The Forgettable Miss French (Shadowvale Book 3)

by Kristen Painter

  The hope in her eyes died. “That’s my curse erasing me from your memory. Listen, I’m going to go. I need to get a little sleep before I tackle the day’s work that’s waiting for me. My number is in your phone under Ginny. Call or text if you need me.” Then she snorted and shook her head.

  “What?”

  “You’re going to forget me again once I walk out that door, so really, having my number isn’t going to help because you’re not going to have a clue who it belongs to.” She tipped her head back for a second, as if she was petitioning the heavens for help. Then she looked at him again. “I’m going to write a note and leave it on your desk. Maybe that will help.”

  For reasons he couldn’t name, he wasn’t ready for her to leave. “So…last week I was able to remember you?”

  “Without a hitch.” She pondered that. “I wonder if this is just temporary, then. Maybe…you’ll remember more as you heal.” Her smile returned, a little forced. “That would be nice.”

  “It would be.” And he meant it. Not remembering her made him sad, and there was no logical cause for that except that he must have known her.

  She stood there a second longer. “Okay, I’ll be next door. I’ll put that in the note, too. I hope the pain isn’t too bad.”

  “Thanks. And thank you for everything. Even if I don’t remember it.” He wouldn’t really forget a beautiful, kind woman like this. Would he? All because of some curse? That seemed impossible.

  Her smile widened for a moment. “You’re welcome.”

  Then she was gone.

  As he lay there, he tried very hard to keep her in his mind. He whispered her name over and over, “Ginny French, Ginny French, Ginny French, Ginny—”

  The back door shut, breaking his concentration.

  What had he been thinking about? Forgetting something…foreign? What a weird thought. There wasn’t anything on his mind. Was there?

  He couldn’t answer that. And the uneasy feeling that had just come over him added to his distress. What was going on? Something was missing.

  Something that had just been here.

  Hadn’t it?

  He’d been struck by lightning once, and because of that, he could no longer trust his ability to successfully shift into a wolf.

  Now he’d been stung by lightning bugs, and he felt like he could no longer trust his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to work out what was happening to him, but no answers came.

  He didn’t like this off-kilter feeling at all. He already hurt head to toe, he didn’t need to lose his mental capacity, too. He groaned. Sleep would probably be a good thing, but it wasn’t what he felt like doing. He glanced at the bottles of water and aspirin on his nightstand. Where had those come from?

  Regardless, he should probably take some.

  Gritting his teeth, he forced himself upright. He leaned against the headboard, panting hard against the pain the exertion had caused.

  If he ever saw a lightning bug again, he was going to grind it into a stain under his heel. The pain subsided enough for him to attempt moving again. He took two aspirin and washed them down.

  Twenty minutes passed with him leaning back, waiting for the pills to kick in. They did, too, taking enough of the edge off that he could move without wanting to scream.

  Slowly, using the walls for support, he made his way out of bed. He wore only his boxer shorts. Which meant someone had not only gotten him home, but undressed him, too. But who?

  With that on his mind, he went down the hall and into his office. He flipped on the light, a little spark of static electricity biting his skin when he touched the switch.

  Apparently, being zapped by lightning bugs hadn’t cured that problem.

  As he sat in his desk chair, he realized too late he should have brought the aspirin with him. In a werewolf’s system, they’d last for maybe half as long as they would for a human. Well, he’d be sure to be back in bed before the meds wore off.

  He held out his arms, turning them for inspection. He was in bad shape.

  Jagged red welts covered every inch of skin he could see. Damn bugs. But he’d been through worse in the Rangers.

  Well. He’d been through rough spots that were pretty bad, but he’d never quite experienced pain on this level before.

  Doing his best to ignore it, he used the eraser end of a pencil to power up his laptop. Better safe than sorry about a random electrical charge causing the computer’s memory to go bad.

