Memory Lapse: A Slater Vance Novel (3 page)

Slater smiled as he took
in her shiny, straight brown hair that hung down past her shoulders. Her
vividly blue eyes glittered in the light of the candle and her wide lips
expanded into an impossibly beautiful smile.

He set down his glass and
reached for her hand, “You look so beautiful tonight,” he said softly.

In her best southern
drawl, she replied, “Why, Mr. Vance, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you
were trying to have your way with me.”

Raising her fingertips to
his lips, he said suggestively, “Oh I hope so, I hope so.”

“Can we leave now?” she
asked a little breathlessly.

Slater looked down at the
appetizers they’d gotten halfway through.
“Absolutely.”
Getting the waiter’s attention, he said, “Check please.”

 
Devon lay back against the pillows propped up
against her headboard with the sheets tucked under her arms. Slater reached for
his trousers and slid them on. He sat on the edge of bed to facilitate putting
on his socks and shoes. Idly, she leaned forward and pressed her face against
the back of his shoulder and raked her fingernails lightly down his arm.

“You don’t have to go,
you know,” she said, pressing light kisses down his back.

 
“I have an early appointment.” Wanting to
remove any possible sting from his words, he continued, “And you have to be up
for work early, also.”

Devon lay back down and
tilted her head at him, “Do you think you’ll ever stay the night? I mean, damn,
Slater, nothing like a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am.”

Slater stiffened briefly
and paused in his task. He felt the familiar rush of irritation at the clingy
words.
Well, it’d been a good run
, he
thought.

He slowly crawled over to
her and pressed his lips against hers. “It’s not like that, and you know it.”

Slowly, Devon ran her
tongue over his bottom lip before nipping it lightly and then slid her tongue
into his mouth before running her hands down over his chest, lower over his
stomach, and lower still, where she began to unbutton the pants he’d just
secured.

She was asleep the next
time Slater slid up his pants. Wisely, he didn’t sit on the bed this time to
put on his shoes. He glanced down at her once more and leaned down to press a
soft kiss to her forehead.

Softly, barely above a
whisper, he said, “Goodbye, Devon.”

◊◊◊

Honey Luscious… Honey
Luscious… she rolled the name over and over through her mind, trying
desperately to attach it to anything, but found nothing. She stared vacantly
through the hospital window. Her head ached in direct correlation to its
blankness. Every waking moment was spent trying to remember. Down deep within her,
she somehow knew there was something important she needed to know. The thought
nagged at her, pushed her beyond her limits, until everyday her head felt as if
it would explode from the pressure. There was something she had to remember,
but day after day, the veil between her and her memories stayed firmly affixed.

Wasn’t there anyone out
there looking for her? Was that normal? Was she Honey Luscious, the prostitute?
Was that why no one wanted her or even realized she was missing? Was there no
one to care about her… to love her? Was she that insignificant to the world
that her disappearance from it didn’t even cause a ripple?

They told her today she’d
be discharged at the end of the week. Where would she go? What would she do?
Dread filled her body and her stomach became queasy with stress. She swallowed
and felt the ever-present scratchiness. She glanced down at the casts on her
leg and arm. How was she supposed to get around on her own? She reached up and
wiped at the tears on her face. Okay, just this once she’d allow pity for
herself. She’d just have to figure something out.

◊◊◊

Slater stood in his usual
uniform of khaki pants and black polo shirt. He rubbed a hand over his short-cropped
hair – a throwback to his military days – and stood in the entry of the
hospital waiting for Tucker. He was not looking forward to whatever situation
Tucker wanted him involved in. He knew from past experience that not only would
it not make him any money, it probably would end up costing him some. But he
also knew he would never deny his brother anything; he owed him too much.
Tucker was the only person for whom he’d drop everything or be persuaded to do
something he didn’t want to.

Slater turned at the hand
on his shoulder and found
himself
staring into green
eyes so like his own. No matter his own reservations, this was his brother and
he loved him. Turning, the two brothers clasped each other in a quick hug and a
pat on the back.

“Slate,
thanks for coming.
I know you’re busy.”

Mockingly, Slater
responded, “Like I had a choice. So what kind of stray are you trying to bring
home now?”

“
Ahh
, ever the cynic.
Your best quality, I believe,” Tucker grinned.

“
Its
not cynicism if it’s true. Now, are you going to tell me what this is about?
You’re not getting any younger or prettier as we speak,” Slater jested in a
tone reserved for two brothers.

“There’s someone I want
you to meet and then we’ll talk about what I need from you, okay?”

“
Oo-kay
…”
Slater responded in a way which indicated his reluctance and uncertainty.

“Good, good. Come with
me.”

Slater listened to Tucker
talk about inconsequential things as they traveled through the hospital on
their way to the third floor.

As they approached Room
307, Tucker turned and said quietly, “Please be nice, all right?”

“When am I not nice?”
Slater smirked.

Following his older
brother by five years into Room 307, Slater slowed his step in order to give
Tucker a chance to greet whoever was in the room. As he stepped in, his eyes
were drawn to a slight figure sitting in front of the window in a wheelchair, a
casted leg propped up. Slater stopped and leaned into the doorjamb as he
watched his brother kneel down beside the woman and take her hand within his
own. While she wasn’t sobbing or making any noise whatsoever, from where he
stood, he could see tears on her face.
Great,
just what he wanted to deal with – an emotional woman
.

“Oh, Honey, what’s
wrong?” Tucker asked.

