Kisses to Remember (10 page)

He must have dozed off, because when he opened his eyes, the highway was gone, and the Bronco was traveling down a dirt road instead. Grassy fields stretched on to his left and right, a steady breeze making the blades ripple like a green ocean. The Bronco bounced over ruts in the road, and each jostle made his ribs hurt. He let out a groan as Johanna turned onto a narrow driveway and they slammed into a particularly deep hole.

“Sorry,” Johanna said. “I’m trying not to hit them, but there are so many. Re-grading this driveway is on the summer to do list.”

“The doctor said nothing was broken in there.” Holden patted his torso. “But my ribs suggest otherwise.”

“You’re probably bruised from the cockpit seatbelt. It had you pinned to the seat pretty good, but nothing else was on top of you.” She shuddered a little as if thinking about the crashed plane bothered her. How bad had it been?

“You actually came onto the plane and dragged me out?” While she wasn’t weak looking, she didn’t exactly appear to be able to haul a six-foot, two-inch man like himself.

“Sounds foolish when you say it out loud, but yeah. Did I mention the plane was on fire at the time?” Johanna shrugged. “Guess I was just thinking about getting you out.”

“Fierce mama bear protects more than her own.”

“Something like that, I guess.” She parked the Bronco in front of a brown farmhouse with a wrap-around porch and a garage. A huge, red barn hulked behind the house. The sky had been sunny and blue back at the hospital, but here the clouds above were dark and roiling. The only brightness was the red flowers lining the walkway to the farmhouse. Though rain and probably some serious thunder and lightning were only moments away, that house looked perfect to Holden.

He angled to face Johanna. “Thank you. For pulling me out of the plane, for letting me stay here, for being so nice. I’ll try to remember quickly so I can get out of your way.”

“Take your time. The extra rooms in this house are going to waste anyway.”

She pulled her sunglasses off, and Holden was struck by how sad her blue eyes were. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but a boy streaking down the porch stairs and toward the Bronco stopped him. As soon as Johanna saw the boy, her face lit up, and she flung open her door.

“Is that him, Mom?” The boy stepped onto the front fender of the Bronco and peered through the windshield while a black and white barking dog circled the Bronco.

Holden felt a little like a zoo exhibit as the boy analyzed him. He opened the passenger door and climbed out at an unimpressive speed.
Great. This kid is going to think I’m an old man moving at this pace.
He held onto the door for a moment to make sure he was steady. When the scene around him didn’t swirl before his eyes, he stepped around the door and managed to slam it shut as if he had some strength. His ribs complained, but at least he’d put on a good show.

Johanna guided the boy over by the shoulders as if she were keeping him from jumping all over Holden. Her son was about four feet tall and lean. With his dark hair and even darker eyes, he didn’t look like Johanna at all.
Must take after the father. The ex-husband.

“Kameron, say hello to Mr. Lancaster.” Johanna dropped a kiss on the top of the kid’s head.

“Hello, Mr. Lancaster.” Kameron held out his hand to Holden.

“You can call me Holden.” They shook hands, and Holden noted what a firm grip the kid had. A man’s grip.

“You can call me Kam.” He angled his head to the dog sniffing Holden’s knee. “That’s Miles.”

“Nice to meet you, Kam.” Holden put his hand down so the dog could get his scent. “Miles.”

“My mom saved you.” Kam’s smile was enormous.

“I know.” Holden looked up to Johanna. God, somehow seeing her with her son made her even more beautiful. “Your mom is pretty awesome.”

“She’s the awesomest!” Kam swiveled around and threw his arms around Johanna’s waist.

Not a bad idea.
Holden crammed his hands into his pockets to keep from mimicking Kam.

“I cleaned the guest room and bathroom for you, Holden.” Kam headed for the porch. “C’mon, I’ll show you.”

Kam hopped up the stairs and opened the front door. The dog bounded into the farmhouse, but Johanna stopped Holden with her hand on his forearm before he could follow.

