“It's a shame about the mother," the doctor, Ted Holmes, said as he pressed his stethoscope on Cole's chest to listen to his breathing. Dalton Dawson knew him from the club. They played together in a league there.

"It didn't look good, from what I heard," Dalton agreed. When he'd gotten the initial call from the hospital two days ago, they had only said that Cole was one of three passengers in a fatal head-on collision and that he was being brought in to surgery.

"At least she died instantly. No suffering," Ted added as he moved on to check Cole's pulse. He seemed satisfied with what he was seeing.

"His vitals are good. He should pull through just fine, though he's going to be sore and not very mobile for a while. One of his ribs punctured a lung, and he had nasty breaks on both legs. He’ll be here at least another week.”

"How is Laura doing? And the baby?" Dalton asked casually.

"Well, she lost the baby, of course. The trauma was too much. Laura will be all right. She had very different injuries. A cracked tailbone and broken collarbone, deep lacerations along one side of her face and she hit her head pretty hard against the windshield. That's where the cuts came from. She had a severe concussion and there may have been some jarring to the brain, enough trauma to induce the worst case of memory loss that I've ever seen."

"Memory loss? Like amnesia?"

"Yes, exactly."

"Well, that's temporary, right? It should come back?”

"Hard to say. If she is in familiar surroundings, eventually it may come back. No guarantees, though. The brain is a tricky thing."

Dalton's thoughts began to spin, and possibilities to emerge.

"So, if she was in unfamiliar surroundings, there's a possibility that her amnesia could be permanent?"

The doctor thought about that for a moment. "Yes. I suppose so. In that case, she might never recover her memory at all."

"With her mother gone, there's no other family. I just found out a few days ago that she and Cole were engaged. As soon as she's well enough, I'd like to bring her home if that's all right. I’m heading out of town, but my sister can collect her.”

"Of course," Ted agreed. "At least she has you, and Cole."

"Yes, well, please don't say anything to Cole about that. I want it to be a surprise when he gets home."

The doctor smiled. “That should cheer him up, I would imagine.”

Dalton nodded, and then casually asked, “Has anything been said to Laura about her mother or the baby?”

The doctor paused. “No, not yet. We were waiting to see if she might ask first. To see if her memory was coming back.”

“Can you leave that to us, too? We can break it to her at a later time. When she’s stronger.”

“That sounds like a wonderful plan to me. She’s lucky to have you both.”

* * *

 

Laura woke and was dismayed to find that she was still in the hospital. She stretched and glanced out the window. The sun was shining and tall trees just outside her window swayed in the breeze. It was a beautiful, serene day, but Laura felt the same panic rising that she’d felt for each of the last two days when she’d woken and had no idea where she was or why she was there. No one had given her much information.

All she knew was that she knew that she’d been in an accident, a bad one, and she was still feeling foggy. She didn’t remember any of the details. Not who she’d been with, or where they were going. It was puzzling, and scary. And the harder she tried to remember, the more confused and alone she felt. She turned at the sound of footsteps entering the room.

“There you are. I came as quickly as I could. I was so worried.”

Laura looked at the pleasant-faced, fifty-something woman and felt as though she should know who she was, but she was drawing a complete blank.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” the woman asked softly.

Laura stared at her miserably. She was trying so hard to remember but failing utterly.

The woman walked over and lightly kissed her cheek, then took hold of one of her hands.

“I’m your Aunt Helen, honey. Your mom’s sister.” She paused for a moment and then continued. “You’ve lived with me for almost eighteen years, in Bozeman, Montana.”

“Montana?” Laura asked. It sounded so foreign to her. And confusing. “What am I doing here, then? When I watch the news, it says Charleston, South Carolina.”

The woman smiled. “That’s right, honey. We were just passing through on our way back from a trip to Florida. There was a bad accident. Unfortunately, you got the worst of it. I booked us tickets to fly home from here today.”

Laura’s head started to hurt. It was a lot to process.

“Why aren’t we driving?”

“The doctor thought it might be too hard on your tailbone, all that riding in the car. You sprained it pretty badly. I’m having the car shipped home.”

“We’re leaving today?” Laura asked, feeling panicky again. This woman who said she was her Aunt Helen didn’t look remotely familiar to her. But then she smiled again, and Laura relaxed. There was something faintly familiar about that smile. She felt the tension ease out of her body.

