Lost Memories (Honky Tonk Hearts) (13 page)

Angry eyes of a younger man glared in her direction as the older gentleman set her feet on the ground.

“Didn’t she do good, Lance?”

“Yeah, sure. She’s perfect,” the boy snarled. “As always.”

“Whoa!”

The loud voice startled Darcy. A hand filled her vision, reaching over to grab her reins. T.J. came to an abrupt stop, and she flew forward into the saddle horn, her chin bouncing off the horse’s neck.

“Darcy?”

She blinked until Nick’s concerned features came into view.

He dismounted and held on to her horse’s reins. “What the hell were you doing?”

“What? I-I’m...” She took in her surroundings noting the absence of a red barn. A panicky feeling washed over her. Sweat beaded under her shirt. Where was the couple who embraced her?

Dark eyes glared. “I called to you, but you didn’t answer.”

“I’m sorry. I got lost in my thoughts.”

A doubtful look crossed his features, teeth tightly gritted together. “Get down.
Now.
”

Oh God. I screwed up.
She swung her leg over the horse’s rump and once her feet hit the ground found herself pulled into Nick’s arms. “You veered off the path and came close to going face first into the ravine.”

He pointed a few feet beyond the trees where the bank dropped off to a bottomless pit surrounded by ridged rocks.

She swallowed. Her heart hammered in her chest and bile rose in her throat. The memory was so vivid she would’ve sworn it was real.

“Why’d you go off the path?”

“I-I don’t know.” She rubbed her temples. More flashes of her past. The gentle man. The reddish-brown haired woman. The angry boy.

“Darc, what’s going on?” He grasped her shoulders, his eyes penetrating hers.

Hands forced her shoulders down, holding her trapped as he tried to kiss her. She screamed and kicked as a door crashed open.

“Get off...”

Darcy yanked away from the hands. Not able to decipher her vision from the present, she lowered her head and stared at ground. How did she explain her glimpses of the past?

“Look at
me
, damn it.”

Slowly she raised her head.

Concern and anger shown in Nick’s features. The tight clench of his jaw and cold stare made her step back.

“This stops here and now. Something’s been wrong since the day you came here. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.”

Jordan’s words came back at her.
“You have to tell him. What if something happens?”

“I want to know
now
.”

“I had a flashback,” she blurted out.

“A flashback?” Brown eyes narrowed. “Can you elaborate please?”

She snared several deep breaths before answering. “Remember the car accident I mentioned? Well, since the eighteen-wheeler smashed into my car, I haven’t been able to remember anything of my past.” She glanced at the ground then at his handsome face.

Disbelief and confusion registered in his eyes. Arms folded across his chest. “You have amnesia?”

“Yes.”

A long moment passed as he studied her. The urge to squirm under his intense glare escalated.

“My God. You’re serious.”

“Yes.”

“Does anyone on the ranch know?”

She kicked at a stone with the toe of her boot. “N-no.”

“Did the idea ever occur to you to tell one of us? What if something serious happened? Hell, Darcy, you could have killed yourself just now.” His arms flailed out in exasperation.

“I know.” She rubbed her temples again. “I’m sorry.”

“Do you remember anything? Your family?”

“I don’t even know if I have one.”

“What about Jordan? Does she know?”

“Yes. We became friends when she was my nurse. She let me stay with her until my memory came back...but it never did so...”

“You moved in with a stranger.” His eyes widened then narrowed, and he shook his head. “You accepted this job without saying a word.”

“Everyone’s a stranger to me, Nick. And would you have hired me if you knew?”

The answer lay in his frown.

“No one else did either. I needed this job. I wanted a
life
.” Frustrated tears ran down her face, but she refused to acknowledge the weakness. “Tell me how you’d feel—I had no family, no job, no friends, and no idea where I’m from. I don’t even know what my favorite food is.”

“Strawberry jelly.”

“What?”

His lips gave a little quirk. “Your favorite food. You put strawberry jelly on everything; your toast, your pancakes, your crackers. I’ve even seen you put it on meatloaf.

He’s right. How did he...

Her head pounded and knees threatened to give out. “Can we go back, please?”

