She spent Christmas Day helping her mother cook and only snuck away once to watch The Dish’s pretaped Christmas special.
Early the next morning she drove back into the city and went straight to the hospital. She took the elevator up to Evie’s room and the whole way she reminded herself to breathe. Evie Buchanan was one of the best in the industry. A talented chef with a pure heart, and a dream client. Professional and a pleasure to be around. This was business, Nicole knew it. She tried to remind herself, but it was too late. Evie was a friend now, and Nicole cared. She was worried.
She reached Evie’s floor and found she was the last to join the farewell party. Jesse and Zach were standing in the hall with an orderly who was waiting with a wheelchair.
She pushed down the lump in her throat before she spoke.
“Everything all set?”
“Yup, they’re just having their final debriefing,” Zach said.
“We have a car waiting downstairs,” Jesse added.
Worry still poked at Nicole, but she found comfort in how efficient and competent the Pleasant brothers turned out to be. She poked her head in the door and saw Evie surrounded by Blaire and Raquelle. Nurse Lyle was helping Evie into her coat.
“I wrote down everything,” Raquelle said. “The passcode to your phone. The password to your laptop. The password to your Instagram, but don’t bother with that. I’ll take care of it until you’re ready. I have dozens of cute holiday food posts, throwback recipes ready to upload. The works. I will keep your adoring public busy until you’re ready to come back.”
“I packed all your favorite clothes. Favorite pajamas,” Blaire said. “You have like a three-month supply of contacts in there if you get sick of your glasses, and I gave Jesse your prescription if you want to order more.”
Nicole turned to Jesse. “Anything else you need from me?”
“Not that I can think of. We’ll cover Raquelle’s paycheck and Evie’s part of the rent until we’re out of the woods, and then we can revisit.”
“You guys—” Nicole started, but Zach waved her off.
“Don’t worry about it. You have the network to deal with. We’ll handle everything else.”
“Okay. Keep me updated. I sent you my assistant’s number too, just in case.”
“Yup, we both got it.”
“She’s in good hands, Nicole.”
“I know. I know. Just—you know, the fear and uncertainty. Amnesia seems so much more fun on TV.”
“I’ll call you every day when I get home from work and you can text me whenever you want,” Blaire said before she stepped back into the room, pulling Evie into a tight hug. “I want to hear all about the ranch and all the beautiful horses.”
“Oh, that reminds me.” Nicole turned back to Zach. “Maybe don’t parade her around the ranch. I mean, I don’t want people to know where she is, but I also don’t want your guests trying to photograph her.”
“Already on it. Don’t worry. We got this. Nothing but private moonlit tours. If she wants them.” There was no hint of planned seduction in Zach’s voice, but that didn’t stop Nicole from turning her laser focus right to Jesse.
“Don’t let him take her on moonlit tours.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
Zach’s quiet chuckle filled the hall.
“Get in here, Nicole,” Blaire said, waving her over. Nicole didn’t miss the tears lining Blaire’s eyes as she stepped into the room. She walked right up to Evie and fixed the edge of her fur-lined hood.
“You won’t need this jacket in California, but it’ll keep you warm on the plane. Take this time to rest and heal. Don’t rush it, be kind to yourself. Your memory will come back. I know it.”
“Thank you,” Evie replied.
“You can call me anytime.”
“I will.”
Nicole stepped a bit closer then, and lowered her voice. “Please, for the love of God, watch out for Zach. I know he’s a sweet-talker with a megawatt Colgate smile, but the last thing you need is a messy friends-with-benefits situation right now. Trust me.”
“Oh no,” Raquelle whispered. “Definitely sleep with him. Like, you have to. Make him wear the cowboy hat when you sleep with him.”
“Yeah, sorry, Nicole. I’m with Raquelle on this one,” Blaire said with a bright smile. “When you’re feeling up to it, you should definitely sleep with him. I’m sure they have a hayloft. That’s an experience I think you need to have. A new memory.”
“I don’t even know if I like him. I’ll figure out what I want to do if my memory doesn’t come back first, and then I’ll decide if starting any kind of relationship with any man is a good idea.”
