My Favorite Husband

He smiled, his gaze sweeping from her shiny blond hair down the length of her slim body. “I certainly do have good taste, wife.”

She fidgeted nervously for a moment, staring at her hands in her lap, then took a deep breath. “Look, maybe we better take you to emergency and get an X ray or brain scan or something.”

“For a little bump on the head like this? No way.” He couldn’t remember any details, but he sensed that his experiences with hospitals hadn’t been pleasant. He definitely had no desire to go to one for something as minor as this injury. “Don’t worry. Like that other guy said, I’m just a little confused after the accident. I’ll be all right in a few minutes.”

He reached to take her slim hand in his. Her fingers were as icy as the water he’d just drunk. Could be from carrying the glass. Or could be from concern about him. He kind of liked that.

The screen door opened. Katie jerked her hand away as the other guy—Fred, she’d called him—charged in, his face flushed. “Okay, Katie, you’re all set.”

John frowned. Was his injured mind playing more tricks? “Didn’t you go through there a few minutes ago?” He jerked his thumb toward the rear of the house.

“Back door,” Katie supplied. “He went out the back door and came in the front.”

“Why?”

“He was…putting up the ladder. The one you fell off of.”

“I fell off a ladder? At night? What was I doing on a ladder in the dark?”

“You were…” She hesitated, giving Fred a desperate look. What the hell could he have been doing on a ladder that she didn’t want to tell him about? “Rescuing the cat,” she finished. “He got stuck on the roof.”

“We have a cat?” The very thought made him want to sneeze.

“I have a cat. I had it before we got married.”

“So where is he now?”

“He ran off when you fell. But he’ll be back. You know what they say about the cat always coming back.”

He lifted a hand to the lump that was forming on his head and frowned. She sounded a little off, her words too bright, out of sync…he wasn’t sure. Something was wrong, though he couldn’t say exactly what.

Well, hell, losing his memory was wrong. What more did he want? Katie was doing the best she could. He had no reason to be suspicious of her.

Katie cast Fred a worried look. “Maybe we ought to get him to a doctor after all.”

“I may not remember my name right now, but I’m pretty sure I’m an adult male of legal age and capable of making my own decisions, and I said I don’t need to go to a doctor.” The very idea set his teeth on edge. “I’ll let you know if I change my mind. And don’t talk about me as if I weren’t here.”

Fred shrugged. “There’s not much they could do anyway. If the pain gets worse, you probably ought to see a doctor, but you seem to be doing okay.”

“Fred’s a doctor,” Katie explained. “So are you. You and Fred work together. You’re residents at Springcreek General Hospital.”

“I’m a doctor?” That surprised him. More strongly than ever, he felt an instinctive aversion to hospitals. But maybe that was why—working with sick people all the time. “Do I like being a doctor?”

“You love it,” Katie declared. “Except the long hours you put in as a resident.”

He supposed that would explain the aversion. Still…

Fred shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “I need to go, Katie. I’ve got to get back on duty at the hospital.”

“Don’t worry about me,” John assured him. “I’m feeling better already.”

Katie bounced to her feet. “Great. Then we can get started. We’ve got a three—hour drive tonight, and it’s already nearly ten. Bye, Fred.”

“Bye, Katie. Bye, uh, John.” Fred left in a hurry.

“I hope he doesn’t get to work late because he stayed to take care of me.”

“He’ll be okay. Well, are you about ready to hit the road?” She stooped and picked up the suitcase and garment bag.

John rose, too, and took them from her. “Where are we going?”

“Hillsdale, Oklahoma. We’re in Dallas now. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you on the way up there.”

He followed her out to the small blue car parked on the street in front of the house—a new car. If he was only a resident, probably with a heavy debt load, and they’d just gotten married, he could understand why they couldn’t afford the best. But why was everything so new? Hadn’t either of them had a life until re cently?

Again he had that nagging sensation that things were just a little awry, like a jigsaw puzzle with the pieces forced in where they didn’t fit.

“You can throw my bags in the back seat with yours,” Katie instructed. He started toward the driver’s side, but she laid a gentle hand on his arm. “Under the circumstances, I think I’d better drive.”

He didn’t much like the idea of someone else driving, but he had to admit she was right. He nodded and tossed her bags into the back, then climbed in beside her.

Katie held her breath as she watched Rider squeez ing his big frame into the passenger seat of her car. Was she really going to be lucky enough to get away with this? If it worked, she’d know for sure Becky had sent down a guardian angel to protect her son. Any other explanation was too far out to believe.

“This car wasn’t made for people my size,” he observed, one leg still outside the door.

“I know. I bought it before we got married.”

“Where’s my car? Is it bigger?”

“Yes.” That was a safe answer. Most cars were. As to where it was, that was a good question. Parked up the block, hidden from view of her house? “It’s…it’s in the shop.”

“Oh.” He flinched as he tugged his second leg into the car, drawing the knee up fairly close to his chin.

“You’re really uncomfortable, aren’t you? Maybe you should ride in the back. Sit sideways.” Much as he deserved to be uncomfortable, she wanted him to be receptive to what she had to tell him.

“I’m okay. It’s just that I seem to have some bruises on my, uh, backside, too. I must have taken a heck of a fall.”

With only the barest trace of guilt, Katie remembered the way she’d lugged him across the ground before dropping him onto the floor. “I’ll drive fast, get there as quickly as possible.” Even in the faint glow from the streetlight, she could see the disapproval on his face. “Just kidding.” She hadn’t been, but she supposed stable people drove the speed limit. “Just relax and lean back. Everything’s under control.” For the moment.

She started the car and headed down the deserted street toward Highway 75. This was her chance. Even if he regained his memory in the next five minutes, he was now trapped with her inside a moving car.

“We’re going to a custody hearing,” she began. “For my orphaned nephew, Nathan Anderson. It’s critical that I win and not my parents.”

“Whew. We just got married and already we’re going to have a son.” He laughed nervously. “I suppose we talked about this before we got married.”

She cast a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. Obviously, the role of father wasn’t comfortable for him. Thank goodness he wasn’t going to be Nathan’s father for real! “Oh, yes. You knew all about Nathan.”

“How old is our potential child?”