Honey?
Wasn’t that a little too familiar,
even for his brother? Slater thought to himself with raised eyebrows. Slater
watched as the woman drew a quick hand up and wiped at the moisture on her face
and heard her clear her throat. He could tell the woman was trying to pull
herself together with difficulty.

“Hi, Father. Nothing, I’m
just being silly,” the woman said softly, swallowing back the tears.

“Do you want to talk
about it?” Tucker asked kindly.

She gave him a watery
smile and shook her head.

“Well, I’m always
available if you change your mind, okay?”

“Okay,” she murmured.

Tucker rose and plucked a
tissue from the box by her bed. After handing it to her, he gently placed a
hand on her shoulder and turned towards Slater.

“Honey, I’d like you to
meet my brother, Slater Vance. I hope you don’t mind that I brought him with
me,” Tucker said.

As Slater made his way
across the room, his brother continued the greeting, “Slate, I’d like you to
meet Honey Luscious.”

Slater stopped in
mid-stride and blinked at the words which had just come out of his brother’s
mouth.

“Come again?” he asked.

Slater watched the woman
bow her head and blush while his brother’s lips clamped together in the worst
scowl he’d ever witnessed from him.

“This is Honey Luscious, a
very nice young woman who is having a few difficulties,” Tucker said with a
look that conveyed,
you better be nice or
else
.

Slater continued across
the room and stuck his hand out to her.

“Slater
Vance.”

“Nice to meet you,” she
said without raising her eyes. She placed her limp hand into his and allowed
him to shake it.

Stepping back, Slater
raised his eyes to his brother,
now what?

“Slater, Honey was in a
horrific automobile accident and lost her memory. Unfortunately, she didn’t
have any identification with her and the police are having a hard time finding
out where she’s from. The only way we know her name is by the car
registration.”

Internally, Slater
groaned at Tucker’s words. Here was Tucker’s stray.

Slater said, “I’m so
sorry to hear that. I hope you’ll be okay.”

“Thanks,” Honey murmured.

For having such a
horrible name, the woman was actually quite pretty. She reminded Slater of a
porcelain doll with her dark hair and alabaster skin. But what kind of name was
Honey Luscious…
really
?

Catching the evil eye
from his brother –
the Father
, Slater
leaned against the wall facing the woman and asked, “So you have no memory?”

Looking back down at her
lap, she replied, “I do have some memory, obviously. I just can’t remember any
personal things.”

“Huh,” Slater replied
noncommittally.

Again he received that
same prodding look from his brother.
What
was he supposed to say to that? What could he ask her that she could possibly
answer? She had no memory, for God’s sake.

“So… you don’t remember
where you’re from, anybody you used to know… how you got your name?”

At his last words, he
watched her flinch. Tucker’s eyes snapped up to meet his and blazed a
hole
right through him.

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying
to be rude.”

“Weren’t you?” she
replied, looking him in the eye for the first time with chocolate-colored eyes.

The kitten has claws. Good to know
, Slater thought.

Turning to glance at
Tucker, she said, “I’m kind of tired, would you mind if I lie down for a bit?”

“Of course not, do you
want me to help you?” Tucker asked.

“No, if you’ll call for
the nurse, they’ll help me.”

“I’ll stop at the desk on
our way out,” Tucker promised. “I’ll come back later, okay?”

Wearily she nodded her
head before turning to gaze back out the window.

Tucker patted her arm
then gave a curt nod to Slater to go. As promised, Tucker stopped at the
nurse’s station on his way out.

“Hey,
Terry.
Honey in
307 would like to lie down, can you help with that?” Tucker asked, smiling at
the red-haired nurse sitting behind the desk.

“Of course Father, I’ll take
care of it. What are you going to do when your favorite patient leaves at the
end of the week?” she asked, smiling.

“Leaving? I didn’t know
she was being released. Do you know where she’s going?”

“No,
poor thing.
I
don’t think she has any place to go. I’m not sure if Social Services
has
gotten involved or not. I wouldn’t think they’d just
turn her out on the streets, though. I’m sure she’ll be just fine, Father.
Don’t you worry, people like her usually land on their feet,” Terry assured him
with a knowing smile.

Slater watched as the
ministerial face of his brother darkened with rage. Clenching his lips
together, Tucker turned immediately and walked away before he completely lost
it with the woman. Slater was impressed. He had to hand it to Tucker; most
people wouldn’t have been able to contain their emotions that well. But then,
most people weren’t his brother…
the
Father
.

◊◊◊

    
“Father, you have to understand, we are not a charity. We have
placed calls to the local shelters on her behalf, but frankly, Father, they are
hesitant to have someone of her… profession in their facilities. Surely, you
can understand their hesitation?”

“Ben, as the
Administrator of this hospital, there has to be something you can do. How can
you, in all good conscience, throw her out on the streets? How can that be
healthy? Isn’t it your job to ensure the health of your patients?” Tucker
rallied.

Sitting back in his chair
and placing his fingers in a steeple in front of his face, Ben Gardner
aggrieved, “Father, you have to understand, my hands are tied. We are already
out the money for her hospital bills as there was no insurance on the car. The
board would throw her out today if I’d let them. I got them to agree to wait
until Friday, but that’s all they’ll do. I’m sorry, Father, I’ve done the very
best I can to help her. Isn’t there anything the church can do?”

Tucker ran a hand through
his hair and walked to the window to look at the fake garden and waterfall
positioned behind Ben’s office.