“See, that’s the Evie I know and love. Career and self first. Tumbles in the hay second,” Nicole said as she tried to force a smile. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”
They said their final round of goodbyes and then Evie was off, a pair of comically large sunglasses and an oversized hat giving her a bit of privacy—or drawing way more attention than necessary. Nicole, Blaire, and Raquelle hung back as she was wheeled to the elevator, the Pleasant brothers following close behind. One who clearly had a thing for her and one who would do anything to protect her. For now all Nicole could do was wait and hope and try to hold on to Evie’s job.
* * *
Evie tried to sleep during the six-hour flight to Southern California, but she was wide-awake. Her private nurse, Tilde, sat beside her, working on her second novel of the flight. An older White woman with an interesting accent, Tilde wasn’t as warm as Sophia and Nurse Lyle, but Evie chalked that up to the early hour. After a very formal introduction, she offered Evie her e-reader and one of three paperbacks she had in her carry-on, but Evie settled on looking through Instagram. Raquelle had given her a quick tutorial of all there was to discover, and while slime and soap-carving videos had worked for the first two hours, Evie was starting to get antsy. She knew why, but she refused to admit it to herself.
She wished she were sitting next to Zach. He and Jesse were right across the aisle in their own comfortable first-class seats. Jesse took the aisle seat, giving him enough space to stretch out his long legs. It made sense, but now there was an aisle and almost seven feet of California rancher between her and Zach. She hadn’t fully wrapped her mind around what it would mean to sleep with a man, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss they’d almost shared Christmas morning. Every moment she had to herself had been spent thinking about Zach and a whole realm of what-ifs. Nicole was right, her health and her future came first, but couldn’t her future involve a relationship with a man? Not that that man had to be Zach Pleasant, but of course Nicole didn’t expect Evie to stay single for the rest of her life, did she?
Blaire had done her best to catalogue Evie’s past relationships and lovers. The list was pretty short, since Evie had spent a large part of her twenties traveling for work. The most recent suitor had been Armand Waller, the man who had sent the red roses. Blaire realized she knew him as Banker Boy, but before the accident, Evie had mentioned that she was convinced that Armand was hiding a wife—or worse, a wife and kids—in Connecticut. Blaire wasn’t sure if Evie had officially kicked him to the curb, but they both agreed ghosting him was the right call. And then Blaire explained what ghosting meant.
Evie was glad to hear that a few years ago she had at least enjoyed sex with another chef named Lincoln Carter, but that just left her wondering what sex felt like. The downsides to memory loss where complex and frustrating to say the least.
In any event, Evie was currently single. Sure, she had just reached the point where she could recite her own date of birth from memory without having to pause, but one day, dating would be back on the table. Would Zach wait around that long? Did she want him to wait around? What about the awful fight they’d clearly had? It had to be pretty terrible for Evie to have avoided him for so long. Could she hold a grudge she didn’t even remember? All of these questions bounced around in her head just before
Jesse suddenly sat up. Evie thought he was asleep, but he must have been resting his eyes. He undid his seat belt, then eased out of his seat. He crossed the aisle and leaned in close.
“How are you doing?” he asked quietly.
“I’m okay.”
“Good,” was all he said. Then he turned and headed in the direction of the restroom. Evie could not figure him out. Clearly they’d been friends, but he barely said anything that didn’t have to do with the logistics of running the ranch or her general well-being. As soon as the bathroom door closed, Evie saw Zach undo his seat belt and ease across the aisle. He knelt beside her and lightly took her hand.
“How ya holding up?” he asked.
“I’m fine. I’m not sure I enjoy flying though. The engines are so loud. Is Jesse okay?”
“Honestly?”
“Yeah.”
“He’s just worried about you, but he’s not big on displays of emotion. I think he’ll relax when we get back to Charming.”
“How are you doing?” she asked.
“Me? I’m fine. How you doing, Tilde?” he said, peering around Evie to her seat mate.
