Of course, I was hoping that she didn’t have a significant other. And that she would stay here, even when she remembered her other life. But, that wasn’t realistic. More than likely, she would be leaving one day when she fully regained her memory. And maybe one day soon. I had to be prepared for that day when it came.
How do you prepare yourself for heartbreak though? I wanted to talk to Lindsay about it but didn’t know how to bring it up. It felt selfish to do so. She had enough on her plate. How was I supposed to ask her to worry about my feelings?
I was working in the wood shed, putting the finishing touches on the wooden rocking horse for Abby. Lindsay came in with the red satin bow that we had picked up in town the other day. When I finished, she tied the bow around the horse’s neck.
“It’s lovely, Cole,” She told me.
“Thanks. It is nice if I do say so myself,” I said, smiling. I was pleased with the outcome.
“Abby’s going to love it,” she added.
I hoped so. I popped open a beer and asked Lindsay if she wanted one.
“Sure,” she answered. I could tell that she was getting restless.
“You want to talk about it?” I asked her.
She sighed. “It’s Christmas and I still can’t remember. My family. My friends. I’m sure that they think that I’m dead. Maybe they have hope that I’m still alive out there, somewhere. What kind of holiday are they going to have? It’s worse for them.”
She smiled slightly.
“What?” I asked.
“Them. I don’t even know who ‘they’ are. Or if they even exist. This is such a mess,” she said.
“I know,” I agreed. I sighed. “I wish that I could say something to help,” I told her.
“Cole, you do help. And, you know, I’m worried about you, as well. What’s going to happen when I get my memory back?” she asked.
There it was. The dreaded question.
I looked down at my feet. I wasn’t sure how to reply.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said sincerely. “I don’t want to hurt anybody.”
“I know. It’s not your fault. That’s why I tried to put you in the resort room at first. I didn’t want to get involved with you just in case. But, here we are.” I said, giving her a slight smile.
She shook her head. “Maybe I should go back to the room and not stay here?” she suggested. “It’s probably not good for either of us to be spending so much time together. It will only be harder on us later on.”
I shook my head no. Part of me wanted to say, yes, go back to the resort. But I’d never say that. It was too late for that.
“I think that it’s too late for that. For me, anyway,” I told her. I looked her in the eyes to try and feel her out.
“Me too,” she agreed.
I felt that she was being sincere with me. I’d been so focused on my own feelings that I hadnt considered hers If she had really fallen for me, as I had for her, it would be just as hard on her when the time came to leave.
I reached over and pulled her to me. We stood embraced for a long moment. I ran my hands through her silky hair and kissed her. She pulled back and looked me in the eyes and smiled. Her cheeks were flushed. She was so beautiful. Part of me hoped that she would never get her memory back. How selfish was that?
“Tomorrow the family always has dinner in town at a restaurant called The Stone Terrace. Will you come with me?” I asked her.
“Do you think that that’s a good idea?” she asked me.
Of course,” I answered. “It’s Christmas Eve. I’m not going to leave you alone. Not with those thoughts in your head,” I joked, tapping her on the head.
She giggled.
“So, you’ll come?”
“Your family won’t mind?” she asked.
“Are you kidding me? They are expecting you. My mother would scold me real good if I showed up without you,” I told her grinning, imagining it. “It’s not like it’s some big secret that we’ve been spending all of this time together.”
“You’re right. Of course, I’d love to come with you, Cole,” Lindsay replied.
My heart fluttered and I grinned at her like a schoolboy.
“I don’t have anything to wear,” she added. “I hate to keep borrowing all of Angela’s clothes.”
“We can go shopping if you want. I’ll take you into town tomorrow morning.”
“Cole, I can’t let you spend any money on me. You’ve done enough.”
I put up my hand to stop her. “I have enough money,” I told her. “Money is not an issue. Look at me. I’m 32 years old and have no family. I don’t go out. I haven't dated in years. Money is not an issue,” I repeated.
She gave me a funny look.
“What?” I asked.
“What is a good-looking, kind-hearted guy like you doing single, anyway?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “I had some bad experiences when I was younger and swore off women for good. I don’t know what has gotten into me lately,” I admitted.
She smiled.
“Well, maybe I do know what’s gotten into me,” I said, smiling down at her. I captured her hand and brought it to rest on my chest over my heart.
She was smiling but her mind drifted far away for a moment. I knew that she was wishing that she could remember her own past. Had she been heartbroken? Was she in a happy committed relationship that she couldn’t remember?
We both looked away for a moment deep in our own thoughts.
***
The next morning I took Angela into town to the dress store. We had no idea if it would be opened on Christmas Eve., but thought that we’d give it a try.
I pulled up in front of the store on Main Street and it did turn out to be open. A nice old lady named Edna owned the shop. We went inside so that Lindsay could try on some dresses.
“Hello, Miss Edna,” I greeted her.
“Cole Hunter. How are you? How’s Mary Beth?” she asked. She was old friends with my mom.
“Mom is good,” I told her. “This is Lindsay. She needs a dress for tonight. And maybe a couple of others if she wants,” I added.