“Once you set foot in there,” she gestured toward her house, “you play by my rules. I’ll give you space to rest and heal, but—”

“One wrong move and I’m out,” Holden finished. “I don’t want to cause you or your son any trouble, Johanna. Like I said, hopefully my memory returns quickly. If it doesn’t, at least I’ll have had a few days to recover from the concussion, and I’ll be able to fly to Texas whether I remember where I live or not.” The thought of returning home and not remembering it was home made his pulse speed up. Some of the anxiety he’d had in the hospital came creeping back.

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you behave.” She waggled a finger at him as if he were a child.

“I’ll behave.”

“Then follow me.”

Johanna led him to the house, but they didn’t make it very far before a mountain of a man stopped their progress.

“Ted,” Johanna said, “let us by.”

“Not until I speak to this guy outside.” The man didn’t budge and they were stuck in the front doorway.

“I already spoke to Holden outside. He’s agreed to be perfectly civil while staying with us.” Johanna pushed on the man’s shoulders until he backed up a few steps. She wiggled her way deeper into the house and motioned for Holden to follow.

He hesitated on the porch for a few steps until Kam squirmed around Ted and grabbed Holden’s hand.

“C’mon. Pep won’t hurt you.” Kam tugged Holden into a tidy kitchen painted in a cranberry color.

“Who says Pep won’t hurt him?” Ted said.

“Knock it off, Ted.” Johanna turned to face Holden. “This is Ted. His bark is worse than his bite. Ted, this is Holden Lancaster, and you
will
be nice to him.”

Holden held out his hand to shake Ted’s, but the older man didn’t unfold his arms from his chest. Instead, he glared at Holden. Not with the dark eyes Holden expected the man to have. Not eyes like Kam’s. This guy, though definitely hulking, was even fairer skinned than Johanna. He had that I’ve-been-in-the-military look about him. A look that said, “I own guns.”

Kam tugged on Holden’s arm again. “C’mon. Let me show you to your room.”

Holden laughed at the polite words coupled with the rather rough tugging.

“Go easy with Holden, Kam. He’s a little sore,” Johanna said as she moved toward Kam.

“I’m sorry, Holden.” Kam released his grip on Holden’s arm.

“That’s okay. It doesn’t hurt that much.”

“I had stitches once,” Kam said. “They’re very itchy.” He scratched his own arms as if remembering.

“You got that right, kid.” Holden ran a hand over his stitched arm. That quick brush felt wonderful, and he applied a little more pressure until Johanna stopped his hand.

“Don’t scratch it.” She released his hand and stared at her own as if she weren’t sure how she had ended up touching him. “C’mon, let’s get you settled.”

“I’ll get him settled,” Ted said.

Holden had a little trouble swallowing. He’d much rather have Johanna settle him. Hell, he’d rather have one of the cows she’d said she owned settle him over Ted.

“Be nice, Ted,” Johanna warned. She turned her attention to Holden, a little crease between her brows. “You’re tired. Get some sleep and we’ll wake you for dinner, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks.” Holden let Kam pull him into the hallway.

Ted stopped and Johanna whispered something to him Holden couldn’t hear.
Probably asking him not to kill me in front of the boy.

“Are those my dad’s clothes?” Kam opened a door off the hallway and stepped into the room.

“Yes. Is it okay if I borrow them? I don’t have any of my own clothes.”

“Sure. My dad doesn’t need them.” Kam flopped on the full sized bed in the guestroom. “He’s in jail.”

Holden stopped mid-step. “Jail?” He was wearing the clothes of an inmate. No wonder Johanna was being cautious.

“Yeah. He’s not a bad guy though. Mom says he didn’t make some good choices. She says you have to think before you act. Always. So I do.”

Despite the relaxed position Kam had on the bed, Holden could tell the boy was nervous about avoiding bad choices. About avoiding choices that landed one in jail. He desperately wanted to ask what Kam’s father did, but something about pumping a kid for information didn’t seem honorable.