“I’m going to go get a coffee and give you time to change. The doctor should be in shortly with your discharge papers.” Aunt Helen wandered off, and Laura eased out of bed and checked the time. The clock on the wall read almost ten a.m. She never slept that late. At least she didn’t think that she did. She found a clear plastic bag on a side counter that held a pair of shorts and a pink t-shirt. Laura was dismayed to see that the t-shirt had a bloody gash at the neckline. The doctor had told her that she’d fractured her collarbone, so she supposed that made sense. She turned suddenly at the sound of footsteps coming in the room again.

“I’m sorry, honey, I meant to give this to you a few minutes ago. I brought along a fresh pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt for you.” She handed Laura the clean clothes.

“Thank you. This is perfect.”

Aunt Helen smiled. “Great. I’ll be right back, then. Do you want anything? Coffee, tea?”

Laura thought for a minute. “I’d love an iced coffee, actually. Extra cream and sugar, please.”

That was strange. She didn’t remember liking iced coffee, but somehow knew how she took it. She hoped that was a good sign and that the rest of her memory would soon come back.

Laura heard voices outside the door, and then her aunt and Dr. Holmes walked in together.

She took a sip of the iced coffee that her aunt handed her while the doctor shuffled a stack of papers and then handed several of them to her.

“These are your discharge instructions. Take it easy for the next few weeks. Don’t put any unusual pressure on your tailbone. Don’t try too hard to remember. Let your memories come back when they are ready. Sound good?”

Laura nodded.

“I bet you’re ready to get going,” the doctor said with a smile. He nodded to Aunt Helen and then was on his way.

“Are you ready, honey? Our flight is in three hours, so we need to get a move on.”

* * *

Cole was sleeping when Dalton arrived later that day. His sister Helen had called from the airport just before she and Laura caught their flight. She said that things had gone smoothly and Laura accepted her story. She gave him hell for it, too, and he supposed he couldn’t blame her. But she owed him.

He looked down at his son who looked so peaceful, his body broken and sore. He felt a twinge of guilt. He knew his bones would heal quickly, but his heart would take a bit longer. It was a blessing that they’d lost the baby. They were too young. He was convinced that it was just puppy love and that Cole was destined for greater things. He shouldn’t be tied down with a wife at his age. He needed to go to college, to enjoy life and then to make a suitable, smart match.

Cole woke up, rubbed his eyes and then sat up when he saw his father leaning against the windowsill.

“When did you get here?” he asked sleepily.

“Just a few minutes ago. How’re you feeling?”

Cole stretched and then grimaced. “Stiff and a little sore. They said it should ease up in a few more days.”

“I talked to the doctor on the way in. He thinks you should be able to go home tomorrow.”

Cole smiled. “That’s great. I’m ready.” His faced clouded, and Dalton knew what was coming next.

“How’s Laura? I don’t understand why she hasn’t been in to see me?” He sounded hurt and worried. Dalton couldn’t put it off any longer.

“She’s gone, son. They released her today, and she left with her aunt.”

“What aunt? Go where?”

“Well, she lost the baby, you know…” Dalton began, and Cole cut him off impatiently.

“Yes, I know that. It was the first thing I asked once I found out Laura was okay.”

“Right. Well, here’s the thing. You might be a little mad at me, and I wouldn’t say I blamed you, but just know I did this for you, and for your future.”

“What are you talking about?” Cole glared at his father. “What did you do?”

Dalton sighed. “I’ve told you before that she’s not right for you. I offered her money. Offered to pay for her college plus enough extra that she won’t have to worry about money anytime soon. She’s never had that before.”

“Laura doesn’t care about money.”

“Everyone cares about money. Especially people who have never had it before. I offered her a life-changing amount.”

“If she goes away and has nothing to do with me?”

“Well, yes. That’s what the money is for. It was a test, son. I almost didn’t think she was going to say yes. But, as it turns out the old saying is right. Everyone has a price.”

“I don’t believe it. Where is she? I want to hear it from her.”

“I don’t know where she went. That was part of the deal, for her to disappear and get out of your life completely.”

“That’s ridiculous. Where’s my cell phone? I can call her at least.”

“You can try, but she may have blocked you or changed her number. That was a requirement before we gave her the check. We had to be sure.”

“Give me my phone.”

Dalton handed Cole his phone, watching as he searched for Laura’s number and then dialed it. Hope turned to horror as the recorded message came on saying the number had been disconnected.

“I can’t believe you did this to me. Do you hate me that much?” The raw hurt on his son’s face made Dalton take a step back and for just a moment, he second-guessed his actions. But what was done was done and in his heart of hearts, he believed it was for the best.

“I did this because I love you.”