Tempting Target: Heart of a SEAL (17 page)

Emmy didn’t know how to respond to what Candy was saying, especially since she kind of got lost in her own world of misery, but she vowed to pay more attention to what the woman was trying to say.

“It’s hard to walk away, but I have no leg to stand on, and he doesn’t even know who I am. I’m also really hungry and tired so I don’t have the mental ammunition to argue my case. I’m sure it was hard to see someone she didn’t know claim to care for her son. I’d like to stay around to see that he’s okay. He saved my life by sheltering me with his body.”

“Always the hero,” Candy said with a smirk. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you about Marcia; she’s a tough nut to crack, but I will say that Matt isn’t giving your purse to anyone but you. That man knows how to raise hell when he wants something, and at this moment, that something is you.”

Emmy was so happy that she was holding back tears. She wasn’t sure what side of the battle line Candy stood, but for now, she’d just be happy to be led back into the room with her stuff and the lover who didn’t know who in the hell she was.

“It’s been tough for you, too, I know. Thanks for sticking around for Matt. This place is a mad house. You’ve taken such good care of him; people don’t come around to help him out much. That’s a good thing, but also a bad thing because Marcia and I don’t know anything medical and the wires and tubes are a little intimidating.” Candy had her hand on Emmy’s back, and she guided her back to the room. “Here we are.”

Matt looked a bit panicked, and Emmy couldn’t remember ever seeing that look on his face. “There you are… where did you go?”

Matt’s mother watched her warily, and it was like the woman was afraid that her ‘get the fuck out of here’ speech would be repeated to her son. Emmy may have been tired, hungry, and rundown, but she wasn’t that type of person.

“I think they were just sorting out who could be here and who couldn’t. It’s supposed to be family only—so now that your family is here they may not let me back as much as they did before.” Emmy tried not to throw anyone under the bus, but she did want him to know that if she wasn’t in the room it wasn’t because she didn’t want to be.

Matt appeared to think about this. His eyes closed, and he frowned like he was trying to find something that he’d lost.

“Honey, you shouldn’t be trying to think so hard. The doctor said that your memory should come back soon. Do you want me to give this woman back her things so she can get going?” Marcia sounded hopeful even though she was trying make herself sound harmless.

“I’d like her to stay. She was telling me about our trip to Hawaii, and I’d like to hear more.” He put his hand out towards Emmy, and she moved closer but was a bit skeptical about grabbing onto his hand. The mother looked a bit rabid, and she’d hate for the woman to snap.

“She could tell you anything, Matt. You don’t remember what happened.” His mother took a step toward the bed.

The look he gave her shut her right down. He may not have known what had happened in the last few weeks, but he seemed to still be in charge of himself and his surroundings. “I believe what she has told me so far, and there is no reason that she would lie. What is she gaining? She’s here of her own volition and hasn’t been rewarded with money or gifts. She looks tired, and from what I’ve heard, she was wiping me down and turning me so often the nurses just let her run with my care.” He reached out further and pulled Emmy toward him before he folded her hand in his and patted it.

He must really be observant, or maybe he just knew his mother. Emmy had been rung out, but she wasn’t going to let these people see it. She was just trying to hold her own against these people who had some ill thoughts about her for some reason.

“They told me they were giving me base housing for a while since I’m good enough to go home tomorrow, but they want to watch my progress. The house is ready with rations and furniture. How about you go there to get some rest tonight, and you can come back in the morning.” Matt said looking at her, even though they could both hear his mother fighting to keep her words back.

“If it’s going to make your mother uncomfortable, I have no problem going to a hotel. I’ll come back tomorrow and help get you settled.” Emmy looked at the mother and saw her one eyebrow cock up like she was still skeptical. “Is that acceptable to you?”

“Whether it’s acceptable to her or not, I’d rather you do it the way I asked. There is no need to find housing when you can stay with me. I want to hear about us and what was going on at the time of the accident, but I don’t want you to wear yourself out further. I also don’t want my mother to harass you.” He looked toward his mother. “Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” his mother sang in a voice that probably didn’t match how she was feeling.

“Great. Since we’re all in agreement on what should happen, how about I call the car to take you over to the apartment? There are the keys to the place, and the driver will show you where it is.” He pointed at the keys, and she picked them up.

“I’ll need my purse,” she said to him when she noticed that he had it in a vise hold.

That got a smile out of him, and she was almost surprised at how much she missed it.

