Letting Go of Us (Anchored Hearts Vol. 3) (29 page)

“
You sure?” I nodded.
“Alright. Just call me if you panic again.”

“
Ok.” The light was red
again and I watched as he climbed back into his car.

We made it to the hospital
without further incident. Smith and I headed up to his floor and I
knocked on the door before entering. He was still roommate free,
which never happened and I couldn’t help but wonder if it’s because
of
who
he was. It
didn’t matter.

“
You first.” I motioned
Smith ahead of me and he didn’t hesitate.

“
Hey, man. You here to get
me out of here?” I walked in hesitantly and watched their exchange.
He was oblivious to my presence.

“
That’s up to the
doctor’s, not me.”

They had some special
handshake and were laughing when he spotted me. I should’ve done
more to get ready. I had on no makeup and my hair was pulled
back.
Way to impress, Cassidy!
I hung back and waved, unsure what to say. The
man I loved, more than life itself, didn’t know me anymore. I
became uncomfortable as I felt his eyes scan my body, like he was
seeing me for the first time.

“
I can leave if you don’t
want me here.”

He smiled and eyed Smith
before returning that seductive glare my way. “No, you should stay.
We should probably talk.”

“
I’ll give you two some
privacy.” Smith pulled another cell phone out of his pocket and
handed it to James. “Here you go. New phone.” James looked the
phone over and commented on how thin it was. “Yeah, technology’s
come a long way in the past few years.”

“
Right. It’s 2014.” He
shook his head as Smith smiled at me and headed out. “So, where
should we start?”

I was fidgeting as he
watched me like he had all the time in the world. “Um, I don’t
know. What do you want to know?”

He chuckled, “Everything,
of course.”

“
Right.” I took a deep
breath and went to sit down on the window seat, the furthest spot
from him, when he interrupted me.

“
You can come closer. I
won’t bite, unless you’re into that sort of thing.” I felt the
blush spread as I opened my mouth to speak and shut it just as
quick. “You
are
into that sort of thing. Ok. Noted.”

I closed my eyes and
sighed. “I don’t think I can do this.” I started pacing and he
grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer. He was wearing a t-shirt and
sweats. Someone must have brought him some clothes. Why hadn’t I
thought about that?

“
Relax Cassidy. We’re
married and while I don’t remember, I know that I wouldn’t marry
someone who didn’t have similar likes and desires.” I just stared
at his chin before he tilted my chin up, my eyes meeting his. I
took a shaky breath remembering all the times he’d done that when
he knew who I was. “There’s no need to be embarrassed. Smith sat
with me last night and answered some of my questions. But now I
want to hear from you.”

He pulled the bedside chair
closer and directed me to sit. What had Smith told him? Not sure
why, I apologized. “Sorry. Did you get any rest last
night?”

“
Eh, as much as to be
expected in this place. The docs want to keep me another day, but
I’m doing everything I can to get out of here today.” I pulled a
leg up underneath my body and tried to get comfortable in the
chair. “Are you ok? Smith told me that we both almost drowned, but
they didn’t admit you, only me.”

“
I’m ok.” His hand reached
out as he ran his fingers over the bruises on my face. “I didn’t, I
mean, shit. How did that happen? The accident?”

“
Yes, it was the accident.
It wasn’t you.”

“
Smith said the same
thing, but I had to make sure. I’ve never hit a woman…”

“
I know that. You’ve never
hurt me, well, not like that, I mean…ugh.” His expression was
priceless as we started laughing.

“
Another mental note
taken.” I just shook my head. His charm was still there and I
wasn’t immune to it. “So, how did we meet?”

The doctor came in at that
time and gave me a reprieve to get my story together. He was
ordering some tests and as long as they were fine, he’d release
James in the morning. He stressed the importance, that due to his
previous brain injury they needed to take every
precaution.

“
Understood. I don’t like
it, but I get it.” James conceded and I was grateful.

The doctor walked out and I
looked to James, “I’ll be right back.” I left before he responded
and stopped the doctor in the hall. “He’s asking questions and I
just want to make sure it’s ok to tell him things.”

“
It’s hard to know what
helps in these situations. There’s a good chance he’ll remember
everything in an instant. Others, it takes longer and only small
pieces come back. But you need to prepare yourself that he may
never remember.” He placed his hand on my arm as I rubbed my
fingers across the pounding that was beginning to form in my head.
“Try to keep any traumatic events at bay. I understand that his
mother has recently passed. Don’t lie to him, but I wouldn’t jump
right into it either. Just follow your heart and be patient with
him.”

“
Ok. Thank you.” I headed
back into the room and James wasn’t in his bed. The door to the
bathroom popped open and he barreled into me. “Sorry.”

His hands were on me, just
like that night at the Blue Horse. I gently pushed myself out of
his arms as he apologized. I walked back to the chair as he took
his seat on the side of the bed and faced me.

“
Where were
we?”

“
I think you asked how we
met.”

“
Yes, so, tell me
everything.”

“
Ok. We met at your bar,
the Blue Horse.”

“
Wait, my bar?”

“
Yes, on
4
^th
Street.”

“
Shit. I’ve really missed
a lot. Ok.” I went to speak as he stopped me again. “Wait. We
didn’t meet,” he stopped and looked to me.

“
At
the club?
No, it was the
bar.”

“
Huh. Ok. Go
on.”

“
We met there. I was there
with friends and we flirted on and off for several weeks.” I
thought about my tattoo and showed him my wrist. “We first started
talking about my tattoo after several bouts of eye
ogling.”

He took my wrist and looked
at my tattoo. “Eye ogling, huh.”

