Page 28 of Montana Lawman Rescuer
He wanted to hold her, still her frantic movements, but she seemed unaware of him, and he feared to startle her, perhaps sending her into a panic.
“There’s a storm coming. I should have noticed. I shouldn’t be here. I can’t stay.” Her eyes were glazed as she stared into the clouded sky.
He was almost certain she relived something from her past, and he could no longer stand back and leave her struggling alone. He caught her by the shoulders, cautiously gauging her reaction. “Emily, it’s okay.”
He knew from the way she shivered that it wasn’t. Had she regained her memory? If so, would she remember where she was and who he was? But, more importantly, at the moment, was her memory troublesome?
Emily clung shamelesslyto Jesse as the fear ebbed. It was something from her past, but what? And why did the approaching storm frighten her? Why did she feel she had to runaway? Why had regret and distress darkened her thoughts? What had she done that was so wrong?
“You’re okay. You’re safe. I would never let anything harm you.” His words quenched the nameless uncertainty, filling her with assurance.
“I’m fine now.” Not quite fine enough to stand on her own two feet, though.
He leaned back to look into her face. “Do you remember who I am?”
She smiled. “Of course. You’re my rescuer, Sheriff Jesse Hill.”
Relief filled his eyes. “I thought you’d remembered your past. Doc warned me you might forget what happened from the time after your accident until the moment you get your memory back.” His smile was lopsided.
“He told me the same thing.” Why must she have only one or the other?
Mikey’s scream tore her from Jesse’s arms, and she raced toward the boy, who lay on the ground by the pile of rocks.
He sat up and held his arms out to her.
“Oh, Mikey.” He’d fallen on a sharp rock and cut his forehead, and it bled profusely.
Jesse was at her side, taking out his handkerchief to wipe away the blood. “It’s not deep.”
“Thank goodness.” She took Mikey in her arms and hurried back to the wagon. “I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t have stayed.” Why did she use those words? It wasn’t what she meant, and yet they seemed stuck in her head. “I’m supposed to be taking care of him. Now, he will go to his new home with a cut on his forehead. I shouldn’t—” She stopped herself before she could say anything more because the words did not fit the situation, and yet she couldn’t get past them.
Jesse helped her to the wagon seat. “It was an accident. He’s an active little boy. His new parents will love him even with a cut on his head. Or they aren’t worthy of him.”
His words did little to comfort her. And it wasn’t just because Mikey had had a fall.
It was the thoughts that continued to echo in her head.
It was also the knowledge that she’d soon say goodbye to Jesse and start over again. He and Gram were the only people she knew at the moment, and the thought of leaving them left her floundering.
It was also the fear of what she’d learn when she found out who she was. Telling herself she had nothing to fear did not help.
“They’ll love him when they see him,” she said in answer to Jesse’s comment.
“Yes, they will.”
She looked ahead, facing her future. She had to move on as Emily Smith...someone she didn’t remember and someone with something in her past that frightened her.
Jesse gathered up the blanket and the picnic basket, stowed them in the back of the wagon, and they were on their way again.
Mikey sat on her knees and fell asleep. She let the warm sun and the steady creak of the wagon and clomp of the horses’ hooves lull her into a drowsy state.
Her head slumped forward, and she jerked awake. “How much farther?”
“We’re getting close, according to the directions George gave me. Mr. Newman said they were near the fork where one road went west over the mountains and the other continued north toward the British Territories. George remembered it clearly because Mr. Newman said Oregon lay to the west and he’d heard good things about Oregon. Look, there’s a fork now. I expect that’s the one he meant.”
Jesse reined in the horses, and Emily sat up and looked about. “There’s no house here.”
“There’s a trail to the right. It probably leads to a homestead. We’ll ask there.”
