“Then I may never remember why this happened to me?”
“That’s right. There’s a chance of that,” the doctor answered. “And let me know right away if those headaches don’t subside. You should feel much better by tomorrow.”
“But…but,” she began as her situation became clear in her mind, “you’re saying I’m not going to regain my memory soon?”
“Soon?”
“Today. Doctor, I need to know who I am. Today!”
“I’m afraid that might not happen. There’s no way of knowing.”
“Surely there’s something you can do.” Alarmed, she began to tremble, her body shaking uncontrollably.
“No,” she said, rubbing her forehead. “No, this isn’t happening. Where will I go? What will I do?” She refused to cry, but couldn’t control her shuddering. Panicked, she shook even more. She didn’t know a soul in Winchester County. Or anywhere else, for that matter. She didn’t know if she had family here. She didn’t know anything about herself. She searched her mind again, trying hard to recall one memory, just one. But nothing came to mind. She didn’t even know her own name! This all seemed like one horrible dream.
Dr. Quarles glanced at the sheriff before settling his gaze on her. He spoke softly, in a reassuring way that gave her reason to believe that the good doctor had met his true calling in life. “My wife and I have a spare room in our house. Used to be our daughter Katy’s room, but now she’s grown and married. You’re welcome to stay with us until we can sort this all out.”
She was at a loss. She didn’t know what to say to such a generous offer. Words weren’t enough to express the gratitude she felt. Her throat thick with emotion, she managed to murmur, “Thank you, thank you.”
“Well then, it’s settled. Let me just call my wife and let her know we’re having a houseguest.”
Her gaze shifted to the dark, unreadable eyes of Sheriff Riggs. For some odd reason, she needed his approval. In just a short time, she’d come to rely on the man who had most likely saved her life this morning.
The sheriff stared at her for a long moment, as if making up his mind about something. His lips quirked for an instant, not quite in a smile, but something just short of one.
“Wait up, John,” Sheriff Riggs said in a commanding tone, stopping the doctor before he exited the room.
“I have another idea.” Then he turned his attention to her, with a dark piercing gaze. “She should stay with me.”
Two
Maybe it was because he felt responsible for her safety, or maybe it was the way she looked up at him with those amazing blue eyes, but Mac couldn’t abandon his “Jane Doe.” Not even to John and Doris Quarles, one of the nicest couples in Winchester County.
Something inside him just couldn’t do it, and the invitation fell from his lips without hesitation.
Jane stepped off the examining table to look him squarely in the eye. Her brows furrowed and she spoke in a tone that seemed…hopeful. “You want me to stay with you?”
He nodded, but added clarification. Hell, he wasn’t propositioning her. If he’d met her under different circumstances, without a doubt he’d be interested. And not too many women interested him lately. But Mac was wiser and much more cynical when it came to the opposite sex now. He’d had a bad track record, a failed marriage among other things, to prove it. But something about Jane Doe struck a nerve. He’d lend her his help, food and shelter, and that would be it.
“It’s strictly business. I live behind the jail and it will make my investigation into your past easier if you’re close at hand. Dr. Quarles lives—” he glanced at John, hoping to get this right “—at least fifteen miles out of town. Correct?”
Dr. Quarles nodded. “That’s right. Doris and I have a nice place, but I’m afraid it’s outside the city limits.”
Mac explained, “I live with my sister, Lizzie. You and I won’t be alone, trust me. Lizzie’s a schoolteacher. She’s around teenagers all day long. She’ll love the adult company.”
“Doctor, that does make more sense,” Jane explained to John Quarles. “I need to work with the sheriff to find out my identity. Thank you for the offer. Both of you have been so kind and generous to me.” Jane Doe smiled, and dimples peeked out from the corners of her mouth. Mac took credit for that smile and immediately halted that train of thought. No sense getting caught up in blue eyes and a curvy body. He had a job to do. And he’d bet the woman would get her memory back real soon. Either that or someone would come looking for her.