“Hello Lindsay,” Edna greeted her. Let me show you a few things. Cole, please look around and let me know if you see anything,” she added.
I didn’t know what to look for. This was a woman’s shop. I gave Lindsay her space and went to look out the shop window. It was flurrying lightly.
I thought that I saw Alec’s black pickup truck parked across the way at the Post Office. Then, I saw him come out of the building. I thought about heading over to say hello to him, but then I saw that he had a girl with him.
Who’s that? I thought. She was pretty. Tall, slim with bright blondee curly hair. She was dressed up. Maybe they are going out? Last time I talked to him he hadn’t said anything about this girl. She must be new.
Hmm, I thought and as he and the pretty girl got back into the truck and they pulled away. I’d have to give him a call later.
Lindsay came out of the dressing room wearing a pretty green flowing dress with a silk shawl. It looked lovely on her. The color matched her eyes perfectly and accented her dark hair.
She tried on several more dresses that were more casual and one more formal black dress. I liked them all.
“Which one should I get?” She asked.
“All of them,” I told her.
“No, Cole,” Lindsay protested.
I told Miss Edna to wrap them all up and handed her my card. Then, I told Lindsay to be quiet when she kept trying to protest.
“Thank you, Cole,” she said, smiling.
On the way home, she mentioned getting a job. “What?” I said, shocked.
“Yeah, I feel bad not having my own money. You’ve been paying for me to live since you found me,” she said.
“Lindsay, what kind of job can you get?” I asked, trying not to sound like a wise-ass. She already had a job as a phot
ographer. She just couldn’t work right now.
She thought about it. “I could waitress or something.”
I laughed.
“What’s funny about that?” she asked, getting annoyed with me.
“Nothing. But nobody would hire you because you don’t have any ID. Or a social security number. And you don’t need a job. You have a job,” I reminded her.
“Yeah but I don’t have that job now. Or, access to my bank account. I hate spending your money. It doesn’t feel like me. I’m pretty sure I’m really independent,” she said.
“That’s good to know,” I told her. “You can pay me back one day if you insist. I won’t take it, but you can try. Everyone needs help sometimes,” I told her.
She shook her head. “There’s help and then there’s living for free off of someone else’s kindness for too long,” she said.
“Look, if you want, I can find something for you to do around the resort. We always need help. Especially when we get snowed in. The staff can’t get up the mountain,” I told her. “Like how Angela bartends sometimes.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “Find me a job at the resort.”
“Okay,” I said, happy the conversation was over. I didn’t know what she could do at the resort. Maybe we could use a photographer for the website.
***
We got home and got ready for the evening at the restaurant. Lindsay wore the green dress and looked lovely, as usual. I drove usI to The Stone Terrace and we met the rest of the family there.
Since we had a large family, we rented out a corner of the dining room every Christmas Eve. We did this to get out as a family at least once a year. We spent every other holiday at the resort.
Tomorrow, Christmas day, we would spend the morning at my mom’s house then there were activities planned during the afternoon at the resort with the guests. Being that we were open 24/7, and 365 days of the year, we had to entertain the guests on the holidays, as well. One of the favorite traditional activities on Christmas Day was was tree decorating. We had two medium-sized pine trees outside of the resort that we had all the guest help with decorating. It was a fun time for the kids especially.
Lindsay and I joined the family inside the restaurant and took our seats. My mom was there along with Brad, Angela, Reid, Bryce, and Abby, and my other brothers, Dax, and Harley.
We had pre-ordered platters of food that the restaurant chef had prepared for us. All of our favorites. Beef, Seafood, salads, four side dishes, and a variety of desserts. The food was delicious.
I was happy to see that Lindsay was fitting in with the family well. They all did their best to be polite and make her feel comfortable.
The twins, Reid and Bryce, had heard about her camera and all of the pictures that she had taken of wildlife all over the world.
“Can we see your pictures sometime?” Reid asked Lindsay.
“Sure, I’d love to show you my pictures,” she told him.
“We have a darkroom,” Bryce told her.
“A darkroom?” she asked. “Maybe we can develop some prints some time?” Lindsay suggested to him. “You can show me how.”
“You don’t know how?” Bryce asked her.
“I’m not sure, to tell you the truth. My camera is a digital one,” she told the boys.
“Oh, we have a camera that uses film still. We develop the negatives and then develop the prints from the negatives,” Reid told Lindsay. “We can go outside and take some pictures with our camera one day and then go and develop them,” he suggested.
“Yeah, it’s lots of fun,” Bryce added. “Angela showed us how to do it.”
“Cool,” I said, looking at Angela.
“It’s been a hobby of mine since high school. Film photography and developing my own prints,” she told Lindsay. “I am no professional like you are. I heard about your photos. I’d like to see them too sometime.”
“I’m glad that we all have something in common,” Lindsay told the boys and Angela. “I’d love to show you my photos and try out film photography. Sounds like a really fun time.”
“It is,” Reid and Bryce both said in unison. They had a habit of blurting out the same thing at the same time. It was a twin thing.
