SOPHIE WOKE UP late, her face and lip throbbing from the night before, and the dream about Jamie’s cut hand feeling more like a nightmare.

Well past nine o’clock when she finally dragged herself out of bed, she splashed water on her face in an effort to wake up. Walking over to the windows, she opened them, allowing the breeze to freshen the room. A beautiful spring day greeted her, and she took a deep breath. The smell of wild flowers was better than any Glade Plug-In she’d used in the future.

Observing activity over at the stables, she noticed James almost immediately, speaking with a few of the men and laughing. His jacket had been discarded and he wore a light shirt and a blue pair of pants.

Yum, aren’t you magnificent?

Settling her elbow on the windowsill, Sophie sighed as she watched him direct, and then stand back and observe as the men worked with the horses. She stood up and pushed her hair away from her face.

Maybe I should take a little walk to visit Samson.

She dressed and stepped across the hall to check on Topper before she made her way downstairs, but he wasn’t in his room. When she arrived in the dining room, no one was around, so she grabbed a quick bite of food before gathering her outerwear and making her way to the stables. The sun was bright despite the slight chill, and she kept her head down as she rounded the corner into the darkened interior. She ran into a solid wall of muscle. Strong arms gently grasped her arms to steady her. “I’m so sorry, excuse me.”

“Pardon me, I’m sorry,” Sophie said at the same time. When she looked up, her heart skipped a beat. “Oh, Lieutenant Emerson. Good morning.”

After studying her for a brief moment, he smiled. “Good morning, Mrs. Ford, how are you this morning? How’s your lip?”

“Much better, thank you for asking. It’s still a bit sore, but I think I’ll live.” She smiled without thought, and grimaced slightly as her lip smarted. Putting her hand to her mouth, she chuckled quietly. “Ow.”

His eyes flashed with concern, but he smiled gently. “Careful.”

He was staring at her as though she was the most important person in the world, reminiscent of a man she was not ready to forget. Sophie lowered her head shyly. “I’m fine.”

“Sophie, is that you?”

James stepped away from her and Sophie rolled her eyes. “Hi, Richard.” She turned towards his voice coming from the barn, irritated at the interruption.

“Is everything all right? What are you doing here?”

“I came to see Samson and ran into Lieutenant Emerson.”

“Literally,” James said under his breath so that only she could hear him.

Sophie glanced up at him and he winked. She felt warmth in her cheeks as she looked back at Richard. He had moved to her side in an obvious attempt to put himself between her and James. She tried not to scowl.

“Lieutenant Emerson!” The group turned to see Topper jog from the arena. “I think I did it.”

James turned and reached out to take the rope Topper held out to him. He turned it over in his hands a few times and then yanked the edges to test its strength. “This is well done, Private. I dare say, I couldn’t have done better.”

Sophie’s heart melted at the look on Topper’s face. His countenance changed in an instant and she could see the pride in his eyes. She smiled. Jamie was great with teenagers; it would appear his doppelganger was as well.

Richard squeezed her elbow. “Would you like to watch the training this morning?”

No, I don’t want to watch the training. I want to watch the lieutenant. Preferably without clothing.

Sophie shook off her fantasies and glanced up at Richard. “Um, sure. Let me just check on Samson and then I’ll join you in a moment.”

“All right.” Richard nodded towards the arena. “James, if I could speak with you for a moment?”

“Certainly.” Giving Sophie another quick smile, he followed Richard.

Sophie shook off her irritation and made her way over to Samson’s stall. He poked his head out to greet her and she spent a few minutes with him. It gave her time to pull herself together before walking back to the arena. Although she spent over an hour watching the training, Sophie wasn’t really paying attention, drawn to the lieutenant who stood to her left working with a group of about ten men. She had a difficult time taking her eyes off him.

Realizing she couldn’t stand and drool over the Jamie clone forever, she turned to Richard and let him know she was leaving. Walking towards the house, waving to James and Topper as she left, she gave way to the emotions of the night before. By the time she got home, she felt raw and emotionally exhausted.

Sophie made her way to the library and tried to distract herself with a book... or three. Rather than take them to her room, she curled up in her favorite chair in front of the fireplace and prepared to read before lunch was served, figuring she had an hour or so to kill. The time went entirely too quickly.

“Sophie?”

Sighing in frustration, she looked up from her book and toward the familiar voice. “Richard, what are you doing here?”

“Nona invited me for lunch. I offered to tell you that it was being served in the dining room.”

I’ll bet you did.

Following him down the hall—at a distance—she suppressed a scowl as he waited for her to catch up. As they entered the dining room, he placed his hand possessively on her back. She gave him a warning glare, not understanding why he wasn’t grasping the concept of giving her space. Then she saw who sat at the dining room table.

James, Topper, and Michael stood when she entered the room and she realized that Richard was obviously trying to mark his territory. Moving away from Richard, she approached James. “Lieutenant Emerson, what a nice surprise.”

James gave her a deep smile and nodded.

“Topper, you look well.” Sophie smiled and almost died of shock when he smiled back.

