Take Me Away (Southern Bride 6)

I simply couldn’t remember why.NolanTHE MOMENT THE plane touched down, I felt myself inhale sharply. Linnzi was talking on and on to Belle about how it was her first airplane ride and how exciting it had all been. How she was going to love Texas and the ranch. I, on the other hand, felt like a fucking basketcase for some reason. The flight out to California hadn’t bothered me, but this one, this one had. Thoughts of that day flooded my memory. Every single time Linnzi talked to Belle, I thought of her holding our daughter after the accident. It took everything I had to keep my hands from shaking as I landed the plane.

As I taxied to the hangar, I reflected on the last two weeks I had spent with Linnzi in California. I’d taken her onto base, showed her where I worked, even let her sit in one of the planes—which she then begged me to take her up in. She got to meet Jack and his girlfriend, and we even went out to dinner. Dancing. It had felt like old times, yet completely different. Linnzi was the same exact woman I had fallen in love with at the age of fourteen. A little older and wiser now, but she was the exact same. A part of me felt angry that she was blocking out our past. Blocking out our history. Another part of me was jealous that she didn’t have the nightmares I had. I’d already woken up twice in the last two weeks with the same fucking nightmare. The sounds of Linnzi screaming. My daughter looking like she was simply asleep, when in reality she had died from the impact of the wreck. It was devastating. And when Linnzi had asked me what was wrong that night, I’d pushed her away, which I knew bothered her.

I parked the plane and helped Linnzi get the dogs and everything out to my truck. Duke was beyond happy. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been up in my plane before. He had. I’d never taken him to Texas, though. Hell, I had hardly been back myself.

“Do you think Duke will like the ranch?” Linnzi asked.

“Yes, he’ll love it. He’s going to be depressed as hell when we head back to California.”

Linnzi pouted.

“Don’t even go there, Linz. He’s my dog, and I’m taking him back with me.”

She sighed and snuggled her face into Belle before reaching back and putting her on the seat next to Duke.

“Have you told your folks about moving into my place?”

She looked out the passenger window and replied, “I did.”

“What’s wrong? Did they not want you to?”

Linnzi glanced back at me with a forced smile. “Oh, they’re fine. I’m sure they’re just a bit sad because they finally got me back and then I jetted off to California with you before I informed them I was moving out.”

I nodded. “You don’t have to move in right away. You’ll have access to the house whenever you want, so just come and go as you please.”

The feel of her eyes was almost burning into me. I looked at her quickly. “Are you okay?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes. You said you had something to take care of today. Is everything okay?”

I gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter than I meant to. “Yeah, just visiting an old friend I haven’t seen in a number of years.”

“Good, you seemed a bit stressed earlier when you mentioned it.”

With a quick shake of my head, I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Nope. All is good.”

She settled back in her seat and let out a contented sigh. “It feels good to be back in Texas. I’m so glad you’re going to be here for a couple of weeks. I’m not ready to be separated yet.”

I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it. “Neither am I.”A female voice cleared her throat, and I glanced up. “Mr. Byers, Dr. Moore and Dr. Brooks will see you now.”

I stood and followed her down the hall and into a meeting room. A table with six chairs sat in the middle with Western décor lining the walls. A large, leather chair was in one corner, and there was a small table next to it. I shook away the memory of the last time I sat in this room.

Sitting at the end of the table was Dr. Roger Moore, the neurologist who had taken care of Linnzi after the plane accident. To the right of him was Dr. Laura Brooks, the psychologist who had been the one to first diagnose Linnzi with short-term memory loss.

As I sat down, I reached across and shook both of their hands, and I was immediately transported back eight years.

“Why does she remember everyone else but me?” I asked as Amy and Steve sat next to me.