Nick crossed to his horse, extracted a rope out of his saddlebag, clipped it onto her horse’s bridle and secured the line to Ben. “Mount up.”

Longing to curl up on her bed and sleep the rest of the day away, she pulled tight, heavy muscles into the saddle.

Nick slid a glance to the woman beside him. He didn’t have a clue as to what went through Darcy’s mind when she’d raced past him with the most beautiful, carefree smile plastered on her lips. At first, he believed her having fun—only to have his stomach lurch to his throat when she led her horse toward the ravine.

Now her face was pale and pinched and she sat ramrod straight.

“I’m sorry.”

He strained to hear her words and surveyed the vacant look in her eyes. “Darc?”

A hand swiped at her nose as her sniffle caused an ache in his chest.

He sighed in anger and frustration warred with compassion and the need to comfort her. His concern for her safety scared him spitless. And now he questioned her sanity.

See what happens when I let my guard down.
Was there other side effects to the brain injury and memory loss? Did she pose a threat to herself? To his family? Deep down, he believed her not capable of hurting a fly. But...

“We need to figure out what happens from here. The guests are scheduled to arrive tomorrow.” He lifted his hat and ran a hand through his sweaty hair. “I’m not comfortable letting you ride. I can’t take the risk of you having another flashback and hurting one of the guests, or yourself.”

She swiped at her cheek. “I’ll pack my bags as soon as we get back to the barn.”

The opening to the barn came into view and he stopped the equine, unhooked the line, and angled Ben in order for him to see her face. He reached over, lifted her chin, and scanned her haunted eyes.

Damn
. How did she get under his skin in the span of weeks? Words refused to form on his tongue. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and soothe her until she grew strong again, but the ranch and the safety of everyone came before his own desires.

His thumb swiped away a tear from her cheek, and she pulled back.

Nick let his hand fall to his side, offering her a tight smile while his gaze bore into hers. “It’s evident you love to ride. Your face lit up like I’ve never seen.”

The woman next to him frowned and nodded as she reached down to pat T.J. on the side of his neck. When she straightened, he tugged on her reins and nudged his mount to a walk. Together, the horses strolled to the barn.

“Go back to the cabin and take a long bath,” he instructed as he helped her dismount.

Nick watched her defeated form as she wondered off. One step forward, three steps back. When the guests arrived, her responsibilities would increase. He needed her capable of handling the added pressure. Her job required her to see to the guests’ comfort, to be attentive, and to accompany him on the two-night retreat. He needed to be able to trust her...and he wasn’t sure he could.

Where was his head? He couldn’t keep her on at the ranch.

Yet, the idea of letting her go cut straight to his heart. Who’d help her through this?

With a shake of his head, he removed the tack from each horse, placed the bridles on the hook, lugged the saddles off the equines’ backs, and released them into the pasture before heading to the main house.

The notion of encountering any of his brothers made him hurry to the den. Sam sat at the big mahogany desk, the ranch expense books open in front of him. Unfortunately, his brother looked up as he stepped back.

“Wait, just the person I wanted to talk to.”

“What about?” Nick crossed the threshold and shut the door.

“You tell me first?” His muscle-bound brother closed the ledger and scowled. “You look like hell.”

“It’s Darcy.” Nick sat, then stood, then paced the length of the beige room. “Do you have her physical form?”

Shuffling through the papers on the desk, Sam said, “Trent probably put it with her employee file.” He crossed to the wooden cabinet and rummaged through the content. “Here you go.”

Nick scanned the pages and hit the table. Nowhere did it say anything about amnesia.

The incident bugged him, and as hard as he tried to convince himself, not because she was an employee, but because he cared for her more with each passing day.

Did these flashes happen often? He needed to talk to her, to see her, and reassure himself she was okay. First, he wanted to talk with someone who could give him more information. He noticed the signature and number on the bottom of the page. “I need to get a hold of her doctor.”
For everyone’s safety...and my sanity.

“What’s this about?”

“I took her out on T.J. to show her the trails. We weren’t halfway to the camping area when she shot past me. I called to her, but she kept going.” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “God, Sam she came within five feet of going over the ravine before I stopped that horse.”

