Captured by Cowboys (Doms of Destiny, Colorado 1)

“Yes. Of course.” He turned and faced her directly. God, she was stunningly beautiful. How could he blame his brothers for taking her to bed? He couldn’t. They were only human, as was he. But he had to be better, to do better, for them and for Amber. “But none of us are doctors. They might be able to help you remember something.”

“I might be a doctor. How can we know?”

“Maybe, but it doesn’t matter, sweetheart. You have a past. Whatever it is will be coming for you. A mother or father. A sister or brother. And yes, maybe even a husband.” She winced at his last word, which killed him, but he knew he had to go on, to make her and his brothers understand. There might be no way of taking back what had happened between them, but they didn’t have to continue down this path of destruction. “You might even have children, Amber. What about them? What about that boy you do remember? Maybe you don’t remember everything, but you do remember him.”

She closed her eyes and let out a long, worried sigh. He was reaching her.

“Damn it, Emmett. Cool it.” Cody’s tone was hot, but he couldn’t let it dissuade him.

He hated making her come to her senses, making them all come to their senses, but he must. Sure, he would love to grab her up in his arms and take her back to bed and have his way with her. But what would that get him? Pain. A heart ripped to shreds. No. He had to be smart. For her. For Cody. For Bryant. And yes, for himself.

“I can’t imagine how hard it is not to know who you are, where you came from, Amber. It’s a load I wish I could carry for you. But you do have a past. Likely there are people worried sick that you are missing. All I’m asking is for you to wait until we know more. I blame them.” He pointed to Cody and Bryant. “They’re good men but they gave in to their urges. They know better.”

“I’m glad they did,” she said. “You’re right about one thing, Emmett. This has been hard, unbelievably hard.”

He saw the tears well up in her eyes and his gut clenched. God, how he wanted to hold her, to tell her everything would be okay, but he couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right.

“Amber, you have to understand.”

“No. You have to understand, cowboy. My only memories are of this cabin, of you and your brothers. That’s my entire life right now. Even my name feels real to me now. Amber. You and your brothers named me. It’s my name. Why am I here in rural Colorado? Why don’t I remember what brought me here? Why don’t I remember my past, my family, my life? There’s something back there so horrible my subconscious has locked it away.” Her words were coming fast, filled with obvious panic. She was clearly trying to convince him to change his mind. “You say I might be married. What if I was? It doesn’t matter now. If I was in love, do you think a bang to the head would make me forget? I don’t. Cody says I’m here because of fate. What if he’s right? Can’t you see that there is a chance he could be?”

She was shaking violently. Bryant and Cody stood up, making a move toward her.

“Wait.” He pulled her into his body and squeezed. “It’s going to be okay, Amber. You’ll see. We just have to do this the right way. Maybe Cody is right, but we don’t know for sure.”

She leaned into him and began to sob. “Emmett, aren’t you interested in me? Don’t you want me to stay here with you?”

He cupped her chin and tilted her face up. “Look at me, sweetheart.”

She obeyed, her eyes blinking with heavy tears.

“Amber, you’ve been through hell. You have to trust me on this. I pray Cody is right. I really do. I want him to be right about you being unattached and meant for us. I’ve never wanted anything more in my entire life, but none of us knows that’s true. We can hope. We can pray. But we don’t know. Understand?”

“What if I never know? What then? You can’t imagine how hard it is not to know who you are. Sometimes I hope I never remember. I’m afraid of what might be.”

“Listen to me. We are going to find out everything we can.” He didn’t look away from her. “Cody, we’ve got to find her car, agreed? I’m sure it’s somewhere on or near the ranch. I know it will be hard to locate it with the roads the way they are, but are you willing to go with me to look?”

“Yes. Even if we have to go on foot, we will find her car.”

“I’ll stay here with Amber,” Bryant said.

That hadn’t worked out so well this morning. “On second thought, not a good idea. Bryant, you should go with Cody. I’ll stay here with Amber,” he said.

“A very good idea, Emmett. I fucked up. I see that now.” Bryant’s voice was replete with regret. “I’ve proven I’m not trustworthy alone with Amber. You stay with her.”

“Bryant, please don’t say that,” she whispered.

“Sweetheart, this isn’t your fault. It’s all mine.”

“And mine,” Cody added.

“I wanted you both. Please don’t take away the most amazing memory I have.”

Bryant moved beside her and leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I won’t, love. Right or wrong, it happened. But Emmett is right. We must figure out who you are. Until then, we have to resist temptation, no matter how difficult it is. That’s why I’m going with Cody. I need to clear my head, not just for me, love, but for you, too. It’s for the best.”

She closed her eyes and nodded her agreement.

Cody came up to her other side. “I still believe in fate, Amber, but I’m willing to wait until we have proof.” The earlier certainty in his tone was muted. Clearly Cody knew this might end badly for all of them, but he was willing to find