“How about a family photo now?” Mom asked the boys. “You brought your cameras right?” she asked them.
“Yep,” announced Reid.
The boys lined everyone up in front of the fireplace and set their cameras up on tripods. They set the timers and ran back to be in the pictures. Everyone counted down the twenty seconds until the first camera went off and yelled out ‘Merry Christmas’ before the second one shot the picture ten seconds later. Nobody yelled together and some weren’t even looking at the lens. I wassure the photos would be funny.
“I can’t wait to develop these,” Reid was telling Bryce.
“I know they are going to be cool pictures!” Bryce was laughing.
Everyone had an after dinner drink and we talked for another hour or so, just enjoying family time.
Abby started to get cranky, so Angela and Brad decided to take her, the twins, and Mom home. Dax and Harley invited Lindsay and me to have another drink at the bar.
“Sure,” Lindsay agreed.
Lindsay and I both ordered beers. Since she had been hanging out with me, she’d been enjoying drinking beer with me.
We sat at the lounge and they were playing soft Christmas music in the background. The entire evening was festive and for a while, both Lindsay and I forgot about our predicament. It was a good feeling to just enjoy ourselves for a change.
After our drink, we decided to take off. Dax and Harley would sit there until the lounge closed. There was a football game on the TV that they had a bet on between themselves and they said they’d be heading back home after the game was over.
We said our goodbyes and I told my brothers that we’d see them in the morning.
“Good night,” Lindsay called to them.
“Night Lindsay.Cole. Have a good one,” they called back.
Outside, we had parked across the town square because the restaurant was busy and the lot was full. Also, the local pub was in the square, and it was a favorite hangout with the locals. As we passed it, loud music came blaring out of the open door and several drunken people were singing Christmas Carols outside on the sidewalk.
Main Street and the town square were decorated with wreaths and Christmas lights. The street lights all adorned lighted wreaths with berries. The benches that lined the small park and fountain in the middle of the square were decorated as well, and the lights in the fountain were glowing green and red. Christmas music played from speakers along the street and in the square. It was really pretty during this time of the year.
I looped my arm through Lindsay’s and we walked along the sidewalk slowly, enjoying the festivities. Earlier in the day, there had been a parade and party for the kids. One of the floats was still set up in the square and a couple was taking pictures by it. I looked over and recognized my buddy, Alec.
“Alec,” I called out to him. He looked in our direction and waved as he came over to us.
“Hey, Cole, what’s going one?” Whose this?” he asked me.
“Lindsay, this is Alec. Alec, Lindsay,” I introduced them.
Alec reached out and quickly shook Lindsay’s hand.
“Nice to meet you,” he told her.
“Likewise,” she answered smiling.
I talked with Alec for a minute telling him I was in town for the yearly family dinner. He said that he was over at the bar on a date. That reminded me of the blondee girl that I had seen him with earlier today.
“Hey, I was in the dress shop earlier today and saw you with a blonde girl. Who was that?” I asked. “You didn’t tell me about a girl. Last time we talked you were avoiding someone but this wasn’t her.”
“No, no. Not the same girl. I just met this girl a few days back. Her name is Sophie. She’s from out o
f town and we accidentally bumped into each other, literally. I don’t know how long she’s staying for, but we’ve been hanging out ever since we met. Kind of just happened, ya know?”
I chuckled. Boy did I know.
“Yeah, I do know,” I agreed with him.
“Sophie?” repeated Lindsay. “A blonde girl named Sophie? That name sounds familiar to me,” she said. She looked as if she was trying to remember something.
“Yep, that’s her name. As I said, she’s visiting from out of town, so you probably wouldn’t know her,” Alec said.
Lindsay nodded, still looking confused.
As Alec and I talked for another minute and wished each other a Merry Christmas, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an old, beat-up, grey, pickup truck driving through the square. I didn’t think anything of it and said goodbye to Alec who had to get back inside the pub to his date.
Next thing I knew, Lindsay was tugging on my shirt. Her jaw wa unhinged and a look of sheer panic was on her face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her, starting to panic myself at the way that she was urgently tugging on my shirt.
“It was those two men!” Lindsay cried, close to hysterics. “In that grey truck. They saw me!” she said shaking.
“What men?” I asked. Then it dawned on me. “Not the men from the pictures?” I asked her.
“Yes, it was them. We should follow them!” she shouted and took off toward my truck. Even in her high heels, I had to trot to keep up with her. We reached the truck and I opened the passenger side door for her and hoisted her up inside. I ran around and got into the driver’s side and turned the engine.
I pulled out of my space but couldn’t speed after them. Too many people were in the square, strolling in the street. As soon as I got around the square, I turned onto Main Street to go after them.
We didn’t see any lights in front of us.
“They must have turned off,” Lindsay said.
“Dax did say that he saw them in town last week,” I remembered.
“Yeah, it was them. For sure. I saw the skinny man with the scar. They saw me, Cole! They both looked right at me! Now they know that I live around here!”
Lindsay was almost hysterical. I didn’t know what to say to calm her down. I was trying to look for the grey truck and at the same time think about what she was saying.
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