“I’m well, Mr. Pleasant. You really shouldn’t be out of your seat. I have everything under control here.”
Evie felt herself smile at the small laugh that escaped Zach. “She’s right. We’ll talk when we land.”
“Okay.”
Zach winked at her, then went back to his seat. He buckled his seat belt just as Jesse came out of the bathroom. Evie didn’t hate the idea of being with Zach, but maybe she needed to slow that train of thought down. Maybe first, she should spend some time with him outside of a hospital.
Chapter 7
It was early afternoon when they landed at the Ontario airport. Zach explained that flying into LAX would have added a solid two-hour drive back to the ranch. Evie was grateful for the direct flight to a closer airport. The flight wasn’t exactly unbearable, but somewhere around the five-hour mark, Tilde could tell how squirrely Evie was getting. She couldn’t imagine sitting another two hours in a car.
The flight crew allowed Evie and her small entourage to exit first. Once they were outside, Evie was shocked by the change of scenery—and the heat. Without asking, Tilde took her coat as they made their way to the large navy-blue SUV waiting for them at the curb.
A White man in a blue-and-green plaid shirt and a white cowboy hat hopped out the driver’s side and rushed around to open the passenger door.
“Zach, Jesse. Ladies,” he said with a smile.
“Thanks for coming out, Bruce,” Jesse said, clapping him on the back.
“Not a problem, boss. Had to run the Johnstone party out to catch their flight. And it just so turns out your place is on my way.”
“Evie, this is Bruce. He works at the ranch. This is Evie and Tilde.”
Bruce tipped his hat in their direction with a smile, then started loading their bags into the trunk. From the way he seemed to accept Zach’s introduction, Evie figured he was not a member of the staff who knew her when she was a kid. Zach and Tilde helped Evie get settled in the back-row seat, and when they were buckled in, Bruce pulled out of the airport. Evie looked out the window as they headed toward the Pleasants’ home. She hadn’t seen too much of New York City, just what she took in on their snowy trip to the JFK airport. California felt so open. No tall buildings. The sunny sky seemed to stretch on and on. With almost no traffic, they cruised along and Evie took in the rolling hills and flat expanses that lined the side of the road. Far off in the distance there were mountains.
She was so caught up in the sun-kissed landscape, she nearly jumped when Tilde’s fingers patted her hand. “Zach is trying to speak to you.”
She looked between them, startled, and was greeted by Zach’s smiling face as he turned in his seat to face them. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I said, welcome home.”
“Jesse showed me pictures on the website, but this isn’t what I expected.”
“Different from life in the big city.”
“Different from the tenth floor of Presbyterian.”
“I’m glad we could spring you. We’ll be at the house in fifteen minutes. Miss Leona is psyched to see you.”
Evie wasn’t sure what to expect from their grandmother, who for some reason they referred to by her first name. Hopefully she and Evie got along. So far her recovery had been filled with kind, caring people, including Jesse and now Tilde, who weren’t exactly the warm fuzzy type. She was sure at some point her luck would run out and she’d be faced with someone who absolutely did not wish her well.
After a while they did appear to roll into a small town with strips of shopping areas and restaurants. They drove by a massive place called Target that Zach said had just recently been remodeled and expanded.
“I’d take you there for funsies, but we’d run into at least forty-seven people from high school, and you don’t want any of that right now.”
“I ran into Jenny Yang there last week,” Jesse mumbled from the front seat.
“High school crush. Broke his heart,” Zach whispered. Evie filed that information away just in case she ever ran into Jenny Yang. Then she briefly wondered if she would run into any of Zach’s ex-girlfriends as they drove into a quieter part of town. The retail area seemed to end and Evie noticed signs for different farms and fruit orchards.
“I’ll show you around here, so more later. People think California is just desert and beaches, but we pump out half the country’s produce.”
“Oh wow,” Evie said. They continued on, and seemingly out of nowhere, Bruce took a left and pulled onto a short but secluded road. They stopped at a high wooden gate and Evie realized the fence attached to it stretched for a pretty good distance in either direction. The gates swung open and Bruce drove the SUV down a road that seemed to go on for miles.
