Page 6 of When I Forgot Us (Blue River #1)

He made a clicking sound with his tongue and finished throwing the last brick of hay into Samson’s stall. “You guessed it.”

The urge to laugh pressed hard against her ribs. “What did you do?”

“Asked her to go to the movies with me instead.” He brushed hay from his hands and tucked them into the edges of his pockets. His stance remained casual, his weight propped on one leg while the other knee bent at an angle.

“Thought you two might want some dessert.” Maude and Sarah waved at them from the cab of a blue Chevy truck. Maude smacked the door with her palm. “Come on, we’ll give you a ride back to the house.”

“I’m good.” Chase thumbed over his shoulder. “Still got some work to finish down here.”

“You can get to it tomorrow. Sarah’s got something to talk to Michelle about, and it includes you.”

“Uh-oh.” Chase chuckled under his breath. “One thing you should know about your aunt, she’s not one you can say no to.”

“Come on.” Maude waved, and this time the motion held hints of impatience.

Chase took a running leap, planted his foot on the tire, and vaulted over the wheel into the back of the truck. He spun and held out a hand.

“You expect me to climb up there?” She cupped a hand over her eyes to block out the last bit of sun haloing Chase’s head. “I’m more liable to pull you out.”

“I’d pay good money to see you try.” He wiggled his fingertips. “It’s either this or you climb up the tailgate.”

She huffed at the indignity but indulged in a grin at the surprising bolt of levity that lightened her mood. He made it easy to joke and laugh, but they’d talked about the heavy stuff too, and it didn’t make her want to scream. “You asked for it, cowboy.”

“Give it your best shot.” He turned it into a dare and widened his stance.

Chuckling under her breath, she planted her foot on the tire and grabbed his wrist. He heaved her upward with a surprising amount of gentleness.

Her foot caught on the edge of the truck and pitched her forward.

Her squeal mingled with his laugh when she crashed into him.

She waited for them to topple over the other side, even braced for the impact, but nothing happened.

Chase kept hold of her arm and wrapped the other around her waist. “I’ve got you, Michelle.”

He said her name with a kind of finality that shivered along her nerves, like it meant something more to him than a meeting of strangers.

“You two all right back there?” Mrs. Nelson slid open the small window in the back glass and grinned up at them from behind the wheel. “Better sit down and hang on.” She put the truck in gear, rocking Michelle even closer to Chase.

He guided her into a sitting position in the bed of the truck with a grin and a nod. “She’s right. We’ll bounce right over the edge if we try to stay standing. Ask me how I know.”

“How do you know?” She stretched her legs out in front of her and examined the scratched and dented metal all around her.

Chase crossed his ankles and tapped the sides of his boots together.

“Tried riding in the back of the truck once while hauling hay. Hit a bump and was thrown over the side.” He rubbed his elbow, then pulled up the sleeve of his tan button-up shirt and showed her a long, jagged scar.

“Learned real quick when someone says sit, you sit. I’m more obedient than any cattle dog.

” The deep rumble of a laugh covered the engine’s straining groan as they made their way up the hill to the house.

Maude stopped beside Michelle’s rental and both she and Sarah jumped out with matching smiles. “Now then. You two mind grabbing the cookies? Sarah and I will wait for you here.” The two women hurried over to a pair of matching rocking chairs and sank into the padded pillows.

“Is it just me, or did they come get us just so we could haul everything for them?” Michelle made her tone light and easy, hoping to continue the banter that started in the barn.

Chase tossed a laugh out and hung his hat on one of the pegs just inside the door.

He led the way to the kitchen and stopped at an old-fashioned butcher block counter.

“You’re probably right.” He winked, and it sent her stomach into a wild whirl.

“Maybe we should take a bite out of all the cookies before we carry them out.” He motioned at the white platter stacked high with chocolate chip cookies.

The aroma drifted across her senses with the kind of laziness that made her think of Saturday mornings sitting on her patio with a cup of coffee and a good book.

“Sounds like something you would do.” She had no idea if it was true, but it came out without thinking, almost like some deep well of information rushed up to drive the accusation. “Aunt Sarah would probably laugh…wouldn’t she?”

