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All the activity might be enough to scare her. Emma could fall at any second.
“I am going to talk to her,” he said, taking several steps to the right where the thickest metal beam began.
The grill was partially suspended over it. Emma was about twenty yards away.
“Emma,” he said in a normal voice. “Baby, it’s Garrett, your husband. Can you look at me? I need to ask you something. It’s real important.”
Ever so slowly Emma lifted her head. Even from this distance, he could see the glazed look in her eyes.
“Does your head still hurt? Don’t nod,” he added in case the motion jarred her. “Just say yes or no.”
She didn’t reply. Garrett swallowed and stepped onto the beam. “Never mind, baby. Stay there. I don’t want you to move. I’m going to come to you.”
“Wait,” Bethany hissed. She turned to the construction worker. “Do you have some rope?”
The construction worker didn’t answer. Just turned and ran to a nearby truck. He returned holding a length of yellow plastic rope. Garrett took a few precious seconds to tie it around his waist, tossing the other end to the man so they couldsecure it.
He began to walk along the beam, one heart-stopping step at a time.
“You were right about the headache medicine by the way,” he said in that same even tone, his movements slow but steady. “The new stuff is crap. You were better off with the old meds. But don’t worry, I’m getting used to being wrong all the time. That’s what marriage is, right? The wife is usually right. You more than most.”
He was a little over halfway when Emma’s head jerked.
The construction site got so quiet he could hear the construction crew sucking in a collective breath, the sounds of the traffic in the surrounding streets dimming.
“Married?” Emma asked in a slurred voice. She was looking at him now, the puzzled expression ripping him to shreds.
Garrett froze, his heart flying out of his chest, doing a nosedive to the pit. The medication had messed with her so badly that she’d lost her memory again.
Everything they’d built in the last two months was gone. He’d been erased. Again.
Garrett broke out into a cold sweat. “Yeah, baby. I’m your husband. You’re my wife. We live just a few blocks from here. We should go there now.”
He racked his brain, wondering what the hell he could tell her, what would be enticing enough to make her stay put. “We need to feed Meowmus Maximus. He’s our cat.”
Her eyes narrowed, suspicion darkening her features. “You don’t like cats because your aunt’s Persian used to hide under the couch and wait for you to pass him on the way to the bathroom. He would jump out and scratch you up.”
Garrett damn near fell off the beam.
Emma might not remember that they were married, but she remembered that bitch, Duchess. He hadn’t mentioned that demon beast once since they’d been married. No, this was a story he’d shared with her years ago.
Emma remembered something frombeforethe accident.
He willed his heart to stop racing. “Yeah, that cat was a little shit.But Meowmus isn’t quite that bad. He’s little more than a kitten. Just a baby. We’re still training him.”
“To do what?”
Emma’s voice was clearer now. He risked a quick look at her face, continuing to inch along the beam. She hadn’t snapped out of it but her eyes were less clouded.
“The usual. Not to scratch the furniture. Or the legs of my suit pants. He likes to go into my closet and pull them down off the hangers so he can make himself a nest.”
Emma huffed, shifting her weight.
“Don’t move,” he begged. “I’m almost there.”
She took an audible breath, frowning. The fogginess was retreating. It was good news, but Garrett was worried she’d come to and be surprised enough to lose her balance. He had to get to her before she realized where she was.
Four more yards.“Since we’re out now, what do you want for dinner?”