The Heiress and the Sheriff Read Online Free Page B

think, Matthew?”
    â€œI think you were rather hard on her.”
    Wyatt’s eyes widened with surprise. “Hell! I already know I’m not a pleasant man. What I need to hear from you is whether Gabrielle Carter is faking her memory loss.”
    â€œI don’t think so.”
    Wyatt let out a long breath. He’d never wanted to believe anything so much in his life. But several reasons held him back. The biggest one being Gabrielle was a woman. And a white one at that. “You think. You can’t say for certain?”
    â€œNo. Like I said before, amnesia isn’t something doctors encounter routinely. And even when it’s genuine, it’s tricky to deal with.”
    â€œHave you ever seen this woman before?”
    Matthew shook his head. “Never. I’m sure of it. ButWyatt, I really think you’re barking up a wrong tree here. Miss Carter hardly seems the sinister type. I can’t imagine her being connected to Bryan’s kidnapping, or even to Taylor’s winding up on the ranch.”
    â€œYou couldn’t imagine your own child being stolen from its crib either!” Wyatt bluntly reminded him. Then, muttering a curse under his breath, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, Matthew. I know I’m scratching at a wound that hasn’t healed, and I don’t want to hurt you any more than you already have been. But we can’t afford to trust this woman. At least, not until I find out more about her. It might turn out she’s the mystery mother of baby Taylor.”
    Matthew quickly shook his head. “Her chart reads she’s a virgin. Apparently she told the admitting doctor she had some abdominal pain. Since she couldn’t remember her medical history, she agreed to a full physical—including a gyn—just to make sure there were no internal problems. So it’s clear the woman hasn’t even had sex with a man, Wyatt. Much less given birth to a child.”
    For some reason Matthew’s words spread a dull flush over Wyatt’s dark face. The idea of Gabrielle Carter being pristine and untouched had never occurred to him.
    â€œThat doesn’t make her innocent in other ways.”
    The young doctor sighed as he pinned Wyatt with a regretful look. “You’ll never trust women, will you?”
    â€œNot in this lifetime.”
    Matthew threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender.
    â€œAll right, Wyatt, so what if you find out Miss Carter was up to no good when she headed out to the ranch? What are you going to do—arrest her on suspicion?”
    Gabrielle’s pale, haunted face crept into Wyatt’s mind, but he pushed it out. If he wasn’t careful, that lost, vulnerable look in her pretty eyes would lead him right down a path to ruination.
    â€œI don’t know,” Wyatt answered. “I’ll have to see what tomorrow brings.”
    Â 
    Gabrielle could leave the hospital. The doctor had given her the release a few minutes ago. But what was she supposed to do? The only things she possessed were her jeans, top and a pair of clunky sandals. She had no money or car. No home to call for help. At least, if she did, she couldn’t remember who her family was, or where they were.
    At the moment Gabrielle could only think of two options. Walk until she found a shelter. Or throw herself on the mercy of the Department of Human Services. Neither choice held any appeal. But she had to have some sort of shelter until her memory returned, or until she could find a job and care for herself.
    There was a telephone beside the head of the bed. She supposed she could use it for local calls. But there was no directory that she could find. And besides, she had no one to call.
    You could call Sheriff Wyatt Grayhawk.
    She cringed at the sound of the little voice inside her head. The man had promised he’d be back, but it was nearly noon and she hadn’t seen him yet. It was pretty obvious he’d decided