Secret Identity (11 page)

“We've had plenty of snowball fights in that yard,” he said as he kissed the top of her hair.

“Really?” For just a moment, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being held. Had she always felt this way about him? It was hard to explain, but he felt like home, he sounded like home, and he even smelled like home.

“Hmmm, of course, you've never won a battle.” He chuckled. “Mitch holds the title of snowball king. There's just something about that guy. You put a ball of snow in his hands and he turns into a maniac.”

She smiled as an image of a thirteen-year-old Mitch popped into her head. He was wearing a dark gray jacket that was two sizes too big for his skinny teenage body. His gloves were too small and he had a dark red knit hat on. He was laughing like a villain from a movie as he threw ball after ball in her direction. Even when she was down on the ground, he stood over her and dumped a handful of snow on her face. Cold seeped into her shirt as snow breached the layers of her protective clothing. Even her feet were wet and cold as the snow penetrated her boots and socks. Mitch stood over her and laughed. “Serves you right. Next time you plan a sneak attack on the King of Snow, you'd better make sure you pack a parka.” Mitch stood above her, his hands on his hips as he threw his head back and laughed.

“Eve! Eve?” Someone was screaming at her. The sound penetrated the memory. She blinked a few times and realized she was lying on the couch, looking up at Carter.

“What?” She tried to sit up. Carter placed his hands on her shoulders, keeping her still. “What happened?”

“You tell me. We were having a nice moment, watching the snow and next thing I know you're taking a face plant, almost through the window.”

She looked at his face and realized how pale it was. His hands shook as he held her still and there was pure fear in his eyes. Reaching up, she took his face in her hands.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.” Then she remembered what had happened and smiled. “I had a memory.” She saw even more fear creep into his eyes and wondered why.

“What?” He pulled back and looked at her. “What memory?”

“A particularly bad snowball fight with the King of Snow.” She laughed and then described the scene to Carter as he sat beside her looking troubled. When she was done telling him the memory, he was frowning. “Okay, why are you frowning? From my point of view, it was a great memory. Did something happen?”

“No, it was a fun day. I wasn't there to help you defend yourself because the King had already taken me out and I was stuck under three feet of snow.” He chuckled then sobered. “I'm just worried that you're going to pass out every time you remember something. I think we need to go into town tomorrow and have you checked out at the clinic. Maybe even drive into the city and see a specialist.” He started to get up, but she grabbed his hand.

“Carter, I'm fine. I don't know why I passed out twice today. Maybe it's my brain’s way of trying to heal itself. I feel fine. I don't even have a headache. I'm not dizzy and my vision is fine. Can't we just wait awhile?”

He stood and shook his head. “They told me you might have other symptoms, none of which were passing out every time you remembered something. I think it's best if we have it checked out. Just in case.”

For some reason, the thought of going back to a hospital made her feel down, like she was taking a step back in her healing. She'd come so far since they'd arrived here. Her arm was almost completely healed and she'd remembered something. Maybe it was perfectly normal what was happening to her. She started wondering what she had to do to persuade Carter she didn't need to see a doctor.

“Don't give me that look.” Carter said from across the room. He was flipping through the phone book, probably trying to find a local doctor.

“What look?” She crossed her arms and glared at him.

“The one that tells me you're about to try and swindle your way out of seeing a doctor.” He smiled and went back to flipping through the phone book. Her shoulders slumped a little. It was getting annoying that he had the ability to read her so well.

C
arter sat out in the waiting room and felt like pacing. The array of beautiful fish that swam happily in a very large tank in the doctor's waiting room did little to calm his nerves. They'd driven into Portland to see a head injury specialist there.

Eve had insisted that he stay in the waiting room while she went back to see the doctor. Since he'd won the two-day battle of coming to the doctor, he considered this a small sacrifice he'd willingly make. Since her first episode, she'd had a total of three fainting spells. Each one lasting longer than the first. It was the one that had happened last night that had finally caused her to agree to come in and be seen. He'd walked in on her in the bedroom, and she'd been lying on the floor, one leg in her pants, one out. She was lucky she hadn't hit her head.

