Rekindle The Flames (The Men of CLE-FD Book 4) (14 page)

“I did what I thought was best for the both of you at the
time.  The court had not decided your fate, Ryan.  Megan was too young to be
left with a baby and a husband in prison.  I did what I had to do to protect
her.”

“I guess in some sick way that is how you show love.  See,
I didn’t have a mother that tucked me in at night or lead me to believe there
was something better for me.  My mother went to bed every night with a bottle
of Jack Daniels tucked under her arm.  That was her solace, not her kids.  So,
I learned at an early age what it was like to be neglected and not to depend on
my parents for anything.  So, in my haste to understand the difference between
love and meddling, please excuse my dumbness for not knowing how a loving
parent, such as yourself, can do what you’re doing to Megan.”

“You can leave now, Ryan.  I’m done talking to you.”

“I’m just getting started, Iona.  But, go ahead, pat
yourself on the back for winning this round, Iona.  You may get your wish,
eventually.”

“What are you talking about?”

The impassive look on his face was meant to hide the pain
stabbing him in the side.  The muscles in his stomach tightened the more he
fussed.  “Once she wakes up from her coma, she might not remember anything,
including me.  I’ll be out of her life one way or another.”

“Oh my God,” Iona breathed.  “This can’t be happening.”

“Believe me; it’s real.  However, I’m going to make sure
you will not have any contact with her.  I’m legally in charge of her care
since I’m her husband.  You will not get a chance to brainwash Megan with any
of your bullshit.”

“I’m her mother, Ryan.  You can’t keep me from seeing my
daughter.”

He put his hands on his hips.  “Try me.  I’ll take her
someplace you’ll never find her.”

Iona held her stomach and chuckled.  “You don’t have the
resources to do that, whereas her father and I can provide her with the best
medical care.  We’ll just take you to court, Ryan.  So don’t underestimate me,
sweetheart.  I still have a few tricks under my sleeve.”

Ryan opened the door and turned around to look at Iona. 
Her confidence was enough to make him want to puke.  “Iona, you better hold
onto those tricks.  You might need them to put a roof over your head in the
near future.”

Iona pushed her tray of food on the floor. “Sonofabitch! 
He will not take Megan anywhere.”

Emin walked in the hospital room closing the door behind
him.  “I had to wait until your son-in-law left before I came in. I ducked in
an empty room so he wouldn’t see me. Oh, I was listening at the door, and that
was nasty.”

Iona swallowed. “How much did you hear?”

“Let’s just say I heard enough,” Emin said walking over to
the bed.

“You shouldn’t be here, Emin; James is here, also. He’ll
hit the ceiling if he catches you in here.”

“I won’t stay long. When I heard about the accident, I had
to check on my investment,” he said with a wicked grin.

“I’m not in the mood for your condescending crap, Emin,”
Iona snarled. “How about showing your future mother-in-law some sympathy? I’ve
been in a serious car accident, and I am hurt.”

“Please, lady. Those bumps and bruises won’t compare to
the pain you’ll suffer.  I’m only here for my money, Iona. Have you spent
$3,000,000 in a matter of weeks?”

“Why are you asking for the money?  Megan will recover in
a few weeks, and the wedding will go forward as planned. Stop worrying, Emin;
Megan will be your wife soon enough.”

He shook his head. “I’m blown away at your ability to lie
directly to my face. There will be no wedding! Megan and that brute husband of
hers are still married and not planning to divorce anytime soon!”

“What are you talking about?  Megan is working on the
wedding, Emin.  We were talking about the wedding before the accident
happened.”

“The deal is off, Iona.  You’ve been tricked to believe
they’re divorcing. I know that because I got my ass beat by that asshole and
his goons and shoved on a plane to New York, dared to show my face around here
again.  I’m risking my life to be here but I want my fucking money, or you’ll
be in a well-manicured grave covered by yellow daisies.”

Iona’s face went pale.  After a long pause she said,
“You’ll get your money. I have it spread out in different accounts to hide it
from James.  It will take me a few days, but once I’m discharged, I’ll get it
together and call you.”

