Nine years of history wiped out in the blink of an eye. He took a deep breath.
I will wait for you. I will always wait for you. And if you don’t remember me when you come back, then I will find you, and make you fall in love with me again and never let you go
. Niamh had told him that once years ago, right after a huge fire which left several Firefighters from his station dead and one suffering severe brain damage resulting in total memory loss.
How do I deal with this? Oh, Lord, help me because I can’t do this alone. I look at her and see the woman I love, the one I spent the past nine years loving and caring for and protecting. Yet she looks at me like I’m a stranger. But perhaps the stranger is her. The stranger with her face. Is this Your will? That I do for her what she promised me all those years ago, should I be severely injured? To find her and bring her back and help her remember? Then that’s what I’ll do. Help her remember, woo her and make her fall in love with me all over again
.
****
The x-rays having come back clear, Niamh had a stream of visitors that afternoon and was exhausted. Patrick and her parents had been in, as had Liam’s fiancée, Jacqui. Aside from the fact they’d all gotten old, nothing had changed. And Jacqui was sweet. Niamh had a feeling they’d be great friends.
She’d asked if she could stay at Liam’s, but everyone had insisted she’d be better off at home. In familiar territory. Yeah, right. Nothing was familiar. Her parents’ house would be, but that wasn’t an option either. She had to go back to the house she allegedly shared with Jared. She just hoped he hadn’t given her the bruises on her arm. They were definitely finger marks.
She looked up as footsteps crossed the ward and smiled as Dr. Anders came over. “What’s up, Doc?” she asked, grinning as he rolled his eyes.
“Oh, aren’t we funny,” he said drolly. “I’ve heard that fifteen times so far today.” He perched on the bed next to her. “How are you feeling?”
“Tired. When can I go home?”
“Depending on the remaining test results, tomorrow. So long as there is someone there to look after you. You were lucky earlier when you fell. You didn’t break or sprain anything.”
“I’ll be fine. Just because I don’t remember the last ten years, doesn’t mean I can’t cook beans on toast and make tea. And I can always sleep on the couch if the house has stairs.” She smiled at him.
“OK. But I don’t want you going back to work for six weeks.”
Niamh nodded. “OK. Not that I remember my job. At least not the current one.”
“I’ll get the nurses to ring your husband in the morning once we know if you’re going home.”
Niamh looked at him. “I’d rather you rang my brother. If that’s OK. He might not be able to come, but I know who he is.” She broke off, yawning.
Dr. Anders stood. “I’ll let you get some sleep, and we’ll worry about that in the morning.”
“OK.” Niamh lay back on the pillows. She stared up at the ceiling, her mind full of images of the handsome firefighter who claimed to be married to her. But there was another face. Blond hair, piercing lavender eyes and a scent of some kind, something she couldn’t put her finger on, but she knew it was important. Who was he? And why did his image cause something to stir inside her when her ‘husband’ meant nothing to her.
6
In the end, Jared picked her up just after eleven. Niamh spent the journey in silence looking out the car window. The town hadn’t changed, some of the buildings looked a little more run down in places, and the trees seemed taller, but other than that, she was the one who had changed.
The car stopped, and she looked at the two-story house. The garden was neat and tidy and late autumn flowers nestled in a rainbow of colors in the window boxes and along the path. Net curtains hung at the windows and pinned back, old fashioned shutters gave the house an almost country look.
Jared smiled. “You like it?”
“It’s amazing. When you said home, I never imagined anything like this. It looks like it should have a thatched roof.”
Jared got out and opened the door for her. “I can’t take credit for all of it. And yes, originally it did. We changed that about seventeen months ago. We needed planning permission, mind you, but we got it.”
She swung her legs from the car and winced as she stood. Taking a minute to balance on her crutches, she glanced at him. “Why was that?”
“Thatched roofs are a fire risk.” His voice was abrupt and stilted.
She’d obviously touched a raw nerve. “OK.” She pulled herself slowly up the path. A beautiful mix of late yellow and blue roses bloomed on the bush growing up the trellis by the front door. Leaning over she took a deep breath, the delicious heady scent filling her nostrils and wrapping her in a warm fuzzy feeling. “They’re lovely.”
