Taylor sat on the edge of the bed near him. She told him about the dream, and how it had scared her but she also felt that it was a flashback, not just a dream. "Did you hear your name or his name?" Mike asked.

  "No" Taylor said. "I am scared now, and I wonder what I left in such a hurry that day, because I see myself getting into my car after we break up." Mike pulled her to his chest and hugged her. She could feel the tension come out of her body just with his warmth. "Would you feel better if you slept up here with me? I will put some pillows between us." Mike told her. He knew if he held her much longer he would start caressing her and they would be making love in no time, but he had much more respect for her than to make her his bridge to getting over his wife.

  Taylor murmured, "yes, that would be great. You don't have to put pillows between us, I need someone to hold me after that awful dream." Mike gently lifted the covers and she crawled into the bed. Brutus jumped into the bed as well and snuggled into her side. She was asleep in a minute, leaving Mike there with his thoughts and arousal from her in his bed. He wasn't sure that he had that much willpower, but he finally went to sleep without so much as a touch of her. He did enjoy the smell of her body and wondered if he was falling in love with her, and knew that if she was having flashbacks, she would get her memory back sooner rather than later, and what if she has a husband and family. He couldn't do that to himself much less to her. When it was time for her to go, he promised himself, he would let her go without a fight. She deserved to get her life back.

  Chapter 6

  The next morning, Mike got out of bed as usual to go for a run. He felt the need for a very long run with a very long cold shower after the fitful night of sleep he had with Taylor in his bed. He needed to clear his head and think about what he would need to do next to keep his distance from her to keep his feelings in check. He was old enough to know that she didn't deserve to have to choose between her old life and the time she spent with him.

  He had lots of thoughts going through his head as he ran, and he ran for almost twice as long as normal.

  When he returned, Taylor was sitting on the porch with Brutus waiting for him. He thought about how content she seemed to be in the house, even with all the luxuries missing like the shops and TV that a woman such as herself would want. He thought about how old she probably was, and he landed on about 25-28 years old. He was 35 and thought that might be too much difference in age anyway. He was almost an old man to her.

  "Where do you run?" Taylor asked him.

  "I run on the trails in the woods and on the roads and where ever it seems to take me." Mike answered. "It helps me to clear my head."

  They walked inside and Mike headed up to his shower. Taylor told him she was going to make breakfast. He went to the shower and couldn't help but pleasure himself to release the tension he felt from sleeping next to her all night and waking up to her in his bed. He walked downstairs, and she had breakfast all done.

  "Can I go running with you tomorrow?" Taylor asked.

  "I don't think it would be good for you. It's only been five days since your injury and you should be careful." Mike replied. He did not know that she had been going out for walks in the morning and felt like she could run. "Tell me about your nightmare last night, I think it's going to be a breakthrough." Mike told her. She actually remembered less of it in the morning because it wasn't so fresh in her mind.

  "I don't remember names or anything like that," she told him, "thanks for letting me sleep next to you; it made me feel better."

  "Good," he responded.

  Later on that day, he heard the doorbell ring, and went to answer it. It was the UPS delivery truck with a package for him from the coroner. Was this the final report on his wife's death?

  He took the package to his room and shut the door. Taylor saw him walk by and thought he looked upset, and she wondered what that bad news could be.

  In his room, Mike opened the package and started reading the report. It was very technical, but he was a doctor so he could understand the complex information fairly easily. The cause of death was something that had him stunned. Poisoning. His wife had been poisoned? The police report that was also attached and explained many of the holes he had seen in the coroner's report. His wife had died from poisoning; this had caused her to wreck her car. It had taken so long for the toxicology to come back and find the drug because it was rarely used. She had minimal bleeding at the site of the wreck, and this must be why - her heart had stopped beating only moments before. But who had poisoned her?

  Mike picked up the phone, and unbeknownst to him, Taylor was listening at his door for a sound because she was worried what the package had to say. Mike called the police lieutenant in charge of his wife's case in their home town to find out who had poisoned his wife and why. It was a very one-sided conversation for Taylor to have to listen to. She hear a lot of questions from Mike, but not much else. She knew it was wrong to listen, but she was worried about him and what had happened.

  Then she heard the room being torn apart by Mike and ran to the door and opened it to see him throwing a crystal vase across the room. "Stop!" Taylor shouted.

  Chapter 7

  Mike suddenly became aware of her standing in the doorway and dropped the objects he had in his hands to the ground. He sagged to the floor and put his hands over his face, looking completely exhausted and sad. Taylor was unsure what to do, she couldn't tell whether he wanted comforting or not. He was just sitting there without saying a word, and she decided that she would need to comfort him.

  She walked over to where he was sitting, and sat beside him. She said, gently, "I am here for you to talk to. I don't know what is wrong, but I will listen when you are ready."

