Page 53 of Dearest Protector

Still, I had no idea exactly what had really transpired right after that accident. All I knew is what I’d been told.

The dream I’d just experienced, a dream that I’d had frequently in the days after the accident, was probably nothing more than my imagination.

I knew the basics from the police, but I really didn’trememberit.

Obviously, when I was asleep, my subconscious wanted to fill in the blanks.

In reality, my actual memory was a total blank about that period of time right after I’d been hit by a taxi.

Later, while I was healing, I’d wanted to thank the man who had apparently helped me, but no one had gotten his name.

Apparently, he’d said he was family, so the medics had let him ride with me to the hospital.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t stayed long enough at the hospital for the police to catch up with him and question him, too.

Everything I knew about the mystery man was due to thirdhand information.

Hell, I didn’t even know if I’d really spoken to him or what he had really said on the scene.

I sighed and rolled out of bed to use the bathroom.

For the most part, I was okay with the memory lapse.

Honestly, I hadn’t really wanted to recallanythingabout the accident that had nearly taken my life and robbed me of a long career as a ballerina.

Not back then.

It had hurt too much, and it was too traumatic to dwell on.

But now, I had to wonder if, deep down, there was a part of me thatwantedto know the truth.

It would probably be a hell of a lot better than dreaming about something that had likely never occurred.

I reached for the light switch in the bathroom and flipped it up.

Crazy as it might seem, that soothing presence I’d conjured up in my dream reminded me an awful lot of…Ben Blackwood.

I shook my head as I saw my own baffled image in the bathroom mirror, and nixed that thought almost as quickly as it had floated through my mind.

What in the hell was wrong with me?

That had to be the most ridiculous thing I’d ever imagined in my entire life!

Chapter 13

Ariel

“Thanks for all of the distractions this week,” I told Ben as we walked on the beach the Saturday evening before my surgery.

I was now settled into one of several suites in his home, with everything I could possibly need for the next…year or so.

Honestly, the amount of stuff he’d hauled over to his place was ridiculous, but I knew he was trying to make sure I’d be as comfortable as possible.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he answered nonchalantly and grabbed my hand as I stumbled just a little.

It was pretty dark out on the beach, but I’d wanted to be outside as much as possible since I’d be confined to the indoors after my surgery on Monday.

The weather had totally cooperated with my wishes.

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