“Are you through with your exam?” Mac asked the doctor.
“Yes, I’ve given her a prescription for pain, but I want to know if there’s more dizziness, fainting or anything unusual.”
“You got it,” Mac said. Then he faced his new houseguest. “Are you ready, Jane?”
“Jane?” She wrinkled her nose.
“Jane Doe,” he said softly. Hell, he had to call her something. “Unless you prefer another name?”
“My real name would work wonders,” she said a little sadly, with a slant of her head.
“I’m gonna work on that straightaway.”
Again she looked at him with hopeful eyes, then shrugged a shoulder. “Jane’s as good a name as any, I suppose.”
“Okay, Jane. Let’s get you home.” And for the first time in his life, Mac was taking a woman home to meet his doting younger sister.
You’d have thought he’d been the one who’d hit his head on a rock.
“Don’t let me keep you from your work, Sheriff,” Jane said, sitting across from him in his cozy kitchen. He’d driven her to his house, after showing her the Winchester County Sheriff’s Station, which was just yards away, up on the main street of town. His house sat on a quaint residential street just behind the jail.
While the sheriff’s station could be considered contemporary, with angles and large floor-to-ceiling windows, the sheriff’s home was anything but. She liked the charming three-bedroom house the minute she’d stepped inside. There was a lived-in warmth about the place.
“Call me Mac,” he offered with the slightest hint of a smile. “And this is work. I hope you’re up to a few questions. I’m going to take a drive out later today with my deputies to scour the area where you fell.” Mac slid her a cup of coffee and a turkey sandwich he’d whipped up at the counter.
“Oh, thank you.”
“It’s my job,” he said automatically.
She chuckled. The man was all business. “No, I meant for the meal.”
He glanced at her for a moment, staring into her eyes. “It’s hardly a meal. Lizzie’s better at cooking than I am. She’ll be home after three.”
“I hope she doesn’t mind having me here.”
Without pause, he stated, “She won’t. If anything, she’ll talk your ear off. My sister loves a good conversation, especially if she’s the one doing all the talking.”
“Oh, I get it,” Jane said, teasing the all-too-serious sheriff. “That’s why you wanted me here. Takes a load off, does it?”
Instead of a sharp denial, he played along, much to her surprise. “You got it. You’re nothing if not perceptive.”
Jane drew air into her lungs. With her situation so desperate, she couldn’t put much energy into being witty. “Thanks for the sandwich.” She took a bite, then sipped her coffee. “What did you want to ask me?”
Mac scratched his head, then leaned forward. He paused a moment, his gaze traveling the length of her. When his eyes stopped on her chest for the briefest of seconds, Jane’s breath caught. Electricity sparked in the air, filling the small kitchen. He liked what he saw, and though he had tried, he couldn’t conceal that initial jolt. After all Jane had been through today, that brief instant in time brought her a definite dose of satisfaction.
Silly, of course, but true. Jane didn’t know much about herself, but she understood something about the opposite sex. And Sheriff Macon Riggs, physically fit and mentally sound, was one heck of an appealing man.
�
��I need to know if you came up here on your own. Or if someone meant to do you harm. Sorry, but I have to ask.”
The thought of someone out to harm her hadn’t crossed her mind, yet she didn’t feel alarmed. In truth, she felt blank, like an unused sheet of paper. Jane searched her memory, hoping for a flicker of recognition. “I don’t know. I can’t remember. Do you think it’s possible that someone deliberately left me up on that cliff?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. A jealous boyfriend? It’s been known to happen, but the reality is that you’ve got no identification on you. I didn’t see a car abandoned on the road, but we’ll check that out. And you had nothing in your possession.”
“I know,” she said, tamping down her frustration. She knew the sheriff was only trying to get at the facts.
“It’s strange, but I have no answers for you. The only thing I remember is waking up on that road, with sunlight warming my body, looking into your eyes. I remember thinking you had nice eyes,” she said, revealing aloud what she meant to keep to herself.
