Private Eye Protector. Shirlee McCoy
everything he’d believed about her ability to parent Chandra’s baby had been wrong.
Rayne had spent the past eight months proving that.
She wouldn’t fail now. Wouldn’t leave her baby with a complete stranger.
“Do you really think you’re going to do her any good in the condition you’re in?”
“I’ll do her a lot more good if I’m with her than if I’m away from her.”
“My mother has been her babysitter since you moved into the apartment. She and Emma will do just fine together. All you need to worry about is getting better,” Chance said, and Rayne reached for a name, a face, something to go with his words.
Nothing.
Blank.
“I don’t know your mother. I don’t know you.” Her breath came in short gasps, and she felt helpless to control it. Panic edged out everything. The nurse. Chance. The pain that slammed through Rayne’s skull.
“You’re not going to fall apart, Rayne. You have a kid to get home to and a life to live. This is just a blip on the radar, so take a deep breath and pull yourself together,” Chance growled, his eyes blazing into hers, forcing her back from the brink.
She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to thank him or punch him, but his harsh words had worked. She could breathe. She could think.
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one with holes in your memories.”
“That’s better, Goldilocks.” He patted her hand, moved aside as the nurse leaned in to take Rayne’s vitals.
“Partial amnesia is very common with head injuries. Give yourself a little time. Things will come back to you.” The nurse jotted something on Rayne’s chart, offering an easy smile.
“When?”
“Unfortunately, it isn’t an exact science. Sometimes, memories come back quickly. Sometimes, it takes months. Even years.”
“I want them back now. I can’t stomach the thought of my daughter with someone I don’t know,” she said, the words blurting out before she thought about how they’d sound.
“Of course you feel that way. What mother wouldn’t? But I can assure you that Lila Richardson is one of the most wonderful women around. She’ll take good care of your daughter.”
“You know her?”
“She taught my Sunday school class when I was a kid, and now, she teaches my son. She’s great, and I’m not just saying that because Chance is in the room.”
“That make me feel better.” But not much. Emma was her responsibility. She’d made a promise to Chandra, and she didn’t take that lightly.
Sure, I’ll raise her if something happens to you.
But she hadn’t expected anything to happen to her best friend. Hadn’t thought very hard about what it would mean to take on the responsibility of raising another human being.
“Good. Now, you just rest for a while, okay? The doctor should be in shortly. Hopefully, by midnight, you’ll have some pain medicine and be fast asleep. Everything will look better in the morning.” The nurse pulled the blanket up to Rayne’s chin, tucked it around her shoulders.
Everything is going to be okay.” Chance said, his words soothing and smooth, commanding her attention.
“Okay? I’m missing nearly two months of my life.”
But maybe the nurse was right.
Maybe things would look better in the morning.
Still, something nagged at the back of her mind, something that shivered along her spine, lodged at the base of her skull, pounded into her consciousness.
Someone standing in the open doorway, watching.
Chance?
A doctor?
Did it matter?
People came and went in hospitals. There was nothing alarming about that, but she couldn’t shake her fear, couldn’t put the image out of her mind.
A man.
Watching.
“Were you in my room earlier, Chance?” she asked, because she had to know. Couldn’t rest until she was sure.
“I’ve been waiting down in the emergency room while they got you settled. My mom was here with Emma, but Emma got fussy and they had to leave. I walked them out to the parking lot and came up. Why?”
“Someone was here, standing in the doorway, watching me.”
“The cleaning crew just made its rounds. You probably saw one of the team,” the nurse interjected.
A custodian?
Rayne didn’t think so.
But her head had been fuzzy, her thinking muddled, her vision blurred.
The nurse glanced at her watch. “I need to go do rounds. The doctor will be here soon. If you need anything before then, just buzz.”
She hurried out of the room.
“Are you okay?” Chance asked, and she shrugged, her shoulders aching, muscles she hadn’t even realized she had throbbing in protest.
A car accident.
Amnesia.
Of course she was seeing danger in the shadows … and the doorways.
“I will be.”
“Then why do you look so scared?” He studied her face, searched her eyes, saw more than she wanted anyone to.
Mothers were tough, right?
Strong.
Immovable.
They didn’t rely on other people, because they didn’t need anyone to take care of them. They took care of themselves.
So no more relying on other people for Rayne.
That was rule number one for heart-healthy living, and Rayne planned to remember it. No matter what else she forgot.
“I’m not scared. I just don’t think the guy I saw was a custodian.”
“Then who do you think he was?”
“I don’t know.”
“He could have been a nurse or a doctor.”
“Maybe.”
“Look, if you’re nervous about staying here alone tonight …”
“I’m not.” At least, not very.
“I can stay with you.”
“Really. I’ll be fine.”
But something nagged below the surface of her mind.
Bright lights. Terror.
There and gone so quickly she couldn’t hold on to them.
“I planned to hang out for a while anyway, so I’ll wait until the doctor comes in. Then I’ll talk to the maintenance staff. See if any of them were in your room. How does that sound?”
“It sounds like you’re placating me.”
“I don’t have the time or patience to placate anyone, Rayne.” Chance stretched his long, muscular frame, his gray-blue gaze never leaving her face.
Handsome.
Really handsome.
How could she not remember a face like his?
“You said we work for the same company.”
“That’s right. I’m a private detective