Lone Star Christmas Rescue

by Margaret Daley

  She had a baby with her. Did she have a husband? She rubbed the place where a wedding ring should be if she was married. Nothing. “I—I don’t know my name.”

  His blue eyes dimmed. “What do you remember?”

  Before she could answer, an older nurse entered her room. “I’m glad to see you’re awake. I’ll contact the doctor. In the meantime, do you need anything, miss?” The nurse approached her bed on the opposite side of the Texas Ranger, checked her vitals, then shined a bright light into her eyes.

  She delved into her mind, trying to recall anything that would lead to her identity and why she was in the hospital. But all she encountered was a blank slate, as though she’d never existed until now. “Where are my clothes?” Maybe they would indicate who she was.

  The nurse crossed to a closet and withdrew a paper sack. “Everything you had with you is in here. Do you want to go through it?”

  “Yes, please.” When she reached for the bag, her hand shook. Awareness of the large man on her other side, watching her, caused her to clutch the paper bag and quickly draw it to her chest, feeling what little was inside. Was this all she had of her past?

  She bowed her head and squeezed her eyes closed, desperate for any memory of who she was. She pictured herself standing on a mountaintop, scanning the valley below. Where was she? She couldn’t tell. Was it a real place or merely her imagination?

  A void held her, like an insect in amber. Caged. She felt empty, with no past to tell her who she was. The sensation of being in the middle of an ocean with only miles and miles of water surrounding her flooded her mind. Nothing for as far as she could see.

  Her heartbeat raced, and her breathing shortened until she panted for each swallow of air.

  “Miss, are you all right?” the nurse asked while the Texas Ranger moved closer.

  His nearness surprisingly didn’t frighten her. Instead, it comforted her as she sucked in gulps of the oxygen-rich air. She couldn’t lose it. That wouldn’t help her find out what happened. “I’ll—be—okay,” she managed to say between gasps.

  Another minute passed before she felt in control of her breathing. She needed to talk alone with the Texas Ranger about how he found her. Maybe that would help her remember.

  And she needed to find out about the baby from her dreams. She couldn’t remember being a mother or married, but then, she couldn’t remember anything of her past.

  She turned her attention to the nurse. “I’d like to talk to the doctor whenever he comes.”

  “I’ll let him know.”

  “Thanks.” She waited until the nurse left the room before swinging her gaze back to the intensity in Drake Jackson’s blue eyes, totally focused on her. Strangely, she didn’t feel intimidated. “How did you find me? You said I had a baby with me. Where is he?”

  One eyebrow rose. “You know it’s a boy. Do you know his name?”

  Why had she said he? It just came out. “No. I can’t remember anything.”

  “Your fingerprints were taken and run through the system, but nothing has come up yet.”

  Instead of disappointment that they couldn’t ID her, relief fluttered through her. “I should be thankful. That means I haven’t been in trouble with the law, at least.”

  He chuckled. “Fingerprints are on file from other sources beside the criminal system.”

  The soft sound of his laughter warmed her, making her feel less alone.

  “To answer your questions about where the baby is, he’s in the hospital, too.”

  She sat up straight, this time without the room swirling. “He’s hurt?”

  “Dehydrated, like you. He’ll be released soon.”

  “Then what?”

  “That depends on you. The state will take charge if you can’t show he’s yours. We’ll run a search for Baby Doe’s identity.”

  “Don’t!” she said before she could stop herself.

  TWO

  “Don’t? Do you know how he came to be in your possession?” Drake inched closer to the woman’s hospital bed. His earlier impression of her had been fear and confusion, both understandable if her memory was affected by her injury. Or was that a ruse? What if she’d kidnapped the baby and come up with an amnesia cover story to delay an explanation? “Why don’t you want to know the child’s identity?”

  “I—I do, but…” She looked away, staring at the door. “I can’t shake the feeling something’s wrong here.”

  “Like what?”

  Her gaze locked with his. “I don’t know.” She fumbled with her sack of belongings, clasping it against her chest.

