A Hard Man to Forget (19 page)

As the waitress hurried away, Laura’s attention drifted back
across the room. Most of the diners were studiously ignoring them.
All but one. The same woman she’d noticed earlier was looking
straight at her again.

This time the fervent emotion in her eyes held Laura’s
attention. Laura felt a chill slide through her. It almost seemed
like the woman was trying to communicate something to her. The
urgency in her expression came across like a plea.

“Simon, who is that woman who’s staring at us?”

“Which one?” he asked dryly.

She gestured to the right as subtly as possible. “Over there.”

Simon followed her motion toward the woman. Only then did she look
away.

Simon frowned. “That’s Patsy Burke. She was one of
Meredith’s closest friends.”

“That would certainly explain the staring.” Laura
surveyed the woman, who was still slipping surreptitious glances
their way. “I wonder why she doesn’t come over.”

“Probably because I’m here. Patsy never liked me. I don’t
know why, but she always avoided me. I thought we might find some
common ground after Meredith disappeared. She of all people should
have agreed that Meredith hadn’t killed herself. But she sided
with the sheriff instead, said that was the only explanation, outside
of me killing her.”

She couldn’t miss the bitterness in his voice. “It sounds
like you don’t like her much either.”

“She blamed me for driving Meredith to kill herself and she
wasn’t shy about sharing that fact.”

Laura slid a glance in the woman’s direction. The woman was
gathering her belongings and rising from her seat, preparing to
leave. But before she did, she glanced over at Laura one more time.
“I wonder what she’s thinking seeing you with me now.”

“I couldn’t tell you what half the people in this town
are thinking at any given moment. Trust me, it’s easier that
way.”

Laura made a noncommittal sound. She might have agreed with him,
except for that naked emotion she’d seen in Patsy’s
expression, the combination of worry, fascination and fear, that told
her she really wanted to know what was going through the woman’s
mind.

“I THINK WILL SAID he was going to check out this morning,”
Simon said when they returned to the inn after breakfast. “I
should stop by his room.”

Laura wasn’t sure why the man had stuck around through the
weekend, though she couldn’t help but find it suspicious.
Either way, the idea of tagging along to see him held little appeal
for her. “You go on ahead. I’ll be in our room.”

“It shouldn’t be long, then we can head over to the
sheriff’s station to see if Coombs has managed to find
anything.” His tone made it clear how likely he thought that
was.

They parted on the second floor landing, Simon heading up to the
third floor as Laura made her way down the hall to their room.

She took a few minutes to clean up while she waited. She’d just
stepped out of the bathroom when she heard a knock on the door.

She knew it couldn’t be Simon. He’d gotten an extra key
from the front desk the night before. Caution made her hesitate
before approaching the door. She was about to call out to ask who it
was when the knock came again, the raps fast and insistent. Nervous
sounding, she thought.

Moving closer, Laura bent her head to the peephole.

Patsy Burke stood on the other side of the door. As Laura watched,
the woman shot an uneasy glance over her shoulder. She looked on the
verge of bolting.

Curious, Laura swung the door open. Their eyes met. Laura watched the
blood drain from Patsy’s face. The woman’s eyes quickly
filled with unshed tears.

“If I didn’t see it myself, I never would have believed
you came back here.” Her voice was watery, her faint smile
tremulous.

“Patsy, right?” Laura said gently.

The woman’s eyes lit up with faint hope. “You remember?”

Laura shook her head. “I’m sorry. Simon told me who you
were.”

Patsy’s expression changed in an instant, her mouth tightening
into a hard frown. “I’m surprised. I thought he would try
to keep me away from you.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know what he’s been telling you, but he
was probably afraid I’d tell you the truth.”

The unpleasant edge in the woman’s voice grated on Laura’s
nerves. She tried to keep her reaction from showing on her face. “Is
that why you’re here? To tell me the truth?”

The woman leaned closer. “I heard that you didn’t
remember who you are or anything about your life here. There are
things you need to know.”

