by Moxie North
“Sheriff,” the deep voice drawled into the phone when Cage picked up.
“Hey man, I need to talk. Got a minute?” Tanner asked.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“So…our missing person. I’m sure you heard we found her,” Tanner said, knowing the family was talking up a storm about it.
“Yup, got four phone calls about it, two from my own mother wanting more gossip.” Cage said with a laugh.
“Well, here’s some more gossip for you. She’s got amnesia,” Tanner said.
“No shit?”
“No shit.” Tanner sighed.
“Well, that will keep them busy for a while.”
“There’s more,” Tanner continued.
“Oh, this should be good, hit me,” Cage goaded.
“She’s mine,” Tanner said. He waited while his Alpha processed that.
The pleased tone that answered him back made his bear proud. “Congratulations, Tanner. This is unexpected, but I couldn’t be happier for you. And yes, this will keep the moms and aunties busy for a while,” Cage said a little more cautiously.
“There’s more,” Tanner sighed.
“Dude, seriously? Your mate has amnesia, and you’ve got more?”
“Yup, seems that my mate was running from something or someone. The San Francisco PD says there is a price on her head put there by the local mob family. My mate got into some trouble down there. Except she has no idea why she was running or that anyone wants to hurt her. I need to work this case and keep her safe. I’m in contact with the detective down there, but he’s worried about leaks. The only thing she has going for her right now is that no one knows where she is,” Tanner finished.
“And she’s got a clan full of bears that will kill anyone that comes near her,” Cage growled.
That was just what Tanner was hoping he would say. He knew there was no better protection than bears protecting their own. There was also no better clan to keep a secret. They may talk amongst themselves but never with outsiders.
“We’ll set up a rotation. I’ll make the calls. If you aren’t available to be with her, one of us will be an arm’s length away. Does Eddison know?” Cage asked.
“Not yet, I figured he’d need time to give me a ration of shit about it. Had things to do first. I’ll talk to him when I get there. Not much I can do right now except help her get better. I don’t know how to do this, man. She has no clue who she is. I can’t just dump the fact she is my mate on her, not that I would. But I can’t even start until she’s better. How do I keep my hands off of her?”
Cage was silent for a moment. “Nope, I got nuthin’. You’re screwed, man. All I can suggest is you take care of her the best you can without making her think it’s creepy, and keep your hands in your pockets.”
“Gee, thanks for that. Wise words from the Alpha,” Tanner said sarcastically.
“That’s what I’m here for.” Cage said. “I’ll start making the calls, tell them to text you when they are available.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Tanner said.
“Good luck. Can’t wait to meet her,” Cage said, sounding again like the proud Alpha that just got a new family member.
“Yeah, me too.” Tanner laughed. He kind of meant it. He had a feeling he hadn’t really met his mate. Not the real her. Who she was now was like a base operating system. Her personality was hiding away in there. He just had to help her bring it out.
Chapter 12
Hanging up the phone, Tanner grabbed his hat and keys and headed out to the SUV. He made a call to the diner and put in an order. He guessed that Brooke wouldn’t mind something other than hospital food. If bears knew one thing, it was how to feed people.
Stopping by the diner, he didn’t even need to get out. Aunt Jennie ran out with a bag all packed up.
“Here you go, sweetie,” she said, giving him a wink.
Tanner didn’t know if the grapevine had started buzzing yet or not, but he wasn’t going to waste time finding out.
Giving her a wave, he backed out and headed to the hospital. Running over to the motel, he asked Betty to let him in the room again. He found a small duffel bag in the closet and asked Betty to pick out what Brooke might need in the hospital. He wasn’t about to lie to his mate and rifle through her belongings after he said he wouldn’t.
The motel owner was more than happy to be included in official police business. She came out of the room quickly with the duffle full along with the bag that held the yarn.
“She probably would like to keep up with her knitting while she’s in the hospital,” she said.