  The anguish in her voice sounded genuine. As a Texas Ranger, Drake had to consider all angles of a situation. He’d seen a lot in his fifteen years working in law enforcement. If he couldn’t remember who he was or what had happened, he would feel the same way. He wanted to believe her but… “Maybe your clothing will help you remember something.” People with a traumatic brain injury could suffer total or partial amnesia that could be permanent or temporary. He didn’t think she was faking, but he couldn’t completely dismiss that possibility.

  She unrolled the top of the paper bag and glanced inside. For a long moment, she remained quiet, then she slowly reached inside and pulled out her dirty white shirt. Next came the jeans, socks and shoes. She checked every pocket and withdrew money from the front one. After she counted the three hundred dollars, she murmured, “I have this but no ID. Why?”

  Instead of finding any answers, Drake only discovered more questions. “I don’t know. Is that all in the sack?”

  “That’s all.” She turned the bag upside down, and a gold necklace plopped onto her blanket. Her eyes grew wide. “I didn’t see that.”

  Drake started to reach for the piece of jewelry, stopped and brought his arm back to his side. His gaze latched on to a letter carved into the oval locket. “I think it opens.”

  With trembling hands, she picked up the delicate chain and palmed the golden ornament. With her stare fixed on it, she slowly opened it and gasped. “I think this may be a photo of me. Is it?” She touched her face as though her fingers could discern the answer by feel. She passed the necklace to him, her forehead scrunched.

  She continued to shake, and all he wanted to do was comfort and reassure her everything would be all right. But he couldn’t. He had no idea what was going on. He had to remain detached, professional.

  How did she know what she looked like if she couldn’t remember who she was? Slowly he examined the two photos in the locket. “This is you, and the picture of the baby is the same little boy you had with you.”

  “So I must be his mother.” A quaver flowed through each word.

  “Probably. You’re connected somehow. How did you know what you look like?”

  “I…” She shook her head slowly. “I remember dreaming of this baby and me being in trouble.”

  He studied the pictures, then the woman he’d rescued. He saw similarities between them, but the child’s coloring was darker, possibly of Hispanic descent. “What trouble?”

  She closed her eyes, her head dropping forward.

  Had she lost consciousness again? Or was she pretending?

  Her eyes suddenly opened wide. “Right before I woke up, I remembered a vague image of me running with him clutched in my arms.”

  “Why were you running?”

  Her large brown eyes, filled with bewilderment, lifted to his. “I don’t know.”

  “Does the photo of the baby spark any other memories?”

  “No, but maybe if I see him, it will.”

  “I’ll let the nursing staff know. He’s still being given fluids through an IV.”

  “What hospital am I in?”

  “Cactus Grove Hospital.”

  She frowned.

  “Does Cactus Grove, Texas, sound familiar to you?”

  “No. Is this where you live?”

  “Yes, outside town on a family ranch. Cactus Grove, along Interstate 10, has about forty thousand resid
ents.” He gave the necklace back to the woman. “Does the engraved letter K on the locket mean anything to you? The initial of your first name?”

  She fiddled with the piece of jewelry, rubbing her thumb over the letter. “Not sure. Maybe?”

  “Or your last name?”

  She shook her head. “No idea, but I guess until I figure out who I am, I’d rather go by a name that might be mine.”

  “Kay?” He spelled the word out.

  She nodded.

  “How about the baby?”

  “Maybe when I see him and hold him, I’ll remember something.”

  “Let me check if you can as soon as possible. I’ll talk with the head nurse.” He walked toward the door.

  “You’re leaving?” Her voice cracked on the last word.

  The sound shivered down him, and again he found himself wondering what it would feel like not remembering who you were—alone, everyone a stranger. “Only to talk with Rosa Martinez. I’ll be right back.”

  In the hallway, Drake quickly located the head nurse and requested the baby be brought to Kay when possible.

  The nurse glanced at the door to Kay’s room. “She remembered her name?”

  “Not exactly, but the locket she’d been wearing had an engraved K on it and two photos inside—one of Baby Doe and the other of the woman I brought in.”