The sheriff stared at her, again with an unreadable expression. Jane shrugged off her embarrassment at that last statement, reminding herself to keep her most private thoughts to herself. She realized, though, that she might not know enough about herself to keep quiet. Each new revelation, even one as small as Mac’s attractive dark eyes, meant something to her. She had so little to go on and knew so little about herself that she felt as if each new observation could be a clue to her identity.
She wondered, this time definitely keeping her thoughts to herself, if her attraction to Mac Riggs was a natural reaction borne out of his rescuing her, or if she might have automatically categorized him as “her type.” She wondered if she liked the tall, dark and deadly serious kind of man, ones with strong features and sexy eyes.
“Anything else?” she asked, grabbing for the plates.
Mac immediately reached out, brushing his hand over hers, taking the plates from her. The contact startled her and she froze, her heart leaping in her chest. His touch sent shivers down her spine in a decidedly good yet unwelcome way. Jane had enough to worry about without lusting after the man who had been kind enough to take her in, offering her shelter and protection.
“I don’t expect you to wait on me,” he said firmly.
The breath whooshed out of her. “And I expect to pull my weight around here. Now, if you don’t have any more questions, I’ll clean up the kitchen. Don’t you have an investigation to carry out?”
Mac blinked and his lips thinned, but Jane was certain he held back a grin. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll get right on it.” He snapped to, standing tall and puffing out his chest. Once again taking control. “Lizzie’ll be home shortly. You need anything before then, call the jail.” He scribbled a number on a notepad on the counter. Then he clapped his tan hat on his head, scowled once as she began clearing the rest of the table, and nodded in farewell.
He strode to his patrol car, which was parked on the driveway. As she watched from the doorway, she decided he was just as appealing from the back side, wearing a pair of tan pants hugging a tight butt and a chocolate-brown uniform shirt stretching across very broad shoulders. He slid into his car and started the engine, taking one last glance at her before pulling away.
Funny, with Mac around she’d felt safe and protected. But as soon as he left, her bravado failed her. She was alone. Not just in a strange house, but alone in her head. She had no memory, nothing to call upon, nothing to seek solace in, and that more than anything else frightened her.
Jane wandered from room to room, getting acquainted with a home she did not know, ready to meet a woman, who, regardless of all of Mac’s assurances, might not appreciate an intruder.
Jane crossed her arms and hugged herself, warding off another case of trembles. She didn’t know if she had the fortitude to survive without her memory. Right now nothing seemed real. She walked into the room Mac had designated as hers for the time being, and lay down on the bed. The full-size mattress accommodated her comfortably and she noted the cheerful surroundings. She guessed Lizzie was the decorator in the family, the whole house having female touches like lacy curtains and wall sconces with scented candles, so unlike the no-nonsense Sheriff Riggs.
Jane curled up on a soft chenille quilt and closed her eyes, as fatigue from a harrowing day caught up to her. She only hoped that when she woke up, somehow her memory would return.
And this nightmare of a day would be over.
Jane woke to the sound of humming, some catchy tune she didn’t quite recognize. She opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings, blinking as she darted her gaze around the room. Everything seemed…off. For a second nothing registered. Then, in an instant, it all rushed back to her and she remembered her sudden appearance here in Winchester County. She remembered Sheriff Riggs taking her in. She’d fallen asleep in the guest room in his home.
Jane sat upright in bed, hoping that she’d remember something more than the past few hours of her life. When nothing jumped out at her, she rose quickly and peeked her head out the bedroom door in search of whoever was humming.
“Oh, hi! I didn’t mean to wake you,” announced a slender woman with short auburn hair and Mac’s espresso-brown eyes. She approached, walking down the hallway wearing a big smile. “It’s the song. I just can’t seem to get it out of my head. I didn’t realize I’d been humming and disturbing your peace all at the same time. Some songs just do that to you, you know.”
