Page 11 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

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.Sheheard 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 of her brain closed. Relief spilled over her. She welcomed the pleasant numbness overtaking her body. Doctor Jepson said that something traumatic had happened—something her brain couldn’t process. Shivers wracked her body. Whatever it was must’ve been a doozy. She couldn’t think about it right now. She glanced around the room, focusing on the dresser, the chest of drawers, the fan swirling above her. Anything to take her away from the fear.

Finally, when she could breathe again, she lay back down. For a fraction of a second, the stairs from her dream flashedthrough her brain. Instantly, she pushed her thoughts in a different direction. An image of Jaxson flashed before her mind, causing a smile to drift over her lips. Jaxson was strikingly handsome with those dark, lively eyes and spiky dark hair. She liked his rugged features, the dimple in his chin, his lean muscular body. He had a bold confidence about him that was very enticing. She wondered what their connection was. Were they close friends or something more?

Definitely something more, her mind inserted. She had the satisfied feeling of a key fitting nicely into a lock.

Even though she couldn’t remember where she’d come from or why she was wandering the road in a torrential downpour, she knew that Jaxson was just the sort of man that she would be attracted to. And, in a way she didn’t understand, she knew that being here with Jaxson on his ranch was a good thing. A safe haven.

A place where the darkness couldn’t reach her.

“That’s great news! I’ll let her know.” Jaxson ended the call and placed his phone on the table just as Lemon stepped into the kitchen. His heart missed a beat. Even dressed in Zoe’s jeans, which were a few inches too long, her face scrubbed free of makeup, hair unfixed, Lemon was a vision. Her skin had a natural glow, which highlighted her prominent cheekbones. She walked with a fluid grace, giving her an almost ethereal quality.

Lemon was hugging her arms. There was a cagey look in her eyes that spoke of how unsure she was of the current situation. Jaxson felt a smidgen of guilt for hoping that it would take Lemon a while to regain her memories. He couldn’t imagine how she must be feeling right now—to not have any inkling ofher identity or past. Would Lemon be glad to learn that she was mega successful? He couldn’t escape the feeling that she was running from something or someone.

Before going to sleep the night before, Jaxson had Googled Lemon. He already knew most of the facts he’d read. After graduating from high school, Lemon attended Parsons School of Design in NY. She then apprenticed under the celebrated shoe designer Elza Noelle before launching her own company five years later. She co-founded the business with a friend from Parsons School of Design, Shade Russell. The business was cleverly named Shade of Lemon. It was located in Los Angeles.

From what Jaxson could tell, Lemon was a socialite, frequenting parties with celebrities. A couple of years ago, Lemon had announced her engagement to Braden Cooper, an a-list actor. Jaxson had read something about that when it happened. It stung to know that Lemon was marrying another man. He’d brushed off the hurt by going on back-to-back dates for a solid week. Then, tragedy struck when Braden was killed in a scuba diving accident in St. Maarten.

Jaxson had briefly thought about reaching out to Lemon to offer his condolences, but ultimately decided to let sleeping dogs lie. He’d seen a couple of recent photos of her with Wesley Livingston, the son of real estate tycoon Ellis Livingston. The Livingstons were from Nashville. Jaxson wondered if Wesley Livingston had anything to do with Lemon being here in Franklin.

Jaxson was unprepared for the hot sparks of jealousy that flared through him when he saw the pictures of Lemon and Wesley together. One in particular really got to Jaxson. The two were strolling on a beach. Lemon was looking up at Wesley, smiling at something he’d said. Jaxson had met Wesley Livingston a handful of times. The guy was a pompous jerk wholived high on the hog, using his daddy’s money and influence. Surely Lemon had more sense than to get involved with Wesley.

Jaxson had his ankle propped on a kitchen chair. It had given him fits the night before, throbbing incessantly. He didn’t know which was worse—his busted ankle or sore ribs. Every time he turned in his bed, he felt like his insides were getting kicked. He’d already iced his ankle this morning, which had helped tremendously to ease the swelling and pain. He pointed to an empty chair near him. “Have a seat.”

“Thanks,” she said, pulling it out.

“How did you sleep?” Jaxson began.

“Okay,” she said casually, but the faint shadows beneath her eyes spoke otherwise.

“That was Officer Williams on the phone. I’ve got some good news.”

“Oh?”

Jaxson caught the flicker of concern in Lemon’s eyes even though she was trying to conceal it beneath a mask of calm. He wondered again what had happened to her. She was definitely afraid of something. “Some good Samaritan found your purse in a ditch and took it to the station.”

“That is good news.”

Her words were spoken so blandly that he wasn’t sure if she actually meant it. He thought about what Doctor Jepson said. Lemon’s subconscious didn’t want to remember who she was … not until she could deal with whatever trauma she’d experienced.

“Your wallet was in your purse. Your license was there, along with a few credit cards … and a little over a thousand dollars cash.”

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