I wasn’t about to tell him
I called it eye-fucking and there he was, eye-fucking me in his
hospital bed. “That, right there. Stop it!”

He smirked as his gaze
returned to my wrist. “Cool. It’s a raven, right?”

My heart plummeted to the
floor of my stomach. “Yup. So anyways.” I pulled my wrist back and
continued my story. I told him how it was a few months before we
saw each other again. Leaving out the nasty details about Holly and
Sam’s murders and Dan’s involvement. “We saw each other again at
your Aunt Bev’s masquerade and, well, the rest is
history.”

“
So, this all happened
last summer?” I nodded. “And we’re already married? Are you
pregnant or something?” His eyes traveled to my abdomen as I tried
not to react. He didn’t know, didn’t remember.
Breathe Cassidy.
“Why’d we get
married so quickly?”

“
No, I wasn’t pregnant. It
was a spur of the moment kind of thing.”

“
Wow. Ok.”

A technician came in then
and took him out for some scans. He told me he’d be back and I told
him I’d be there. There was a knock on the door and Smith came in
holding two coffees, one frozen, one not.

“
I got you a vanilla frapp
thingy. Delaney said that’s what you like.”

“
Thank you.” I was
grateful for the distraction and filled him in on James potential
release.

“
Ok. Well, I just talked
to Paul downstairs. He’s going to stay for a while to help out at
work. James was planning to take over, but given everything that’s
happened.”

“
No, that’s great. I’m
happy he’s staying.” I sighed and pulled out my phone, checking my
notifications to kill some time. “So, what all did you tell him
last night?”

He shook his head and
smiled at me. “Just what he needs to know.” I narrowed my eyes at
him as he chuckled. “That you’re the love of his life. That’s the
only thing that matters.”

“
You told him
that?”

“
Of course I did. I’m his
best friend. He’s told me on more than one occasion and I let him
know that.”

“
Thank you.”

“
I know what it’s like to
lose someone and having no control over the situation. If I know
you like I think I do, you’ll do anything and everything to prove
your love.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant
about losing someone as it related to him and didn’t feel it was
the time to inquire. “You’re too kind. I really fucked up while
trying to prove I didn’t love him.”

“
He made his share of
mistakes too. Don’t stress too much over it. Everything will work
out.”

“
I’m not sure what to do
with him when he’s released.” Smith tilted his head and after a
moment seemed to understand my quandary. “He offered to move back
in and I told him to wait. Most of his things are at the penthouse.
How do I explain that?”

He thought for a minute and
then said, “You don’t. I’ll move his stuff to the townhouse
today.”

“
Wait, are you
sure?”

“
If you said he offered to
move back in, then that’s where he wanted to be. Being with you is
most likely the thing that’ll help him remember. He doesn’t even
know about the hotel. That was a pipe dream in 2011.” I nodded,
still unsure it would work. “It’ll work.”

“
If you say so.” Then all
the things about him moving back in with me ran through my head. We
were married, that meant sharing a bed, and all the other stuff.
“Christ.”

“
What is it?”

Sighing, “It’s just so
complicated. I probably shouldn’t be discussing this stuff with
you.”

“
What stuff?”

“
He doesn’t remember me,
but I remember him and, well, I find him irresistible. How do I not
have sex with him?”

He snorted, “Well, why do
you have to not have sex with him?”

“
Never mind. You’re a guy,
of course you’d say that.”

He was laughing and trying
to apologize at the same time. “Hey, I’m sorry. In all seriousness,
just take it slow. I know how intense his connection was, is with
you. Maybe sex is what will trigger his memory.”

“
Perfect. I can see the
headline now. ‘JB3 amnesia cured by wife’s mad vagina skills’.” I
was cracking up as he pretended to be offended.

“
Not quite sure any
headline would include the word ‘vagina’ in it. And I don’t want to
hear you talk about your vagina again.”

It was my turn to start
snorting. Delaney had walked in and we weren’t aware until she
spoke. “You better not be talking about her vagina!” Smith and I
were laughing hysterically as Delaney established, “Clearly I
missed the joke.”

C
hapter
18
~
U
nhinged

~ JAMES ~

It seemed like I spent
hours inside machines as they scanned my brain. I’d been through it
before and knew the routine. I was eager to get upstairs to her, my
wife. The word was so foreign to me. I’d gotten married. It just
seemed crazy. Smith and my Dad all confirmed so it had to be true.
Dad and Mom. It wasn’t like my Dad to stay away, or my mom. I
wondered if she was out of the country getting more treatments. I
was sure I’d see or hear from my dad later in the day.

I was still having trouble
wrapping my brain around the fact that I’d lost almost three years.
What the hell had happened in the ‘accident’ and what the
hell
was
the
accident? Smith had just said it was bad and involved a car, a
bridge and us almost drowning. How the hell had we driven our car
off a bridge in July and who was driving? Cassidy or myself. I had
to find out.

I would be lying if I said
I wasn’t attracted to her. I was. Almost instantly, too. Redheads
weren’t usually my MO, but there was something about her. My dick
was twitching just at the thought of it. Where were we living? What
did she do for a living?

“
Alright James, you’re all
set. The orderly will be here in a moment to take you back to your
room.”

As the machine turned off
and I was able to stand, I stretched my legs and waited. When I
made it back to my room Smith was there playing on his phone and
Cassidy was asleep on the window seat. As I got back in my bed, she
began to rouse. She smiled sweetly and grabbed what appeared to be
an almost gone frozen coffee and took a drink.

I got as comfortable as I
could on the hospital bed as Smith and Cassidy tried to make small
talk. I couldn’t suppress the yawns that continued to escape
me.