One Southern Cowboy - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,12

transfixed by the hard edges of those corners. Edges kept everything contained. Or rather, they didn’t let anything escape.

Escape. That’s what she needed to do. Fear seized her as she swallowed the lump in her throat. Everything in her wanted to turn and flee, but something compelled her feet to stay rooted to the floor. She tore her eyes away from the door and looked down at the steps. Willing her feet to move, she took one step, two. She winced when the aged wood creaked beneath her weight.

Knowledge pierced her brain with the razor-sharp tip of an arrow, flooding her brain with a certain awareness. They mustn’t hear her. They mustn’t know she was here. A pounding sounded in the distance, growing louder. The noise penetrated her body and rang in her ears, a cadence of ba-boom, ba-boom. She realized with a jolt that the noise was her own beating heart.

As she neared the door, her nostrils tickled with the pungent fragrance of Jasmine. Slithery shadows slipped just beyond the edges of her eyes, hissing out insidious chants. Run, run, but you can’t hide. I love you. I own you. You will always be mine. She heard the ebb and flow of angry voices. A sniffle, crying. One hand grasped the knob, her other hand flat against the door. The wood was cool beneath her skin, unyielding. Did she dare open the door?

Tears pooled in her eyes. She tried to hold them in, but the pressure proved too great to contain. They gushed rivers down her cheeks with enough force to pop her eyeballs out. A cry ripped through her throat. The doorknob was suddenly scorching, searing her flesh. She released her hold with a startled yelp, nausea roiling in her gut. She whimpered as the door opened ever so slowly, revealing darkness around the edges. The opening of the door filled her with an inexplicable terror. Blackness slithered around, its greedy hands pulling and pinching her skin. It squeezed her lungs, cutting off her breath. She shrank back, losing her footing as she fell.

Lemon sat up in bed with a cry. A thick web of darkness pressed against her eyes. Alarm raced through her veins the second before her vision shifted into focus. Her gaze jumped around the room as she shrank into herself. It occurred to her that her body was bathed in sticky sweat. She looked toward the window at the silver shafts of moonlight curling around the edges of the blinds.

Her mind hurled through time and space, trying to place where she was. Her heart was beating so fast she wondered if it would tear out of her chest. Help me, her mind cried. Lemon sucked in a ragged breath. You’re okay, she kept repeating.

She grasped for pieces of sanity that she could comprehend. She’d left the hospital with Jaxson and his parents. They’d gone to their ranch. Jaxson had rounded up some clothes and toiletries from his sister Zoe.

Breathe, she ordered herself. In … out. It seemed to take an eternity for Lemon’s heart to slow to its normal pace. Lemon. Was that even her name? She kept rolling it around, hoping that it would somehow become familiar.

Before drifting off to sleep, she’d run innocuous facts through her brain—multiplication tables, addition and subtraction facts. She knew the names of states, the names of presidents, name brands of clothes and shoes. Lots and lots of shoes! Why couldn’t she remember who she was?

Jaxson had recognized her. Called her Lemon Massey. She’d been so overwhelmed by everything at the hospital that she’d not even thought to ask how he knew her. It hadn’t seemed important then. Now, however, the question pricked at her brain, demanding to be answered. Was she actually Lemon Massey? All she had to go on was Jaxson’s assertion that she was. She tried to remember. The knowledge was right there, just beyond her reach. If she could just get her fingers around the edge of this blank sheet of nothingness that was clamped down on her brain, she could pull it back to reveal the truth. She thought of the dream. There was a door and stairs. Those had to mean something! She felt a tremble of excitement, letting her know she was going the right direction.

The fear came on so suddenly that it sent her mind reeling. She sucked in a breath, tears watering her eyes. No, she couldn’t go there. Exerting all of her mental strength, she pushed the corridor