Jared smiled. “You planted them. The garden is your domain. No one else is allowed to touch it.”
“Did I? I never planted anything before. Dad always did it.”
“Then you must have gotten your green thumb from him, and your ability to pack a car. I have never known anyone as good at packing as you.”
Her stomach twisted. Again, he knew things about her and their life together that she didn’t. It was the most uncomfortable feeling and one she didn’t particularly care for in the slightest. “Another one of Dad’s many talents.”
He unlocked the front door and held it open for her. “After you.”
She eased over the front step and glanced around the hallway. Pale yellow and smelling new, the paintwork and dado rail glistened. Pictures hung on the walls, opposite a full length mirror and coat rack. “Pretty color.”
“That was you, too. I went to work the night shift, came home, and thought I’d walked into the wrong house at first.”
“I did all of this? The border, too?”
Jared nodded. “Yup. Usually you paint and I paper, but you did the whole thing this time.”
“The paint smells new.”
“Yeah, you did it the end of last week. Just head down that way to the kitchen.” There was an edge to his voice. She must have said the wrong thing again. Talk about walking on egg shells. Would she have to watch every single thing she said around him?
“OK.” She swung slowly down the hall in the direction he indicated.
Jared pointed out the different rooms as they passed and she was pleased to note the downstairs bathroom. It’d save going up and down the stairs. “I’ll put your bag in our room, Niamh.”
Her stomach twisted and a sword plunged into her heart. “Our room?” Surely he didn’t mean what she thought he did?
Jared smiled almost apologetically. “I’ve moved my things into the spare room,” he said gently. “I’m not asking any more of you than you’re prepared to give. Right now, we’re strangers. I know that, so I figured, housemates. Shared bathroom, kitchen, cooking and so on, but separate bedrooms.”
Relief flooded her. “Thank you.” She paused. “You’re not happy about it though, are you?”
“Can’t say I am, but it’s the way things need to be, right now.” He smiled. “So let me take this upstairs and I’ll let you settle in and find your way around. I need to sleep, as I’m due back at work at six. Can I make you some tea or something first?”
“No, it’s OK. I can manage. Thanks anyway.”
“OK, if you’re sure. I’ll see you around four thirty.”
Niamh nodded and watched him head up the stairs. She turned again and slowly made her way into the kitchen. It was spotless, not a thing out of place or a crumb on the work top. Why didn’t she remember any of this?
Flicking on the kettle, she then pulled a mug off the mug tree and set it on the counter top. Now where would the tea bags be? She pulled open cupboards one at a time, marveling at how neat they were too. Was this him? Because she wasn’t so neat, assuming she hadn’t changed over the past ten years and turned into a neat freak like her brother—when he wasn’t drinking that is.
Finding some tea bags, Niamh tossed one into the cup. She turned and swung slowly across the kitchen, wanting to explore the rest of the downstairs. Upstairs could wait until Jared was at work.
Will he settle for just house sharing? Still I guess I can always go live with Mum and Dad or Liam if need be
.
Leaning on one crutch, she pushed open a door. A huge airy lounge ran from the front of the house to the back. The front half was a living room, with an archway dividing the rest into a dining room. Patio doors beyond that led to a conservatory. A door next to the table led back into the kitchen. That was worth remembering. She opened the patio door and stumbled a little as she went into the conservatory.
Note to self, door frames and crutches are not a good combination
.
Cane furniture with pale yellow cushions lined the walls. A huge garden lay beyond the glass walls.
“Wow.” The autumn colors on the trees glistened and blew in the wind. White table and chairs with an umbrella stand stood on the patio. Flowers and trees lined the six-foot high wooden fence that surrounded them. The grass was neat and tidy.
The kettle whistled, and Niamh returned to the kitchen. She made the tea and somehow managed to put the cup on the table without spilling it. She slowly lowered herself into the chair and rested the crutches next to her. Picking up the cup, she sipped the hot liquid. Today’s paper sat on the side and she opened it, glancing down at the news. The date on the front page seemed to bear out Jared and Liam’s story about her having lost ten years.
