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Joann voice got stern. “Please, dear, you must stay still. The doctor said you shouldn’t move. Please, everything will be okay.”
“How can I stay still? I don’t know who I am, I don’t know anything. Oh God, what’s my name?”
Merrick stepped forward, motioning Joann to move aside. “Let me handle this,” he said, taking charge.
He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand. It shook in his. He steadied it with his strength. Staring straight into her stunning yet terrified eyes, he forced himself to smile. That seemed to calm her. Her breathing slowed slightly, and her fingers shook a little less.
“I know who you are,” he lied.
“You do?”
“Your name is Bombshell. You’re a singer and a star.”
The girl relaxed and squeezed Merrick’s hands. Despite himself, moisture stung at his eyes when he saw a tiny light of hope shining in her eyes.
“My name is Bombshell. I’m a singer. I’m a star,” she repeated, whispering the words like they were the oxygen she needed to breathe. Merrick nodded. He reached to brush a strand of hair off her face. Her dark skin contrasted with his lighter skin in the golden bed room light. It felt like touching a cloud, smooth as butter.
Her eyes were on his now, big and brown and full of hope.
“Are you my husband?” she asked.
Merrick’s heart squeezed. He couldn’t disappoint her. Not now.
“Yes – well, not yet, sweetheart, but we are engaged. You agreed to marry me.”
“I did?” she asked. The girl’s face took on a look of such contentment, it broke his heart in two.
Behind him, Joann let out a disapproving click of her tongue, the left the room. Merrick waited for the girl to drift back to sleep. He’d said what he had to calm her down, and he didn’t regret it. The odds were in his favor that she wouldn’t remember any of that conversation when she woke up.
~~*~~
After Charlie returned from dropping off the doctor, Merrick excuse
d himself. He drove to his cabin and went straight to bed. When he awoke to the sounds of birds chirping in the trees the next morning, his first thought was of the girl. It was barely dawn, and he’d meant to go fishing, but he had to make sure she was alright.
He walked down the hill and knocked on the front door. Joann came to the door wearing a robe and slippers.
“What now?” Joann said as she pushed wild hair out of her eyes.
“How is she? Can I see her?”
“She’s fine. It’s too early. She needs her rest, and so do I.”
“Has she said anything? Does she remember—”
“Look, go fishing or something – and don’t come back before eight. I’ll make breakfast,” she said, then slammed the door in his face.
Satisfied that the girl was at least alright, Merrick went back to his cabin and made coffee. He drank a cup without the benefit of cream, then got his fishing gear out and headed down to the creek.
Casting flies over the sparkling water of the creek should have settled his mind, but he didn’t want to be there. After releasing the first fish he caught back into the chilled water, he decided to return to the cabin. He couldn’t relax. He couldn’t enjoy himself. All he could think about was Bombshell, or whatever her real name was.
After he put away his fishing gear, he went out to the car to get his overnight bag. In the light of the day, he could see the damage done to his car, courtesy of one mean, out-of-control sheriff.
His jaws clenched as he remembered the scenes from the night before. How could a guy like that get away with such behavior? Inside, he showered and shaved and dressed in fresh jeans and a cotton shirt. His clothes from the night before were stained with the poor girl’s blood. By the time he walked into Charlie and Joann’s house, he’d come to a decision.
Chapter Five
“How is she?” Merrick asked as he walked into the unlocked cottage. Joann and Charlie were sitting at the table between the kitchen and the living room.
