Desperate Strangers

“I’m in a nightmare,” she said softly. “I’m in a damned nightmare and I can’t wake up. I can’t tell what I don’t remember and how will the caller know I have amnesia?”

“We should call the police.” As much as Nick didn’t want any authorities involved with him, this sounded serious and he couldn’t—he wouldn’t—choose his own safety over hers. She didn’t deserve that.

“No, I don’t want to talk to the police,” she surprised him by saying. She rubbed two fingers in the center of her forehead. “I’m not sure why, but my gut is telling me I don’t want the police involved in this. Besides, what could they do? It was an anonymous call. It would be easy to write it off as some kind of a terrible prank. They aren’t going to put manpower and effort into figuring it out and, without my memories, I can’t help them at all.”

She reached for his hand and her fingers clung around his tightly. Her blue eyes gazed at him with love...and need. “I’m just so grateful I have you, Nick. I don’t know what I’d do right now without you.”

He squeezed her hand. “I’m here and nobody is going to hurt you as long as I’m around.”

An overwhelming sense of resignation swept through him. Damned. He had a feeling he was damned if he stayed with her and damned if he left.

* * *

JULIE BOLTED UP with a scream on her lips. Instead of releasing it, she gasped, her racing heart making it difficult for her to draw in a full breath. Her bedsheets were twisted around her thighs, as if attempting to keep her in the nightmare she now couldn’t remember.

Morning light drifted through her thin, lacy bedroom curtains as her heartbeat slowly returned to normal. She drew in several deep breaths.

What had she dreamed? It had obviously been a nightmare. Otherwise she wouldn’t have awakened with the taste of fear lingering in her mouth and a scream begging to be released.

Disappointment washed over her as no memories of the past ten months had come to her with sleep. But what she remembered vividly was the frightening phone call promising her death if she told what she knew.

What did she know? What secret was trapped in the darkness of her mind that was worth her death? Was she safe because she couldn’t tell anyone? Would the caller leave her alone if she didn’t spill whatever secret the caller thought she knew? Was that what she had dreamed about?

Nick. Just thinking his name caused a calming effect even though the night before had been a bit awkward. She’d just assumed he would stay in her room and sleep in her bed with her. Despite having no memories of him, she was fine with that. But he’d insisted he stay in her guest room.

She knew he was only thinking about her and she appreciated that, but it would have been nice to go to sleep last night with his big, strong arms around her. Maybe then she wouldn’t have suffered from a nightmare.

She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. It was a few minutes after seven. She’d called her father last night to tell him about her accident and her stolen memories. He’d immediately declared a family meeting at her place at eight thirty this morning.

It would be the first time her family met her fiancé. She hoped they weren’t too hard on him, but the Peterson family was definitely loud and opinionated. And, as far as she could remember, they had never liked anyone she had dated, not that she had dated that often.

She got out of bed and went into the adjoining bathroom. Twenty minutes later she was showered and dressed. The scent of coffee met her as she headed down the stairs, letting her know Nick was already up.

She walked into the kitchen to find him seated at the table, a cup of fresh brew in front of him. “Good morning,” he said with a smile.

“Good morning to you,” she replied and beelined to the cabinet where the coffee cups were stored. He was a welcome sight, his buff body clad in a pair of jeans and a navy T-shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders.

Her heart fluttered a bit in her chest. There was no question that she was intensely physically drawn to him even without her memories. But what woman wouldn’t be attracted to such a good-looking man?

“How are you feeling?” Nick asked as she joined him at the table.

“Pretty well, except for the memory thing. How did you sleep?”

“I slept fine.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“Are you ready for the onslaught of my family?”

“I have to admit I’m a little nervous,” he replied.

“Oh, Nick, it will be fine. I can’t imagine a single reason why they won’t like you. Besides, it’s time to meet them. We’ve been dating a long time and talking about marriage.”

He nodded and his gaze went to his coffee.

She took a sip of hers and continued to look at him over the rim of her cup. She still had a hard time believing this terrific guy was in love with her, but it must be so. Otherwise he wouldn’t be here with her now.

“We have time for a quick breakfast before my family arrives. I’m sorry, I don’t know what you like to eat.”

He looked up and smiled once again. “I’m not much of a breakfast eater. I’m generally good with just a couple cups of coffee.”

“Me, too.” She was ridiculously pleased that they had even this relatively small thing in common. “There are so many things I don’t know about you. Do you have a big family?”

His eyes darkened slightly. “No. It’s just me. My parents were killed four years ago in a car accident and I didn’t have any siblings.”

“Oh, Nick, I’m so sorry.”

The smile he offered her wasn’t as big as the last one. “Thanks, but it was a long time ago.”

It might have been a long time ago, but it looked like raw grief that had momentarily darkened his eyes.

“This is all so awkward,” she said in an effort to change the subject. “You probably know everything there is to know about me and I don’t know anything about you except for the really important things.”

One of his dark brows quirked upward. “Important things?”

She nodded. “You must be a good man. You are kind and good and love me passionately. I wouldn’t have dated you so long and agreed to marry you if you weren’t that kind of person.”

He frowned and shifted positions in the chair. “I’m no saint, Julie. And while you can’t remember me, don’t try to make me into one.”

She raised her chin and smiled at him. “Okay, but I stand by my feelings. I know who you are at your core, Nick. I wouldn’t have settled for less.”

He drained his coffee cup and jumped up. “Is there anything we need to do to prepare for your family?”

“Make a fresh pot of coffee,” she replied. “Unless something drastic changed in the past year, my family chugs coffee like it’s the fountain of youth.”

“You sit tight, I’ll make a fresh pot,” he replied. “And while I’m doing that you can give me a quick refresher on your family members.”

She took another sip from her cup, set it down and then leaned back in the chair. “I can only tell you what I remember about them from a year ago.”

Grief and anger suddenly rose up in the back of her throat. Grief over the missing memories of the people she loved, and anger that her brain continued to betray her by not functioning right.

Nick poured the water into the coffee machine and then turned back to face her expectantly.

“George is my father and he runs the business and us with a heavy hand. Lynetta is my mother. She’s loud and opinionated and as tough as Dad. Max is my oldest brother and he’s just like my father...they both have a lot of bark, but not too much bite. Then there’s Tony who is a year older than me. He’s quiet and, like me, doesn’t like confrontation. Finally, there’s Casey. She’s the baby of the family and is the apple of my parents’ eyes.”

She couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips as she thought of her baby sister. “She’s also spoiled and wild, a bit lazy and totally gorgeous.”

“And all of you work at the pawn shop,” Nick said.

She nodded. “That pawn shop isn’t just our business, it’s a family legacy of sorts. My grandfather started it, but it was Dad who built it into the largest pawn shop in Kansas City.”