Into the Storm (4 page)

Just as I was finishing up the scrambled eggs, I heard a noise behind me and turned. She was swimming in my grey sweatshirt and pants with the arms and legs rolled up; staring at me with those huge blue eyes, filled with trepidation, and looking totally lost. Her hair was wet and hung down past her shoulders. Her face was so pale, and the bruises stood out vividly against the white of her skin. She was clutching my socks in one hand. Again, I felt the need to comfort her, and without thinking, held out my hand in a gesture of welcome. I watched her look from my face to my hand, then her arm raised and she moved forward, painfully slowly, placing her hand in mine. I smiled at her and squeezed her hand softly; mindful of how sore it must be with the bruises on it. “Need help with those socks?” I asked gently.

She nodded. “It, um, really hurts to bend over. I couldn’t get them on.”

I felt my anger flare. Of course it hurt; no doubt her ribs were badly bruised if not cracked. I tamped down my anger and knelt down, quickly tucking her feet into my socks. I grimaced. Even her feet had bruises on them.

Fucking bastard, whoever he was.

I stood up. “Rather large, but they’ll keep your feet warm.” I smiled at her and was rewarded with a shaky little smile in return. I guided her to the table and then set down a plate of eggs and toast in front of her. I took a seat beside her and held up the coffee pot in silent invitation. She nodded and I filled her cup, watching as she added cream and a tiny amount of sugar before stirring it and taking a sip.

“
Thank you,” she breathed quietly. “I love coffee.” She smiled, and then froze, staring at her cup.

“
What is it?” I asked, startled. Did she think I had added something to the coffee? Was she in more pain?

She looked up at me, confused. “How can I not know my name, yet I know I love coffee? Or, how I take it? I didn’t even think before adding the cream and sugar. That doesn’t make sense!” I saw her chin begin to quiver again.

I looked at her, perplexed, unsure how to respond. Then I shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea. Maybe after we eat, we can try to figure it out. Okay?”

“
Okay.”

I smiled. “Eat your breakfast then and we’ll see what we can find.” I pushed her plate towards her. She could use some food. She was far too thin, in my opinion.

I smiled as I watched her pick up her fork and take a bite.

“
It’s good. Thank you.”

I picked up my own fork, satisfied she would eat. “You’re welcome.”

After breakfast, I took her upstairs to the huge loft, where my office was located. It was the only thing on the second floor. The walls were lined with books and my desk was at the front, overlooking the entire main floor. When I was seated, I could look out and see the surrounding woods and the large lake that spread out in front of the property. The ever-changing landscape often provided me great comfort or inspiration while I worked. Watching the trees dance in the wind or the snow swirl in the air was a welcome distraction at times. I watched as she walked around slowly, looking at all the books. On the shelves were different awards I had won, but she didn’t pay much attention to them. There was a large chair where I often sat and went through notes, or just sat and read, Bear usually asleep at my feet. I directed her to the chair and made sure she was okay before I perused the shelves. I found the medical books I kept on hand for research and handed one of them to her.

“
What am I looking for?” she asked.

“
Any information on head trauma, memory loss, that sort of thing,” I instructed as I sat down at my desk with a large volume.

Silence filled the room, except for the turning of pages, for the next few minutes. Not finding anything of help in the book I had, I stood up to go get another one and looked over towards the chair. She was asleep, the book hanging loosely from her fingers, and Bear sitting right beside her, again standing guard. She looked so vulnerable and small. She reminded me of ... something. I searched my brain, and then realized what it was. A frightened rabbit. One of the little grey ones I saw from the woods all the time. I smiled at the comparison. She had also looked at me the way they did, all frightened and confused as I threw out feed for them, not sure what I was doing. Strangely enough, she also looked so right, dressed in my too-big clothes, curled into my chair with Bear beside her. I felt a sudden rush of tenderness as I studied her. I shook my head.

Where the hell were all these feelings coming from? I didn’t know her, or what her story was or her situation.

And I certainly wasn’t in the position to feel anything towards anyone.

I made my way over and gently placed a blanket on her.

Because I didn’t want her to get cold and then be sick and require extra care.

That was the only reason.

At least, that was what I tried to convince myself was the only reason.

I made my way through a few books until I was satisfied that I understood what I thought was happening. Turning around, I saw she was still asleep and had burrowed under the blanket I had placed on her. I observed her for a moment when inspiration struck. Her car. No doubt her purse would be in the car. All of the books seem to indicate that temporary amnesia was common after a head trauma and, often, some small detail allowed the person to regain their memory quickly. No doubt if I knew her name and she saw items that belonged to her it would stir something.

I looked out at the still-falling snow. I could make it to the barn and get in the side door. I had one large snow blower right by the front porch and I could plow my way through. It would be worth it if she could remember her name. Maybe she would relax a little. She jumped a little every time I moved or spoke. I didn’t want her afraid of me. I didn’t like it.

