“You’re taking care of Grace? With Lark? I thought—I thought you hated the Taylors. You hated them so much.”
That’s why he’d left. He might not care for Skye’s family, but he’d loved Skye since he was seven and she was six. She’d always been more to him than a Taylor. She had been his everything.
Keaton looked him in the eye. “Things have changed, Jake. Welcome home.”
* * *
“How are you feeling today?” The man in the white coat smiled at her.
“Better. Less...fuzzy,” Skye replied. Which was the truth. She was sitting up in bed, her eyes open. Her brain was almost working. She felt as close to normal as she had since...since...
Damn. Almost working—but not quite.
“Do you remember my name?”
Skye thought. “You’re my doctor? Dr. Wake...” She scrunched up her face as the man gave her a hopeful smile. “Dr. Wakefield? Is that right?”
“Excellent!” He nodded and made a note on the tablet he was carrying. “That’s very good, Skye. Do you remember her name? She’s my research assistant,” he said, handing the tablet to the woman in nurse’s scrubs standing next to him.
The name was there, but it kept slipping through Skye’s mind like a strand of wet spaghetti. Just when she thought she had it, it slipped right past her again. “Julie? Juliet? Jules? Something like that.” She leaned back against the bed. The effort of trying to remember was draining. But she didn’t want to close her eyes. She was so tired of sleeping.
“Very good,” Dr. Wakefield. “You got it on the first try—Julie Kingston. What year is it?”
“2013, right?”
Julie and Dr. Wakefield shared a look, which she didn’t like. She wanted Jake. She wanted out of this hospital. She wanted him right now.
“When is Jake going to get here?” she asked. Because she’d been awake for almost two weeks and he hadn’t shown up yet. She didn’t understand why, but she was sure that if Jake wasn’t here, there had to be a good reason.
“Skye,” Julie said, “can you remember where Jake is?”
“He was...” He’d been somewhere. Somewhere else. But why? Something pulled at her memory, but it wasn’t even a slippery noodle she couldn’t keep a grip on. It was more like a thin line of smoke that vanished as soon as she tried to touch it. “I don’t know.” She hated this feeling, of not knowing what was going on. “His company is just starting to take off. Maybe he got that job in New York? But I thought he’d be back by now...”
“That’s all right,” Dr. Wakefield said in a comforting tone. “Do you remember Grace?”
Skye frowned. They were always asking her about Grace. Did she remember Grace? No. Did she remember everyone—the doctors, her sister—asking about Grace? Yes. “She’s my daughter.”
The words made her want to cry. Her baby—the baby she’d wanted for so long—and Skye had no recollection of her at all. She didn’t know if her own child was chubby or had hair or looked like Jake or anything about her. Just that Grace was her daughter.
“Is the baby okay? Am I well enough to hold her now?”
Dr. Wakefield pressed along her head. There was one area along the side that was still tender. “We have a physical therapy protocol for patients in a coma to keep their muscles from atrophying, but you’ve lost a lot of strength. You should be able to hold Grace as long as you’re sitting, with pillows to help bolster your arms.” He gave her an apologetic smile. “It’ll be some time before you can carry her. I’m sorry about that, Skye.”
“That’s all right,” she said. “As long as I can hold her.” She couldn’t help it—her eyes started to drift shut. “When can I go home?”
“Soon,” Dr. Wakefield said. He sounded as if he meant it. “We’ll start the process of releasing you to your next of kin.”
“That’s Jake,” she said, yawning. “Can you call him for me? I want him.”
“Of course,” Julie said in a soothing voice. “I’m sure it won’t be long—oh!”
At this, Skye’s eyes opened and there he was.
Jake.
He looked so, so good. But...there was something off about him, too. Somehow, he looked older than she remembered—more fine lines around his eyes, thinner in the face.
“Skye?” He stood there, his mouth open. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say he was in shock. “Oh, my God—are you all right?”
“Jake!” she cried in pure joy. “Oh, thank heavens—I was beginning to think you’d forgotten about me. Where have you been? I’ve missed you so much.” She held up her arms, which took some effort. But he was worth it. God, she was so glad to see him.
He turned to the doctor. “Is she all right? I don’t want to hurt her.”
Julie gave Jake a warm smile. “Go on, you won’t hurt her. Just be gentle.”
“All right.” He walked to the side of the bed and sat in the chair, staring at her as if he’d never seen her before. He took one of her hands in his. “It’s good to see you.”
“We’ll leave you two alone,” the doctor said. Dr. Wakefield, she mentally corrected. So she wouldn’t forget. “Mr. Holt, when you’re finished visiting, my research assistant Julie here or one of the nurses can give you the list of things Skye will need to transition to a home environment. She’ll be ready to be released in a day or two.”
“Sure,” Jake said. He didn’t sound quite right. Why was he acting so...oh, what was the word? So—so aloof.
Then they were alone.
“I am glad to see you,” he told her, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles.
“I’m glad to see you. I dreamed of you all the time.”
“That’s...good.” He swallowed nervously as he stared at where their hands were joined. “What, exactly, did you dream?”
“It—well—I don’t know if I have the words. I lose words sometimes. Like aloof.” His eyebrows jumped up as he looked at her quizzically. “Just as an example,” she added, feeling silly. Jake wasn’t necessarily being aloof. She was pretty sure this was the first time she’d seen him, after all.
Then she realized what the problem was. “I must look awful,” she said with a grimace. “If I’d known you were going to get here today, I’d have done...something.” Point of fact, she couldn’t actually remember the last time she’d showered and there was a section of her hair that had been shaved off.
“No, no—you look fine,” Jake said. He gave her an off-kilter smile. “Feels like it’s
