CHAPTER SEVEN
“Are you sure you want to move?” his mom asked, worry lacing her tone. Worry always laced her tone these days.
“Yes, Mom,” Zane said. “We agreed that I’d stay with you a week, then move to Lee’s. It’s been a week. I’m doing better, so I think it’s time.”
“You’re still not remembering anything, though.”
It wasn’t a reminder he needed or wanted, but his lack of memory wasn’t physically impairing him the way his broken leg did. Thankfully, he’d gotten used to using the crutches, and his ribs didn’t hurt as much as they had when he’d first started using them to get around.
“Staying here isn’t necessarily going to help with my memory,” Zane said. At that point, he wasn’t sure that anything would.
“Is it because of Kelsey?”
For some reason, she was still really struggling with Kelsey’s presence in his life and in Serenity. Zane hadn’t spent any time with Kelsey since their arrival in Serenity. His mom had been insistent that he rest since he was still having pain and headaches.
He hadn’t even been able to help when Lee and the others had returned with the moving van full of his and Kelsey’s stuff. Aside from the suitcase she’d packed for him in Florida, they’d put everything else in storage, and Zane wasn’t sure when it would ever be needed again.
“It’s not because of Kelsey.” And it really wasn’t. He’d want to make the move even if she wasn’t there. He just needed to feel like he had some control over his life, and living with his parents didn’t really give him that option. “I appreciate your help, but I need some space. It’s not like I’m leaving town.”
“I’m just worried about you.”
“I understand, but I’m getting better every day. More able to do stuff for myself.”
“You always were an independent one.”
He gave her a quick smile. “You raised me to be that way.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh as his dad slipped his arm around her shoulder. “I just wish you weren’t exerting that independence right now.”
“I’m not going far. We’re still in the same town.”
A knock on the front door, then the sound of it opening, interrupted their conversation.
“Hey, Lee,” his dad said as Lee walked into the kitchen.
Lee greeted each of his parents with a hug. “I’m surprised you’re not handcuffed to something, Zane.”
“I’m not that bad,” his mom said with a huff of laughter. “But I am reluctant to let him go.”
“We’ll take good care of him,” Lee assured her. “And you know that you can drop by whenever you want.”
“But we’re not going to move in,” his dad added quickly, as if he thought that his wife might suggest that.
“I know.”
“Is your stuff packed?” Lee asked. “Or do you still need to do that?”
“It’s all packed. The suitcase is at the bottom of the stairs.”
“I’m going to go put it in the car. I told Rori I wouldn’t be gone long.”
Zane was happy that Lee had told Rori that, so there wouldn’t be a big delay leaving his parents’ home.
As soon as his bag was in the car, they all went outside, and Zane carefully made his way down the steps on his crutches. It had taken him some time to get the hang of stairs, but he’d gotten plenty of practice since his room was on the second floor, requiring him to go up and down the steps at least once a day.
His mom wrapped her arms around Zane, squeezing him tightly. “Take care of yourself, and if anything comes up that is concerning, call us.”
“I will, Mom.”
After a hug from his dad, Zane maneuvered his way into the front seat of the van. He let out a long sigh as he pulled the door closed.
“Ready for some freedom, bro?” Lee asked with a laugh as he slid behind the wheel.
Zane groaned. “I love Mom and Dad so much, but their hovering has tested my patience. I’m hoping that you and Rori will just leave me be.”
“That’s the plan,” Lee said as he circled the car around the driveway and headed away from the house. “You know that I don’t hover, and Rori would never do that to you.”
Zane noticed he didn’t mention Kelsey. Of course, he probably didn’t know her well enough to know if she would hover or not. Zane hoped she didn’t. He really just needed a chance to take a breath.
“How did you guys end up with the big house?” Zane asked.
Last he remembered, Charli and Janessa still owned it and lived there with their husbands, and in Charli’s case, her three kids.
“After Janessa had her baby, it got a bit more crowded in the house, then Charli got pregnant. Will and Janessa moved out with their little guy first, then when Rori and I got married, she moved in with me there. Though the house size might have been good for Charli and Blake, they decided to move to a smaller, cheaper place because Charli wanted to be able to stay at home with the kids.”