  While he was waiting for the machine to start, he noticed a folded piece of paper on top of his story notebook. His name was written on it in handwriting he didn’t recognize.

  He opened it up and read.

  Hi Easy,

  This is Ginny, your friend and next-door neighbor. I’m the one who brought you home from the woods, but you won’t remember me because I’m cursed to be forgotten. All you need to know is I’m next door if you need me. My number is in your phone under Ginny.

  Don’t be a stranger.

  - Ginny

  PS. You had two aspirin around 4 a.m.

  He read the note a second time, trying to put a face to her name, trying to remember who this woman Ginny was who’d saved his life. He couldn’t. That bothered him. A lot. He went to check his phone for her number, but realized he didn’t know where his phone was. In the bedroom, maybe?

  She’d brought him home from the woods, and she’d given him aspirin. Was she also the one who’d undressed him? Probably. Why couldn’t he remember her? Was she young or old? Could a curse really wipe a person from memory?

  “Ginny, Ginny, Ginny.” He repeated the name, hoping it would jog something loose. It didn’t.

  His laptop came to life. He logged in and double-clicked on his Word document to open his book. He didn’t think there’d be any answers there, but it felt like the right thing to do. And digging into the story might be enough of a distraction to take his mind off the pain.

  Probably wouldn’t be, but anything was worth a shot.

  But before he could write, he had one more thing to do. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out his journal. He wrote in it every morning, and today would be no exception. He thumbed through to the next blank page, catching sight of a name in the scribblings.

  Ginny. Over and over.

  He absolutely had known her.

  He went back to the day he’d moved in and started reading.

  Chapter Nineteen

  In the past week, Ginny had forgotten how it felt to be lonely. Not anymore. She remembered the sensation very distinctly now. It was all she could feel.

  No. That was a lie. She also felt desperate and sad and like a sucking pit of grief was about to swallow her whole.

  She sat on her couch, the only light the soft blue glow of the fish tank, and wept. She didn’t like to cry. It was too much like giving in.

  Allowing herself to feel the utter despair of her curse led to dark days. The same kind of place she’d been sliding toward before she’d met Easy.

  But what did giving in matter now? Easy had looked at her like she was a complete stranger.

  Because once again, she was. The man she was crazy about, the only man who’d remembered her, no longer had any idea who she was. Just like every other person in this messed-up town.

  How could she be anything but miserable?

  Sobs racked her body, but she was powerless to stop them. Didn’t even try, really. Wave after wave of incredible hurt washed over her until at last she lay down, spent and exhausted.

  She’d never been suicidal, and she wasn’t now. She wasn’t going to leave Aunt Gwen on her own, that was for sure. But being dead would be easier. She hurt so much, anything would be better than this.

  Except dead.

  After a few more tears, she sighed and sat up. She had to get past this, because it wasn’t going to change. She was destined to be alone.

  Not exactly words that made her feel better, but the truth was often a bitter pill, and accepting the truth, especially when she c
ouldn’t change it, had to happen if she was going to move forward.

  She put her head against the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling. She was being overly dramatic. Well, maybe not overly—this was a horrible, awful, sucky situation—but she had to get a grip on things before she spiraled into that dark place.

  She tried to think of something positive. She was a werewolf and had all the perks that came with that. She made decent money. She had a nice little house. Bob, Comet, and Sparky might not be the cuddliest of pets, but they were still good company. Seymour seemed to know who she was. So did Aunt Gwen on her good days. Ginny was pretty healthy, too.

  Other than the curse.

  She sniffed. That wasn’t helping. “C’mon, focus.”

  Her mind returned to Easy, replaying the moments after he’d woken up. Had there been even the slightest glimmer of recognition in his eyes?

  Sadly, there hadn’t been.

  But maybe as he healed, his memory would return. Maybe the pain was blocking her out. Or maybe being shocked by the lightning bug stings had erased whatever glitch had allowed him to remember her.

  She wanted to see him again. To watch his face when he saw her, to look for any sign that she still existed to him.

