41. Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Adam sat at the end of the bed and stared at the closed curtains as early morning light peeked around the edges. Had it been less than a day since his memories came back with a vengeance? From his worry for Lily, followed by the sledgehammer of memories that almost cracked open his skull.
When Sienna had walked into his room the previous night, he’d gaped at her. His brain had held on to an old memory of her as a teen, not the grown woman in front of him who looked just like their mother.
And when he saw Eric? Anger and betrayal swamped him until his brain caught up with itself, and he realized years had passed since he’d banned him. And what a self-righteous ass he’d been for doing it.
But they held out their hands to him, and he’d grasped them like a lifeline. And Marcus had stood at the end of the bed watching over them as well. He had been more of a father to them than their own father had. He’d wanted to talk to the three of them about so much, but Ian kicked them out of the room after a few minutes and he would have argued if he hadn’t felt like he’d been run over by a dump truck.
He’d finally fallen to sleep, but his night was filled with all sorts of dreams—some memories, some combinations of reality and fiction. Trying to save the clan, to save Lily.
To save Tessa.
She had come back front and center in his thoughts after his lost memories stopped swirling around. He wasn’t sure what to do about those thoughts, feelings. He would need to table them for now.
He walked into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. The beard was a surprise. Not that he didn’t remember growing it while he lived with Walter, but that he’d wanted to grow it in the first place. He’d always shied away from scruff, let alone a beard. He didn’t think it fit with his persona as clan leader and CEO of Simonson Aeronautics.
Now he wasn’t sure who he was anymore. Everything had changed. Had he?
But he didn’t have time for an existential crisis. He'd been begging the Fates to give him his memory back, and he had gotten his wish. He was still sorting through some of his past, but one thing came to him this morning that couldn’t wait.
He’d wondered all along if he held the key to the curse. But now he remembered who truly might hold the answers for them all.
Tessa had spent the night tossing and turning. She finally fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning, only to have a nightmare about falling from the sky, which morphed into being lost in a cave and calling out for Lily and Ben.
Now she was sitting out on the back deck drinking her body weight in coffee. The only other person up at this hour was Marilyn, who was in the kitchen preparing breakfast. She had taken one peek at Tessa and pulled out the largest mug she could find and filled it with coffee before handing it to her. Tessa couldn’t even be insulted. Especially when Marilyn handed her the hazelnut creamer she loved.
She stared out over the valley. It really was otherworldly, which fit the people who lived here, didn’t it? She on the other hand needed to keep her feet planted firmly on the ground. She couldn’t afford to think about what could have been and with whom. She had known that this would not end well. But her heart hadn’t listened. When does the heart ever listen to reason?
The back door opened, interrupting her thoughts.
“I’m good, Marilyn. I don’t need another…” The words died when she saw who was standing on the deck.
Ben.
No.
The man in front of her wasn’t Ben. And it wasn’t his clean-shaven face or dress shirt and pants that told her that fact. It was his eyes and what was reflected there. Determination, resolve…regret?
“Adam.”
He walked closer. “Tessa.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m not sure exactly. My brain has finally quieted down, but I’m still sorting through things, memories.”
She took a breath. “I can’t even imagine. I’m glad you have your memories back.”
“Me too.” He hesitated. “The truth is, I thought I would feel better about everything, but I feel…”
“Feel what?”
He shook his head.
“Come on now, you can’t leave me hanging.” She almost said dragon boy but stopped herself. “Feel what?”
“Overwhelmed.” He paused. “Guilty.”
“I’m not surprised you feel overwhelmed. I would be worried if you didn’t. Why do you feel guilty?”
He blew a hard breath. “I left my family and clan. And I didn’t break the curse. And then you were almost killed.”
She shook her head. “Wow, I guess I shouldn’t have called you Superman the other day. It went to your head.”
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Tessa rested her hand on his arm. “I’m talking about this need to try and take care of everything yourself. And you didn’t leave your family and clan, you were zapped by a witch who took away all your memories. Your family is ecstatic you’re back. So punch the ego you got in the gut and forgive yourself.”
His eyes widened. “Thanks for knocking me down a peg or two.”
She shrugged. “I love to deflate egos. It’s one of my superpowers.”
He smirked at her for just a moment, and she saw Ben once again before the serious expression came back front and center. “Tessa—”
She patted his arm. “It’s okay, Adam. I know you have so much to work through right now. We need to take a step back. It makes sense, right?”
He hesitated again for a moment, and she wanted to scream at him. She was giving him the easy out. Giving herself one too.
“Is that what you want?” he finally said.
“You said yourself you have things to figure out. Clan, family, curse, witches, Templars. The list is a big one.”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“So we stop it now. It wasn’t like we expected it to go any further, did we? Once your memories returned, it would be back to business as usual, right?”
Those brown eyes of his stared at her as if he was trying to read her thoughts. But she put on her model face, showed him what she wanted him to see on the outside, inside be damned.
He nodded again. “Right. I think the others are in the dining room having breakfast. Do you want to join them? I have a lot to explain.”
That was it then.
She had given him an out and he took it. It wasn’t like they had ever defined their relationship—if you could even call it that. And now Adam was back, and she had to accept that Ben and any future with him was gone.