I left a note for Sam by the Keurig that I needed something from Aunt Robin’s house then drove to the jeweler’s with a light heart. I wished we’d stayed over at her parents’ house so I didn’t have to drive back to Atlanta, but I’d seen some engagement rings there while waiting to pick up the pendant I’d had made for Sam. There was one that would be perfect for her. I knew what I wanted . I just wanted to get there already. I stopped at another red light, irritated at hitting every one. Maybe I looked both ways once it turned green. The again, maybe not. Who knows. Either way, I don’t remember anything after that.

I regained consciousness on a bed in a room divided by curtains, hanging from a beaded chain attached to the ceiling. It slowly dawned on me that I was in a hospital room. I blinked, looked around, and saw a beautiful young woman brush the curtains aside and step up to my bed. With tears streaking down her face, she placed her hands to my jaw and kissed my cheeks.

“Oh my God, Emmett. Are you okay? Are you in pain? What happened? I got a call from a nurse here that you were in a car accident,” she said.

It was then I realized I probably knew her. She obviously knew me. I tried not to frighten her, but my expression must have shown my confusion. The only thing I knew then was that my name must be Emmett. Not so bad as far as names went. Better than it could have been.

Her expression was tight as her eyebrows knit in thought. Then her eyes grew wide with panic. “Emmett? Babe? Do you recognize me?” she asked.

I studied her at length, then shook my head. I couldn’t get the word no to come out of my uncooperative mouth.

Her eyes filled up with tears again. “It’s Sam . . . Peach. Remember? Oh my God. I have to find a doctor. I’ll be right back. Don’t worry. I am sure you’ll be okay.” She glanced back at me as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand again and disappeared through the curtains.

I wasn’t sure just what in this situation would pass for okay. Something bad must have happened. I must have some kind of relationship with her. She was beautiful, which made me smile. I was clearly doing all right with my unknown life. If I could only remember.

“Damn it,” I muttered.

I was feeling empty with so many questions and unknowns floating around my head. I took a few minutes to gather my thoughts while waiting for the young woman to return with a doctor and assess my injuries.

My arm hurt, and I had a splint around my right wrist. There was pain in my lower left leg, I looked down and saw a cast around it. I reached up and felt a gauzy wrap around the top of my head. No wonder I felt like I had a migraine from hell. There was also a finger splint on my left hand. I guessed that wasn’t bad as far as injuries went, but whatever happened had stolen my memory, too, and that was bad. Very bad.

I was looking all around the room when I saw a pair of sandals, adorable red painted toenails, and the slender ankles of very sexy legs stop next to a larger pair of black shoes and baggy sea-green pants on the other side of my curtain wall.

I could hear faint whispering and some sniffling, which, I assumed, must have been my doctor and this Sam woman. I couldn’t make out everything, but heard the words trauma, lucky it was only memory, and scans were clear.

The doctor spread the curtain, and I saw I was in a larger room with windows and an automatic sliding door. The look on the young woman’s face was heartbreaking, and frankly, rather disconcerting. I felt a weird connection to her, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on that connection. Clearly, my heart knew she was important. My head just needed to figure out why.

“Mr. Walker, I’m Dr. Pace. I’ve been overseeing your care since you arrived here via ambulance.”

The beautiful, young woman, Sam, watched me closely as the doctor went over my list of injuries. She looked at each part of my body as he referenced them, her brow furrowed and mouth turned down as she chewed at her bottom lip with worry.

But when he started to inquire about my memory, she hiccupped in a broken way, and I looked over and saw her wipe at a tear.

“I’d like to ask you a few questions. Do you know your name?”

“Well . . . she called me Emmett and you just called me Mr. Walker, so . . . Emmett Walker, I assume?”

“Do you know what year it is?”

I immediately looked around the room, subconsciously looking for clues. “No. I’m not sure.”

“It’s okay,” he reassured. “What color is your blanket?”

I looked down at it and smiled, I knew that answer. It was a small thing, but it felt reassuring still. “Blue.”

“Very good. Do you know what country we live in?”

“Yes, the United States.”

“All right, good. Well, there’s no way to be sure of the exact cause of your memory loss. But given the extent of your injuries, there’s a high probability of head trauma. However, your scans came back clear. So there doesn’t appear to be any medical reason, although it has been known to happen.”

I groaned as he continued.

“Most people regain their memory after a period of time, by simply being back in their normal living environment. We’ll run a few more tests to be sure there aren’t any unseen complications. I wouldn’t worry at this point, you really need to just relax. I’ve requested an evaluation consult with Dr. Shaw, one of the hospital’s on-call neurologists.”

Sam’s breath hitched, and her hand flew up to cover her mouth. I wondered what that was about. With a nod, Dr. Pace left us alone to check on another patient.

“Umm, Sam? Are you okay?”

“Oh, do you remember me now?” Her eyes lit up with hope. “You just called me Sam.”

“No, I’m so sorry. I still don’t remember you. I just remembered you said your name was Sam.”

“Oh.” She nodded and twisted at the bracelet she wore. “It’s okay. I just got a little hopeful, that’s all. Well, is there anything that you need?”

“Yeah, in my cell phone, wherever that is, I have a list of contacts. Could you call my brother, Alec, for me? I’m sure he must be worried.”

She gasped and her hand flew back to her mouth as tears started filling her eyes. She shook her head, mumbling something unintelligible, then turned around, brushed the curtains aside, and ran from my room.

I lay there wondering what it was I’d said that could have upset Sam so badly. Did she know Alec? I guessed, by the way she was acting when she first saw me, so familiar and loving, that she must know my family, Alec and Aunt Robin. They were both good people, so I didn’t understand what could have caused her reaction.

I looked around for my phone and saw my clothes in a bag on the bottom shelf of the stand next to my bed. On top laid a pitcher of water with a straw coming out the top. Then I saw my phone. It managed to survive the accident and still had a charge.

I opened my contacts and scrolled down to Alec’s name then called, but it didn’t even ring. It went straight to an out of service message.

What the ever-loving hell is going on?

I redialed his number from memory; at least I still remembered my family. I got the same message. I called Aunt Robin, but it went to voicemail. This was getting weirder and weirder. I clenched my fists as I wished so badly I could just remember.

Later, when Sam came back in, she looked much better. Dr. Pace followed her in, along with another physician, Dr. Shaw, according to his nametag. He had his hand on Sam’s shoulder, which seemed kind of odd, like he was familiar with her. I figured maybe they knew each other somehow. I didn’t know what Sam did, but it was possible she worked at the hospital. I had all kinds of questions, but simply had no answers.