“What? Is she okay? Where is she now?” He started toward the door. “That damn animal seemed fine in the corral.”

“She’s okay...I think. I sent her back to the cabin. But it wasn’t T.J. She totally zoned out, claimed she had a flashback or something, that she has amnesia from a car accident.”

Taking advantage of his brother’s stunned silence, he dialed the phone with shaking fingers.

“Who you callin’?”

“Her doctor.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes.” He slammed the receiver on the desk. “Answering machine, damn it. Apparently he’s on vacation.” Nick ran his hand threw his hair. “Guests are scheduled to arrive in a matter of hours. And now I find out there’s something mentally wrong with Darcy.” He sucked in oxygen. “I’m not sure if she’s stable enough to keep employed here.”

“Come on, you can’t fire her.” He shook his head with a grim set of his lips. “She’s not a nutcase. So she’s had some sort of head trauma.” Big shoulders lifted. “In the month she’s been here, this is the only incident I’m aware of. We’ll get through this. We’ll help her figure this out.” The calm one stuck his hand out palm up.

His gaze strayed to Sam’s hand. The scar from the chainsaw wrapped all the way around to his palm. He’d gotten lucky the blade stopped before the teeth cut it completely off, a feat the doctor claimed was thanks to Nick’s quick thinking and fast action.

To this day, Nick remained clueless as to exactly what he had done to stop the chainsaw, but in his book, he hadn’t intervened soon enough.

That accident never should have happened.

And Trent never should have been shot.

“I don’t want to...but I can’t take the chance on any more accidents.”

“Like the one with the Millers?” Tanned skin with a jagged white line across the center swiped a letter from the desk. “Why didn’t you tell me we’re being sued?”

Chapter Ten

“Damn.” Nick hit the cabinet and paced the floor. “It’s nothing for you to worry over. I’m working on getting it straightened out.”

“Yeah, I know. Mr. White called looking for you.”

He directed every ounce of his attention on his brother. “What did he say?”

“Not to worry. The Millers have no supporting arguments. Turns out Mrs. Miller sued another ranch last year. White said he does have to wait for a review counsel or review unit or some crap.”

“The National Advertising Review Counsel and the Children’s Review Unit?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” He nodded and reclaimed the seat behind the desk.

Darcy was right.
Tension built along his neck. A cracking sound filled the air as he forced taut muscles one way then the other.

Was her memory returning?

“He wants to meet with you the day after tomorrow.”

Nick shook his head. “I’ll be out on the camping trip with the Lynwood group.”

“I’ll meet with him then.”

“No. I should handle it. You go on the outing, but remember to keep Darcy close. This is her first time out and with the incident today—” Was he really considering letting her go?

“Nick—”

“No. I don’t want any problems.”

“Nick—”

“I’ll tell her to sit this one out. There’s plenty to keep her busy here. Chris can go in her place. Besides, I’m not sure what the right course of action is with her right now.” He walked over to the window. She’d be upset, but she’d understand. The chance of her hurting herself, or someone else, was too great a risk.

“
Nick!
”

His head whipped around to frowning brown eyes. “What?”

“
I’m
going to handle White. Don’t worry, we’ll get things straightened out.” He came out from behind the desk and sat on the edge in front of Nick. “But you should have told us. You need to realize you’re not alone here. We’re all in this together. Trent, Chris, you,
and
me.”

Shaking his head in denial, a jackhammer started working on his temples.

“When are you going to quit taking everything on yourself? We aren’t teenagers anymore. We’re old enough to take on the pressures of the business.” His self-appointed counselor scowled. “And stop staring at my hand.
I
moved the guard on the blade, not you.”

His head snapped up to stare at his brother. “I was supposed to watch you.”

“You were twelve at the time. Jesus, Nick, we all did stupid stuff.” He grabbed an envelope off the desk. “Now let me deal with the attorneys. You go on the overnighter.”

For him to relinquish his stress to his siblings went against every grain of his being. Taking care of them had hung on his shoulders for as long as he remembered. While his father and mother handled the growth of the ranch, it was his responsibility to keep the younger brothers in line.