Reunited At Christmas. Belle Calhoune
mind and soul for eight years. Long, dark brown hair. Brown eyes flecked with caramel. Café-au-lait-colored skin. A heart-shaped face.
Liam let out a guttural cry. He felt a falling sensation, as if someone had pushed him off the highest branches of a mighty oak tree. For a moment he couldn’t get a breath. There was no way he could utter a single word.
“Steady!” Boone said, grabbing hold of his arms as his knees buckled underneath him.
The room began to spin. He pressed his eyes closed. What was happening to him? Nothing was making sense at the moment. Everything in his world had turned upside down.
When he opened his eyes again, she was still sitting there, regarding him with a shuttered expression on her face. Ruby. His wife. The only woman he had ever loved.
Although she had been declared dead approximately two years ago in a failed search-and-rescue mission in Colorado, she was now sitting in Boone’s mahogany chair, looking very much alive and well.
* * *
Ruby stood from her chair, wanting to be on the same level as the sheriff and the man he’d referred to as Liam. It already seemed as if she was at a distinct disadvantage in this situation. Having amnesia meant she had no tangible memories of this fishing village in Alaska, nor did she recognize the man named Liam who looked as if his legs might buckle underneath him. She was still getting used to the name Ruby. For the first year after her accident she’d called herself Kit until she had remembered her real name.
Sheriff Prescott hadn’t told her who he had been on the phone with earlier, although she had heard him speak in an urgent tone. Next thing she knew, Liam had crashed into the room like a man on a mission.
All she felt at the moment was an overwhelming sense of fear. It was the same emotion she’d been battling for the last two years. Her legs were shaking like crazy. Coming to Love, Alaska, had been an act of pure bravery on her part. She had wanted to face her nebulous past so she could move forward with her life. And now, caught in this uncomfortable moment, she found herself wishing she had stayed back home in Colorado.
Home? That was a misnomer. She hadn’t yet found a place to call home. Perhaps she never would. After seeing a story on the news about a matchmaking program called Operation Love, she had experienced a strong feeling of connection with the town featured in the report—Love, Alaska. As a result, she had ventured all the way there in the hope of getting answers. And standing here before her was a man who might be able to provide them for her.
Her entire body froze. There was so much emotion etched on the man named Liam’s face. The way he was looking at her caused something to tighten in her chest. There had been a look of absolute shock, followed by an expression of such joy that it made her want to sob. The sheriff hadn’t told her anything about who this man was, but she knew instinctively that he had been a huge part of her life. His reaction to her presence spoke volumes.
“Ruby!” Liam’s voice sounded raspy and filled with surprise. He moved toward her with his arms open. She took a step backward, overwhelmed by the thought of being touched by a stranger. The sheriff held him back, and Ruby heard him say, “She doesn’t remember you, Liam.”
Liam let out a strangled sound that caused her to flinch. It was infused with pain.
Liam. It was a nice name. Strong. Solid. He was good-looking. Rugged. He had dark brown, chin-length hair. His warm, blue eyes radiated an intensity that unnerved her. He was tall, with a rangy build. And he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her.
She shifted from one foot to the other, feeling the heat from his intense gaze, folded her arms across her chest and watched the interaction between the two men. She was good at picking up on cues. It was a skill she had honed ever since her amnesia diagnosis. These men were close. Brothers or best friends, she imagined.
Liam ran a shaky hand over his face. “W-what are you talking about, Boone?”
The sheriff still had a hold on Liam. They were face-to-face, staring each other down. Electricity crackled in the room. What had Sheriff Prescott told Liam over the phone?
“She showed up here looking for any information we could provide about her past or family connections. From what I’ve been able to piece together, she sustained a head injury that led to amnesia. She was living in a remote area of Colorado until a recent move to Denver.” Boone let out a sigh. “I couldn’t believe it when she walked into my office.”
Liam shook his head as if in disbelief. His face held a dazed expression. He swung his eyes back to her. “Ruby,” he said, brushing off the sheriff’s grip. He took two steps toward her. She held her ground without retreating. “I can’t believe it’s you. I feel like I’m dreaming. You’re back!”
“I don’t remember you. Or this town,” Ruby blurted. She tilted her chin up, locking gazes with him. “I’m sorry,” she said in a brusque voice. “But you need to know that before you get your hopes up.”
His face fell. It made her want to cry to see him so torn up inside. And to know that it was due to her. But she wasn’t going to mince words. Raising his hopes would be cruel.
“What do you remember?” he asked, his voice sounding ragged.
“Flashes. Moments. Bits and pieces. Something about this town feels familiar. My name,” Ruby said. “Although for a long time I couldn’t remember it, so I came up with another name for myself.”
The sheriff moved forward. “Her doctors said it’s retrograde amnesia.”
“Retrograde amnesia,” Liam mumbled. He appeared to be a bit dazed. “I—I don’t understand.”
“In my case they theorized that due to a head trauma I lost all my memories from before the accident,” Ruby explained. “I get flashes from time to time, but they’re disconnected and not grounded to anything solid. Sometimes it feels like a really fast slide show.”
Liam met her gaze. “Will the memories eventually come back?”
Ruby shrugged. “Some people do recover their memories, but the doctors have told me there’s no way of knowing whether mine will return.”
“So you don’t remember marrying me? Or being my wife?” Liam asked. His jaw trembled.
“A-are you really my husband?” she asked. She jutted her chin in Boone’s direction. “He wouldn’t tell me anything when he called you. He wouldn’t even tell me who he was on the phone with. Needless to say, I don’t like being kept in the dark. It’s pretty much been the story of my life for the last few years.”
“My name is Liam Prescott. I’m Sheriff Prescott’s brother. And, yes, you’re my wife,” Liam said. Tears misted in his eyes. He ran his hand over his face. “I’m so sorry, Ruby, that you don’t remember any of this.”
Although on some level she knew there was a possibility this man was her husband, just hearing the words come out of his mouth served as a jolt.
Ruby couldn’t help but let out a gasp. The news made her feel wobbly. She should have been prepared for this since the slight indentation on her ring finger had caused her to question whether she was a married woman. But where was her ring? Had she lost it during whatever traumatic incident had caused her amnesia?
And why else would the sheriff have called Liam down here? Liam’s emotional reaction made perfect sense now. He was a man whose wife had been presumed dead for several years. And now she was back with no warning and nothing to prepare him for the startling sight of her.
“If you’re my husband, then who is Aidan?” she whispered. It was staggering to find out that this gorgeous, emotional and rugged man belonged to her. Although she had always had a niggling sensation of having been married, there had been no flashes of this man or events from their life together.
Liam’s blue eyes lit up. Relief swept across his features. “So you do remember something? You remember Aidan?”
She shook her head, her long