My Favorite Husband. Sally Carleen

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СКАЧАТЬ deal with my family no matter what. Anyway, all the medical journals recommend that you tell an amnesia patient as little as possible. You should know that. You’re a doctor.”

      “Well, I don’t know that. I don’t know anything, and I don’t like the feeling.” He sighed in resignation. “All right. But I’d just as soon we kept this problem to ourselves. I don’t want the whole world to know I can’t even remember my name.”

      “Good idea.” She sounded relieved.

      He leaned back to the extent the miniature car would allow and let the music flow over him as he studied her profile and drank in the closeness of her presence. Outside, the dark world flew past them—she might be going a little over the speed limit—as they drove into the night, the only two people in the world so far as he could tell.

      He was a doctor with a beautiful, exciting wife. He felt a little shaky about the kid they were going to ac quire, but he must have known about Nathan before he married Katie. He must have thought it was a workable deal. It would be again as soon as he re membered everything.

      Yeah, it appeared he had a life worth remembering, his aversion to hospitals notwithstanding. Surely when he got his memory back, he’d be okay with that part, too—even if the idea still sent shudders through him right now.

      As they drove on through the darkness, the little car seemed to become smaller, squeezing John’s frame more and more tightly. If they had to take any more trips, it would have to be in his car.

      Finally, Katie exited the highway. “Here we are,” she said, sounding bright and perky, though he knew she must be exhausted. “The big city of Hillsdale, population ten thousand or thereabouts. How are you feeling? Any change?” Her voice became tentative.

      “I feel all right. Headache’s practically gone.” Or maybe it was just obscured by the pains in the rest of his cramped body. “Is that our motel up ahead?”

      “That’s it. The Sleepy Time Motel.” Her voice squeaked slightly. She pulled into the parking lot and stopped. “Well, here we are.” She drew one finger slowly around the steering wheel, her attention focused on the movement. “I already said that, didn’t I?”

      He caught her hand in his. “Relax, babe. Everything’s going to work out just fine tomorrow.”

      She looked at him then, her eyes desperately searching his face. He tucked one finger under her chin and smiled at her. “I may not have any control over the judge, but I can promise I’ll be the ideal picture of a husband. By morning, I’ll be myself again anyway.” Oddly, that didn’t seem to comfort her. “But if I’m not, I’ll fake it,” he reassured her. “We’ll be perfect parents. You don’t have a thing to worry about. Okay?”

      She nodded, though the worried expression on her face didn’t change.

      John opened his door, expecting his restricted body to burst into the sudden freedom, but his limbs had stiffened in place. As he carefully stretched out his legs, the release felt excruciatingly wonderful. “I’ll go check us in,” he said, reveling in the open expanse of balmy night air around him as he crawled from the enclosure.

      “No!”

      Her urgent tone pulled his attention back to her. She gazed at him from wide, uncertain eyes, and she hadn’t moved from her position behind the steering wheel.

      “I’ll go,” she said. “You stay here and rest.”

      “Katie, I don’t need to rest, and if I did, this car would be the last place in the world I could do it. If you’re worried about me, come on. We’ll both go in.”

      As she preceded him to the office, he placed a hand at her waist, an affectionate, proprietary gesture. Nice. Walking through the warm summer night behind his wife with his hand on her waist. But she could have . been a stranger until three hours ago for all the familiarity the act stirred.

      Katie pushed the buzzer to summon the night clerk, and John reached into his back pocket for his wallet.

      His pocket was empty.

      He tried the other one, then both front pockets.

      “What’s the matter?” Katie asked.

      “I can’t find my wallet.” He checked his jacket.

      “What do you need with your wallet?”

      “To pay for the room, just for starters,” he said irritably. “Surely I have a wallet with credit cards and driver’s license. It’s a good thing I didn’t drive on the way up here. Do you have any idea what could have happened to it?”

      “Yes. Yes, I do.”

      He looked at her expectantly, but she didn’t continue. She had that cornered—rabbit look again, just like before she got out of the car. What the devil was going on? “And do you want to share that information with me?” he encouraged.

      “Your wallet…is gone.”

      “I noticed.” What could have happened to make her so reluctant to tell him? Had she hidden his wallet for some reason? Maybe to keep him from driving up here with his injury?

      “Someone took it out of your pocket.”

      “A pickpocket lifted my wallet?” For some rea son, he found that hard to believe. But he supposed everyone assumed they were too clever, too alert, to fall victim to a crime like that.

      “I can see you’ve forgotten the incident.”

      “I’ve forgotten everything,” he said wryly. “Remember?”

      A small white—haired man wearing a plaid robe and still rubbing sleep from his eyes entered from the back room and unlocked the door to admit them into the office. “You folks need a room?”

      “Yes. I have reservations for Mr. and Mrs. John Dunn.”

      “Oh, yeah. I’d about give you folks up.”

      “We had a long trip getting here.” Katie handed the man a credit card.

      “This here says ‘Katherine Logan,’“ the man protested, eyeing the card as well as the two of them suspiciously.

      Katie moved closer to John and took his arm. He covered her hand with his and smiled down at her. “We just got married,” she explained, flashing the ring on her left hand, then releasing him to reach inside her purse. “Here’s a copy of the marriage license.” She handed him a folded piece of paper.

      She carried a copy of their license with her? That was odd.

      To John’s surprise, instead of returning it at once, the man unfolded the paper, fitted glasses onto his nose and examined it. John couldn’t remember much about his own life, but he was pretty sure society no longer cared if a man and woman spending the night together in a motel were married or not. Except this was a small town. Maybe things were different here.

      “Newlyweds, huh?” He handed Katie the paper and John a key. “One thirty—three. Around back. Don’t be burning no holes in my sheets.” He grinned and winked.

      Katie cringed СКАЧАТЬ