“She would.” He ran a comforting hand down her arm and gripped her fingers, squeezing once before letting go. “She’d laugh and then she’d send us both back to the kitchen to make more.”

She snickered under her breath, until the thought of working alongside Chase in the kitchen settled in and choked off the laugh. “That might be fun. I haven’t tried cooking since…” Her lips mashed together. “I’d love to stop dragging my amnesia into every conversation. It’s pointless.”

“It’s normal.” He looked at her with enough compassion to stop her tumbling thoughts. “You’ve suffered a trauma. There are no rules about how you process. If you need to talk about it, talk. No one is going to tell you to stop.”

“I don’t like feeling this way.” She picked up the platter of cookies and held it to her stomach.

Chase snatched one from the stack and held it up to her mouth. “What way?”

“Like I’m making everything about me. Am I just a selfish person? Is that who I am?” She dipped her chin and bit into the cookie. The warm chocolatey gooiness silenced her, and she closed her eyes to better enjoy the flavor.

When she opened her eyes again, Chase stood in the same place, the cookie near her lips, and his eyes searching her face. “I don’t think you’re selfish. Doing what’s best for you isn’t selfish.”

“What if I’ve hurt people?” That question was what drove her to regain her memory more than anything else.

Why did her mind refuse to let her memories return?

The doctors blamed stress. What kind of stress had she been under that told her brain she was better off forgetting?

“Maybe I’m a really terrible person and that’s why I don’t remember anything. ”

“You’re not.” He set the cookie on the edge of the platter and took it from her, moving it to the counter.

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.” He ducked his head, looking into her eyes when she tried to tear her gaze away. “The fact that you’re worried about whether you’ve hurt people says that you’re a good person. We all have things we regret in our lives. That doesn’t make us bad, it makes us human.”

“Everything okay in here?” Aunt Sarah appeared behind Chase. She took stock of them with a casualness that should be frightening. “Looks like you’re fine.” An apologetic look creased her face into deep lines. “I need to head back soon, but I had a question to ask the two of you.”

“Shoot.” Chase stepped backward and retrieved a cookie. He ate the whole thing in two bites, then snatched up another.

“I thought it might be a good idea for Michelle to spend some time at the ranch. It might help jog her memory.” Aunt Sarah shrugged when Michelle gaped at her.

“You never know what might help, and you seem comfortable here. The doctors said that being comfortable and in a place you felt safe might help.”

True. They’d said all those things. She just hadn’t expected the ranch to be the place where she felt safe.

“I wouldn’t mind the company.” Chase handed her a cookie. “You can even help me with the chores.”

“I see how it is.” She broke the cookie in half, concentrating on the delicate texture that crumbled like fine sand. “You just want the free labor.”

“Got me.” He made an ‘aw shucks’ movement by snapping his fingers and waving his arm in front of him. “What do you say?”

“It’s not like I have anything better to do.” She twisted her lips to the side in a wry grin. “I guess I could help you.” Not sure how much help I’ll be. Probably more of a hindrance, but she tucked the pessimistic thought away.

Chase’s smile chased away her doubts. He was a good man. It was a bit ridiculous to think so when she’d spent less than half a day with him, but sometimes you knew a person in an instant.

The inexplicable pull toward the ranch helped sway her decision. She craved the peace she’d found in those few minutes in the barn and again in the kitchen when Chase’s reassurance wrapped around her and soothed the frazzled edges.

The refrigerator kicked on, the quiet hum breaking the beat of silence.

“Great. Be here tomorrow morning.” He ate another cookie and held out the platter to Aunt Sarah and Maude, who’d walked up beside Aunt Sarah. “Is dawn too early?”

Shock rippled along her spine. “Dawn? Seriously?”

“Chase.” Maude said in a motherly, scolding tone.

He laughed that big, bold laugh and returned the platter to the counter. “Fine. Eight a.m.”

She sensed a challenge and met his searching gaze with an arched brow. “What do you consider dawn? That’s not exactly a time.”

“It’s the moment when the sun kisses the horizon.

Same with dusk. That perfect moment when two worlds collide.

” He stacked his hands on top of each other.

Thick knuckles riddled with scars drew her attention and her curiosity spiked.

This was a man who worked hard every day but had the words of a poet to paint a brilliant image in her mind. What other surprises was he hiding?