Take Me Away (Southern Bride 6)

Nolan cleared his throat, opened the truck door, and got out. He promptly started to pace. I followed him out of the truck and walked to the front of it where I leaned against the side of a fence and waited. I wrapped my arms around my body to ward off the slight chill in the air as I waited for him to speak. I knew this was something I could not push. This had to be on his terms, and I wouldn’t rush it…I’d waited eight years; a few moments longer wouldn’t hurt.

“I thought I would have more time with you. I thought we could get to know each other all over again before…”

It hit me like a brick wall. He was terrified I was going to leave him after he told me. Not just hate him, actually leave him.

“Nolan, what if the memory comes back to me someday? It’s not going to make it any easier then. I’m tired of living in the dark. Aren’t you tired of keeping it in the shadows? Hiding from the past?”

He nodded, and I sucked in a breath when I saw a tear roll down his face. I pushed off the fence to go to him, but he held his hand up.

“No, please don’t. Don’t, Linz. I can’t do this if you touch me.”NolanTHE LOOK ON Linnzi’s face was a mix of shock and hurt as she nodded and took a few steps back to lean against the fence once more.

Fuck. How in the hell was I going to tell her? I closed my eyes and tried not to remember that day, but it flooded back to me in a single rush.

The moment the plane hit the runway, I knew something was wrong. Very wrong.

“Linnz, hang on,” I said as I attempted to regain control of the plane.

“Nolan! Nolan!” she screamed before everything went wrong.

The landing was supposed to be routine. I’d done it a thousand times with military jets on fucking Navy ships. Hell, on this very runway. What in the hell happened?

My head was pounding as I shook it and looked to my right to see Linnzi slumped over, blood pouring from her head.

“Linz? Linz!” I screamed as I heard sirens in the distance. Then, I smelled the smoke.

Turning, I looked and saw the baby still in her car seat, but part of the plane was pushed in on her side from where we’d skidded and hit something.

“Sir! Sir!” a voice called.

“The baby!” I screamed as I fought to get my buckle undone. The door opened and someone was taking Linnzi out.

“My wife has a head wound!” I cried out as I looked over my shoulder at the paramedics removing the car seat.

“The baby!” I yelled. “Is my daughter okay? She’s only two months old!”

“Sir, let’s get you out; the plane is on fire,” a voice said from somewhere. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the paramedics as they removed Amanda from the plane.

“Sir!” the voice yelled. “Can you move?”

I nodded and managed to get the belt off before following him out. They were running with Amanda.

“Amanda!” I cried out before I looked for Linnzi.

“Linnzi?”

“Sir, over here,” another voice said as I felt someone guiding me away from the plane. My ankle felt like it was on fire, and I looked down to see if I was even walking right as we made our way over to a helicopter. Linnzi and Amanda were both being taken to the copter, and I attempted to pick up the pace. The pain was slowly ebbing, so I was pretty positive I had sprained it and not broken it.

Then, I heard it. A scream so piercing it nearly dropped me to my knees.

Linnzi!

I ran as fast as I could, and right before I got to the helicopter a firefighter stopped me.

“No! No!” Linnzi screamed. “No!”

“What the fuck is happening!?” I cried out as I tried to make my way around the firefighter. “Linnzi?”

“Nolan!” Linnzi cried out.

“Let me go!” I said as I pushed my way past. Linnzi was holding Amanda in her arms now, and she was rocking back and forth, crying.

When she lifted her eyes and looked at me, I froze. “Nolan, she’s gone! Our baby is gone! She’s gone!”

I felt my body start to fall, but two sets of arms held me up.

Linnzi buried her face in the blanket and cried, “My baby! Why? Why my baby?”

Three hours later, I walked into Linnzi’s hospital room after they had taken her for CT scans and X-rays. She looked at me with the strangest expression as she took me in. In that moment, that second that changed everything, my entire world was turned upside down.

“Are you a doctor?” she asked.

I frowned and looked at the nurse, then back to Linnzi.

“W-what?” I asked, my voice hoarse and raw from all the crying I’d been doing.