“I figured that you’d need this. They weren’t letting you come back, but I figured you’d have to get this, and when you did, you’d have to see me.” Matt was smart and logical; that had to mean something. If they thought his memory was going to come back soon, that was even better.

“I wasn’t hiding from you.” Emmy didn’t want to give anyone more reason to be mad at her. They already didn’t trust her, and she was doing her best to understand why.

“I know you weren’t,” he said, looking at his mother, who was trying to look shame-faced. However, it wasn’t really working.

“Well, you get going, and we’ll see you in the morning,” Marcia said with a wobbly smile on her face.

Emmy leaned over Matt to get her purse when he pulled her closer. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m going to go with my gut and trust you.”

She could only nod, as he released her purse but put his hands in her hair to bring her down for a kiss. It wasn’t as rough as she remembered it, but she was glad about that. There were other people in the room, but when he touched her, it was hard to remember that.

“I’ll be back after I’ve had some rest,” she said moving out of his arms and trying to ignore the cold chill coming from the area of the room where his mother stayed.

“Alright,” Matt said through his heavy-lidded gaze. “One more thing before you go… what’s your name?”

CHAPTER TWENTY

“Matthew James Perrier.” His mother was in quite a state, and he couldn’t say that he blamed her. If the shoe was on the other foot, he’d be calling out all of her names, too. The fact that he didn’t remember the name of the woman whom he gave his keys to did not sound smart, but it felt right. That was something he just wasn’t going to be able to explain to his mother.

“I know what you’re going to say, Mom, but I trust her. I’ve been in the Navy for a good while, and one of my specialties is reading people. I can’t remember the last week or so, but I’m still the same person I was.” Matt knew his mother was protective of him—probably more so now than she ever was. However, when Emmy didn’t return after his mother and old friend’s arrival, he knew the sexy woman who’d helped him relieve a bit of tension had been thrown out. He knew that his status quo had been to find willing partners, have a bit of fun, and then separate mutually and happily, but he didn’t think it had been that way for them.

“I’m not saying that you’re wrong about her. It’s just that…do you really need to get involved with someone right now? I always thought that you and Candy were going to get together after you came out of service.” His mother knew how to work a sentence and turn the knife. She wanted what was best for him, sure, but she also wanted what she wanted. The whole Candy and him being a couple thing was something that had been a bee in his mother’s bonnet for a long while. It wasn’t ever going to happen… he and Candy were friends. Period.

He looked over at his friend and saw a look in her eye that wasn’t there the last time he’d been home.
Fuck! His mother had gotten to her.
This wasn’t going to be good.

“You know we aren’t like that, Mom. Tell her, Candy… or has she warped your mind somehow?” He kept his gaze moving between the two women in the room, trying to figure out what was going on. Was it that he’d been injured and they had let their fears make them worry about his future?

“I’ve always loved you, Matt.” Candy sat down on the bed, and he wondered what his mother had said to her, but when she looked at his mother, he wondered what was next. “But it’s never been romantic between us.”

His mother looked like she’d lost the heavy weight title fight, as her face slipped a bit from the big smile she’d worn as she heard Candy proclaim her love to him.

“For the record, I think your girlfriend is hot and looks like she can totally give you a run for your money. Can you remember anything about the time that you were together?”

“We aren’t supposed to bother him with that, Candy.” His mother shooed her away from him. “You don’t even have to think about her if you don’t want to.”

“I feel like there are flashes of information coming through, but nothing is solid.”

The doctor’s walked in and filled the room. All the white coats should have left them all blinded. Why the hell did they have to walk around in such a large group?

“You were very lucky Lieutenant Commander Perrier. There must be some kind of guardian angel that was wrapped around you as you wrapped around the woman you were cradling in your arms. Looking at that portion of the building, it’s amazing that anyone made it out of that alive, but here you are with minimal damage, and the woman was treated and released with very minor bruising,” the oldest doctor said.

“Someone told me that I’d be able to get out of here soon.” Matt didn’t want to be pushy, but if he didn’t have to be here, he didn’t want to be.

“That was Dr. Miller who was in earlier. We went over your case and wanted to try something new. The woman who stayed with you when you were unconscious… is she still here?” The doctor looked around the room like Emmy was going to pop out of somewhere.

“No. She was tired and since my mother just got here I thought I’d let her get some rest.” Matt was already feeling protective of the woman whose existence in his life was like an elusive dream. It was like the memory of her waited just outside of a periphery that he didn’t have clearance to obtain but knew was there.

