“Who?” the word came out a bark of borderline-hysterical laughter, shooting pain through her ribs. This had to be a joke. Some elaborate, well-played-out, sick prank.
“Why would someone abduct me?”
The concern in the sheriff’s eyes matched that of his brother. “I was hoping you could tell me.”
“But I can’t remember anything, not even my own name.” She looked at Dr. Young. “I can’t remember my name, but I understand that I’m psychologically repressing my memories because I can’t deal with them?” Then before he could respond, she answered her own question. “But memory loss, similar to amnesia, rarely affects the personality and prior knowledge, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t. That’s why I find it interesting you understand such things. I’m guessing you have a medical background.”
The surprised look the brothers exchanged expressed exactly how she felt.I would know if I was a doctor of some sort.Wouldn’t I?
An uneasiness tightened her chest. “I don’t know about that, but... I know I could end up fabricating memories, thinking they are real.” The knowledge made it hard to draw a deep breath.
“That is a possibility, I suppose, especially if you’re trying to force the memories to return. But not likely. I’ve no doubt your memory will return, eventually.” He patted her leg in a gesture of comfort. “The most important thing now is rest. Don’t worry about trying to remember.”
There was another knock at the door, then a petite, middle-aged woman walked into the room. “Oh, you poor thing.” The woman hurried to the side of the bed and took her hand.
Do I know this woman?She studied the blue-eyed woman with hair the color of summer wheat, hoping for recognition.
Nothing.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” asked the sheriff.
“James told me there was a young woman here who needs someone to take care of her until you find her family.”
“That’s right,” Dr. Young said. “We should be able to release this young lady tomorrow.” He gave his nephews a pointed look. “Until we find out who she is, and can contact her family, she’ll need someone to care for her and asafe environmentto recover in.”
Her chest tightened at the emphasis he placed on “safe environment”.
The petite woman beamed. “I’m going to be her nurse, and the ranch will be the perfect place for her recovery.”
“You can’t do that to Jake,” the sheriff said. “He’s got a lot of work to do at the ranch.”
“Nonsense. He won’t have to do a thing. I’ll take care of her. Jake can go about his work like always.”
“She and Uncle James are right,” Jake spoke for the first time, his deep voice firm and confident. He leaned close to his brother and lowered his voice, but she heard every word. “She may still be in danger.”
A chill snaked up her spine.What kind of danger? What were they not telling me?
“Good, it’s settled, then.” The petite woman turned back to the bed. “I’m Faith Winters, and these are my two sons if you haven’t figured that out yet.”
“But Mom,” the sheriff tried again, “aren’t you taking care of Ben and Amy’s girls?”
“School’s out for the summer and Hope wants to spend time with them, so I’m free.” Faith patted her arm. “I’m going to leave you for a bit however, while the boys are here. The Jensen girl had her baby last night, and I’d like to check on her. I’ll come back later to visit with you.”
After Faith left, the doctor excused himself, instructing the sheriff to not overdo it with the questions. “Stressing her out won’t help. If she doesn’t know the answer, she doesn’t know.”
Silence filled the room for a moment, then the sheriff stepped forward, all business.
“I take it you haven’t remembered your name?” When she shook her head, he continued, “I’d like to take your fingerprints if you don’t mind. It could help us identify you.”
“That’s fine.”
He pulled keys from his pocket and tossed them to his brother. “Would you mind getting the small gray case out of the back of my Tahoe?”
After Jake walked out, he turned back to her. “Do you know why someone would tie you up and put you in the trunk of a car or where that car was headed?”
“No.”