In spite of the woman’s attitude toward Simon, Laura felt a
spark of excitement. At long last, this was what she’d been
waiting for. Answers. And here was someone with the ability to give
them to her.

She moved out of the doorway to allow the woman entrance. “Would
you like to come in?”

Patsy sent a wary glance over Laura’s shoulder. “Simon’s
not here, is he?”

“No.”

“Then I would be happy to.”

She swept by Laura into the main room, leaving her to close the door
and follow.

Laura motioned toward one of the desk chairs, easing onto the bed
herself. “From what Simon told me, you agreed with the sheriff
that I must have killed myself. But you don’t seem all that
surprised to find out I’m alive.”

“I knew you were. I helped you plan your escape.”

“My escape?”

Patsy nodded emphatically. “When you told me you were leaving
that man, I knew it was the best thing for you.”

Laura’s heart sank. Her escape. So Meredith wasn’t dead.
Simon was right. She’d left him.

I
left him?

“Why?”

“I can see I’m confusing you.” Patsy sighed. “The
only reason I’m telling you this is because I saw the way you
looked at him this morning. You’re falling for him again,
aren’t you?”

Laura didn’t know how to respond. “I don’t know.”

“Oh, honey, you are. I’ve seen that look before, the
first time this happened. And I said to myself, ‘Patsy, you
can’t let it happen again.’” Patsy shook her head,
pity etched across her face. “You don’t remember, but
that man made you miserable. He did it once and he’ll do it
again.”

“So I decided to leave him?”

“Yes. You had to get a fresh start.”

“I don’t understand. I didn’t plan to take any
clothes?”

“No. You didn’t want any memories of your life with that
man. It was going to be an entirely new beginning for you.”
Patsy shook her head. “I’m just sorry things didn’t
work out with your new guy.”

Laura flinched. “I left with another man?”

Patsy nodded. “The way you talked about him, he sounded like
your knight in shining armor. Someone who could take care of you, not
like Simon.”

“What was his name?” She could barely force out the
words.

“You never told me. I got the feeling you didn’t think I
would approve, like I didn’t approve of Simon.”

“Why didn’t you approve of Simon?” Laura asked,
curious.

“I knew he wasn’t right for you. I wasn’t the only
one. He wasn’t like you. He wasn’t sociable. He never
really fit in here. He’s so moody, I knew he would drag you
down with him and then I had to stand by and watch it happen. You
were so unhappy that last year before you left. He did that to you. I
would have done anything to help you get away from that. Away from
him.”

Laura struggled to keep the distaste off her face. Patsy might not
have approved of Simon, but Laura wasn’t at all sure she
approved of her own taste in friends.

“So when the police declared me dead, you didn’t say
anything to correct them?”

“Oh, no. I had wondered how you expected to make a clean break
and keep him from coming after you. A man like that wouldn’t
let you go without a fight. He’d come after you, try to make
you come back.”

Which was exactly what he had done.

Fresh tears misted the woman’s vision. “I knew I would
miss you, but at least I knew you were better off where you were.”

Laura still didn’t like the woman, but she felt compelled to
reach over and take her hand. Patsy had clearly cared about Meredith
and had done what she thought was best. Laura might disagree with her
actions, but she couldn’t deny that the woman had lost her best
friend.

A flash of movement at the edge of her vision drew Laura’s
attention. She glanced up to find Simon standing in the entryway.
They’d been so engrossed in their conversation neither of them
had heard him enter the suite. His face was a hard mask of anger.

And she knew he’d overheard what Patsy had said.

Patsy turned her head to see what Laura was looking at. As soon as
she spotted Simon, she flinched. All of the color drained from her
face. She was on her feet within seconds.

“I should go,” she stammered, clutching her purse to her
stomach.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Laura murmured.

“Don’t leave on my account,” Simon said, his voice
unnervingly calm.

Patsy jerked her startled gaze to Simon. He stared her down. Pursing
her lips, the woman edged around him and scurried for the door.

