Page 29 of Down Memory Lane
After one last look out the door, his brother ran a hand over his trimmed beard and took a seat opposite him. “I wanted to check up on you.”
Felix wanted to call bullshit since no one but Autumn knew he was at the bar, but he figured he would let his brother save face just this once. “Well, as you can see, I’m doing fine.”
While Felix was content to let Nate keep his dignity intact, apparently his older brother wasn’t going to extend the same courtesy. “You’re full of it,” he said bluntly. Wiping a hand down his tired face, he turned pleading eyes on Felix. “Come on. Spill it. I don’t often find myself in the position of being able to help out, but since no one besides Willa wants to help me with my project, I find myself with extra time on my hands.”
Felix felt a pang of sympathy for his brother. Nate wanted nothing but a bright, prosperous future for their hometown, but it seemed the citizens were a little more reluctant to accept change, even if it was for the better. “Sorry, Nate. I wish I could help out, but I kind of have my hands full at the moment.” A thought occurred to him and he smiled wickedly. “If you’re really sincere about your offer, you could always pick up a few shifts behind the bar. I know Lottie would appreciate the help.”
Nate snorted. “I don’t think you want to be cleaning the blood spilled between the two of us off your hardwood, so I’ll pass.” Waving away his comment, Nate leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Seriously though, Felix. What can I do to help?”
Felix tried to think of anything concrete that he needed help with, but what he really wanted was to ask his brother for advice. Nate was as single as they came, sticking to out-of-town hookups as a rule of thumb as far as Felix knew, so romantic advice wasn’t really his forte, and even though Beckett or even Aiden might have more experience, Felix wanted a straight, no-nonsense answer, and for that he needed the man in front of him.
“Well, I could use your thoughts on something.” Felix proceeded to download every thought in his brain about Autumn to Nate, watching as he took it all in and analyzed it carefully as he did any problem he would face himself.
When Felix was finished, Nate sat back and released a slow exhale. “Wow, bro. That’s a lot.”
Felix snorted at the understatement. “Yeah, it is.” He drummed his fingers onto the desk and waited for his brother to say something, but he was suspiciously silent. “So you have no ideas for me?”
Nate smiled sadly as his shoulder bobbed up and down. “I wish I did, but I think this is the sort of thing you’re just going to have to feel your way through.” He stood up and patted Felix on the shoulder. “I could sit here with you and make a thousand spreadsheets, flow charts, and diagrams trying to analyze what the correct course of action would be, but the truth is, no one knows your relationship with Autumn better than you do. The amnesia threw a wrench in the gears, but I think you should just talk to her about it. See where her head is at, no pun intended.” He stepped over to the doorway and looked over at Felix. “We’ll all be here for you, no matter what happens. You know that right?”
“I do.” Felix stood and pulled his brother into a tight embrace, patting him on the back for good measure. “You’re a good guy, Nate. Even if you have a stick up your ass sometimes.”
Nate shoved him away playfully. “Don’t knock the stick, it gets things done.”
With a parting nod, Nate went back out through the bar. Felix watched him go, trying to take what he said to heart. No one did know his relationship better than he did, but what he knew then and what he knows now were two very different things. Could he be satisfied if their shared past was something he carried on his own? He wasn’t sure, but it was something he definitely needed to figure out sooner rather than later.
Chapter Fourteen
Autumn
The images contained in the photo album sitting on her lap depicted what Autumn assumed was fairly typically of any quintessential small town: parades, contests, and other large gatherings where people both young and old looked to be having the time of their life. As she flipped through the pictures, she even saw herself at various ages and stages of her life. There was the Easter egg hunt where her hair was in twin braids, the Fourth of July parade where her hair was slightly frizzy and the early stages of teenage acne were apparent, and one from last year where she and Felix were pictured next to one another on a park bench as they toasted the culmination of a Brewer’s Festival with glasses of his cider. Each picture showed a moment in time where she was visibly happy, surrounded by people she knew in a place she clearly loved, and she remembered none of it.
The incredibly thoughtful gesture of having collected all these photos for Autumn in hopes of giving her part of her past back was something she would make sure to thank Lottie for later, but the headache that was forming behind her eyes and at the base of her neck was something she could have done without. Strained eyes that were drier than the clay blocks she’d worked with again that morning blinked rapidly as she stared at the photos again. If only any of it looked familiar to her that would besomething, but other than recognizing people she’d met again since her accident and a few town landmarks, the pictures only served as one more reminder that she wasn’t getting any better.
For all intents and purposes, Autumn was perfectly fine. Her latest brain scans were normal, her motor skills were where they should be, and her ability to recall things that had happened since her accident was phenomenal. If only her memories from the past were as easy to summon, but no, they continued to elude her as did the answer to her Felix conundrum. It had only been a day since the kiss that weakened her knees and jump-started her heart, but the hours had gone by slowly as she contemplated whether or not she should try for more.
At dinner with her parents the evening prior, they tried once again to convince Autumn to come home to Phoenix with them, arguing that she was born and raised there for the first ten years of her life and that with all the memorabilia they had at their condo, she was far more likely to get her memories back than if she remained in Applewood. Their logic made sense, but the thought of leaving the small town, and more specifically the man she’d grown to care for deeply, made her feel even more hollow inside than she already did.