Tanner didn’t know anything about that, so he shrugged and accepted the bags. He’d also taken the keys to the rental car from Brooke’s purse before giving it to her. While Betty was packing the bag, Tanner went through the car. Definitely a rental, but she’d left nothing in it. Not even a candy wrapper.
Nodding as Betty locked the room back up, he made the short trip to the hospital. Tanner tracked down Eddie before delivering his items to his mate.
“Eddie,” Tanner called out when he saw him talking to a nurse.
“Back again so soon? I didn’t know you liked me that much. Or is it our new patient? She’s quite the pretty one, isn’t she?” Eddie teased.
“Keep your eyes and your hands to yourself, Eddie. She’s mine,” Tanner growled. His bear rose to the surface enough that his normally hazel eyes flashed yellow.
The look of shock on Eddie’s face was genuine. His bright blue eyes widened, and a shit-eating grin spread across his face.
“Don’t punch me or nothing, but I’ve already seen your mate naked,” he said, stepping back three paces.
“Fucker,” Tanner said roughly.
“True, but you found your mate. You’re the lucky asshole right now. So I’m happy for you but still jealous as shit,” Eddie said, grinning.
Realizing his cousin was genuinely happy for him, he told his bear to back down. Because right about now, his bear wanted to take a chunk out of Eddie for the naked comment.
“Listen, she’s in trouble. Got into something bad in California. With her not knowing who she is, we need to play this close to the chest and not scare her. I’ve already got Cage on it. He’s going to have someone available to cover for me if I can’t be here.”
“She’s in that kind of trouble?” Eddie asked, stepping back closer to his cousin.
“One hundred grand for anyone that can prove she’s dead. From the sounds of it, she either saw something she shouldn’t have, which is my guess or she was involved in a shooting at the hospital where she worked. My gut says that it’s the first possibility. Wrong place, wrong time.”
“You hope. Sorry, but without her being able to fill us in, we are making some pretty big assumptions. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the fates wouldn’t match you, a sheriff, with a criminal. But then they haven’t managed to find anyone to put up with me yet, so maybe I’ll get the criminal.” Eddie said this jokingly, but there was a longing in his eyes that Tanner knew all too well.
“I’ve got to get my mate’s memory back before I can move forward. I can’t tell you how frustrating this is. How can I help her? She needs to remember why she ran, but I need to also get her back to herself so I can actually meet her,” Tanner said, dragging his hand through his hair.
“Well, pushing her is the worst thing you can do. It will just frustrate her. Just talk to her for now. Talk about things you like; it might trigger something with her. Plus, she’ll be getting to know you at the same time. Use this as an opportunity to get her attached to you before she knows how much she needs you. Go slow. She seems to like to have things organized. She keeps tidying her room even though there is nothing in there to clean up. Talk to her logically and make it a game, so she’s not stressed,” Eddie suggested.
Tanner thought about it. Her clothes in the hotel room were a clear sign of how she liked to operate.
“How long can we keep her here?”
&n
bsp; “As long as you need. I think she’s a little afraid to leave without her memory back. Let’s see how long she’s willing to tolerate it. I would, of course, rather know she was going home with you if she left. I also realize a woman with no memory is not going to be inclined to move into a stranger’s house even if he is the sheriff,” Eddie said wisely.
“No, you’re right. Let’s keep her here as long as we can. I’ll talk to her, and see if I can reason with her,” Tanner said thoughtfully.
“Let me know what I can do, cuz,” Eddie said, slapping him on the back.
Tanner gave him a nod and headed to Brooke’s room.
Chapter 13
Brooke hit the button on the remote to change the channel on the small TV mounted near the ceiling. There were only about seven channels, so it wasn’t like she hadn’t already seen everything that was on. She was bored. She’d walked the hallways for a while. The nurses were nice, offering her some magazines to read.
