“I’m not taking your money,” he interrupted loudly before she insulted him by implying that he’d let the woman he was marrying reimburse him for a meal. Not that he was actually marrying her. He ran a hand through his hair and lowered his voice. “I was just trying to figure out how to carry it all back to the room. Never mind. Don’t worry about it. I’ll hijack one of these tray tables or a wheelchair or something to push it on.”
“Okay, then,” she replied, not seeming to pick up on his sarcasm, or at least choosing to ignore it. “Can you hand me my cell phone before you leave? I should probably let my parents know what happened.”
“Josselyn said she looked for your phone back at the office but only saw your purse.”
“I don’t suppose you have my parents’ numbers in your contact list.” She gnawed her lower lip, but Craig was saved from responding—as well as from staring at her sexy mouth—when she added, “Actually, they’re probably out of cell range if my mom is still with the Khasi tribe. I’ll just send them an email tomorrow.”
“The Khasi tribe?”
“Yes. I’m sure she told you all about her latest research trip. Wait. You’ve met my parents, haven’t you?”
“Uh, not in person. At least, not yet.” There, that should be ambiguous enough. After all, Josselyn mentioned her folks were out of the country so it was plausible that he might’ve talked to them on the phone or via a video chat. Not that Craig knew the first thing about video chatting.
Caroline tilted her head at him. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“I’m sure you probably need to call someone to let them know you’re staying here overnight?”
He lifted a brow. “Like who?”
She shrugged, a deep V forming above her nose. “Do you live with anyone? Like roommates or your family or, um...me?”
His ribs squeezed with pity. It was bad enough that she couldn’t remember the fact that they hadn’t had sex. The poor thing really must be confused if she couldn’t even recall whether they lived together.
It was on the tip of Craig’s tongue to tell her that if they were sharing the same bed, he would’ve left a more lasting impression on her. Instead, he replied, “I live at my family’s ranch in Thunder Canyon.”
“Oh, good.” She relaxed onto her pillows. “I was worried about who would take care of your cat while you’re gone.”
Craig took a couple steps forward and lowered his chin. “My cat?”
“Yeah, the one with only three legs!” Caroline exclaimed, her face brightening as though she’d just had a miraculous breakthrough in modern science. “I can’t think of his name, but I’m sure it will come to me.”
Disbelief and a slow-growing sense of alarm kept him from celebrating her achievement. How in the hell did this woman know about his pet? Not that it was completely inconceivable given the fact that most ranches had barns filled with various animals, but the three-legged part confounded him.
“Do you work there, too?” Caroline asked, seemingly ignoring the fact that Craig was staring at her with his mouth hanging open in shock.
“Where?” Craig gave his head a slight shake to clear his thoughts.
“At your family’s ranch,” she said slowly, as though it was his brain that had been concussed recently.
“Uh, yeah. We raise cattle.”
Caroline got that satisfied, faraway look in her eyes again. Every time she made that face, Craig’s collar seemed to shrink around his neck and his skin got all tight. Her next question made his toes twitch inside his boots. “So I really am going to marry a cowboy?”
Craig didn’t know about that. She certainly wasn’t going to marry this particular cowboy. No woman was. But he kept his jaw clenched as his feet fought the urge to run right past the sign for the cafeteria and straight toward the exit.
* * *
After several more tests, including an EEG before bed, Caroline was surprised by how soundly she slept through the night. Of course, anytime a nurse came to check on her or take her vital signs, all Caroline had to do was look over to where Craig was partially reclined in a too-small chair, his cowboy hat pulled low over his eyes. Then a bubble of security would surround her, making her happily drift back to sleep.
She felt rested when her first visitor arrived.
“Is our patient allowed to have chocolate croissants this morning?” Josselyn asked as she carried in a cardboard tray of coffee drinks in one hand and a white bag in the other.
“She most definitely is,” Caroline said, sitting up straighter and resisting the urge to clap excitedly by adjusting the blanket across her lap.
Craig just grunted, before standing up to stretch. Judging by the frown on his face, he either wasn’t a morning person or he didn’t particularly care for flaky breakfast treats. Caroline hoped it was just the croissants because she couldn’t imagine a cowboy not being an early riser. Actually, she couldn’t imagine someone not liking fresh-baked pastries, either.
A cracking sound echoed through the room as he twisted at the waist. “I’m getting too old not to sleep in a bed anymore.”
Caroline took a quick gulp of coffee to keep from asking the question on the tip of her tongue. How old was he? It was another thing she should know about her fiancé, but couldn’t remember. He certainly didn’t look old, but there were a few more creases around his eyes than most men her age might have.
“Thanks for bringing breakfast,” Caroline said to Josselyn.
“I also brought you a pair of comfy pajamas and some toiletries, not knowing how long you’d be here.” Josselyn patted the small tote bag resting against her hip. “Since I didn’t have a key to your apartment, you’ll have to make do with things from the superstore in Kalispell.”
“Anything is better than this hospital gown,” Caroline replied, suddenly curious about where her own clothes were. The ones she’d been wearing right before she’d hit her head. She was about to ask, but Dr. Robinson entered the room.
As the physician examined her, Caroline saw Craig slip into the hallway and pull out his cell phone. It was difficult following the doctor’s penlight with her eyes when her gaze kept returning to Craig and the way his jeans cupped his rear end as he casually leaned against the nurses’ station and spoke into his phone.
“So all the tests suggest that there isn’t any long-term damage,” Dr. Robinson said just as Craig returned to the room. “Any changes with your memory?”
As much as Caroline sensed the connection with Craig, there was also an underlying nagging sensation in the pit of her stomach every time she smiled at him and he looked away. Had they had a fight recently? Or maybe it was just the fact that she couldn’t remember any clear details about the guy and she was projecting her own sense of guilt onto him.
“I feel like things are slowly starting to come back to me.” Caroline was trying to remain positive but it was impossible not to notice the way Craig, Josselyn and the physician all looked at each other.
Dr. Robinson finally nodded. “Good. Everything should resolve itself eventually as long as you give your brain time to heal and don’t add any additional stress.”
The older woman gave a pointed look toward Craig, who scrubbed at the lower half of his face, where dark stubble had blossomed overnight.
“So then I can go home this morning?” Caroline couldn’t keep the hopefulness from her voice.
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