“Shall we eat?” Nona suggested and everyone took their seats.

During the meal, Richard attempted to sit by, speak to, or monopolize Sophie at every turn. She was still tired from the night before and didn’t know how much longer she could hold her temper. Every time she’d start a conversation with James, Richard would interrupt with something inane.

The meal passed too quickly, and the men had to go back to work. Sophie walked James and Richard to the foyer, wishing for some time alone with James. “Lieutenant, thank you for spending lunch with us today.”

“We really need to get back to the training, Lieutenant,” Richard interrupted.

“Yes, we should get going.”

Although Sophie was annoyed with Richard’s interruption, she let it drop, entirely too tired to get into it with him again. Topper followed the men, and Sophie stood on the porch for a few minutes watching them ride away.

* * *

As they rode back to the arena, James found himself preoccupied with his thoughts. His world was a blur of contradictions. He didn’t recognize anything around him. The clothing seemed wrong, the speech didn’t always make sense, and he found himself suddenly in the middle of a war he knew entirely too much about.

Over the past few months, he’d been having strange dreams that confused him even further. They weren’t full dreams, just snapshots of visions. A woman without a face in an ivory dress, a woman without clothes. A large ship. A wedding by the ocean. Nothing that gave him any clue as to who he was, or what he was dreaming about.

James’s attraction to Sophie overwhelmed him. She filled his dreams every night, and his thoughts every day. For whatever reason, he hated seeing her in pain and felt unusually protective. He wasn’t certain why, but after spending a sleepless night thinking about her, he made the decision to explore his attraction to her. Richard Madden be damned.

Shaking his memories away, he looked back to see Sophie standing on the porch. She raised her hand and waved. He smiled as she walked over the threshold and closed the door.

* * *

Sophie woke the next morning, disappointed that James hadn’t joined them for dinner the night before. Especially since Topper had spent the entire meal regaling them with stories of the hero that was Lieutenant James Emerson. She would have even accepted Richard’s presence if it meant she could see the lieutenant again but she was left to entertain herself and spent the majority of the night staring into the fire in the library. Forcing herself out of bed, she got herself dressed and made her way downstairs.

As she entered the dining room, she was surprised to find James sitting at the table, tracing his finger up and down the scar on his left hand. Standing in the doorway a moment, she watched him. His hair seemed to grow longer every day, currently falling over his eyes, and she noticed him try to sweep it off his face. He had trimmed his beard but it was still bushy.

“Good morning.”

James stood quickly and smiled. “Good morning.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, fine,” he answered somewhat distractedly.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

“Hm? Oh, no. Mitch—he’s my sergeant. Anyway, Mitch took a group of men out early this morning. I ran into Mrs. Wade when I arrived back at the arena and she invited me to breakfast.”

Sophie’s heart raced as his gaze lingered on her, his blue eyes clear and familiar. “Um, will your sergeant be gone long?”

James nodded. “He’s been called back to Averell’s unit.”

“Oh,” she whispered. “Are you close friends?”

James smiled sadly. “Yes.”

“Let’s hope you’ll see him soon, then.” Sophie choked on the words, knowing there would be no guarantees.

James took his seat and smiled. “Thank you.”

“May I offer you some coffee, Lieutenant?”

“Coffee would be wonderful, thank you.”

Sophie poured him a cup, and on autopilot, put two lumps of sugar and some cream in his cup. “Oh, shoot, I’m so sorry. I should have asked, I just assumed. That’s how Jamie likes his coffee, not that you care how my husband liked his coffee. Sorry I’m rambling. You probably like it black or some other way, don’t you? I’ll drink it.”

She started to remove the cup, but James placed his hand over hers. The touch sent a shiver down her spine, making her heart race.

“Sophie, it’s just how I like it.”

As he stared up at her with his perfect smile, all Sophie could think about was how much she wanted to kiss him. She was shaken by the physical touch and desperately wanted more, but pushed her desire aside as she sat down, slipped her hand from under his, and placed it in her lap.

“I’d hoped you would be down here early. I wanted to make sure you were doing all right after that nasty incident at the ball. You seemed quite shaken by it at the time. Not that I don’t think you can take care of yourself, of course,” he added quickly.

She gave a quiet laugh. “No, I’m fine. Other than a little swelling, my lip is almost completely healed.”

There was an awkward silence as they sipped their coffee.

“So, tell me about yourself, James. Where are you from?”

“Honestly?”

Sophie nodded.

Slowly lowering his cup, his eyebrows puckered. “I don’t know. I seem to have lost my memory of everything prior to several months ago.”

“You don’t remember anything?”

“I have flashes of things in my dreams, but I don’t know what they mean.”

Sophie raised her cup and sipped slowly. “That must be frustrating.”

James nodded.

“How have you managed to engage Topper?”

James smiled. “He just needed a way to focus his anger and some minor instruction on how to do things with one hand. I started with simple tasks and have been moving to more difficult ones as he gets used to using his left hand.”