“I didn’t recognize it,” Jane said, searching her mind for any clue. “Should I?”
“Not if you don’t listen to country music. It’s Tim McGraw’s latest.
“Oh,” Jane said with a shrug, learning something new about herself. “I guess I don’t like country music.”
The woman smiled once again and put out her hand. “Hi, I’m Lizzie, Mac’s sister. Don’t worry, a few days around here and you’ll hear every doggone country tune known to man.”
Jane took her hand and, instead of a shake, Lizzie placed her other hand atop hers and squeezed gently. “Mac told me all about your situation. Sorry to hear about your amnesia. That must be strange, not knowing who you are.” She cast her a warm, soothing smile. “You’re welcome here for as long as it takes to regain your memory. Don’t tell him I said so, but Mac’s the best there is. If there’s a way to discover who you are, he’ll find it.”
Jane nodded. She had already pegged him as a dedicated lawman. “He’s calling me Jane Doe.”
Lizzie frowned. “Now, isn’t that original. That man has no imagination.”
“It’s fine, really. Call me…Jane.”
“Okay, Jane. Nice to meet you. And welcome. Mi casa es su casa.”
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your hospitality. Your brother has been so kind. And now you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Lizzie waved off her thanks with a quick gesture. “I’m glad to have the company. Mac told you I teach at the high school. Little devils, all of them. But I love them, just the same.”
Jane laughed. Lizzie had a way about her that put a smile on your face. “It’s easy to see you love your job.”
She nodded. “I do. But I’m ready for a break. School’s out soon and I have the whole summer off.”
Jane wondered about her own job status. Did she have a career? Would someone be missing her soon? Or had she traveled here on some kind of vacation? It seemed that all of her conversations reverted right back to square one. Who was she? And why was she in Winchester County?
“Tell me,” she asked Lizzie curiously, “that song you can’t get out of your head. What’s it about?”
“‘Live Like You Were Dying’? It’s about living life to the fullest. About getting the most out of life while you’re still here on earth.” She lifted her shoulder in a little shrug. “At least, that’s my interpretation.”
“And do you?” Jane asked, nearly certain at how Lizzie would respond. “Live life to the fullest?”
Lizzie’s smile faded some and she gave serious thought to her answer. “No, I wish I could be more adventurous, but I’ve never been a risk-taker.”
Surprising. Jane didn’t quite know what to say, but Lizzie bounced right back, grinning. “Besides, who would watch out for Mac? He needs me. He doesn’t have anyone special in his life. And he hasn’t for quite awhile. Divorced, years ago.”
Jane didn’t know Mac Riggs very well, but she’d gotten the distinct impression that the big strong sheriff didn’t need anyone watching out for him. He appeared quite capable in all regards, a man who didn’t want or need complications in his life. He seemed to like his life just the way it was. Jane guessed that Mac kept his sister close so that he could watch out for her, regardless of what Lizzie might think. And she also guessed that Lizzie had sacrificed something in her life for her brother’s sake.
Though it wasn’t any of her business, Jane felt obligated to comment. “He’s lucky to have you, Lizzie. In fact, you’re lucky to have each other. I only wish I knew if I had any siblings.”
Lizzie reached out to take her hand, her brown eyes warm and reassuring. “You’ll get your memory back soon. It might even happen tomorrow. But in the meantime, know that you’ve got a friend here in Winchester.”
Jane didn’t know anything about herself, but she believed that she would have liked having Lizzie Riggs as her friend. “Thank you.”
“Here I am, going on and on, and I haven’t even asked if you’d like to get cleaned up. Would you like a hot shower or a bubble bath? I bet you’d love to get out of those clothes.”
Lizzie’s perception and her generous attitude made Jane feel at home. For that, she would be eternally grateful. “I would. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve been in these clothes for twenty-four hours.” She glanced at Lizzie, her mind whirling. “Maybe I have.”
Lizzie nodded. “Maybe. All the more reason to get you out of them and into something else.”
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