  He looked up from his sorrow and grabbed her in a hug. She hugged him back and kissed his forehead and told him, "Tell me what’s wrong."

  He took a deep breath and said, “Jocelyn and I were married for five years, yet it all seems like a lie now. That package had the coroner’s report about my wife’s accident. The detectives said that she was poisoned and died before her car wrecked. Then they said that it was her lover who poisoned her. Not her husband, but her lover. She was cheating on me and had been having an affair, and when she broke it off, he couldn't stand it. They arrested him and got the whole story. He asked her to go to dinner one last time, and at dinner he poisoned her. He told the police it was because he didn’t want anyone else to have her. My whole world just crumbled - everything I thought we had together has changed and now I am even more confused than before. I had no idea she was unhappy."

  Taylor sat there calmly and let him tell her the information, then gently saying "ok, I see, and I understand" as needed.

  She hugged him once again, and asked him what he needed for her to do. He said, "Nothing, I just need some time alone today to digest what is happening." Taylor told him that she would clean up his room and that he should go for a walk, as long as he promised to #1. Come back and #2. Tell her exactly where he was going. He promised and she cleaned the room after he left. He was gone for a couple of hours, and she was starting to get worried, and had a plan to go out and find him or call the sheriff when he returned. He walked around the house and put away all the pictures of him and his wife into a box, then placed the box in the closet upstairs.

  He thanked Taylor for cleaning the room, he apologized for his behavior and said he didn't feel like eating anything, and did she mind? She was ok with all that, as long as he appeared stable. He was the only thing in her life right now until she could determine what her plans were and how she would get her memory back. She started to wonder what she would do if he left, but she decided to wait until later to figure that out.

  She made her dinner, and made him a light sandwich and took it to his room, knocking gently on the door until he said, "come in".

  "Mike, I know you don't feel like eating but you need to eat something so I brought it to you." Taylor said as she placed the plate in front of him and started to bow out of the door.

  "Taylor, wait. Thank you for bringing me some food. I appreciate your caring. I am sure you are worried about me, but I am going to be fine. As this day went by, I thought through all the last few months with my wife and I could see the signs I ignored that should have made me curious. I take some of the credit for working all the time but she made a choice. I just have to think some more today, and I will be better tomorrow." Mike said to her.

  "No problem, I am worried about you. You have to stop blaming yourself for what happened, you had no idea about it. I know you are feeling guilty, but there are two sides to this story, and you have to grieve so you can let go. You are not going to change the past by feeling guilty about something you cannot change." Taylor asked.

  "Thank you, Taylor. I appreciate you." Mike replied and he kissed her forehead. They sat in silence as he ate his dinner, then Taylor took the plate and left the room.

  That night was eerily quiet as she spent the night by herself. She kept listening for Mike to make some noise. She thought about how she could not imagine how he must feel, and then realized he must know at some point he was going to lose her too, back to her old self once she figured out who that was. That must be part of the reason for the distance.

  Chapter 8

  In the morning, Taylor heard Mike get up and go running. She went for her usual walk. She was more unsure of herself than ever, not sure if Mike would come out of his funk and wondering when the next flashback might occur.

  The sheriff came by later that day, and he spent a long time with Mike discussing the accident report and outcomes. Taylor left them alone, thinking she would just spend time in the garden and tending the house.

  The sheriff and Mike came downstairs later and asked Taylor to sit at the table with them. Mike told her they had tried running her fingerprints to find out her history, but it had failed and they were no closer to figuring out who she was. She was not sure how she felt about that, knowing that she would still be uncomfortable until her memory returned. She wondered how long it would take to get herself back.

  Eating lunch with Mike was difficult, he didn't want to talk or do much of anything, and she supposed it was still recovering from his wife's death and the reality of having his dreams shattered. Mike told her after lunch that they would take out her stitches from the left side of her head, and that it might hurt a little. She was excited to not have them anymore; it meant that she was healing, and it meant that Mike would have something to distract himself with.

  Mike got out his bag, and she sat down in the chair to let him review the situation. Her hair had grown back a little in 7 days, but he told her he didn't have to shave it again. He got out his scissors and tweezers, and proceeded to cut the first stitch and pull it out. Taylor's hand immediately went to the spot, and she yelled, "Ouch!"

  Mike laughed and said, "I told you it might hurt." Taylor squinted her eyes and put her hands under her bottom to keep from grabbing Mike's hands and scissors to stop it. Mike was a little gentler when he pulled out the next few stitches, then he told her they were gone, and he leaned over and kissed her head where the stitches had been. She was surprised, but he said, "I remember how scared I was for you , and this just reminded me of how precious life is. I’m sorry, I just wanted to comfort you in some way. I know I have not been the best company lately, but I am working on it."

