been amazing. What if they aren’t nice?”
“If either of them doesn’t treat you right, we’ll kick them out.”
Evie swallowed a lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. “I guess I should ask them about my parents and my grandmother.”
Blaire reached over and took her hand. “Just take it slow. Remember what Dr. Manzo said. Overwhelming yourself with information all at once won’t help.” Evie knew she was right. Every time there were breaks in her conversations with Blaire and Raquelle, Evie felt exhausted. So many names she tried to connect with pictures of faces. She didn’t even know her own address. And then there was the whole other list of questions the three of them simply couldn’t answer, like how she’d gotten the very noticeable scar on her forearm. All she wanted to do was remember. Asking Jesse to dump her whole life story on her in one sitting might not be the best way to go.
They went back to their match game, putting names and faces to the most recent floral arrangements. As Blaire was doing some digging online for an Armand Waller who had sent Evie a dozen red roses, Nicole sent another text.
“They’re on their way up. Don’t be nervous. Nicole said they seem perfectly chill.”
“I’m not nervous,” Evie said. “I’m just—back to what Dr. Manzo said. I have to take my time. I want to know everything they know, but asking someone to tell you everything they know might not be the best thing to do.”
“I’m sure they’ll do their best to fill you in. Don’t worry.” Again, Evie knew Blaire was probably right, but as soon as she accepted that fact, another type of inexplicable unease settled in Evie’s stomach.
“I know this sounds silly, but do I look okay?” She’d looked at at least a dozen photos of herself in the past few days. She had no idea what Jesse and his brother were expecting, but she knew there was no way she looked as put together as she did on her social media. She wore makeup in her “dressed down, hanging at home” photos on Instagram.
“For real?” Blaire cringed.
“Yes.”
“You look like you got hit by a car—but! The glasses are helping. Those frames are so cute. You should wear them more often. The cuteness is balancing out the shock of the bandage. Plus I can see a difference after you exfoliated your lips. Your lips look great.”
Evie reached up and gently touched the protective gauze on the side of her head. They’d had to shave a chunk of her hair to get through the tracks of her sew-in just to clean the wound and suture her up. Her lips wouldn’t work as a distraction. Not that she had anyone to look good for. “I’m being silly. It doesn’t matter what I look like. I just need to talk to them.”
“It’s okay. You’re meeting guys for the first time since your accident. And cute guys. I mean, Jesse is fine and I bet his brother is fine too. Actually.” Blaire jumped up and checked her shiny locks in the mirror. She looked great. She pouted her lips and reapplied some shinier gloss before she jumped back into her chair. “You look fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Okay.” Evie swallowed again, worrying.
“Here.” Blaire handed Evie her glass of water. She took a deep sip. She had no reason to be nervous. That didn’t stop her heart from counting out the seconds it took before she heard footsteps coming toward her room.
“Right in here,” said Nicole’s now familiar voice. She entered first. Behind her was one of the largest men she’d ever seen. Jesse Pleasant towered over Nicole, ducking his head under the doorjamb as he walked in. He was more attractive in real life. Dark brown skin, bald head, a nicely manicured beard, broad shoulders in a nicely tailored, dark green suit jacket. She noted the black cowboy hat in his hand for a moment, but then another man stepped into the room behind him.
Evie assumed it was Jesse’s brother, Zach Pleasant. She knew—for a fact—he was the man from her dreams. Not as tall as Jesse, but still large and broad, Zach was extremely handsome. He had a crisp haircut; shaved on the sides, thick dark curls on top, and he also had a wonderful beard. His suit jacket was dark blue. Evie couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
“How you doing today, gorgeous?” she heard Nicole say.
“I . . . I’m feeling better. Thank you,” she manage
d to say. “Hello.”
“This is Zach and Jesse. This is Blaire Edwards.”
“Evie’s roommate.” Blaire stood and shook hands with them. Zach was carrying a cowboy hat too. As far as Evie was concerned he was the most handsome man in the world. Yes, she’d only seen pictures of men on Blaire’s phone and the few male members of the hospital staff who’d been tasked with her care, but she was confident Zach was it. He was the ideal man. And then she heard his voice.
“Looks like an FTD showroom in here,” he said with a short laugh. She knew that voice. She’d heard it teasing her in her dreams.
“Yeah, a lot of people are worried about our girl,” Blaire replied.
“I believe it.”
“Are you comfortable?” Jesse asked suddenly. She didn’t know him—not like she should—but she could tell something was wrong. For such a large, imposing man his voice sounded so unsure. She tore her gaze away from Zach and looked at Jesse. He stood at the foot of her bed nearly blocking out all the sunlight from the window.
“I’m sick of being in this bed, but I’m okay. Thank you for asking.”
“Why don’t Blaire and I give you guys a little space. I’ll go out and try to sneak you in something better than whatever they’re going to serve you for lunch,” Nicole suggested.
“I’m gonna call my mom, but I’ll be right outside. Unless you want me to stay,” Blaire said.
Evie glanced at the looks on Jesse and Zach’s faces, both expectant and wary. Trust seemed like a strong word when it came to men she had just met, but she did want to speak to them, maybe with a few less people crowding in her hospital room. “It’s okay,” Evie said. “You can go.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Nicole said with a tight smile.
Blaire leaned over and squeezed Evie’s hand again. “We’ll be right back.”
A Cowboy to Remember Page 4