Laura wasn’t sorry to her go. She only wished the woman could
take the trouble she’d wrought back with her.

It wasn’t the most sensible thought. This was what she’d
been looking for, the probable key to explain Meredith’s
disappearance and the possibility that she was Simon’s wife.
But the idea that she had left Simon without a word, allowing
everyone she knew to believe she was dead.... That she couldn’t
accept. Or maybe she simply didn’t want to.

Simon remained quiet until after the door clicked shut behind Patsy.
Laura didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know exactly
how much he’d heard. She waited to see what his response would
be. The silence stretched on for an eternity. She wished he would
bridge the gap between them, both physically and emotionally. They
stood at opposite ends of the room, but the Grand Canyon might have
stretched between them.

“I guess you can be going too.”

Whatever she’d expected him to say, that wasn’t it.
“Excuse me?”

He finally lifted his eyes to meet hers. The lack of emotion in them
frightened her more than any display of anger he could have offered.
“We wanted to know the truth of what happened three years ago
and who you are. Now we know. It’s over.”

Laura gulped a breath. “Does this mean you’re ready to
turn me over to the police?”

The expression that crossed his face told her he hadn’t even
considered the possibility. He shook his head. “No. I’m
not sure I care anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wanted the truth about what happened that night. Now I have
it. You—Meredith—left me. End of story.”

“But that’s not the end of it. We don’t know who
attacked me two years ago, or yesterday, or Saturday night.”

“Whatever trouble you found after you left isn’t my
business. I’m sure the police can help you now that you have
new information.”

“It is your business. You brought me here. I lived in peace for
two years. You enter my life and suddenly I have people shooting at
me in the middle of the night.” Laura drew in a breath and
forced herself to gentle her angry tone. The point was valid, but it
wasn’t why she didn’t want to lose him. “Besides, I
thought we were growing closer.”

“So did I,” Simon admitted. “That was before we
knew what we do now. Are you sure you want to go down that road
again?”

“I don’t think we can completely take Patsy’s word
on what happened three years ago. We’ve already established
she’s not the most impartial source.”

“Why would she lie about you leaving? It fits with everything
we know.”

No, it didn’t. It didn’t fit at all. He’d kidnapped
her, practically held her captive, and none of it had driven her away
from him. After that, she couldn’t imagine what would. It was
like she’d known from the start. There was a connection between
the two of them, inexplicable and undeniable. They could find a
hundred witnesses ready to offer the same testimony as Patsy and she
wouldn’t believe any one of them unless they could answer one
question to her satisfaction: why she would leave this man she’d
been drawn to from the first moment she’d seen him? Certainly
not for another. She didn’t buy that at all. None of the
reasons she’d heard had convinced her.

Laura lifted her chin. “I still have questions that need to be
answered.”

“But I don’t.”

Frustrated that he was resorting to that stoic front again, she
lashed out. “So that’s it? I’m dismissed? To hell
with me, just as long as you can get back to brooding in the dark?”

Shock and surprise flared in his eyes. “You have changed.”

She tried a tentative smile. “For the better?”

“I still haven’t decided,” he said coolly. “But
that doesn’t change this.”

“Of course it does. Everyone’s said it. I was weak then.
I’m stronger now. Everything we’ve gone through the past
few days, and the last thing on my mind has been running away from it
all. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not that person
anymore.”

“Except that you left because of me. And I haven’t
changed. I’m the same person I was then, the same person I’ve
always been. I doubt even a head injury could alter that. And who’s
to say that you won’t find that person as impossible to live
with as you did the first time?”

“Isn’t it worth the risk?”

“No.” There was no hesitation. The certainty in his voice
took her breath away. “I can’t take that chance.”

Unable to take the distance any more, Laura took the steps to breach
the space between them. She stopped mere inches from him, staring up
into his face, forcing him to look into hers. “Why?”

Simon drew in a shuddery breath. “Because I barely survived
losing you once. I can’t go through that again.”