When she’d come to, she'd been so excited that she'd finally had a memory with him in it, even thought it had been from when they'd been in high school.

She'd told him about the memory and said she remembered it like it was yesterday. To be honest, he'd totally forgotten the episode. There had been another teen, Angie something, who had been picking on Eve for ten years. This particular day, Angie, along with a couple of other girls, had placed a large wad of bubble gum on Eve's chair. Then they had followed her around and called her names and pointed it out to everyone.

Eve had shown up at Carter’s locker between classes and he’d known something was wrong before she'd made it across the hall towards him. Her face was set in determination and anger.

He smiled now, remembering. There was nothing sexier than seeing Eve angry. Somehow, she just glowed during those times. Maybe that's why in the last few years he'd liked pushing all her buttons.

It took her less than a week to get Angie and the other girls back. But she didn't stoop to their level, no, not his Eve. She went beyond anything that they would have done to her. Instead, she hit Angie where it hurt the most. Angie's boyfriend, Jim, was captain of the football team. He was the type that didn't do a lot of homework, but instead chose to spend his time working on his form.

Carter let it slip while talking to a friend in the library—one of the best places to pick up gossip—that he'd seen Jim making out with Angie's best friend Karley. The news took less than three hours to reach the entire school, including Angie. Then they had sat back and watched the whole scene unfold.

Angie and Karley had caused such a scene that the teachers had to separate them. Karley had actually walked away with a large chunk of Angie's hair in her fists. Eve, Carter, and Mitch all chuckled as they were pulled into the principal's office.

It wasn't one of Carter’s finest moments, but he did stick up for his family. After all, that's what Eve and Mitch were to him.

He looked up to see Eve coming out of the doctor's office with a smile on her face. “Well?”

“She says I'm fine.” She started walking towards the door, but he reached out and took her hand, halting her.

“Eve?” He waited until she looked at him. “What did she say was triggering the blackouts?”

She took a deep breath. “I'll tell you everything she said over lunch.”

How could he argue with that? He'd been in the waiting room for almost two hours. Taking her hand in his, they walked back out to the car. “I know this great seafood place just down the street.”

They sat in the packed restaurant in a booth overlooking the cove and enjoyed clam chowder together.

He waited for her to tell him what the doctor had said. He knew that the more he pushed her to tell him, the longer it would take her to spit it out. Finally, when his bowl was almost empty, she set her spoon down.

“First off, she wanted me to have another CAT scan. That's what took so long. Anyway, she said pretty much the same thing that the doctor in Chicago said. It will take time to recover. I will have headaches, blurred vision, etc. etc.” She took a drink of her water and he knew she was purposely leaving out the part he was waiting to hear. He looked at her until, finally, she sighed and looked back.

“She doesn't know why I'm blacking out. She thinks it could just be a side effect each time I remember something. She doesn't want me using heavy equipment, yadda yadda.”

He thought about it. “Has she ever seen a case like this? After all, she is a specialist that handles head injuries.”

“Yes and no. She's seen plenty of amnesia cases, but none of them have blacked out upon triggering a memory.” She looked at him and he could see fear in her eyes for the first time. “Honestly, it makes me want to stop trying to remember anything.”

He reached across the table and took her hand. “Don't worry, I'll be here. We'll take it easy. You've been doing too much around the house.” He frowned and thought about all the stuff he'd allowed her to help with the last few days.

“Carter, I've barely lifted a finger. Besides, there isn't much more to do. It's not like I can go back to work. I don't even know if I still know how to do my job.” This time she frowned.

He wanted to laugh. “Eve, trust me, your job isn't something you'd forget how to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the majority of your work is to wine and dine new clients and get them to sign a contract. Then…”—he raised his shoulders and lowered them again—“…well, you just take care of them when they need something. All marketing and other promotions for the clients are handled by the specialty teams in the office. You're the company’s biggest asset, though,” he said quickly when she started to frown again. “You play a huge part in our business, not to mention the fact that you've basically been running everything, including Mitch and me.” He smiled, remembering how she was able to talk or argue him into anything.

