“Yeah.”
Her mother wiped her hands on a tea towel and approached, eyes narrowed.“How bad?”
“He doesn’t remember me.Or anything else, apparently.”
“Amnesia isn’t uncommon after head trauma.”
Sienna gulped as her lies threatened to bury her.
Doubt flickered on her mother’s expression.“You haven’t been together long enough for trust to build between you.”
Sienna’s throat tightened.Trust was precisely what she’d betrayed.
The cabin must be small, since Liam could hear two women talking.
“He’s lost so much weight.He can’t afford to lose more,” Sienna said.
“Short of taking him to the hospital, we can’t do much more.None of the neighbors will help.Let’s try some soup again.I know it doesn’t have much flavor, but he needs liquids.”
“Yes, Mama.I’ll heat it now.”
A spoon clinked, and Liam’s tension faded.Why did he hurt everywhere?His muscles throbbed with stiffness, as if he’d lain motionless for hours.
“Oh, Sienna,” a voice whispered.“Nothing goes right for us.Your papa.Your brothers and now your mate.Maybe we’re cursed after all.”
The voice held a deep sorrow that tugged at his emotions, and Liam ached to offer comfort.Perhaps his initial fear was unwarranted, since both women sounded concerned about his condition.
Footsteps returned, and with them, the faint scent of meat.
“Don’t think like that, Mama.We’ve done nothing to deserve this run of bad luck.Things will improve.You’ll see.”
Another woman appeared—older with brown eyes like Sienna’s and long black hair confined in a braid.“I’m Tamsin, Sienna’s mama.”Her cool hand smoothed his forehead with surprising gentleness.“At least your temperature has dropped.”
She smelled of smoke and strong soap, her underlying feline essence comforting despite his confusion.The caring touch relaxed muscles he hadn’t realized were tense.
“Mama, can you help Liam sit up?”
“Feeling any better?”Tamsin asked.
He shrugged, the faint movement painful enough to make him wince.“I feel like I fell off a cliff.”
Tamsin patted his hand.“It could’ve been worse.At least you didn’t break a leg or arm.”
Liam glanced at Sienna.“Did I topple over a rock face?I ache all over.”
“No,” she said.“Just the knock to your head.”
“Are you hungry?”Tamsin asked.“We have a nice hot broth for you.”
“I’d prefer a steak.”His voice sounded like an old, creaky door seldom used, making him wonder what had occurred.He tried to remember, but his head rebelled.
Sienna snorted, but the long silence after had him seeking their expressions.
He prodded at the past, yet nothing but white noise filled the space.Thinking hurt his head, so he allowed Tamsin to help him sit and place a lumpy pillow behind his back.
Once upright, he felt like he’d run five hundred meters at a full sprint.
“What happened?Was I in an accident?”he asked in a hoarse whisper.This was more than a mere trip.