  But if that didn’t happen, she’d be crushed. Again.

  Still, if there was the smallest hint that he knew her…then there was hope. They could get to know each other again. Maybe eventually, he’d even remember the time they’d already spent together.

  But if he didn’t, they’d just move forward in whatever way they could. She’d introduce herself every time she saw him. And she’d pray that someday his memory of her would stick. After all, it had happened once. It could happen again. Couldn’t it?

  What if he could remember her again? Would those memories disappear with the next thing that happened to him?

  She didn’t know for sure why he’d forgotten her this time. Could be due to the lightning bug attack. But it could be some twist of his curse. Or hers. There was no way of knowing.

  A fresh tear spilled down her cheek.

  It was too much to figure out. And she was too sad to give hope any room. Not right now. Right now, she just had to get through the pain of being forgotten again.

  She lay down and drifted off, exhausted by the events of the day and the ache in her heart. She dreamed of Easy. A happy, sweet dream where nothing had changed.

  And when she woke, a new feeling filled her. A determination to make that happy, sweet dream a reality. She sat up and scrubbed her hands over her face.

  It was light outside. A new morning. She clung to the feeling that everything was going to be all right. No idea how, but that feeling made it possible to breathe.

  She got up and walked to the fish tank, switching the blue moonlight LEDs to daytime and flooding the tank with light. “Morning, guys.”

  Bob made fish faces at her, and Sparky wiggled his little fish butt. Comet was in the rock cave. She sprinkled a few flakes in, causing a small aquatic riot. “I can’t let this beat me, you guys. I like him. A lot. I’m not giving up on us that easily. He’s worth fighting for.”

  She watched the goldfish, happy in their insulated fifty-five-gallon world with their bubble maker and plastic plants and fake rock cave. That was the life right there.

  “I can’t rush it, though. And I can’t force it. What’s going to happen is going to happen. I just have to hope that what happens is really good. Like the first time we met. I have to hope for that.”

  Hope. Funny word. Four letters that made the future seem bright even when the past was dim.

  She put her finger on the glass. “I think I just have to accept that we’re starting over and…” She stared into the water as it blurred away, lost to the new thought in her head. “We need to start over. I need to start over.”

  She blinked, focusing on the fish again. “You guys, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to repeat the first day I met him. Sort of.”

  Sparky’s little mouth rounded into an O.

  She nodded. “I know. Brilliant.”

  What time was it? A little after nine. So she’d gotten some sleep. It would have to be enough. And with the new surge of energy running through her, it felt like it would be. She’d probably crash later, but for now, she had a plan to execute.

  Work first. She checked her email, answered the most important ones, did a quick change on one project, made notes on another, then jumped into the shower.

  Hair and makeup, done. Cute outfit on (white jean shorts, top with black and white polka dots, black wedges). Breakfast eaten (a handful of truffles and a big piece of the Chocolate Dragon egg, but still). And she was out the door. She had a package to mail, so an actual errand to run, and she really needed to see Aunt Gwen, but the rest of the day was going to be a repeat of when she first met Easy.

  After getting her package taken care of, she went to Deja Brew and had an iced coffee. Partially because she needed the caffeine and partially because it was what she’d done the morning he’d moved in. As she drank it, she watched people go by and thought about her life before Easy, then how wonderful it had been with him in it and how wonderful it would hopefully be again in the future.

  She smiled, still filled with the belief that good things were going to happen. That she was going to make them happen. She clung to the thought, pushing it out into the universe with a fierceness that defied failure.

  She finished her coffee and got a second one to go. Aunt Gwen loved iced coffees.

  Ginny drove straight to Emerald Manor. Drink in hand, she strode in and went right to the reception desk. “Good morning. Ginny French to see Gwen French. She’s in Suite 19.”

  Cathy, the receptionist, smiled. “Sure thing. Let me just pull up her file…there you are on the visitor list.”