She accepted them but only flipped through them briefly. They didn’t hold her interest. Maybe she was a book reader. Heavy volumes of nonfiction or autobiographies. Yeah, that sounded like a worthwhile pursuit, something she might do? There was no inkling of truth to that thought. She wondered if she was more a book or movie person.
Glancing down at her hands, she inspected them for signs of recognition. She had nice nails, perfectly shaped ovals. There was a light pink polish on them that looked new. Obviously she got regular manicures. Flipping the blanket back, she looked at her toes. Nicely pedicured, too. Her legs were smooth, and she ran her hands up and down them, trying to tell whether they were shaved or waxed. She wasn’t an all-natural girl, that much was certain.
Staring up at the ceiling and counting the tiles, she started muttering. “Brooklyn…” she tried it out for the hundredth time. She’d been saying it out loud hoping it would sound right. But then she figured, how many people sat around saying their own name? It wouldn’t sound normal to them unless they were narcissistic.
After going through her entire purse, she found out she was a pretty boring person. Her wallet appeared to only have a few credit cards and loyalty cards. A large comb, lotion, a pack of tissues, and a small makeup bag. She did seem to have a penchant for magnolia and vanilla scented items as she examined the contents. There was a small lotion bottle that she used to dab on her hands. Rubbing it into her skin, she brought her hands up to her nose.
Breathing in the fragrance, she wondered if this was her normal scent. Did she wear perfume? There were three different lip products. An all natural lip balm that she smoothed on and almost sighed in relief. There was also a very pretty plum colored lip gloss. She resisted putting that on; it would be silly sitting in the hospital all dolled up, even though she wondered if the sheriff would like it. And finally a very nice tube of nude colored lipstick. This was by far the most expensive item in the makeup bag. Definitely not something she could try on at the moment.
She put everything back but the lip balm, which she sat on the table by her bed before continuing to go through her purse. Not much else in there, actually.
If an archeologist were looking through her purse, they’d have no clue who the owner was or what they liked.
She did think it was strange she wasn’t carrying a phone. Maybe she’d left it charging at the motel.
The purse itself was nice quality, just like the wallet and makeup. Not super high end but not discount either. It looked like something someone would buy because it was practical to spend more money on something of quality. That struck a chord with her for some reason.
“Brooke. Brooklyn Nishi,” she tried again.
Still nothing. When she found her business cards saying she worked at a hospital, she was surprised but as she talked to the nurses and observed her surroundings, she found she knew what most of the equipment was called. She knew why she was being given an IV and why the saline was set at the drip level it was. She wondered if she had more of a medical background than just sitting behind a desk.
Flicking through the channels again, she jumped as a knock sounded at the door. “Come in,” she called out.
The door opened, and handsome Sheriff Rochon walked in. Brooke felt her breath catch, and her chest tightened at seeing him. Damn, that man was fine. He was the kind of man you would have to sneak an extra peek at if you saw him in public. Subtly, of course, but you would still look.
His eyes came straight to the bed. They had a worried look until they saw her, then they warmed. They got softer and kinder, she thought. How someone’s eyes could show so much emotion was either foreign to her, or he was just unique. She was sure it wasn’t something she’d come across often.
“Sheriff! I mean Tanner, you came back,” she exclaimed. Then felt a little embarrassed by the enthusiasm she expressed. She was happy to see him. Thrilled, even. Sitting in the room was lonely, and she didn’t want to be a bother to the nurses. She didn’t need constant medical attention now, so she felt awkward hanging out.
“Of course, I did. I promised I would. I got your clothes from the motel,” he said, setting the bag on the bed. “I also thought you might want something other than hospital food. So I stopped and grabbed something for us on the way here,” he explained
“Us? We having a picnic, Sheriff?” she teased. She liked teasing him, she realized. It was fun, and he seemed to like it, too, judging by the big grin on his face.
“Well, if you don’t mind. I figured you could use some company after being here alone all day. Plus, I have some news for you, and I find conversations always are more pleasant over a good meal,” he said, pulling the food out of the bags and setting it on the rolling table next to her bed.