“Choices are important.” Holden couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Like Mom choosing to get you off that plane even though it was on fire. That was important.” Kam beamed again over his mother’s heroism.

“That was definitely important. I might not be here if she hadn’t.”

“You might be like the other pilot.”

“The other pilot?”

“The one Mom said was already d-e-a-d.” Kam spelled the word as if saying it aloud was taboo.

So there’d been another pilot. When was someone going to tell him that? Why did he have to hear about it from a boy?

“Was he your buddy?” Kam asked.

God, was he?
Holden tried to picture the other pilot. Someone he probably had clocked a great deal of flight time with. Someone who could have been his best friend.

Someone who was now d-e-a-d.

“I-I don’t remember.”

Suddenly, Holden’s legs were weak. He eased down onto the edge of the bed and focused on his breathing. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.

“Are you okay, Holden? Do you want me to get Mom?” Kam hopped off the bed and stood in front of Holden.

“No. I’m all right. Just tired.”
So tired.

“I leave you alone then,” Kam said. “Extra clothes are in that closet and the bathroom’s through there.” He pointed to a door at the back of the guestroom. “You kinda look like you’re going to puke.”

“I might.” Holden smiled at the kid. “I’ll try not to, but I can’t make any promises.”

“When I puke, Mom lets me have homemade popsicles. They’re like magical. I always feel better after I eat them. I’ll tell her to make some.”

Kam was gone before Holden could tell him that wasn’t necessary. Although, maybe magic popsicles were just what he needed.            

****

It had taken quite a bit of convincing, but Johanna managed to send Ted to the barn with a story about a rusty hinge on one of the doors. Was it the emergency she had made it sound? No. Was it necessary she get him away from Holden? Yes. The pilot needed rest, not some ornery guy grilling him about things he couldn’t remember anyway. She’d have to keep the two of them separated as much as she could. Ted wasn’t going to play nice. He didn’t trust Holden, and she couldn’t blame him either.

The night the police showed up at her doorstep three years ago had left a permanent black mark inside both of them. Unfortunately, Kam too. No one—not a child, not a wife, not a father—should have to see a loved one be put in handcuffs only to be led outside where snipers hired by unhappy investors waited. Unhappy investors with a penchant for exacting revenge, mafia-style. Alex was skimming money out of their multi-million dollar accounts through the bank where he worked as a financial advisor. A stupid move, but Johanna knew why he’d done it.

For Kallie.

Seven months prior to Alex’s arrest, the diagnosis had come.
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
. Kallie had been a perfectly normal baby, just like Kam. In fact, they developed along in an eerily similar fashion, deciding to crawl on the same day, take their first steps on the same day, say their first word—Pep—on the same day. Johanna and Alex joked that the twins didn’t want to do anything unless they did it together.

But then they received the news, and Kallie’s illness progressed rather quickly. She wasn’t going to win the battle. Not unless they could get her into a new, experimental treatment program. An expensive, experimental treatment program. Alex thought he had found a way to get the money. Johanna hadn’t questioned him. She was too distraught over the prospect of losing one of her babies.

It happened anyway.

The night Alex was led out of the house by the authorities, Kallie had been blessed—or cursed perhaps—with an unusual burst of energy. The four of them had been playing Twister in the living room when the doorbell rang. Alex answered, was cuffed, and pulled out onto the front walkway. Kallie ran after him but was gunned down by the snipers hiding in the field across from the front yard. They hadn’t been able to get at Alex surrounded by the police, but they’d delivered their employers’ messages just the same.

Don’t screw with us.

Alex took one look at Kallie sprawled and lifeless on the ground in the front yard and lost it. He managed to get one of the officers’ guns, fire into the shadows, and hit one of the snipers. Guilty of more than embezzlement now, he was hustled into a squad car while police returned fire on the snipers.

Their sweet, innocent Kallie was gone. 

“I think he might puke,” Kam announced as he came into the kitchen, his voice pulling Johanna back to the present.