I made my way downstairs and added a couple of logs to the fire. I left a couple more pain pills on the table in case she woke up and came downstairs. Then I dressed warmly and went outside in the storm. It took a while to even get to the snow blower and by the time I made it to the barn it had been well over an hour. I was panting as I finally opened the side door and got inside, and my leg was now throbbing painfully. I stood for a few minutes, catching my breath. I lit one of the gas lights and checked on the generators, making sure the gas level was good. I had a large supply of full gas containers, having learned the hard way how long these storms could keep me isolated.

I made my way over to her car. The back passenger side was heavily damaged. Obviously, she had hit the tree very hard. The back tire was now completely flat. I shuddered thinking what the results would have been had she hit it head on. I went around and opened the driver’s side back door and saw a bag on the floor. Leaning in, I grabbed it. It didn’t look like a purse to me; more an overnight-type bag.

I looked around the car but that was all I could see. I had another thought, and leaning in, opened the glove box, searching for a registration slip. There was nothing in the glove box at all. I looked in the small console but it too was empty. I noticed the dust on the dashboard and the slight musty odor in the car. Obviously, it hadn’t been driven very much. I felt around under the seats and then checked the trunk, but aside from a snow scraper, the car was empty. I shook my head as a shiver ran through me and knew I needed to get back to the warmth of the house. The mystery of the car would have to wait. I grabbed the small bag I had found and blew out the light before stepping back into the swirling snow. The path I had cleared was already filling in and I started the snow blower back up and made my way towards the house as quickly as possible.

I entered through the side door, dropped the bag on the bench, and then pulled off my snow-laden clothes. I hung them up on the line, threw on a pair of sweats that were there, padded into the kitchen intent on heading for a shower, and stopped short.

Standing in front of the stove, stirring something that smelled delicious was … Rabbit. I smiled internally at her new nickname. She, meanwhile, looked up at me, startled.

“
What are you doing?” I asked as I walked toward the stove. She shouldn’t be moving around. She should be resting.

She stepped back quickly away from me. “I … I woke up and heard the snow blower. I thought you’d be cold and … hungry when you were done, so I made some soup. You had lots of vegetables and things in the fridge. I didn’t think you’d mind. I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have …” her voice trailed off, trembling.

Fuck. She was afraid again.

I raised my hand and smiled at her. “No … no, that’s great. It smells wonderful. I had hoped you would still be sleeping. I wanted you to rest. I’m sorry the noise woke you.”

I watched her shoulders relax a little. “I’m happy to do it. I think … I think I like to cook. And I thought if I moved around a little the pain would ease up.”

I grinned at her. “You like to cook? Good to know. Because I hate it. And my repertoire is highly limited. But please, don’t overdo it. I’m just gonna go shower and change, and then we can eat, okay?”

She smiled shyly and nodded.

I was right.

Rabbit had a lovely smile.

It was indeed very appealing.

Chapter Four

Joshua

Twenty minutes later, I looked up from my bowl. “Seriously, all of this was in my kitchen?”

Rabbit smiled shyly. “I just rummaged around and threw in stuff until it tasted good. I thought it would warm you up. You were out there so long.”

I nodded. I hadn’t shown her the bag yet. I thought I would wait until after we had eaten. I dug back into my bowl. “So, you don’t have a name for this?”

She shook her head. “Um … just soup?”

I smiled. “Well, its great ‘just soup’. Thank you.”

We were both quiet as we ate. I wondered how she would react when I gave her the bag. Would she remember everything?

A sudden gust of wind rattled the windows. Rabbit jumped slightly with the unexpected noise.

“
It’s okay, Rabbit. It’s just the wind. You’re safe, I promise." I spoke without thinking.

Her head tilted to the side as she regarded me. “Rabbit?”

I shrugged sheepishly. “I have to call you something. ‘Hey you’ doesn’t seem right. And you remind me of the little grey rabbits that are around here.”

“
I don’t understand. I’m furry?”

I laughed. “No, you’re small, kinda jumpy and, dressed the way you are right now, you’re all grey. And they look at me apprehensively when I approach them, just like you do.”

She regarded me quietly for a moment, her eyes locking me in their gaze. “Are you hunting or feeding them when you approach?” she asked.

I smiled soothingly. “I’m a sucker. I feed them. I don’t hunt. At all.”

Her shoulders relaxed a little. “Rabbit’s okay then.”

I grinned. “Rabbit it is.”

After we were done, Rabbit moved back into the chair upstairs, Bear hot on her heels. I was pleased to see she wasn’t as unsteady on her feet as she had been. She did, however, take some more painkillers when I offered them to her and she didn’t argue about not cleaning up after we ate. After I tidied, I went back to the mudroom and grabbed her bag. I threw more logs on the fire and went upstairs. I approached her slowly and stood in front of her

“
What’s that?” she asked quietly.

I knelt down, gingerly, on the floor in front of the ottoman and placed the bag on top. She looked at the bag with no recognition. I pushed it towards her. “I think it’s yours. I got it out of your car. I’m hoping your ID will be in it.”