She was silent most of the drive back to the house. The snow was falling more quickly now and he was thankful the men had finished with the new roof. There was still so much he wanted to get done, but he was taking it in stages. He was planning on spending more time at the place in the future. He might even move up there. Mitchell and Sandi had bought a large place just down the coast from him. They planned on living there full time after their wedding next spring.

Maybe he and Eve would make this their permanent place as well. It wasn't as if they couldn't move the business up here and still be successful. Honestly, he thought they could run the place from anywhere and still be successful, thanks to Eve.

He smiled to himself when he realized he'd started thinking of them being together as a couple. The only thing looming over his head now was her health and the possibility that her memory would return and they'd be back to square one. Friendship.

When they made it back to the house, Eve retreated up to their room. Since that first night they'd spent together, he'd moved in to the large room with her. She didn't mind; after all, according to him, they were getting married and she knew she had feelings for him that ran deep. She enjoyed the physical relationship with him and the tender nights spent in his arms. But needing some alone time, she slipped into the bathroom and started the water. He must have gotten the clue because the entire time she soaked her worries away in the tub, he didn't come in, even though the door was unlocked.

Hearing the doctor's worried attitude today stirred up her own worries. Was she going to spend the rest of her life passing out every time she remembered something? The doctor had ruled out brain damage, but that didn't mean there wasn't something else going on. Something mental. The specialist had hinted that it was psychological, and that she should see a shrink. She'd even given her a card for a psychologist. She didn't need to see anyone to have them tell her she was stressed. Staying in the big house was relaxing, being with Carter felt right, but the rest of her world was black. It was almost as if nothing existed beyond the walls of the house and the waters of the cove.

Maybe she should head back to the city. Back to her own apartment in New York. Would she find peace of mind there? Would there be clues as to who she was now, instead of all the old memories she saw around the place here?

Staying here, she felt like she was trapped in an old rerun of a show. Seeing the younger images of herself and Carter didn't explain how their relationship had advanced to what it is today. Nor did it explain her personality and style. She'd been doing a lot of thinking about going back to the city and when she finally pulled herself out of the tub she thought she'd come to a decision. Quickly dressing in a pair of her black leggings and a large sweater. She put on a pair of fluffy pink socks that had been in her suitcase from Chicago. Walking down the stairs, she was surprised to find the living room in darkness with only a few candles and a fire in the fireplace to light the otherwise dark room. Candles and two plate settings sat on the coffee table next to a gorgeous chocolate cake that had one sparkler candle on it. Carter stood on the other side of the table smiling.

“
What's all this?” She walked all the way into the room.

“I thought we'd celebrate your clean bill of health. I felt like baking and I know how much you love chocolate.” He motioned to the couch and she walked over and sat. Just knowing that he'd gone through all the trouble made her want him. She couldn't imagine another man baking a cake for her. No wonder they were together. All of the doubts she had about their relationship went out the door at that moment.

She walked over and sat on the newly reupholstered couch that had been delivered the day before. Now it was as good looking as it was comfortable.

When she looked at the cake, something told her he was right about her loving chocolate. Her mouth began to water as she looked at the chocolate mass before her, and the thought of eating half the cake herself popped into her head.

“I found this.” He held up a movie case and shook it. “Your all-time favorite.”

“What?” She tried to see the name of the movie. She watched him frown a little.

“Say Anything.” He walked over and pushed it into the VHS player.

She thought about it and shook her head. “Doesn't ring a bell.”

“That's okay. It will be like watching it for the first time.” He walked over, sat next to her, and started cutting the cake, giving her a large slice, then putting one of equal size on his plate. “I know it's not kosher to have cake for dinner, but since we had a late lunch, I didn't think you'd mind.”

She took a bite and closed her eyes. Something sparked in her mind, but there was no dizziness, no feeling faint. Instead, warmth spread throughout her entire body. She'd felt the exact same way a few times in the last few days, always in the arms of Carter as they made love.