  “I like the name. I have an aunt Kay. It sounds like she might be the child’s mother after all. Seeing her baby might help with her memory. I’ll check on the little boy and personally bring him to Kay as soon as possible. After the doctor deals with an emergency, he’ll be here to check Baby Doe for possible release later today.”

  “Thanks.” As Drake made his way back to the hospital room, his cell phone rang. Noticing it was from the El Paso Texas Rangers headquarters, he quickly answered it. “Jackson here. What’s up?”

  “The park ranger at Big Bend National Park called. A murdered couple has been found.”

  “And he wants us to handle the case rather than the FBI or their own investigators?” He’d rather stay and be here for Kay. She didn’t have anyone else.

  “It was Park Ranger Calhoun who asked for you.”

  The guy he’d dealt with after bringing Kay to the ranger’s station at the park. “Is this tied to the woman I rescued?”

  “Possibly. The couple killed was Clarence and Susan Moore.”

  A chill streaked down his spine. “Tell him I’m on my way.” Now he had to tell Kay he was leaving. He knocked, then pushed open the door.

  As he entered, she glanced his way. “Will she bring the baby to me?”

  “Yes, as soon as possible.”

  Kay—having a name felt so much more normal to him—wadded the blanket in her fists. “I’ve been trying to remember while you were gone. Nothing. Now I’m not even sure about what I thought I dreamed. I tried to picture that last image, and I can’t.”

  She looked lost. He hated to leave. “I never recall my dreams after I wake up.” He cleared his throat. “I have to leave for a while.”

  “I was hoping you could be here when I see the baby.”

  “I wish I could, but—” he left his card on the bedside table “—the nurse is waiting on the doctor to check the little boy. If you need to talk with me, call me. There will be times the cell reception won’t be good, but leave a message and I’ll call back when I can. I should be able to return by early evening.”

  “That long?”

  “It’s important, or I wouldn’t leave.” He didn’t want to tell her anything else. The couple’s murder very likely didn’t have anything to do with Kay—at least he hoped. She didn’t need to worry about that on top of all she had to deal with. He turned to leave, stopped and looked back at her, so alone in the hospital bed. “I’m here to help you.”

  She smiled, her eyes brightening for a few seconds. “Thank you.”

  When he left the room, the urge to remain stayed with him the whole way to his car. But a stronger pull drew him back to Big Bend.

  *

  With her eyes closed, a dull pain throbbing against her temples, Kay reclined at a sixty-degree angle in the hospital bed, trying to recall anything that could help her remember who she was. Memories had been stripped from her mind as though this were the day she’d been born.

  A few minutes ago, she’d known how to do things like walk into the bathroom and wash her face. She even brushed her teeth and relished the peppermint flavor. She could read the label on the toothpaste, and when she went back into the main part of the room, she noticed it was two o’clock.

  So why can’t I remember my name? Where I live? How I ended up in the park—with my child?

  Still, no answers flooded her.

  She slid farther under the top sheet and blanket, wishing she could pull it up over her and hide under the covers. The sound of the door opening caused her to tense each time she heard it. When the head nurse entered the room, cradling a baby against her, Kay exhaled her held breath. At least Rosa Martinez wasn’t another stranger coming in. There had been a parade of them in the past hours when all she wanted to see was the Texas Ranger or the baby found with her. Kay hoped she could find some answers to all the questions swirling around in her head.

  “The doctor is releasing Baby Doe later today,” Nurse Martinez said, stopping next to her bed.

  “To who?” Kay asked as she peeked at the dark-haired little boy.

  “That depends on what the State decides. A case worker will be here around five.”

  Case worker? How was she going to prove she was the child’s mother? Would the photos in the locket be enough?

  “Do you want to hold him?”

  “Yes.” Kay sat up, her heartbeat pounding as she waited to take the child, who cooed and smiled at her. Did the baby know her?

