Rafe slammed the door of Manon's
office and strode to his bike. That had been an interesting meeting and hadn’t
gone well. Manon had changed from the girl he had remembered and loved. Still
did. What had happened in the past mattered but only to help reclaim his
memories and for her to learn the truth.
She was beautiful. Tall and stacked.
Short blonde hair. Blue-gray eyes reminded him of the waters of Fern Lane on a
stormy day. Myriad emotions had flared in their depths. Among those he’d seen
were anger, sadness and a desire she had tried to hide.
He fastened his helmet. One thing
hadn’t changed. Tom still sniffed around hoping to catch a crumb of Manon’s
attention.
Rafe started the Harley, twin to the
one he’d ridden out of town. Though Manon had brushed him off as quickly as she
had Tom, Rafe made a vow. He refused to walk away until they talked. Once the
truth was known, he would make a decision about where he headed. Hopefully with
her. Living in the same town, working at the same place and not being with her
would be hard.
He rode across town and up the hill to
the hospital. A short time later with a visitor’s pass in hand, he entered the
cardiac unit where his step-grandmother rested.
“Hey, Gran.”
“Rafe, when did you arrive?”
“This morning.”
“So you left moving until the last
moment. Was everything ready?”
He nodded. “Phone, Cable, Food. Spent
the morning and most of the afternoon unloading the van. Figured I would take
you to dinner.” He bent to kiss her cheek. “Then I learned you were here.”
She frowned. ‘Didn’t they call you?
Even gave them your cell number.”
“They did. Went straight to voice
mail. Forgot to charge the battery.” He sank on the chair beside the bed and
made a quick assessment of her condition. Her gray hair was neatly coiled in a bun.
Brown eyes showed tiredness. Her skin had a gray tinge.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Against the cardiologist’s orders, I
spoke to several Board members. You can start tomorrow without my guidance. I
am available to answer questions.”
“Good enough.” He studied the monitor
on the wall above her bed. Vitals looked good, other than a slight tachycardia.
Could be due to stress. “Your job is to get better. Any idea what course of
treatment they plan?”
“Some tests. Observation. Nitro tabs.
Do hope they’re not thinking of giving me anti-coagulants. Hate them.”
“Understood.” He stretched his legs so
his feet were under the bed. “Any problems I should know about?”
“Summer staffing schedule. My
secretary, Mildred, can fill you in. She has the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting.
There’s a ring of keys in the bedside stand.”
Rafe opened the drawer. “These?”
She took them and separated the rings.
“House and car keys. When I go home, I refuse to ride the bike.” She handed
them to him. With the other ring she identified each one. “Office door. Middle
desk drawer. File cabinet. In the locked desk drawer, there’s the password so
you can access the computer files.”
Rafe slipped both rings into his
jacket pocket. "Sure hope I’m up for this.”
“You’ll do fine.” She patted his hand.
“Do not let anyone take the funds set aside for the computer programs you want
to implement. Though they’ve known this was coming, some of the nurses and
other staff are fighting the process.”
Rafe chuckled. “I’ll handle that,
especially when they see how much easier their lives will be.” He saw the look
in her eyes. Warmth filled him. He could never thank her enough for her care of
him. Though not related by blood, they had bonds of the heart.
“Will you see Manon Lockley?”
“Been there.” He frowned. “She and I need
to talk but she refuses to listen. There has to be a way."
The elderly woman patted his hand.
“You’ll find the right moment. Just remember when you vanished she was hurt and
forced into a life she didn’t want.”
“Someone told her I was dead.”
“How odd.” She sighed. “I did keep any mention of the accident from
the papers. I feared whoever had tried to kill you would make another attempt.
I wonder how she learned.”
“So do I.” Rafe forced away an image
that plagued him. “There is one person who knew.”
“The one who caused the accident.”
“Manon insists she can’t remember who
told her.” His shoulders tensed. Manon had to remember who had lied. She needed
to hear the truth about why he’d fled Fern Lake.
This afternoon she’d been wary and cold. From what Gran had said Manon lived a
quiet life with work and an occasional dinner with her brother or her nurse.
The older woman had mentioned rumors Tom Sands had spread. From the one-sided
conversation he’d overheard, Manon didn’t welcome the other man’s attention.
Until they talked there was no chance
of the future he wanted.
A noise caught his attention. A
middle-aged woman brought a dinner tray into the cubicle. She placed it on the
overbed table.
Rafe rose. “See you tomorrow, probably
early since I have to stop at the lab.”
“I’ll be here,” Mrs. Patton said.
“Marie, this is my grandson. He’s the new director.”
The woman smiled. “Good to meet you.”
