One Southern Cowboy - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,8

The patient has zero memory of her life or identity. She was found wandering the road.” He paused. “It is my opinion that she’s suffering from dissociative amnesia.”

Jaxson stole a glance at Lemon to get her reaction. He figured that Lemon would be devastated by everything she was hearing. Not so. She seemed curiously unaffected by what the doctor was saying. Strange. Didn’t she want to know who she was? What had led her to this point? There were so many questions burning inside of Jaxson, but it was doubtful that Lemon could answer one of them. He couldn’t fathom what it would be like to forget everything. He felt a glum sense of loss, knowing that she didn’t remember him.

“What does this mean in layman’s terms?” Knox asked.

The doctor cleared his throat. “Dissociative amnesia is often caused by severe trauma or stress. As a protective mechanism, the mind blocks out information, feelings or thoughts that are too overwhelming to handle. In extreme cases, this can lead to dissociative fugue where the person travels to a different location and takes on an entirely new identity, completely shedding the old.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Knox countered.

“It’s extremely rare,” Doctor Jepson explained, “affecting only one percent of the male population and a little over two percent of the female population. There seems to be a genetic or inherited connection. Those who have close relatives with dissociative amnesia tend to be at greater risk for developing it.”

Jaxson’s sudden intake of breath was the only sound in the room.

“What?” Knox asked.

Jaxson shook his head, not wanting to disclose everything he knew in front of Lemon. He feared it might be too much for her to hear.

“Will Lemon’s memory return?” Birdie asked, a clear note of concern in her voice.

Jaxson observed Lemon. Her expression was guarded. He would give anything to know what she was thinking right now.

Doctor Jepson continued, “Dissociative amnesia is different from that caused by medical problems. Most cases of this type of amnesia are temporary. Often, when the memories return, they do so suddenly and completely. This recovery may happen on its own, or it may be triggered by the person’s surroundings.”

Had something terrible happened to Lemon? Was that why she was aimlessly wandering in a torrential downpour? Jaxson looked at the police officers. “Wasn’t there a purse or wallet in Lemon’s car?”

“No,” Officer Williams answered. “The car is a rental. We are waiting to get information back. Now that we have Lemon’s name, it will help speed up the process.”

Jaxson turned to Lemon. “You really have no idea who you are?”

Her eyes grew troubled. “No.” She looked at his ankle. “I—I’m so sorry to be the cause of your accident. You could’ve died because of me.”

“I’ll be fine,” Jaxson said casually. The doc said he had a hairline fracture. He wondered how long it would take to heal. Would they put his ankle in a cast? The ankle hurt, but his ribs were worse.

“Where do we go from here?” Knox asked.

The doctor focused on Lemon. “We wait to get the results back from the CT-Scan. If it all comes back clear, as I suspect it will, we will then attribute your condition to dissociative amnesia.”

Lemon nodded. “Where will I stay?” she asked, looking concerned for the first time.

“We’ll keep you here overnight for monitoring,” Doctor Jepson said. “After that … well, I’m not sure.” He looked at the officers for help.

“Uh, I’m not sure what the protocol is for a situation like this,” Officer Williams said. “I guess we’ll have to talk to the Chief and see how he wants to handle it.”

Seeing the distress on Lemon’s beautiful face cut Jaxson to the core. Lemon was a successful businesswoman. Jaxson was sure there were plenty of people to whom she could go for help. She no doubt had vast financial resources, but she didn’t know any of that at the moment. As far as she knew she was homeless and friendless. He could only imagine how hopeless she must be feeling right now. He was tempted to rattle off how successful she was, but would it be too jolting for her to hear her life spelled out in a few sentences? Was it better to let her remember on her own? His next words seemed to issue out of their own accord. “After you’re released from the hospital, you can come to the ranch and stay with me.” When Zoe had moved back home with Milo and Madison, Jaxson