“Why?” she whispered.
The one thing she was sure about was her faith. That hadn’t changed, and as sure as she was that God had a reason for this, she just had no idea what it was. Perhaps it was temporary thing. Was Jared really the man she loved, or could it be this other man she saw in her dreams?
She finished the tea, and made her way into the lounge. She sat on the sofa and carefully put her leg up. Then she grabbed the remote, and put the TV on. She let out a deep breath. This other bloke…there were definite feelings associated with him, she just wasn’t sure what. And she had no idea why her ‘husband’ didn’t elicit the same response.
****
Peeping through the windows, Niamh saw the snow lying thick and pristine across the dark garden. She smiled and slid on her coat, hat, gloves, and boots and went outside. She made slow, deep tracks all around the garden, and then built the tallest snowman she could manage. She gave it twigs for arms, stones for eyes and buttons and another twig for a mouth. She ran indoors and picked up a carrot for a nose and Jared’s spare cap for a hat. Surveying her handiwork, she smiled.
A tapping on the window made her look up. Jared stood silhouetted against the window. He shook his head at her.
She waved him to come down and join her, but he shook his head and mimed it being too cold. She pulled a face and turned away lowering her shoulders to make it look as if she were sad.
Less than a minute later the back door opened and Jared came out. “You are one crazy mad woman,” he told her moving over to her. “Have you any idea what time it is?”
Niamh spun around and tossed a handful of snow at him and grinned. “Snowball time.”
Jared yelped quietly as her shot hit right on target. He scooped up some snow and tossed it back, hitting her hard. “Oh really? And there I was thinking it was getting on for five forty-five in the morning. When all sensible people are still tucked up in bed.”
Niamh threw another snowball at him. “That’s why you’re not then.”
“No, because some crazy mad woman woke me up by traipsing around out here in the snow.” He tossed three snowballs in quick succession. “What would the judge say if he could see you now, Mrs. Senior Prosecutor?”
She dodged and sent several snowballs flying towards him watching them miss as he moved fast. “He'd want to join in. We're not staid and boring all the time, you know.”
His next several hit right on target. “So what’s the snowman called?” He moved over to look at it.
Niamh ran up behind him and dumped a whole load of snow over him, making sure it went down the inside of his coat. “Jarrie Jace,” she giggled.
Gasping with shock, he turned and grabbed her. “You brat!”
She laughed softly. “And what are you going to do about it?”
“This.” Jared swiftly kicked her feet out from under her, laying her down in the snow. Holding her with one hand, he grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it down her neck, kissing her to stop her crying out. “Now you’re a snow woman,” he grinned.
She looked at him and winked. “I’m also wet.” She tugged him to the snow beside her and grinned. “Snow angel time as we’re both wet anyway.”
He laughed and they both made snow angels. Then he reached over and kissed her again before pulling her to her feet. “Then we’d better go change before we have to leave for work.” He looked at the snowman. “Think we’ll call it H’main.”
She shook her head. “Deraj sounds better.”
Jared laughed, leading her back inside. “Then Deraj it is.”
Niamh whimpered, twisting in the chair as the scene changed.
…A warehouse exploded and burned out of control before, unable to bear its own weight any longer, it crashed to the ground, vanishing from sight into a huge fiery lake of rubble and flame. A car door slammed and footsteps echoed up the path. She looked into the sad faces of two officers in firefighter uniform. A flag at half mast, coffins draped in the Union Flag carried on the back of fire engines with a sea of men in uniform following it. A burned face, bandages, a figure in a bed, trumpet music playing...
The images flowed from one into the other, incoherent jigsaw pieces trying to make a whole.
She was in a car, frantically stamping on the brakes as something inexorably hurtled towards her. She flung her arms up and screamed. Then it was dark and there were more footsteps, this time chasing her. She ran, ran as fast as she could, but he was quicker and gained. She turned; a knife glinted in the darkness and plunged towards her. She screamed...