His Badge, Her Baby...Their Family?. Stella Bagwell

       Chapter One

      She let out a groggy groan. “Detectives? Have I done something wrong?”

      Dear God, it was Geena! His Geena!

      His ex-wife was lying in bed, her lost gaze vacillating from one man to the other, making it plain to Vince that she didn’t recognize him at all. How could that be?

      “Uh—excuse us just a moment,” he blurted, then grabbing Evan by the arm, he hustled the other man out of the room.

      The moment they were standing on the other side of the door, Evan gripped him by the shoulder. “Vince! What in hell is going on with you? You’ve got to get a grip. The way you’re behaving, she’s not about to trust one word to us!”

      Shaking his head, Vince wondered if his legs had turned into a pair of wet noodles. His insides were shaking. His mind whirling like a raging storm. “There’s something you need to know, Evan. That woman in there—it’s Geena! My ex-wife!”

      Stunned confusion swept over Evan’s face. “Your ex? That’s crazy, Vince! She might resemble Geena, but it can’t be her. You just spoke to the patient, and I didn’t see a flicker of recognition on her face.”

      “Damn it, don’t you think I saw the same thing! She looked as blank as that wall behind you! But it’s Geena. I’m positive about that.”

      Evan glanced anxiously at the closed door. “We’d better go back in before she gets even more suspicious and rings for a nurse. No,” he quickly corrected as he eyed Vince. “I’ll go back in and question her. You’re not in any shape to deal with this right now.”

      Annoyed that Evan considered him too weak to handle the situation, Vince scowled at him. “She’s my ex. I’ll do this job. You just back me up.”

      Evan studied him for a long moment, then nodded. “If that’s the way you want it. I’ll be right behind you.”

      Trying not to let himself think too much, Vince opened the door and walked back to the bed with Evan following close on his heels. By now Geena had elevated the head of the bed so that she was in a half-sitting position.

      Vince’s gaze was taking a furtive survey of her face when something else caught his attention. Although she was covered completely, it was very evident that her belly was far from normal size.

      She was pregnant! And from the look of her, she couldn’t be far from her delivery date.

      His mind racing in a thousand directions, he pulled a leather holder from the side of his belt and held it up so that she could view his badge.

      “Sorry about the interruption,” he said. “Let me start this over. I’m Detective Vincent Parcell. And this is Detective Evan Calhoun. Do you feel like answering a few questions?”

      Working as a detective for many years had taught Vince how to read the subtle expressions and reactions on a person’s face. Now as he carefully watched a mix of doubt and confusion flicker in Geena’s eyes, it was clear she didn’t recognize his name or the sight of him. She had no clue she was looking at her ex-husband, and the reality of that cut him like a knife.

      “My head hurts,” she mumbled. “But I’ll try. Why are you here, anyway? I wrecked my car. That isn’t a crime, is it?”

      The soft, raspy sound of her voice hadn’t changed, Vince thought. Neither had her lovely features. Her smoky green eyes were still veiled by thick brown lashes and her plush pink lips bracketed by a pair of faint dimples. The proud thrust of her delicate chin was just as he remembered, along with a perfect little turned-up nose. Oh, yes, this was his Geena all right, he thought grimly. At least on the outside.

      He answered her question, “No. It’s not a crime. Not unless you were driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Or you were driving recklessly.”

      Her gaze focused on his face, and Vince could see confusion swimming in the green depths of her eyes. But to his immense relief, she didn’t appear to be drunk.

      “I told the highway patrolman I didn’t remember what happened. I only recall crawling away from the car. There was a small explosion and then the flames started. They were small at first, but then the fire grew so big I couldn’t see the car. By the time the firemen and paramedics got there, everything was burned. That’s all I know.”

      Vince exchanged a grim look with Evan before turning his attention back to Geena. “So can you tell us your name and address?” he asked gently.

      A deep frown furrowed her brow, and Vince could see she was struggling to think.

      “I’ve been trying very hard to remember, but I don’t know who I am or where I came from.”

      Fear and regret were laced through her words, and Vince could only imagine the terror that had to be consuming her thoughts. Right now she was in an unfamiliar place where every face was that of a stranger. Her baby was coming soon, and she clearly had no idea how to locate the father. At this point, the Geena he’d been married to would have been sobbing hysterically. Either she’d drastically changed, he decided, or the accident was playing havoc with her normal demeanor.

      I can tell you exactly who you are. You were my wife for five years. You made love to me and slept in my arms.

      Shaking away the voice in his head, Vince asked, “Has a doctor spoken to you about your injuries?”

      Her eyes misted over, but she swallowed hard and quickly gathered her emotions. “Yes. He tells me I have a concussion and it’s caused me to have amnesia. He couldn’t find anything else wrong. My baby is okay. But I don’t remember anything about my pregnancy—when I’m due, or even the father! It’s maddening!”

      The uneasy feeling that had come over Vince when he’d first walked up to the scene of Geena’s accident had suddenly grown to a menacing cloud hovering over his head. What was he going to do? He couldn’t simply blurt out that he knew who she was, or that she’d once been his wife. She’d gone through a traumatic accident. No telling what the shock might do to her. No, Vince decided, before he could even consider revealing that bit of truth to her, he needed to speak with her doctor.

      “Do you have any idea why you were on the highway leading into Carson City?” he continued. “Where you were going?”

      With a miserable shake of her head, she said, “No. And now everything I had—my ID, my vehicle—they’re gone!”

      As her voice rose to a frantic note, Evan stepped up to Vince’s side, as though to say he believed she’d had enough questions for one night. But Vince had already come to that conclusion.

      Trying to sound as positive as possible, Vince said, “Don’t worry. By tomorrow you’ll probably start remembering. And if you don’t, we have ways of figuring out all these things.”

      The expression on her face was the same imploring look she’d given him years ago when she’d begged him to give up being a lawman. The look in her eyes had torn at him then, just as it was tearing at him now.

      “I hope you’re right. Without my car or money I can’t go anywhere,” she said, then let out a miserable groan. “Dear God, what am I thinking? Money or transportation won’t solve my problems. I wouldn’t know where to go to find my home!”

      Her home had once been with him, Vince thought. Now she was a lost little thing without a clue of her past or future. Nothing about this felt real.

      Evan