Page 4 of Pining for the Ranger
“She’s asking for you. Right this way.” She stands to the side of the door she is holding.
I look back at them. “Gotta go. I found an unconscious woman in the river today. When she came to, she didn’t remember anything, including who she was.”
I leave them staring in shock as I follow the nurse back. We pass several doors before she opens one on the right into an exam room. The relief at seeing her sitting on the bed in a white hospital gown is overwhelming. When she smiles at me, I feel like a weight has been lifted.
“We’re just waiting on the Doctor to look at the MRI results.” The nurse informs us before shutting the door once again.
Sitting on the chair next to the bed, I look her over. Her face is clean and there is color in her plump cheeks now.
“How are you feeling?”
She shrugs a shoulder. “Still sore and tired, but better than I was, even after being poked and prodded.”
One side of my mouth curves. “Yeah, doctors are good at that sort of thing, but did they tell you anything useful yet?”
“They said I don’t have any injuries beyond a mild concussion, but they did an MRI just in case, since we don’t know what really happened. That and I can’t remember anything beyond waking up with you.” Her cheeks turn pink as if remembering our mostly naked bodies pressed intimately together.
The thought has my pants tightening, remembering all that soft skin and supple curves against mine. Shaking my head in an attempt to get my mind out of the gutter, I clear my throat, “Well, that sounds like good news so far.”
She nibbles on her bottom lip as her brows furrow and her lips turn down. Her gaze goes to her fingers tangling with the edge of the sheet on the bed. “I guess.”
“Hey what’s wrong?” My hands curl into my thigh to keep myself from reaching for her. To provide what comfort I can to help erase the dejected look on her face. I’m a virtual stranger to her. She’s not mine to comfort or claim and could very well have someone looking for her who has that privilege.
Her shoulders rise and fall at my question. “I’m just not sure what is going to happen to me now. I can’t remember who I am and they won’t keep me in the hospital if I don’t require further care. I have no money, no id, no memory, nowhere to go.”
A tear slips down her cheek and this time I can’t stop myself from reaching for her, claim and memory be damned. When myhand cups her cheek, she leans into the touch. The pad of my thumb sweeps across her cheek, wiping away the lone tear there.
“We’ll figure this out. You don’t need to be worrying about any of that right now. The most important thing is we find out if you are healthy and free of injury. Then we’ll work on the rest. I promise I won’t leave you until we do.”
Her eyes meet mine hesitantly. “You would do that for me? Are you sure? Won’t your family have something to say about that?”
“It’s just me, sweetheart. Well, me and my brother, who I just ran into in the waiting room with his girlfriend. Apparently, I’m going to be an uncle.” A grin takes hold at the thought and when she returns it, the ache in my chest at her distress eases. “I’m a bachelor, so there’s no one at home who might have a problem with me helping the beautiful and amazingly strong woman I rescued.”
She shakes her head, opening her mouth to reply, but the door opens, interrupting her. In walks an older man with white hair and glasses in a white lab coat and a stethoscope around his neck.
“Well Ivy, the MRI looks good with nothing which looks concerning. I’m going to say your memory loss is probably from the trauma which led to you ending up in the river. You have a mild concussion, so you will need to be woken regularly tonight. Normally I would release a patient into the care of loved ones, but given the circumstances you can stay here at the hospital if needed, but we are short on beds so it would only be for one night.”
“No need. She can stay with me.” I offer without hesitation. There’s no way I’m leaving her to fend for herself.
He glances at me before addressing Ivy again. “If you’re okay with that, I’ll have the nurse get your discharge paperwork going.”
She looks at me for the briefest of moments before turning back and replying to the doctor. “Yes, I’m fine with that.”
“Okay then. You’ll most likely have a headache for the next few days, but it should go away on its own. If it gets worse or you have any other problems, come back in to get checked out. The nurse will be in with your paperwork soon.” He says on his way out the door.
She looks at me with overwhelming gratitude and relief. “I don’t know how to thank you for all you’re doing for me. My luck must be turning around now you’ve found me.”
“No thanks needed. I’m more than happy to help. You get dressed and we can stop by the sheriff’s department to make a report and hopefully find out who you are.” I hang on to a small thread of hope that when we do she’s not already taken, because I don’t know if I could handle the disappointment the discovery would bring.
Chapter Four
Ivy/Laura
I wake with a gasp, sweat beading on my body just like I have for the last three mornings. My hand goes to my chest as I work to slow my breathing and racing heart. It’s always the same dream. I’m running before I slip, ending up in a free fall, which ends in me getting sucked downstream in the frigid river.
Only I’m positive it isn’t a dream, but a memory from the day I went into the river. The problem is, I have no idea what I’m running from. Was someone or something chasing me? I have no clue. The answer hovers just beyond the reaches of the memory, which plays each night.
Heaving a sigh, I drag myself from bed, knowing there will be no more sleep for me now. I head across the hall to the guest bathroom to wash the dream and sweat away and warm myself. The dream never fails to leave me chilled.