“This is Pleasant Lane. We basically have our own small neighborhood.” Up ahead Evie could see three massive homes spread out around a central driveway. They passed two smaller buildings as they got closer, but Evie couldn’t take her eyes off the sprawling mansion at the center. She spotted some movement and then four dogs of various sizes came running toward the SUV. Zach and Jesse didn’t seem the slightest bit worried, and Evie could see why when all four of the dogs hit some sort of invisible line and started pacing anxiously.
“We also have a bunch of dogs. Black one’s Clementine. Big shaggy girl is Sugar Plum. Euca’s the spotted one and Poppy is the little yapper there. Don’t worry. None of them bite.”
“Oh. Okay,” Evie said, unsure. Bruce pulled the car to a stop and Zach and Jesse immediately hopped out. Bruce followed, she assumed to grab their bags, but Evie was more focused on the elderly Black woman who had just emerged from the grand front entrance of the home in the center of it all. She was draped in jewelry, dressed in a flowing red top and matching flowy pants. Two other women were right behind her, but Evie was focused on the woman who must be Miss Leona Lovell. Jesse had explained that she was a movie star, had been for over sixty years, but Evie didn’t know what it would feel like to be starstruck. Jesse immediately embraced Miss Leona as she kissed both his cheeks. Zach seemed to fall right in line and received the same warm welcome, before he jogged back over to the car and helped Tilde and Evie out of the back seat.
“You got this. She loves you,” he whispered in Evie’s ear as he offered her the solid support of his forearm. She could walk fine on her own, but her legs still felt like they needed a little more exercise before they were back to their full strength. Also it didn’t help that the dogs were as excited to see her as they were to see Zach and Jesse. A large black dog with a red collar kept trying to lick her hand. “Just don’t look her directly in the eye,” he went on.
“What?” Evie stumbled as she caught Zach’s teasing tone a minute too late.
“I’m just playing,” he said with that damn chuckle that made it impossible for Evie to be even a little bit pissed off at him.
As she made her way up the front steps, Miss Leona cocked her head to the side and looked Evie up and down. The flowing outfit and the beautiful butterfly pendant hanging around her neck and stacks of gold and silver bangles were accompanied by a face of full makeup—perfectly arched eyebrows and bright red lipstick—and what Evie thought was a gorgeous jet-black wig cropped in an angled bob.
“It’s good to see you, baby.” Miss Leona’s voice felt like a warm hug.
“It’s nice to see you, too.”
“So no memory, huh?”
“No. Sometimes I think I feel bits and pieces of things, but nothing real.”
“Mm, all the things I’d like to forget. Talk about a fresh start. Don’t worry. We’ll get you settled. We’ll get you fed and then you can rest, rest, rest. Lord alive, we need to do something about your hair. Come on.” Evie had hoped her butchered sew-in weave, which she’d draped over her shoulder, was less obvious with the bandage and the floppy hat she was still wearing, but Miss Leona saw through it all. She gave Evie two light pats on the back, then led her into the house.
“You know Corie. That’s my goddaughter,” she said, pointing to the plump Black woman standing on the front steps, and then she nodded toward a Black girl who had to be around Raquelle’s age, standing beside her. “You haven’t seen Lilah since she was a baby, but she used to come around when you were in grade school.”
“Hi, Evie. Big fan,” Lilah said with a little wave. She was sweet faced and soft-spoken. Evie found herself hoping they’d be friends.
“Go on. Move, Sugar. Euca, you other two. Corie, get these dogs out of the way.”
Corie snapped her fingers and ordered them to shoo. It didn’t work. Suddenly an ear-splitting whistle pierced the air. The dogs immediately froze. Evie turned around to see Jesse with his thumb and his middle finger still between his lips. He snapped his fingers, then pointed toward the far end of the porch. “Go sit,” he said, his voice level. All four antsy pups went and lay down in the shade of the small lemon trees that lined the front of the house.
A Cowboy to Remember Page 7