“Same.” Rafe kissed Gran Ruth’s cheek.
“See you.”
“Good luck tomorrow.”
“Thanks.”
As he left the unit, he strode toward
the elevator. The door opened. Tom Sands stepped out and headed to the cardiac
unit. Rafe ducked behind the dietary cart. What was the other man doing here?
Had he come to make a scene?
Not
going to happen. Yet.
Rafe pressed against the wall. No. He fought a recurring vision. A
flash of light surrounding Tom’s face appeared. The vision had occurred
frequently during Rafe’s stay in the hospital. Months had passed since the last
time. He had no idea what the image meant.
Rafe pushed away from the wall. At
least this time the rush of anger and the memory of pain hadn’t happened.
Rather than waiting for the elevator he hurried to the stairs, dashed to the
first floor and left the hospital. As he rode past Manon’s office, the absence
of lights meant she’d gone home. Did she live at the house just outside town
where she’d grown up?
He sped to the apartment complex. Damn. Manon was everything he wanted.
For more than sex, though his cock had different ideas.
Enough.
He dare not weave a dream of the
future before he’d solved the past.
At the complex, he parked beside his
van in the roofed parking area. He rode the elevator to his floor.
An erection pressed against his jeans.
Thoughts of Manon’s touch nearly made him erupt. During the physical, she had
seemed impersonal but her fingers had brushed his skin as she’d placed the
electrodes. Those brief brushes had stirred memories and escalated his desire.
Had she noticed? Had she hidden her own reaction?
He unlocked the apartment door. Just
recalling those moments made him harder. He entered, dropped his leather jacket
and gloves on a chair and stared at the phone. He could call. Would she slam
the receiver to end the call the way she had to Tom? One way to find out. He
opened the directory Gran had left, found Manon’s number and pressed the keys.
“Dr. Lockley’s service. How can I help
you?”
“Sorry, wrong number.” He
disconnected. That answered his question. Explaining to a faceless woman why he wanted to speak to
Manon wouldn’t work.
He slumped on the couch. He loved her.
During the years since his departure form Fern Lake,
he’d tried to forget Manon. Hadn’t worked. The months of amnesia had contained
bits of memory about people and places. Had been akin to solving a jigsaw
puzzle. One by one, the pieces had joined. He’d remembered her, written
letters, sent them and waited for an answer. While browsing on the internet, he
had learned she was in Europe. He followed her
successes.
One day all mention of Manon vanished.
He recalled his fear she had married or died. He’d pushed her from his thoughts
and he’d started to school to earn the first of his degrees.
During those years there had been
several women who had held his attention for a time. When they had wanted more
than he could give, he had walked away. Friends with benefits had been all he
could offer.
Last December, he and Gran had spent
the holiday week at her cabin. She’d spoken of her desire to retire and had
asked if he would consider taking her place. After he agreed, she had told him
Manon had set up practice in town as a family physician. The news had shocked
him but he had agreed to come. That conversation was engraved in his thoughts.
“Let
me finish my doctorate so I don’t have to face a three hour commute.”
“Are
you leery of seeing Manon Lockley?”
“Maybe.
There’s also the consulting job that finishes in May just after graduation.”
“Then
I’ll retire in September and work with you over the summer. Some of the staff
might resent a man with a fancy degree.”
Now he was here and so was Manon. He
had two choices. Forget her or make his desire a reality.
As he started down the hall, he pulled
off his shirt and saw some of the lead attachments were still in place. Not
wanting to pull his chest hair, he turned into the bathroom. As he stripped,
Manon’s face flashed into his thoughts. Shadow hands stroked his chest. His
cock moved to readiness.
Ever since he’d held her in his arms,
he’d wanted her. He should have kissed her until she responded.
Enough!
He turned on the water and stepped
into the stall. With a flick, he changed the temperature. An icy stream washed
over him. The sticky circles fell off. He scrubbed and rinsed. His body shook.
Hypothermia threatened, but one part of him failed to heed the cold. He turned
the water off. A cold shower hadn’t halted his desire. He strode to the bedroom
and sank on the mattress. Time to take the matter in hand.
He ran his hands over his chest where
she had touched. A memory of the citrus fragrance of her shampoo made him
groan. His hands moved over his abdomen to grasp his cock. He slid into a
memory of the first time he and Manon had pleasured each other, the time before
she’d given him her virginity.
She knelt at his side and grasped him.
Slowly, she had explored from the head to the base. One hand circled his dick
and began to pump.
Tension built. Harder and faster he
slid his hand along the shaft. He gulped breaths of air. Groans and growls
filled the air. Closer and closer he rose toward his goal. With a shout he
reached the peak and spewed.
“Manon.”