Michael and Nona walked into the room, and Sophie forced away a frown. She wanted to continue their conversation, wanted to watch him eat, wanted to watch him smile.

Before their morning greetings were finished, Richard joined them. Sophie wanted to shrink into the corner when he walked over and kissed her hand. “Good morning, Sophie, how are you this morning?”

“I’m fine, Richard. How are you?” Pulling her hand from his, she shoved it in the folds of her skirts and forced a smile.

“Very well, thank you.”

“Where’s Topper?” James drew her attention again—by speaking.

Oh, and smiling.

Richard gave a civil smile. “I have him working with one of the horses this morning.”

Sophie shook her head in an effort to force her thoughts away. Her mind felt suspiciously like overcooked oatmeal.

“What are your plans today?” Richard touched her arm.

She pulled away, stopping a hiss. “I’m scheduled at the hospital.” She looked at James and smiled. “What about you?”

“We’re going to be working without the horses for a few hours.” Richard answered the question directed toward James, and Sophie rolled her eyes. Sophie was grateful when Michael took over the conversation, happy to sit and listen, choosing to observe the lieutenant in an attempt to block out Richard. Sophie was surprised how quickly everyone finished their breakfast, and when they were ready to leave, Sophie walked them out.

James and Richard moved toward the front door. Sophie hung back and let the men go ahead of her. As James passed her, he lightly touched her arm and gave her a smile. Almost as if he knew they had more to discuss and he would find a way to make it happen. Her stomach did a little flip. Sophie said good-bye and then made her way upstairs to finish getting ready and walk out to the hospital. The morning passed without incident, everyone relieved that there were no new injuries to tend to and the men were all resting comfortably.

By noon, her stomach grumbled almost loud enough to be heard. She had finally gained back most of the weight she’d lost during her illness, but now her body complained when she didn’t eat at regular times. Sophie knew she’d need to take a break if she wanted to avoid a nasty headache.

“Sophie?”

Turning, she saw Christine motioning to her from the front of the tent. She made her way to her... and stalled. Richard walked in and stood behind Christine, a smile on his face as though he’d just done something benevolent.

Taking a deep breath, Sophie forced her feet to move again. “Hello.”

“I have a basket full of food, and since I won’t be able to eat it all myself, I thought perhaps you might join me,” Richard said.

Her stomach betrayed her with its call for food, and Sophie tried to keep from wrapping her arms around her middle. “I suppose that would be all right.”

“Excellent.”

Richard escorted her outside, and Sophie turned when she noticed Christine wasn’t following. “Isn’t Christine coming?”

“Not this time.”

Sophie suddenly felt a little nauseous, but before she could think about it, they heard pounding hooves and turned toward the sound. James pulled up and dismounted, his horse’s nostrils flaring, and coat frothy from sweat. He pulled an unconscious soldier from the horse’s back and rushed into the tent. Sophie followed.

James carried the man to one of the cots and gently settled him on his back. Christine and Dr. Palmer rushed over as Sophie made her way to James. “What happened?”

“He was shot,” James said.

“Where?” Sophie lifted the man’s head and laid it on a pillow.

James went quiet. Sophie took the hint but fully intended to get the story once everything calmed down. A groan from the soldier drew Sophie’s attention, and she moved to help Christine hold him down.

“Sophie, you’ve been on your feet for hours. You should go on your picnic.” Christine looked at her over her shoulder.

Dr. Palmer called one of the other nurses over and then forced Richard and James to leave, insisting that Sophie go with them as well. The three of them left the hospital, and Richard took Sophie’s elbow as they walked towards the carriage. Pulling away from him, she had a sudden idea and turned back toward the lieutenant who was mounting his horse. “James!” she called. “Why don’t you join us for lunch?”

“Sophie,” Richard growled.

Sophie turned back to him, a serene smile on her face. “You did say you had too much food, did you not? It would appear that the lieutenant just saved that man’s life, and I’d imagine he’s very, very hungry.”

“I’d be most grateful for the food, Sophie, thank you.” James rode up to the couple.

Richard assisted her into his carriage, while James followed them on horseback. They arrived relatively quickly at the lake, and despite her reluctance, Sophie sat on the blanket Richard spread out for them. It wasn’t lost on her that there wasn’t much room for James, but she refrained from comment and started to unpack the picnic basket.

Pulling out fried chicken, potato salad, freshly baked bread, cookies, ripe peaches, and a bottle of wine, Sophie smiled. “This looks amazing.”

“I tried to think of your favorites.” Richard leaned back on his forearm.

Ignoring the crawl down her spine, Sophie turned to James. “Lieutenant, may I prepare a plate for you?”

“That would be wonderful, Sophie, thank you.”

* * *

James noticed the glare Richard gave him and raised an eyebrow. The gauntlet appeared to have been thrown and James accepted the challenge. Sophie would be his, he didn’t care who he had to step over to get to her. He’d spent every night since meeting her, tossing and turning, never achieving a full night’s sleep. Every fiber of his being reached out for her, and he wasn’t going to let anyone stand in his way.