He kicked spilled food on the floor from under his feet.
“You do that,” Emin said sarcastically.  “I’m going to go. I don't want to run
into any of your hostile relatives.”

Iona took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  James had
found a way to thwart her plan. She looked out the window and thought this had
to be the one time she hoped Megan didn’t die.  She had to find a way to get
that girl to change her mind about Emin.

Chapter Sixteen

Megan’s eyelids fluttered and opened.  The brightness of
the room had her shut them again.  She opened them again, blinking to clear the
cloudy haze.  Where was she?  She turned her head slightly to the right and saw
the lines of different colors on a monitor.  Looking in the other direction
there was another screen blinking bright red dots that were in sync with her
heartbeat.  Her throat was sore and dry as she tried to swallow.

As she surveyed her surroundings, there were rails on the
bed and voices filled with chatter came from the opened door.  She tried to
lift her arm, but a searing pain shot up to her shoulder.  “Help me,” she cried
out in a weak voice.

In a flash, a man was leaning over her.  A man she did not
recognize.  He was applying comfort to her, but she didn’t know why.  He was
also saying something, but she could not understand him.  He was whispering. 
Then a woman appeared. She was smiling down at her.

“Megan, can you hear me?”

Finally a voice she could hear.  Slowly, as if she had
been asleep for months, her senses were awakening with her. She nodded her head
slowly. It was hard for her to speak with her throat as sore as it was. “I can
hear you,” she whispered. She lifted her other arm, and it came up with ease. 
She touched her face and felt the tubing running from her nose. “What happened
to me?”  She tried to move her legs and cried in pain again. This time loudly.

“Honey, please be still.  You were in an awful car
accident, and we don’t want you to move around too much.  My name is Addie; I’m
your nurse for today, and this is Dr. Arnett.  He’s going to do a quick
examination okay, sweetheart?  Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Megan nodded although she didn’t understand.  What day was
it and what accident was the nurse talking about? She remembered her and Alyssa
on their way to meet with Emin about his going away party.  Everything after
that was a blank.

“Is my mother here?” Megan asked the nurse.

Dr. Arnett sat on the edge of the bed. “Can you tell me
what your name is?”

“Megan Jones.”

“How old are you, Megan?”

“I’m 20-years old.  Why are you asking me these
questions?  Are my friends okay?”

“Who are your friends?” Dr. Arnett asked in a soothing
voice.

“I was with Emin and Alyssa.  We were supposed to have
lunch together.  Did I get hit by a car?”

“Your friends are fine, Megan. No, you were in a car
accident; not hit by a car.”

“It hurts to breathe. Is my mother here?  I want to see my
mother.”

“Can you tell me your mother’s name? I’ll have someone
call her for you.”

“Iona Jones or call my dad, James Jones. I can’t think of
their phone numbers though. I hurt.  I hurt everywhere.”

“I won’t lie, Mrs. Tisdale, you’re in serious condition.”

She frowned. “What did you call me?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Jones. You’ve had major surgery to repair
a punctured lung and fix some broken bones.  We want you to rest and not get
upset.”

“I’m not upset, just confused about what happened.  I feel
weird all over.”

He patted her on the shoulder. “That’s expected after all
you’ve been through. Your father is waiting to see.  I’ll send him in.”

“Thank you,” she said.

Dr. Arnett stepped came in the hallway and found Mr. Jones
and Ryan together. “Gentlemen, Megan is awake and talking.”

Ryan released a deep breath. “That’s great.  I have to see
her,” he said ready to walk into the room.

“Mr. Tisdale, she is awake but is suffering some memory
loss as we expected.”

Frustrated Ryan asked. “How bad is it?”

“She knows her name and who her parents are.  As a matter
of fact, she is asking for you Mr. Jones.  You can go in, but I ask that you
don’t question her too much.  Megan thinks she is 20-years old.  I accidently
called her Mrs. Tisdale; the name was not familiar to her at all.”

Ryan hunched his shoulders. “Wait, I first saw her in the
park a year before we started dating. She would have been only 20-years old
then. There is a chance she’ll recognize me but not know my name.”