  Taylor turned and gave him a hug and told him, "It’s ok, I understand."

  That day and the next were the first days that really seemed to drag on for Taylor. She felt completely alone as Mike dealt with his grief, and unsure how to proceed. She tried to talk to him during meals, but his responses were short. Not rude, but short and clear that he didn't want to talk. She read more books and felt like she was by herself most of the time.

  By the time she was there for 10 days, she decided that she could go running as well as him. So on the 10th day, when he got up to go running, she got up as well and left right after him, running slowly but surely. Mike was listening to his iPod and didn't even know she was there behind him. He kept running for about 15 minutes and Taylor had not been able to stay up with him but she could see him in the distance. He ran to the top of a ridge then slowed to a walk and ventured out to the area where he could stand and see the vast wilderness of Montana.

  Chapter 9

  Taylor came up behind him, and walked to the side of him, about 10 feet away, to keep from startling him. She fully expected him to be happy to see her, but his reaction was far from that. He turned when he saw her out of the corner of his eye, and his face showed frustration with her. He immediately pulled his ear buds out and started berating her for being there when she was not fully healed.

  "What are you doing out here?" He started asking her.

  "I ran behind you, I was able to keep a good pace and keep up with you and I feel just fine." Taylor told him with her chin lifted up in a show of defiance.

  Mike sighed. "I don't think that a couple of days after the accident that you had, you could be ‘just fine’," He continued, "I just took the stitches out of your head, and your bruises are just now healing."

  Taylor looked at him and said, "I have been going for walks every morning since day 5 and improving my stamina. I feel like I was healthy and active before the accident so I should continue. And, I am so tired of being alone in that house."

  Mike looked at her and his eyes acknowledged the point of her comments. He had been in a funk for several days now, and he could not seem to get out of it. Maybe he needed to be with Taylor and let her get under his skin. That would hurt again later, he thought, but why not go ahead and see what happens?

  "Ok. You have me there; I have not been a good host for a few days. And, if you have been walking and today you kept up with me without much of a problem, who am I to tell you what to do. " Mike told her.

  Taylor walked over to him and stroked his arms. He put his arm around her shoulders and turned to look out over the mountainous terrain that they were living in. They sat down, and Mike told her about the mountains and valleys in the area. He described the different trees and types of plants that were around them. Taylor smiled and listened, glad that he had decided to calm down and let her be with him. She hoped this was a turning point for him to join the regular world again.

  After about an hour, they decided to return to the house, but Mike insisted that they walk on the rugged trail to get down the bit of a hill to prevent injury. Taylor knew he was still worried about her but she didn't feel any issues with the climb or the run. Either way, she gave in and walked down. On the road, they jogged back to the house.

  Upon returning to the house, they went their separate ways to shower. Taylor took her shower and spent some time braiding her hair to keep it away from her face. She was planning on working in the garden today, and it needed to be out of the way. As Taylor emerged from her bathroom and walked to the kitchen, Mike was standing in there making them breakfast. Taylor was surprised at his demeanor. He seemed to have done a 180 degree turn around. He was smiling and whistling a song and cooking them some pancakes.

  "I guess I will have to go to the store pretty soon, with two of us being here and a dog, we have eaten my month's supply almost up." Mike told her between pancakes.

  "Can I go along? I would like to see the site of the accident if you don't mind," Taylor asked him.

  "Sure, company is always nice. We can go later today after we make a grocery list." Mike said.

  Taylor wondered if she would see anything at the accident site, as her burned out car had long ago been hauled away and she could not remember it anyway. Her only memory so far had been an angry one, so she was hoping something would trigger her memories, yet not quite sure what it was going to be.

  So, after breakfast, they set about making a list of things that they would need for groceries. Taylor had no idea if she liked or didn't like things, so she just went with what they had been eating so far.

  Taylor watched Mike being domestic and she felt like hugging him. She had stopped thinking constantly about what life would be like when she got her memory back and how she would return to her family. Here was a man that had saved her life and let her stay with him for an unknown amount of time and was going through his own trauma, yet she could only think about how much she wanted to rub his bare chest and kiss his lips. He had a long and lean body that was very muscular in a runner's type of way and she could only think of doing things with him from the Kama Sutra book she had been reading. She rubbed her hands on her shorts and looked at the floor to stop the deluge of thoughts her imagination had started to run away with.

  Chapter 10

  They got in the truck to go to town. Mike told her it was a 30 minute drive to the store, and that they would stop at the "scene of the crime" on the way to the store. She was not sure how she felt about seeing the spot, but she felt like it might bring her closer to memories. She had already had one break through; maybe another one would be triggered.

 

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