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Zander looked us over slowly. I’d expected to see the usual sneer on his face, but he had a blank expression. “No. Should I?”
Elliot choked back a breath, trying to keep his distraught reaction under wraps.
I was aching for the father beside me and for Zander at having his memories taken from him. The blame for this lay firmly at the feet of the hunters, and I feared it happening all over the country to other shifters. How many were out there now, completely unaware of who they were?
The doctor ran in and took over some last-minute examinations before the team rolled Zander out of the room. They told Elliot they were going to carry out more in-depth tests and scans to see whether Zander’s memory loss was temporary.
As Zander’s bed rolled down the hallway, I took Elliot’s hand. “Come on, Mr. Elkins, this will take a while. Why don’t we go to the cafeteria and get some coffee? It’ll be better than waiting here on your own the whole time.”
It took a moment to convince him to come with me, but he finally conceded. We worked our way through the maze of hospital hallways to the small cafeteria, where we were served a surprisingly decent coffee.
“If he’s lost his memories, Mr. Elkins, we’ll just have to remind him of who he is. The town will pitch in and help in any way possible.”
I tried hard to cheer him up. Knowing the town would be here to support them seemed to bring Elliot some comfort, even though his son’s memory loss was clearly putting a lot of strain on him.
“Thank you, Tori. You’re a good girl. I appreciate you staying with me.”
I grabbed his hand and squeezed. We fell quiet, drinking our hot coffees. We waited as long as we dared before returning to the hospital room.
The room was still empty, so I made sure Elliot was seated before grabbing another chair from the seating area outside and putting it next to him. I wasn’t about to let this man stress and worry alone while Zander was getting tests.
Eventually, the nurses returned Zander to the room and got him situated. The doctor studied Zander’s chart. When he finished writing some notes, he lowered the chart, looked at Mr. Elkins, then looked at Zander.
“Okay, so we did the scans and I studied what I could. So far, we haven’t found anything. We’re waiting on the blood tests to see if any drugs in his system could have caused temporary amnesia, but I doubt it since we tested his blood earlier. I did broaden the test, just in case. We went through a litany of questions instead of just the basics you witnessed before, and he has complete retrograde amnesia and can’t seem to recall anything. Not one memory wants to come forward.”
Rubbing the older man’s arm as he heard the news, I tried to imagine what was going through his head. Zander watched the doctor as he spoke, then glanced at his father and at me, but there was still nothing there. He didn’t seem panicked by his lack of recall. He just looked lost.
“It’s possible this might reverse slowly with time,” the doctor continued. “That has been known to happen, but it might help him to talk to a specialist. Maybe it can help bring back memories or light a fuse to dislodge something.”
Elliot leaned back in his seat, looking disheartened.
Not wanting him or his son to give up, I said, “Lola Kipling, the new psychiatrist in town, she might be able to help. She’s very sweet, and I’m sure she’d love to help however she can.”
“Are you okay with that, son?” Elliot asked Zander.
Zander looked at his dad, but only shrugged.
“Thank you for the suggestion,” Elliot told me. “I’ll call her and have her come in to talk to Zander. Hopefully, she can help us get an idea of what needs to be done.”
Zander was getting tired, and they didn’t need me hanging around. “Mr. Elkins, I need to go, but I’ll be back to check on you both. Please call me or Ridge if you need anything.”
Mr. Elkins stood and hugged me before I left, shocking me to my core. I had a feeling the crotchety man would be a little softer with me from now on. Still, I hoped he didn’t change too much, because then he wouldn’t be the same man everyone knew.
Leaving the hospital later than I’d anticipated, I headed to the Bogford B&B to check on Diana and Margo. After what I’d just witnessed with Zander, I needed to reassure myself that Diana was okay.
I caught Margo at the front desk, but she was alone. As soon as she saw me step inside, she moved to the side of the counter and gave me a ridiculous curtsy. “All hail the Mother Savior.”
I rolled my eyes. “Cut it out.”
She walked over to me and hugged me, her voice serious now. “Tori, I can’t thank you enough. I owe you more than I can even express for bringing my mom back home.”
“Stop it. You don’t owe me anything.”
“As if. You’re in the Bogford Book of Good Graces, and it’s a lifetime membership, never to be stricken.”
Shaking my head, I stepped back from Margo and looked for Diana. “Where’s your mom?”
“She’s upstairs. I told her I’d handle the front desk today and let her regroup.”