Dr. Arnett agreed. “That’s possible.  I’ll give Dr.
Michaels a call and have him examine her.  With post-traumatic amnesia, we can
get her started on therapy with a psychologist right away. Hopefully, before
she's released, her memory will be restored or at least most of it.”

“Dr. Michaels is expecting it to last a month or longer. 
She’s missing three years of her life,” Ryan stressed.

“Time and patience, Mr. Tisdale,” Dr. Arnett said with a
comforting hand on Ryan’s shoulder.  “Think of this as wooing your wife again.”

Ryan was not convinced and looked at James with a worried
eye. “Years of her life gone, Mr. Jones.  She doesn’t remember me, our wedding
or even graduating from nursing school.  The worst is she doesn’t remember
anything Iona did to her.”

James Jones straightened his suit jacket. “We know what
she did.  I will go in and talk to Megan and then come get you.  To help jar
her memory, think of what you were doing when you first met her.  Something to
get you two talking.”

“I don’t need a jolt to make me remember that far back,”
Ryan said rubbing his head.

*****

Megan had the nurse help her sit up in bed.  The door
opened, and she smiled. “Dad, I’m glad you’re here.  Where is Mom?”

James pulled a chair to the side of the bed. “Iona is out
of town but on her way back, sweetheart.  I’m here for you.  Do you need
anything?”

“I hurt all over.  The doctor said I was in a car
accident.  I don’t remember any of it.  Do you know what happened?”

“Honey, the details are sketchy, but the police are
working on it.  I’m glad you are alive.  You have me worried.”

“Were Emin and Alyssa in the car with me?  Did I cause the
accident?”

He put a reassuring hand on hers. “No. You were not
driving, and they were not in the car with you.  Both of them are fine. 
However, I want you to meet the firefighter that saved your life.  Megan, he
risked his life to make sure you didn’t die in that car.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I look horrible.  I don’t want him
to see me like this.  Can’t it wait until I’m feeling better?”

“I think you owe it to him, Megan.  This is not the first
time he’s been to the hospital to check on you.”

She was short of breath, even with the oxygen tube in her
nose feeding her the precious gas. “Okay.  Besides the bandages and bruises,
how do I look?” She ran her hand through her curly hair to tuck it back. “I
know my hair is a mess, I can sense it.”

“You look beautiful, sweetheart.  Are you comfortable?”

“I’m tired, Dad.  Let’s get this over with so I can go
back to sleep.”

Megan eyes followed her father as he opened the door, and
a man entered.  She lifted her head off the pillow as he came into her view. He
was standing next to the bed looking at her with a smile.  The most beautiful
smile she’d ever seen on a man.  A man that had a familiar face that she
couldn’t place.

“Hi, my name is Ryan.  It’s good to see you awake.”

Megan swallowed. “My father says I have you to thank for
that. Thank you, Ryan.”

“I’m glad I was there to help. I won’t make you talk.  I
had to see for myself you were okay.”

“Do firefighters normally check on their victims?”

“Yeah we follow up sometimes.”

Megan couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. “I’m sorry I’m
staring at you.  I think I’ve seen you somewhere before. I’m sure I’m mistaken;
everything is not right with me yet so I could be imagining it.”

“Never know. You might have seen me in the park with my
dog.  Have you ever been to Rocky River?”

Her speech was slow as she struggled to talk. “I go there
all the time to study.  That’s probably where I’ve seen you.”

He touched her hand, and the bolt of electricity that
raced through her was shocking enough to set off one of the many monitors
connected to her body.  It was something about him that she couldn’t pinpoint,
but he had to be the man she’d seen in the park with the large dog.  The quiet
man that she swore one day she would approach.

“Well, I promised your father I wouldn’t stay and tire you
out.  Get well soon, Megan.  Maybe I’ll stop by again before your release from
the hospital.”

She blinked up at him, surprised to hear him use her name.
Then he released a smile, showing off even teeth. “You do a lot of these rescue
missions? You seem very at ease, considering what you must see.”

