Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Awinter gale barreled down Oakwood’s Main Street. Ignoring the inclement weather, Evie went into Roger’s Diner seeking the only thing that made her happy these days: a chocolate malted.
For weeks after Jimmy’s disappearance, this had become a routine for her.
“Evie.” Bethany, sitting with their usual group of friends, whispered her name.
But she went past all four. After the unexplained disappearance of her dates, Merilyn’s attitude had softened.
Evie took her usual spot at the back of the room, alone. She couldn’t tolerate sitting with anyone.
The teen behind the counter didn’t bother with a menu. He knew what she wanted. Soon, he placed a tall, frothy chocolate malted in front of her.
“I don’t get it,” he said. “It’s so freaking cold outside. Don’t you want a hot chocolate instead? I’d be happy to make it for you.”
“This is good,” she replied.
The kid was being kind. Actually, everyone was being kind to her. The residents seemed to know she and Jimmy had a thing, that she’d been so in love, and he’d left her without a word.
Eventually, the hubbub had died down. She kind of fell through the cracks of a disinterested town. No one noticed her anymore.
She stirred the drink, lowering the froth a bit, and drew on her straw. The sweet-tasting beverage was instant gratification.
“Check it out!” Bethany’s exclamation reached her, but she turned a deaf ear.
“Have you ever seen a high-end vehicle like that one in Oakwood?” That was Rena.
“Not in all my born days,” the teen behind the counter concurred.
“Whoever it is, must be lost… Oh my God!”
Evie couldn’t ignore Merilyn’s exclamation. She stared at her, but Merilyn’s attention was glued to the sidewalk outside the window.
“I don’t believe it. Evie. Evie, look!” Bethany’s shout traveled through her.
She squinted through the glass… The stab in her chest took her breath away.
She frowned, blinked, and rose slowly to her feet.
But she couldn’t move from her spot as full recognition set in.
The man standing next to a black Mercedes-Benz SUV, dressed in a business suit and checking out the diner’s window was…
Jimmy.
How?
He entered the diner. The graceful stride and feline green eyes that focused on her were all Jimmy…and yet not Jimmy.
She flopped back down in her seat.
“Evie.” His voice still caressed her.
She struggled between surprise, fury, betrayal, and pain. She scrunched her eyes closed to stop a fountain of tears from rushing out.
“Look at me, please.”
“Leave me alone, Jimmy. Did you come to check on me? See if silly Evie still cared?”
“Please listen. My name is not Jimmy.”
She opened her eyes, and a traitorous tear rolled down her cheek. She slapped it away.
Not the hardware store worker I knew.
“You have every right to be upset. Will you give me a chance to tell you what happened? If after I explain, you’re done with me, I’ll leave and never bother you again.” He placed his open hand palm up on the table. The gesture was clear; she was in charge.
Goodness, she couldn’t help it. She loved him now even more than before. How could that be? She wanted to rush into his arms, but she hurt so much, she couldn’t take that step.
“Who are you, then, really?”
“My name is Carter Jensen. Remember when Sheriff Adams thought I might have been a ghost or a spy? Well, I really am an undercover agent for an intelligence agency based in New York.”
“Are you kidding me?”
He sighed. “I’m not. I’d made my way into a criminal organization, and I was in deep.
But I didn’t know that a mole in our outfit had blown my cover.
The gang had said we were driving to Tennessee for a hit.
Turned out, I was the hit. I jumped out of the van when I realized their plans.
I ran through the woods, got shot in the shoulder, stumbled, rolled down a steep decline, and hit my head on a rock or something. They left me for dead.”
“Is that how you lost your memory?”
“Pretty much”
“So…”
“Their boss asked for proof of death. Well, they didn’t have any.
They returned to the scene of the crime.
I don’t know what they expected to find.
We bumped into each other on Christmas Eve at the liquor store in Creeks Crossing, but of course, I didn’t recognize them.
They must have freaked out to see me alive. ”
He rubbed his forehead. “The night of the New Year’s Eve celebration I went to the alley to throw out the trash.
Two guys jumped me. Merilyn, who didn’t know who they were, had invited them to the party.
I fought back. I knew you were inside. But they whacked me in the head and shot me with a tranquilizer.
They didn’t know my guys were hot on their trail, though, and were waiting just outside town.
They followed the kidnappers to a safe distance from town and recovered me. ”
“I see. What happened to the kidnappers?”
He frowned. “It’s not important.”
“So that’s how you know self-defense? I remember how you handled the biker at the bar.”
“Comes with the territory.”
“And your memory?”
“It took time, therapy, patience, and meditation. My mind was a mess. But I finally started to put it all together. Once I had it clear in my head, I told my superiors I was done and coming to Oakwood. The woman I loved more than life believed I’d abandoned her.
I had to fix that. I’m so sorry you had to go through so much.
Instead of accepting my resignation, they promoted me, but that depends… ”
“On what?”
“You.”
She slowly took him in. The suit, his elegant bearing, a man comfortable in his skin, even the meticulous haircut, were different, but his green eyes, gleaming with a deep-seated hunger for her, were all Jimmy.
The downcast expression told the story of struggling to recover and put his life back on track.
She wanted both, loved both, the old Jimmy and the new Carter.
And he’d come for her on his own. There was no better proof of his love.
Finally, she gave him a smile, and his expression lifted.
“I always knew you weren’t from around these parts,” she said.
“You busted me right away.” He extended his open hand again. The silent question and her answer would dictate their future…for happiness or heartbreak.
She placed her palm on his. After a moment, he brought her hand to his lips. He kissed it fiercely, then smiled.
“Can we go talk to your parents?”
“Don’t you think you should ask me first?”
He straightened. “Hell yes.” He searched in the pocket of his suit, then pulled out a gleaming three-diamond engagement ring.
“Please, Evelina Fuentes, make me happy. Marry me?”
“I will. Just promise to never call me Evelina again. Deal?”
“Deal.”
THE END