One Southern Cowboy - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,22

other questions about my life.”

“But?” he prompted.

She sighed heavily. “But I can’t deal with it right now.” She turned to face him, needing him to understand where she was coming from. “I—I just can’t open that door.” Tears wet her eyes. “Not now.”

He rubbed her arms. “You don’t have to.” His soothing voice was a healing balm. “You can stay here as long as you need to … remember things on your own terms.”

“Thank you,” she uttered, tears brimming in her eyes before dribbling down her cheeks. Tenderly, he wiped them away. A petrifying thought wedged its way into her brain. It fell from her lips before she could call it back. “What if someone comes looking for me?” Her heart began to pound.

“Who?” he asked, scouring her face for any clues.

She thought of the man. A handsome, influential man. He was cold, ruthless. “I—I don’t know,” she stammered. “People will know that I’m missing, won’t they?”

“It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since the accident. People may not realize yet that you’re gone.”

She nodded, a swift relief flowing through her. “That’s true.” She tensed right back up, thinking of something else. “What we don’t know is when I lost my memory. It could have been several days or weeks before the accident. After all, I was just wandering the road. I’m glad the police have my purse, but I still don’t know why I didn’t have a phone. The whole thing is a blank.”

“Speaking of your purse, we need to go to the station and get it.”

“Can you even drive right now?”

“Yeah, I think I can manage.”

“I’ll drive us there,” she inserted. “If we happen to get pulled over, I’ll just tell the officer that my license is at the station.”

He grinned. “That’ll work.”

“Do you care if we go somewhere and get me some new clothes?” She made a face. “Not that I don’t appreciate these.” She tugged on the hem of her shirt.

“I have just the place. My mama owns a dress shop in town.”

“Really?” She liked Birdie Romeo. She’d been so kind at the hospital.

He nodded. “Zoe has an art gallery a few doors down. We can pop in and say hello to her. We could stop and grab lunch … make a day of it.”

“That sounds great.” It was nice to have some immediate plans, something to occupy her mind.

“Lemon,” he prompted gently, “do you know who you’re afraid of?”

Just like that, her heart squeezed like it was caught in a vise-grip. Jaxson’s eyes were compassionate, searching. It was so tempting to tell him what little she knew. Even as the thought ran through her mind, her insides shriveled. No, she couldn’t tell Jaxson about the man or the dream. She had to protect him and his family. How she knew this, she had no idea. But the knowledge flowed through her all the same. It was so sure and fierce that it nearly stole her breath away.

He cupped her cheeks with both hands. Her skin thrilled under his touch. “I promise you that I’ll be right by your side the whole time. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“Thank you,” she smiled, tears pressing against her eyes. She swallowed them down, not wanting to be a total blubbering mess. She had to pull herself together. She searched his eyes. “We were a couple, weren’t we?”

He blinked a couple of times. She could see his hesitation, could tell he was wondering how much to share. “Yes,” he answered softly.

“Do I dare ask what happened to bust us up?”

Pain streaked through his eyes as he lowered his hands.

“Scratch that question,” she said quickly. “I don’t wanna know. I’ll just deal with whatever it was when my memories come back.” If my memories come back.

He looked relieved.

“I do need to ask you one more question though.”

“Okay, shoot.”

She got the feeling that he was bracing himself for whatever she would ask. “Are you involved with anyone?”

A large grin filled his face. “Nope.”

She didn’t try to hide the smile that overtook her face. “That’s good to know.”

He lifted an eyebrow, a partially amused expression flitting over his features. “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

She knew she was being reckless … knew this could end badly. But the temptation was too great to ignore. “No one will mind if I do this.” Her heart felt like it would explode with anticipation as she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his with a teasing feather lightness. Sparks tingled through her mouth, pushing currents of desire