“I have a few years under my belt, but when duty calls I
don’t see the scars but the person that needs my help.”

Her eyelids were too heavy to keep open. “Please visit me
again, Ryan.”  She drifted off to sleep before he could answer.

“Good going, Ryan.  I have faith she’ll recover her memory
sooner than the doctors think.”

“She has a long way to go.  Man, I need a second job to
cover her medical cost alone.”

“Son, I know the hospital bills will be a burden for you
and Megan. I’ve taken responsibility for Megan’s medical costs.”

“No, I can’t have you do that, Mr. Jones.  Megan is my
wife and my responsibility.”

“But she’s my daughter. It’s a done deal, Ryan.  I want
you kids to have a clean slate with no worries but getting your marriage on track
and giving me a couple of grandkids.”

“I envy Megan, Mr. Jones.  My father spent his nights busy
bedding his freak of the week.  When he was around he never once said he was
proud of me or any of his kids.”

“I’m proud of you, Ryan.  You rose above the scars and
made a man of yourself and one to be respected.  My daughter is very blessed to
have you.”

He shook his head. “That is if she remembers anything
about me.  I’m not going to give up.  I will pursue Megan and make her fall in
love with me again.”

“I’m in your corner.  Let me know if there is anything I
can do to help.”

*****

Three days after the accident Megan was able to get out of
bed to take short walks to regain her strength.  She held onto her father’s arm
as he helped her to bed and hung her IV bags on the pole. “Thanks, Dad.  I’m so
winded that I feel weak.”

He pulled the sheet over her legs and tucked her in. “Your
lung is still healing.  However, you did walk the whole distance of the hallway
and back without me fetching a wheelchair.  You pushing your IV pole gave you a
workout.”

Megan cracked a small smile. “I’m paying for it.” She took
a sip of water and asked. “When is Mom coming home?  Not to say you aren’t
taking care of me, but I miss her.  I know Grandma isn’t doing well, but I need
her too.”

“You’re hurting my feeling, Megan,” he joked. “She will be
home soon.  I have news that Connor is on his way to see you.”

“Connor is leaving school to come see me?  Wow, I must be
hurt for him to miss his classes.”

He sat on the side of the bed. “Megan, do you know what
year this is?”

She pursed her lips and hissed. “Yeah, I know what year it
is.  It’s, it’s...” Her mind drew a blank. “It’s 2011.”  She paused and looked
at him. “Or is it 2012?”

James shook his head and handed her his cell phone. “Megan,
the year is 2015 and the month is July.  Honey, the car accident you were in
caused you to lose some of your memory.”

She took the phone, and the big bold letters of the date
stared back at her.  Could it be true? Had she lost bits and pieces of her
life? “How come I remember you and Mom and Connor?  I know my friends, what
school I’m going to.”

“Megan, what you have is called post-traumatic amnesia. 
The doctor explained that anything before the accident you could recall and
anything recent or after the accident will be lost, temporarily.”

She started to panic. “How long will it take me to get it
back? Dad, will I ever get my memory back?”

“Yes, it will come back, eventually.  It will take time,
Megan.  Little things that you see, hear or even smell could trigger your
memory to snap back.”

Tears stung her eyes.  This wasn’t real.  It had to be a
dream.  Only dreams didn’t hurt, and she was hurting.  Her throat stilled
burned from whatever they did to her during surgery.  She looked at her father
as he wiped her tears away. “Dad, tell me what I’m missing?  How did my
accident really happen?”

“Baby, concentrate on getting better. The accident was
only three days ago, and you’re still weak.  Too weak to have any more stress
put on you.”

Suddenly too exhausted to breathe, she laid her head back
on the pillow and closed her eyes.  She felt her casted arm being placed on a
pillow and her father’s hand gently brush her hair away from her face. “Dad, I
have to know if anyone died in the car accident.  If it was my fault, I have to
know.”

“No one died, and you were a passenger in the car; not the
driver.”

“That’s a relief.  I’m going to take a nap.  Will you be
here when I wake up?”

“Go to sleep, Megan. I’ll be here when you wake up.”