Hers To Remember

The nurse’s eyes widened at his terse tone, but Sam didn’t feel in the least guilty. He’d told them he needed to talk to the doctor before she saw Amy.

“The doctor needed to finish her examination,” the nurse said.

“But I told the other nurse I needed to talk to her first.”

“Kathy gave Dr. Yamana the message. But you weren’t here, sir, and the doctor is very busy.”

“If you had called the cafeteria when she arrived, I would have been here in two minutes,” he said between gritted teeth. “Was she too busy to wait two minutes?”

Casey touched his arm. “Calm down, Sam. It’s not this young lady’s fault.”

Sam glared at him. “No, it’s mine for letting you talk me into going with you.”

Casey smiled, not in the least intimidated by his brother. “Wanna beat me up?”

“Yes,” Sam growled. “But I don’t have time right now. I have to check on Amy.” He pushed past his brother, only to stop abruptly.

Striding down the hall toward them was Dr. Yamana, looking as concerned as he felt.

He moved to meet her. “Dr. Yamana? Is my wife okay?”

“She’s fine, Mr. Delaney, physically. But there’s something we need to discuss.” She took his arm. “Let’s go down to the waiting room.”

Sam scowled at her emphasis of the word physically. What did that mean? Had she found out about the amnesia? He looked at his brother. Casey shook his head.

The gesture to be cautious was unnecessary. Sam knew as well as Casey the value of remaining silent until you knew the whole story. He let the doctor lead him to the little room he’d grown to hate. Casey followed.

Inside, he sat down next to her on the cranberry couch. Casey took a chair across from them. “What’s going on, Doctor?” Sam asked.

“I’m afraid your wife’s concussion has left her with a bit of amnesia.”

“Amnesia?” Sam said, trying to buy some time.

The doctor nodded. “I asked her some questions about herself. It’s part of the procedure when a patient has suffered a head injury. She couldn’t tell me her birth date or your anniversary. All she knew was that her name is Amy Delaney and that you, Sam Delaney, are her husband.”

Sam felt rocked to his soul. If she knew she was his Amy, why had she told him her name was Adrienne Winston? What about this Vaughn person, had she mentioned him? One look at the closed expression on his brother’s face told him not to ask. “She actually told you, Doctor, that her name is Amy Delaney?”

The doctor nodded. “Yes, but that’s about all she could tell me. She became very concerned that her amnesia would keep her in the hospital, but I assured her that we would probably only keep her overnight. Her head injury is relatively minor. With rest, she should be herself in a few days.”

Sam tried to be relieved, but Casey’s doubts kept going through his mind. Maybe she really was Adrienne Winston. Maybe she lied about being Amy Delaney for the same reason she ran away.

“Can I see her, Doctor?”

“Of course, but try not to stay for long. She, and your baby, need her to rest as much as possible.”

Sam nodded, but he was only going through the motions of understanding the doctor’s words. The fact was, he didn’t understand anything that had happened in the past few hours.

A beeper went off. Both Casey and Dr. Yamana checked their devices. Dr. Yamana smiled. “Duty calls. I’ll check on your wife in a couple of hours, Mr. Delaney. Try not to worry. These things are usually temporary.”

After she left, Sam looked at Casey. “Temporary? Is this the end, Casey? Has Amy finally remembered who she is after all these years?”

Casey’s shrug was anything but casual. “We won’t know for sure until we talk to her.”

Sam half laughed. “Then why aren’t I running down that hall right now?”

Casey regarded him with compassion. “Because you’re afraid you’ve lost your wife, Sam. But you have to stop thinking that way. The woman you’ve spent the last three years loving loves you, too.”

“Does she?” Sam wondered.

Chapter Three

“Of course she loves you,” Casey assured him.

Sam appreciated his brother’s loyalty, but he was practical enough to face reality. Amy hadn’t recognized him. If she told the doctor her name was Amy Delaney, it wasn’t because she’d remembered. And if she didn’t remember being Amy, she wouldn’t remember loving him either. A deep anger stirred inside him. He’d be damned if he’d allow one stupid accident to take his wife away from him!

He picked up a newspaper he found lying on a table, turned and left the room.

“Sam, wait up!”

Ignoring his brother’s call, he strode down the hall toward Amy’s room.

Casey caught up to him outside. “What are you going to do?”

Unable to discount the alarm in Casey’s voice, Sam took a couple of calming breaths before answering. “I have to tell her who she is.”

“You don’t know who she is, Sam,” Casey reminded him.

Sam shook his head in denial. “She’s my wife. She’s carrying our child. No matter what happened in her life before I found her that night, that will never change.”

“Maybe you should wait until the doctor gets back,” Casey said reasonably. “She thinks Amy has a simple case of amnesia. Even you and I don’t know exactly what we’re dealing with. Amy might need a doctor nearby.”

Sam seriously considered his brother’s suggestion. He didn’t want to make things worse for Amy. She was already scared enough. That thought decided him. “I have to tell her now, Casey. If the danger she’s so afraid of did happen three years ago, she has a right to know it’s long in the past.”

Casey nodded his understanding. He put a supportive hand on Sam’s shoulder. “You want me to go with you.”

Sam shook his head. “Wish me luck,” he said and pushed open the door to his wife’s room.

Adrienne watched Sam warily as he walked into the room. The doctor had left to talk to him. What had she said? Had she seen through her act?

Sam set the newspaper on the side table, then pulled up a chair and sat. “Hi.”

Adrienne returned his greeting, but left it at that. For now, she would let Sam lead the conversation. Once she knew what he’d been told, she’d handle it from there.

“You must have gotten some rest. You look a lot better.”

She nodded. “Thanks, I feel better.” It was obvious he was stalling. She wondered why.

Sam cleared his throat. “The doctor says you have amnesia.”