  When Kay settled the little boy against her, she knew it hadn’t been the first time. The baby reached up and explored Kay’s face, continuing to grin, his eyes bright, as though he was used to touching Kay and interacting with her.

  “I see he knows you. I’ll leave you two to get reacquainted. If you need me, just push the button.”

  “Thanks,” Kay said, her attention riveted to the boy’s adorable oval face, his sun-kissed skin, as the head nurse left the room. “How are you, sweetie? I wish I remembered your name. I can’t call you Baby Doe.”

  The child babbled, with “Mama” the only recognizable sound in the string.

  Mama. Kay’s throat tightened with conflicting emotions—from awe to fear—that she’d tried to hold at bay. How was she going to take care of this child when she didn’t know who she was? Three hundred dollars wouldn’t go far. If she was this child’s mother, then where was the father? Kay held up her left hand, staring at her third finger, which gave no indication she’d worn a wedding ring recently. On her right middle finger, she wore an opal one.

  Suddenly more questions deluged her. Was she divorced? Or widowed? What if she never married the father of—again she stared at the baby, willing a name to pop into her head.

  Kevin? Kyle? No! Another name surged to the foreground. “Kaleb,” Kay said out loud, and the little boy giggled, touching Kay’s mouth. “Is Kaleb your name?”

  The little boy caught sight of the hospital ID bracelet around his wrist and began playing with it.

  Kay sighed. If only you could talk. The child’s reaction to the name confirmed what Kay would call him until she discovered otherwise. Kaleb.

  The past hours’ exertion crept through Kay’s body. Her headache kept demanding her attention, but she refused to let it get in the way of her time with Kaleb. Kay lounged back and cuddled the baby against her while he played with her curls. The feeling of Kaleb’s fingers combing through her hair stirred a protective instinct—not an unfamiliar feeling.

  She hugged Kaleb. “Sweetie, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  The door swung open, and suddenly a man appeared in her room. A dark-complexioned stranger. Large. Scowling. Her heartbe
at went from calm to racing in seconds. She tightened her hold on Kaleb and picked up the call button. The scent of cigarette smoke wafted to her, nauseating her.

  His thick dark eyebrows slashed downward. “Amy Grafton?”

  “No,” she said with as much force as she could without shouting. If he came another foot closer, she would call for help.

  He took a step toward her bed. “But this is room 236.”

  She pressed the button, then clutched both arms around Kaleb, who had grown quiet, as though the baby felt all of her tension. “A nurse is coming. I’m not Amy.” What if she was? No, she didn’t think she was, and she didn’t like the man’s body language, as if he was preparing for a fight, his gaze darting about as though he was searching for something.

  Rosa Martinez swung the door open and nearly hit him with it. A tall orderly stood behind the head nurse.

  The stranger pivoted. “Sorry, ma’am. Wrong room.” Then the large man rushed from her room so fast he shoved the nurse against the door and nearly knocked the orderly over.

  Rosa frowned and peered into the hallway before dismissing the orderly and heading toward Kay.

  “Should I call security?” The nurse stopped next to the bed with her eye on the entrance into the room.

  “He was looking for someone called Amy Grafton.”

  “He was? I’m not familiar with a patient by that name on this floor. Maybe she’s still in ER, and they haven’t brought her up to her room yet.”

  A niggling sensation told Kay that wasn’t the case. Chills swathed her from head to toe.

  “What did you need? Did Baby Doe spark any memories?”

  “He responded to me and the name Kaleb.”

  Rosa grinned. “That’s great.”

  “I want to keep him in here for the time being. Is that okay?”

  “It’s not normal protocol, but I’ll talk with the doctor and see if he’ll okay it. In the meantime, enjoy Kaleb. I hope that’s his name. It’s beautiful.”

  Kay hoped so, too. That meant she was beginning to remember her past. “Thanks.”

  When the head nurse left her alone, Kay whipped back the sheets, her attention fixed on the door, her legs dangling off the side of the bed. “I don’t have a good feeling about that man.” The fear she’d tried to tamp down exploded, driving Kay into motion. “Kaleb, we’re leaving.”