“Wilder didn’t want to stay with you guys?”
“He might have,” Lee said. “But Lexi didn’t seem to be on board with that, so when they got married, Wilder moved into Lexi’s place.”
“So that left you two?”
“Yep. We bought the house from the girls.”
“Do you plan to fill it with kids or something?”
“Well, I don’t know about filling it, but we do hope to have two or three kids if it’s God’s will. Both of us just felt like we should keep the house in the family. We also are both open to having people stay with us. We want that, actually.”
“Like me?”
Lee gave him a grin. “Yep. Like you.”
However it came about, he was grateful for a place to stay and recover without people hovering over him. Even if it was with a wife he didn’t know.
Lee pulled the vehicle into the driveway of the house, then parked in front of the garage. As Zane angled himself out, Lee got his suitcase out of the back of the car. Zane wished he could offer to help, but he needed both hands on the crutches.
Leading the way up to the front door, Lee moved with ease, leaving Zane in the dust. It was frustrating because Zane was used to being able to move around quickly.
Working in a professional kitchen in a busy restaurant had required high energy. And if there was one thing Zane was lacking in his current situation—aside from his memory—it was definitely his energy.
“Hey!” Rori greeted them with a big smile as she came into the foyer. “Glad you made it, Zane.”
“Me too,” he said as he maneuvered himself away from the door so Lee could close it. “Mom tried her best to convince me to stay. But finally, she let me go.”
“Did you want to go up to your bedroom?” Lee asked as his dog, Elsa, came to greet Zane with a curious sniff of his cast. “Are you able to do stairs?”
“Yep. I’ve been practicing at Mom and Dad’s. I’m slow though.”
“We put you in one of the rear facing rooms. Kelsey is in the other one on that side of the house.”
“Sounds good.” He’d never stayed in the house before. When he’d visited in the past, he’d usually just gone to his parents’ place since he was never home for very long.
“Would you like something to drink?” Rori asked as she waved him to follow her into the kitchen. “I’ve made supper, but it won’t be ready for a little while yet. It’s probably nothing like what you cook, but hopefully it will be tasty.”
“Well, that’s the most important thing for food to be.” It smelled delicious, so he was sure it would taste fine.
As he settled on a stool at the island counter, Rori asked him again about a drink.
“Water would be great. Thank you.”
She filled a glass from the water dispenser, then placed it in front of him on the counter. “How is your leg doing?”
Zane appreciated that she didn’t ask him about his memory. “Pain is pretty much gone. I’m hoping that Gareth will approve me for a boot soon so I can ditch the crutches.”
“Is that an option?” Rori asked.
“I don’t know, but I sure hope it is. These crutches are horrible.”
“You’ll be a pro on them soon.”
“Haven’t really had a choice. Either I learned to use them, or I’d have to sit on my butt all day.”
“Have you ever had a broken bone before?” she asked as she stirred a pot on the stove.
“Yep. Broke my arm when I was in middle school. I was more upset about the fact that I hadn’t broken my dominant hand than I was about having a broken arm. I thought it would have gotten me out of school.”
Lee walked into the kitchen and went immediately to where his wife stood. He wrapped his arms around her and bent to rest his chin on her shoulder. “Smells good.”
“Hopefully it tastes good as well.”
“Well, I was talking about you, but the food smells good, too.”
Rori’s laugh was soft as she reached up to touch his cheek.
Zane shifted his gaze down to his glass of water. Seeing his brother and Rori so casually affectionate made him wonder about his own marriage. Had he and Kelsey been like that?
He pulled out his new phone, searching for a distraction from his brother and Rori’s affectionate behavior. Over the past week, in addition to getting a new phone to replace the one destroyed in the accident, he’d managed to get into all his accounts, thanks to a password file on his laptop.
He’d discovered that over the past four years, he’d saved up a considerable amount of money. Also, his salary at his latest job had been fairly impressive. He had definitely been moving in the right direction, career-wise.
Even though he’d replaced his phone, he still needed to get another car. He didn’t have a settlement from the insurance company yet, but he had enough in his savings to cover the cost of a vehicle until the check arrived. It was just a matter of deciding which car he wanted.