“My aunt made this. She runs the diner in town. Turkey and cranberry sandwiches. Her loaded potato soup, and I’m pretty sure she threw in a few pieces of berry crumble.”
“That sounds amazing. I tried to eat earlier, but the veggies were gray. I don’t know how they managed it, but they were definitely gray,” Brooke said with a shudder.
Tanner gave a throaty chuckle that had Brooke’s eyes scanning his corded neck. It was a nice neck. Strong, the stubble from his unshaved jaw trailing down his throat. For some reason, she wanted to run her tongue along his neck to taste him.
Wow, what the hell? She really needed to get a grip because that naughty mental trip had her nipples hardening, and her panties getting damp. Shit, she was apparently a trollop.
Chapter 14
Tanner gripped the end of the small table trying to control himself. He’d dropped his head down to stare at the bag when he realized the sweet scent coming off of the woman on the bed meant whatever transpired in those few moments had gotten her wet. She was aroused, and his bear was clawing at him from the inside.
Not wanting to scare her, he cleared his throat, released his hands and continued opening the containers.
“Yeah, I think they cook those vegetables until they are a regulation level of mush. Probably easier for sick people to eat,” he offered. His bear was at least not in his voice yet; that would be even harder to hide. He told his bear to back down, or they’d scare their mate. It seemed to work.
He looked up to see his mate looking at him, confused and shocked. Not sure what caused that look, he decided to avoid what just happened by handing her a takeout box.
“Do you need something to drink?” he asked.
Brooke accepted the box and pointed to the table by the head of the bed. “Apparently I’m thirsty. You would think being hooked up to an IV would negate that, but I keep going through those. I guess I like ice water. Simple, but it seems like it’s something I know,” she said with a shrug.
“Hey, that’s good. Baby steps, right?” he said, grabbing the chair he’d been in earlier. He sat down and kicked one booted foot up onto the bed.
“Excuse me, Mr. Sheriff, did you just put your dirty boot on my bed?” Brooke asked, her eyebrows raised.
Looking down at his feet, he gave a shrug. “
Yup, getting comfy. You should try it,” he suggested.
Glancing down at herself, she laughed, “This is about as comfy as you can get in a hospital bed and gown.”
“Shit, sorry, I should have let you change first,” he said, feeling chagrined he didn’t think she’d want to put her own clothes on.
“No worries, I’ll shower and change after I eat. So far I haven’t been a sloppy eater, but you never know. There is soup here. We could be in need of a total change-out – clothing, bedding, it could be a catastrophe,” she joked
“I’m gonna have to go ahead and say that possibility is slim to none. You don’t seem the type,” he said, biting into his sandwich.
“What type do I seem?” she asked, truly intrigued,
Chewing, Tanner seemed to ponder this. “Well, you are organized, so I’m going to have to say you aren’t messy. Your hotel room barely looked lived in. By the way, you apparently are a knitter. I found a bag of stuff in your room. Thought you might want it,” he said, gesturing to the other bag next to the duffle.
Brooke just stared at the bag like it was a snake. “Knitter? Seriously? What am I, eighty?” She looked at him like he had the answers.
“I guess your mom said she suggested you take it up to reduce your stress. So yeah, you knit,” he said, taking another bite of sandwich.
“Oh, did I have a cell phone in the motel room? There wasn’t one in the purse. I’m pretty sure everyone over the age of twelve has one,” Brooke asked.
“Didn’t see one in the room or your car. Maybe you left it at home?” Tanner offered. His instinct was telling him she’d watched enough cop shows that she thought cell phones were traceable and had ditched hers, but he kept that to himself.
The confused look stayed on her face as she took a bite of her own sandwich. Her eyes rolled back, and her lids closed as the roasted turkey and tart cranberries woke up every one of her taste buds. She let out a moan as she chewed.