Forever in Love Read Online Free Page A

Fuzzy images. She was walking. “I got off work.”
    “Where do you work?”
    “Cal’s Construction, I’m the office manager and bookkeeper.” Now that she remembered. “My brother works there.”
    “Your brother’s name?”  The nurse prompted as she slipped a blood pressure cuff on her left arm.
    “Dexter.”
    “Good. Can you tell me your name?”
    She opened her mouth and froze. What was her name? As if sensing her agitation the nurse patted her hand. “I-I can’t remember.”
    “It’s okay. Don’t exhaust yourself.”
    “That’s easy for you to say. You know what your name is.”
    The nurse smiled. “You’ve got fight, that’s good.”
    “I can remember where I work and my brother’s name, but not mine?”
    “It happens. Do you know where you are?”
    “Obviously I’m in a hospital with some serious injuries. Goodness I hurt all over. My head is killing me.”
    The nurse documented the numbers. “I’ll get you something for that. In the meantime you’ve got a concussion, a couple of broken ribs and a few lacerations that required stitches.”
    Vague images flashed through her mind. Keys falling. A garbled voice calling her name, she focused on the voice. She squinted and rubbed her temple. “Bonnie. My name is Bonnie.” Relief washed through her. Thank goodness. She let her hand drop to the cover. “Is it okay if I rest now?”
    “Sure.”
    As the nurse walked out two men walked in. Bonnie cracked a smile at the medium height man with the caramel complexion and mist gray eyes. “Dex.”
    “Hey. Good to see you awake.” He leaned down and carefully hugged her.
    “Yeah.” She looked beyond his shoulder to the tall, lean man lounging against the wall. Equal parts apprehension and awareness flitted through her veins. “What’s he doing here?”
    Dexter glanced over his shoulder. “I thought you called him.”
    She settled into the cushions. “I wouldn’t do that.” She rubbed her temple, but maybe she had. “What happened is a blur. I don’t remember much of the attack.”
    “The doctor said she had a moderate concussion,” he explained to the other man. “And she may not remember what happened.”
    She stared at her brother a moment. “Could you find me some water?”
    He patted her hand. “Sure. Be right back.”
    “You shouldn’t have come,” she said once her brother left the room.
    The other man stepped closer and she held her breath. She hadn’t seen Buck in almost ten years, but time had been good to him. He had a little more gray at the temples while more streaked through his chocolate brown hair and his vivid blue eyes still had the power to mesmerize her. He perched a hip on the bed.
    “You shouldn’t have.”
    “Then you shouldn’t have answered the phone,” he countered.
    His smooth dulcet tones soothed her. “I don’t remember that.”
    “I do.” He held her hand between both of his. “We were on the phone before the attack. I heard everything.”
    She gasped. “Buck...”
    “Even though I’m not in the game anymore, I protect what’s mine,” he murmured an edge in his voice.
    “Don’t do anything—”
    “Stupid?” he demanded. “It’s far too late for that. We may not know who did this to you, but it’s only a matter of time before we find him.”
    “Who’s we?” Fear made her voice wobble.
    “Your brother. The security cameras caught the whole thing, but the angles were all wrong to catch the guy’s face. You better hope the police get to the attacker before I or your brother do.”
    She studied the tight set of his jaw. “I can’t let you do that.”
    Again that little smile. “You should rest and not worry your pretty little head about anything else except getting better.”
    She closed her eyes. “You shouldn’t have come.”
    A gentle finger caressed her cheek, before his warm breath tickled her skin. “You couldn’t have kept me away because I’m calling in my marker.”
     
    ***
     
     “This is really getting