He heard the front door open and shifted so he could see the entrance to the kitchen. Lee stepped away from Rori as Kelsey appeared. Her gaze met Zane’s, and for a moment, a warm smile came to her face. But then it faded away, as if she recalled that he didn’t remember her.
“Hey, Kelsey,” Rori said with a smile. “How did it go?”
Kelsey bent to pet Elsa. “They said they’ll let me know next week.”
“What’s going on?” Zane asked when no one gave more details.
“Kelsey is applying for work,” Rori said. “She had an interview this afternoon.”
“You need to get a job so soon?”
“Yeah. My savings are pretty much depleted after two moves. Plus, I don’t really want to sit around doing nothing when I’m perfectly capable of working.”
Zane frowned, thinking of the size of his own savings account. How was Kelsey’s so small? Did she have a problem handling her finances?
He didn’t want to ask her about it right then since they had an audience, plus, he wasn’t sure it was any of his business. Delving into how their marriage had been might open a door he wasn’t ready to walk through just yet.
“It’s too bad Kayleigh doesn’t need a hostess at the resort,” Rori said.
“It’s what I have the most experience with,” Kelsey said, then glanced at the stove. “Do I have time to run upstairs for a minute?”
“Yep. We’ll be ready to eat in about twenty minutes.”
Kelsey nodded, then left the kitchen. Zane watched her go, then continued to stare at the empty doorway. He knew that Lee and Rori probably hoped that having them both under the same roof would help their relationship. However, Zane wasn’t so sure.
Though every day he went to bed and woke up with the prayer that his memory would return and that his feelings for Sarah would disappear, neither had happened. He knew he needed God’s help with both, and he prayed that God wouldn’t abandon him in his time of need.
At Rori’s request, Lee got dishes from the cupboard. He took them to the breakfast nook and set them out. Just four place settings.
Zane was now being faced with the thing he’d been ignoring in his eagerness to get out from under his parents’ hovering. It was going to be awkward with just the four of them in the house.
In his desire to escape his parents, he’d landed in another situation that he wasn’t entirely comfortable with. But where else could he go?
Rori finished up with the food on the stove, draining the pasta and putting it in a bowl. By the time Kelsey reappeared, all the food was on the table.
None of the others took their seats until Zane had shifted himself over from the counter. Lee ended up sitting next to him while the ladies sat on the opposite side of the table.
Lee said a prayer for the food, then they began to eat.
“This is good, Rori,” Kelsey said. “Thank you for making dinner.”
Zane wondered how much cooking he’d done during their marriage. When he’d lived on his own, he’d spent a lot of time at the restaurant, so he rarely cooked when he was home.
Rori’s pasta wasn’t made fresh, and her sauce probably came out of a jar, but it still tasted pretty good. She also had breadsticks and a salad. All in all, it was a tasty and filling meal. Better than his mom’s, if he was honest. Although that was rather a low bar.
“It’s as tasty as you promised,” Zane said.
Rori smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Thank you.”
“See, sweetheart,” Lee said. “I told you you didn’t have to worry. Zane isn’t going to judge you on your food.”
Zane wasn’t going to say he never judged the food he ate. However, that only happened if someone really hyped up what they’d made and then it didn’t measure up. Even in those circumstances, though, he rarely voiced his opinion.
He hadn’t tried cooking since the accident. It was too hard with a broken leg and sore ribs. Not to mention the frequent headaches he still had off and on. More on than off, but hopefully that would change as time went on and his brain continued to heal.
“How was the vet clinic today?” Kelsey asked. “Any new animals?”
“Not today,” Rori said. “But the kittens we got last week are soooo cute. If I thought Elsa might like a kitten friend, I’d bring one home.”
Lee gave a huff of laughter. “I think Elsa would be fine. It’s me you have to convince.”
“Have you ever had a pet, Kelsey?” Rori asked. “Could we interest you in one?”
“Nope. Never had a pet. My mom had a dog while I was growing up, but it was her pet, not ours.”
“I think everyone has adopted Elsa as theirs,” Lee said. “I was surprised that she was still here after Charli and Blake moved out. I half expected Amelia to have smuggled her into her suitcase.”