“Good. I’m glad you didn’t send her away. We were thinking that you should spend a few days alone with her since that’s what you’d done before all this happened. That may jog your memory,” said the doctor, as he addressed him and his mother.

“How do we know she’s telling the truth?” His mother was holding on to her version of the story where he was the victim of some wrong doing. He couldn’t figure out why though. It wasn’t every day that someone came along to help someone else out the way she had selflessly and completely for a stranger. There was something there.

“We have surveillance from the base before the typhoon that puts the couple together. They also had a situation that occurred while they were on vacation in Hawaii where Matt had to disarm a knife-wielding assailant. There is a police record and the couple admitted to being together at that time. We do a lot to make sure that people are who they say they are. Emily Roth is new college graduate from Connecticut who is planning on doing some extensive traveling.” The doctor looked pretty pleased with himself, as he told of his gathered information. “I don’t tell you this for any other reason than you are having some memory loss and we are asking that you spend time with someone who you don’t remember. This isn’t something that is mandatory, but we’ve seen it works well with cases like yours.”

“What about us?” His mother wasn’t used to being left out of her son’s life, and Matt could hear the frustration in her voice. The woman had traveled for days, probably dropping everything she had going on to get here, only to be told that she wasn’t really needed.

“Ms. Perrier, mothers like you should be commended. Thank you for running out to see about your brave son who put his life on the line like he does every day for his fellow man. You’ve done a great job with him. That’s clear. I know you want him to be back at one hundred percent, and we think this is the fastest way to get that done.” The doctor should have been a motivational speaker. His mother’s face was filled with pride, and that meant that this doctor knew how to handle people.

Matt looked over at Candy, and she winked at him. He should have known his friend wouldn’t let him down, but he still wondered what all the weirdness coming from her was about.

“Can I talk to you for a moment outside,” his mother said to the doctor.

“Sure, but before I leave, are there any questions, Matt?”

Matt shook his head. He was happy that the doctor stampede would be getting out of his space, and he was happy for a chance to talk to his friend. As soon as the door closed, he patted the space next to him on the bed.

“I knew this was coming,” Candy said, as her butt hit the bed.

“Good. If you knew it was coming, then you know what I am going to say.”

“Your mother had me scared that you were dead or incapacitated in some way, and I let her talk me into thinking that we just may be able to get together.” She wasn’t even looking at him, just playing with the hem of her jeans.

“Then what happened?” He hated coaxing her, but there was going to be only so much time his mother was going to be gone, and when she was in the room, Candy tended to be quiet.

“I saw your girlfriend, and I wasn’t jealous of her. I was sad for her.” She finally looked up, and Matt still couldn’t read what she was trying to say. That was something because they’d grown up together and he knew her more than anyone.

“Why?”

“When we got here, we saw her sleeping in the lobby, but we were in such a rush that we walked on by. She stayed on my mind, and I wondered who in the world she was waiting for that she’d be crunched up in a ball, on a small chair. Where was her family? Was she alone? Was she stranded?”

Candy got up, walked to the window, and looked out of it.

“When your mother found out someone had stayed by your side throughout your whole ordeal, she was not pleased, but when she found out the woman said she was your girlfriend, she was livid. Maybe she’s used to you having girlfriends around, but when she woke your friend up, she was pretty brutal. She told her that she wasn’t going to be able to see you again until you regained your memory, and she looked heartbroken, but she didn’t say a word.”

“It’s a good thing I kept her purse until I could see her again then, huh?” Matt asked.

Candy came back to the bed, and she started to giggle. “You are a very attractive man, but just not my man. I have got to remember to not let your mother get into my head.”

“Very good thing to remember.” He reached up and ruffled her hair just because it’s something he always did. He’d ruffle her hair, and she’d complain… it was a tradition.

His mother came in and looked at the both of them. “Well, we should be going soon, but since you aren’t leaving until tomorrow, I think we should at least be with you until you get discharged. Then, maybe I can find a way to have a better first impression of Emmy.”

“That’s the mom I know and love.”

“Yeah, yeah… my son grew up to be a SEAL and a man. I’ve got to start acting accordingly.”

“Well, maybe a hit to my noggin wasn’t the worst thing that could happen if my mother is talking like this.”

“I don’t know about all that. I will just say that I’ll do my part if that will get you back to normal.”

“Who could ask for more than that?” Matt said.