Take Me Away (Southern Bride 6)

Eight fucking years.

I deleted Amy’s text messages without so much as reading them. I’d listen to her voicemail later. For now, I wanted to think about anything but Linnzi.LinnziAS I HEADED down to the kitchen, after a lengthy twelve-hour period spent sleeping the jetlag away, I heard my parents talking in whispered voices. I stopped and listened.

“Steve, it’s been eight years. We need to tell her!”

“Now? We’ve let it go for far too long. We can’t tell her now, Amy. We can’t tell her. It won’t make any sense to her. No, I agree with what the doctor said, she needs to remember on her own. And maybe this is her body’s way of saying she doesn’t want to remember. If she hasn’t remembered him by now, after eight years, she’s never going to.”

My mother sniffled. “She’s going to hate us.”

Daddy sighed. “I think no matter what happens, she’s going to hate all of us.”

I covered my mouth with my hand and slowly backed away. My heart hammered in my chest, and I tried desperately to figure out what in the world my parents were keeping from me.

“We’ve let it go for far too long. We can’t tell her now. She’s going to hate all of us. If she hasn’t remembered him by now…”

Who was us? Who else was in on this secret of theirs? Who was him?

I stood taller, drew in a deep breath, and exhaled. As I walked into the kitchen, I plastered a wide smile on my face. “I’m finally up!”

“My goodness. You slept nearly the entire day away!” my mother said as she watched me walk into the kitchen.

“How did you sleep, pumpkin?” Daddy asked as he kissed me on each cheek and then settled back against the counter.

“Good! That flight is awful. I feel so guilty for making y’all take it all those times.”

My mother waved her hand in a gesture that said it was nothing. “Pfftt, you’re our daughter. And we are so proud of what you accomplished in France.”

Daddy lifted his coffee mug at me and winked. “I agree.”

“Something to eat?” my mother asked.

“No, I’m actually heading out. I think I want to drive around Boerne today. Daddy, do you mind if I borrow your truck?”

He looked surprised. “Um, no, I don’t mind at all.”

With a worried expression on her face, my mother asked, “Where are you going to go?”

I gave her a half shrug as I peeled a banana. “I’m not sure. I’ve had a few flashbacks, memories, whatever you want to call them. I think what I need to do is go to the locations and see if anything jogs my memory more. Honestly, I’m a bit angry with myself for letting so many years go by and not facing the demons of my past.”

“Demons?” my mother said in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Well, maybe not demons, but there’s a reason why my mind is blocking that part of my life. Don’t you both agree?”

I waited for their responses. Their silence was answer enough. Finally, they both nodded.

“Since the two of you have remained steadfast in me finding those missing years on my own, I’m going to do just that,” I said.

Daddy pushed off the counter and said, “What type of memories?”

With a smile that hinted at a bit of stubbornness, I said, “Private ones.”

“Ahh, I see.”

My mother huffed. “I don’t see. Why can’t you tell us what these memories are?”

I ignored my mother. I knew it was the wrong thing to do, but honestly I was pissed at them both right now.

“Daddy, your keys?”

His head bounced from me to my mother and then back to me. “They’re hanging up in the hall.”

“Thank you!” I kissed them both and reached for my purse. As I left the room, I purposely hung back a bit to see if they would say anything.

“I need to make a call,” was all my mother said.I drove out to the air strip that I had been told was on the other side of town. As I drove toward the very end of it, a grin broke out on my face. It was the exact location of the memory I had when Saryn had mentioned Nolan. It bugged me that I couldn’t place Nolan. I knew that I knew him. Of course I knew him, I went to high school with him. There had been other people who had come up to me when I was in town on my last visit, and I had no idea who they were. I hadn’t thought twice about it. But why would I have been out here watching him fly a plane?

“This is the same spot,” I whispered as I pulled up, parked Daddy’s truck, and climbed out. I saw the private property signs, but chose not to take heed. I put the tailgate down and then jumped up and just sat there. I wasn’t sure how long I stayed in that position before I leaned back and stared up at the sky.