Zane silently ate his meal as the others at the table chatted. Listening to them, he picked up more info on what had happened over the years that were a black hole in his memory.
His parents had dumped a lot of information on him over the week he’d been with them. He’d managed to retain most of what they’d told them, aside from what they’d told him while he’d had a bad headache and couldn’t focus well. It gave him hope that his memory wasn’t impacted in retaining new memories.
What he wasn’t sure about was if he’d think he was remembering things because he was being told so much. It was one of the reasons he’d held back on asking Kelsey for information about their marriage. If he recalled any details, he’d know they were really him remembering and not just knowledge someone else had passed on to him.
Unfortunately, he was pretty sure that sooner rather than later, his curiosity about his marriage would get the better of him and he’d start asking questions.
“Do you have a doctor’s appointment coming up?” Lee asked.
“I’m going to see Gareth on Monday. I have a neurologist appointment next week, following up on my initial visit when we first got here.”
“Probably better if you’re not going to a relative,” Lee said. “I mean, is Gareth even allowed to treat you?”
“I don’t know. But he’s just keeping an eye on me.”
“If you need a ride somewhere, I can take you,” Kelsey said. “Since I don’t have a job yet, my schedule is pretty open.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
He appreciated that she was willing to help him, but he didn’t want her inserting herself into his care. It was hard enough that his parents had done that.
“Are you feeling up to going to church on Sunday?” Lee asked. “Then we often have a barbecue in the afternoon.”
“No more Friday night pizzas?” Zane asked. He hadn’t attended many of those gatherings, but he’d heard plenty about them.
“We found out that with the growing number of kids in the family, it was simpler to do a Sunday afternoon event, which is usually a barbecue.”
“The pizza oven is still in the backyard, so we do pizza sometimes,” Rori said. “But most of the time we barbecue because it’s a bit easier for so many people.”
“I don’t know for sure how I’ll feel on Sunday,” Zane said. “But if I’m feeling okay, I suppose I’m up for church and a barbecue.”
“That’s great,” Rori said, then turned to Kelsey. “Will you join us too?”
She glanced between each of them, then shrugged. “I suppose I could.” Her gaze darted to Zane again. “We never went to church, so it’ll be something new to me.”
“Did I mention why I’d stopped?”
She shook her head. “We never really talked about it.”
Zane turned to Lee. “Did I discuss it with you?”
“You had a period of time when you were really struggling with stuff in your life.” Lee paused, then said, “You started working more and attending church less. I also got busier and found it easier to avoid all things related to our faith.”
“But you’re back to church now.”
Lee nodded as he smiled at Rori. “As part of our vows, we committed to our faith together.”
Zane looked at Kelsey. Was it weird for her to hear about this part of his life that he hadn’t discussed with her?
Was it possible that if he re-committed to his faith, that Kelsey would see that as something she didn’t want in a husband?
Zane still had a hard time believing that he would walk away from a faith that had been part of his life for so long. He thought there were more details that Lee was leaving out. Had it been because of his breakup with Sarah?
“I wasn’t a Christian when Lee and I first met,” Rori said. “But when I started to attend church, I found something that I hadn’t realized I was missing in my life. I believe that sharing a faith with Lee has strengthened our relationship.”
Lee smiled at Rori. “I believe that too.”
Zane glanced at Kelsey to find her watching the pair, sadness on her face. Was she missing what they had?
He gave himself a mental shake. Of course she was. They had basically been newlyweds when the accident had happened. He might not know what he was missing, but she certainly did.
It sank into him then.
She was his wife .
He had a wife.
Even though it wasn’t Sarah, he’d taken on that responsibility with Kelsey. Willingly. So eventually, he’d have to figure out how to deal with her and their relationship.
There was no way he could just jump right back into the marriage with a virtual stranger. However, maybe it was time to take it seriously. Perhaps the first place to start was with the photos that he’d downloaded from the cloud when he set up his new phone.
He’d avoided looking at them, but perhaps they would help him understand a bit about their marriage and how he felt about Kelsey.
But there was a knot in his stomach at the thought, and his head started to ache.
Maybe it could wait for another day or three.