  Cathy stared at her computer screen, then glanced at Ginny.

  Ginny knew what the issue was. Same one she almost always had. Cathy could see that Ginny was a regular visitor, but she didn’t recognize her.

  Ginny relied on her old standby. “I used to be a blonde.”

  Cathy, happy for the easy out, smiled and laughed. “Who hasn’t, right? Are you taking her out today?”

  “Not today.”

  “All right. Go on through and enjoy your visit.”

  Ginny walked past the family recreation area and the main dining room, then down a long, bright hall. As assisted-living places went, this side of Emerald Manor was more high-end resort with great medical than nursing home.

  Her aunt’s suite had all the comforts of a condo, including amenities like the pool, the exercise room, spa facilities, a beauty parlor, library, twice-daily trips into town, planned activities… The residents probably led more-active lives than Ginny did.

  At least now anyway.

  She knocked on her aunt’s door. “Aunt Gwen? It’s your niece Ginny.”

  A moment later, her aunt opened the door. A familiar uncertainty filled Gwen’s once-bright hazel eyes. “Hi.”

  Ginny smiled and lifted the iced coffee and gave the ice a little rattle. “I brought you your favorite. Iced vanilla latte.”

  “How nice.” Gwen opened the door a little more. “Why don’t you come in? Ginny, right?”

  “Right. I’m your niece. Robert’s daughter. You remember your brother, Robert?” Ginny held out her wrist so Aunt Gwen could see his ID bracelet.

  Gwen looked at it and nodded. “Yes. Terrible thing. He died many years ago. He and his wife. Left their three-year-old daughter behind. I raised her, you know. Wonderful little girl…” She stared at Ginny, her gaze so intense Ginny thought she was seeing the past and not the present.

  “Ginny,” her aunt whispered. “Is that you?”

  Ginny’s heart constricted with love and happiness. Today was one of the good days. “Yes, Aunt Gwen. It’s me.” She held up her wrist. “See? I have Daddy’s bracelet.”

  Gwen touched it lightly, then wrapped her in a hug. “I’m so glad you
came to visit me. I love you so much.”

  The words almost unraveled the emotions Ginny had managed to tie up neatly. Her eyes watered, and she made herself laugh to keep things light. “I love you, too.”

  Aunt Gwen released Ginny after another second or two. “Let’s sit on the patio, shall we? It’s such a nice day.”

  “It is. And that would be great.”

  “Do you want something to drink?”

  “Nope. But you enjoy your iced latte. I know how you love them.”

  “I do.” Gwen took the drink, then headed for the patio.

  Ginny followed her out to the little brick-paved area off the living room. They sat in the glider, but there was a chaise out there, too. Ginny knew on nice days, her aunt liked to nap outside. It was a wolf thing. She did it sometimes herself on the back deck.

  A tall white privacy fence divided Gwen’s side from the neighbor’s side, but Ginny didn’t hear anyone next door.

  Gwen patted Ginny’s knee. “How are things, honey?”

  “They’re…okay.”

  “There’s a man, isn’t there?” She lifted the straw to her mouth.

  Ginny looked at her aunt. “How do you know that? Do you remember me telling you about him?”

  “No, sorry.” She tapped the side of her nose as she finished a long sip. “But I can smell a male wolf on you.”

  Aunt Gwen’s mind might give her trouble, but the rest of her was just fine. “My new neighbor. Bought the McKinleys’ place. He’s really nice.”

  “But?”

  Ginny told her everything, including all the stuff she’d told her aunt already. From the kiss that should have been forgotten to the lightning bug attack and Easy losing his ability to remember her. “I’m not giving up, though.”

  “Nor should you. He sounds like a man worth fighting for.”

  Ginny nodded. “That’s exactly what I told my fish this morning.”

  Aunt Gwen gave her a funny look. “You really do need a man in your life.”

  “It’s been kind of hard, what with the curse and all.”