Knight Moves: Merriweather Sisters Time Travel (Merriweather Sisters Time Travel Romance Book 2) (2 page)

He took her hand in his. She felt the rough skin on his fingers rub against her palm. Kind eyes looked down at her. They were brown, like a happy cow.

“I don’t want to die.” As she said the words, she felt like an old-fashioned clock winding down. Her breath turned to ice deep within her chest.

The voice in her head screamed,
No! You can’t die. You have to find out what happened. If you die, there won’t be anyone to warn Charlotte
.

 
She heard muffled noises, groaned as hands lifted her onto a hard surface. Saw the roof of the ambulance and watched as the scene in front of her started to shrink in from the sides, slowly going dark.

From far below, she heard a voice. “Stay with me. Come on, we’re losing her.”

The scream of machines, then someone yelling, “Code blue.”

Melinda opened her eyes to a sea of white and an antiseptic smell. It took a few minutes to realize she was lying in a hospital bed. She tried to speak, but her throat spasmed; the words tumbled out, garbled. A hand touched hers. She looked up to see Charlotte.

“Don’t try to talk. I’ll get some water.”

At least she was alive. Melinda tried to remember what had happened.

Charlotte must’ve gone to get the doctor, because a super-hot man wearing a white coat strode into the room looking very professional and busy.

“Glad you’re awake.”

“I need to go home.” She had to get home, book another ticket, and find out what the hell was going on.

The doctor chuckled. “Let’s take it easy.”

His face transformed into the serious doctor look, making Melinda wonder what kind of bad news he was about to impart.

“You’ve been in a coma for almost five months, Mellie.”
 

Charlotte only called her by the childhood nickname when something was really wrong or she was horribly upset.

 
The doctor went through his spiel while Melinda swallowed down the rising panic.

“Stop. Why can’t I remember what happened? All I remember is a man purposely running me off the road.”

She could almost see his face, almost hear the words as he leaned over her.

“I can’t remember what he said. I know he meant me harm.” She looked at Charlotte. “And you too.”

“The cops said it was road rage.” Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Talk about cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.”

The doctor looked sympathetic. “It’s normal to experience memory loss. You’re doing remarkably well, all things considered. You are one lucky woman. We’ll reevaluate in a few days; run some more tests before making any determinations.”
 

 
A nurse finished fussing over her, and set a tray on the table containing disgusting green Jell-O and something else unidentifiable that smelled hideous. With a wide smile, she turned and left with the doctor. Charlotte waited until they closed the door before she spoke.

“I’ve been here with you the whole time, Mellie. You don’t now how worried I’ve been.” Charlotte’s voice wavered.

Melinda swallowed a couple times before answering. Her voice was a gravelly whisper. “Thank you for being here. I have to remember what that jerk said to me.”
 

She paused. What was it? The accent. “I know he was English. Dammit, why can’t I remember more?”

“The memory will come back in time. At least, the doctor thinks it will.” Charlotte picked at her fingernail polish and wouldn’t meet Melinda’s eyes.

“Don’t be mad, Mellie. I have to leave.” Charlotte held up a hand. Melinda shut her mouth with a snap. Charlotte never showed such gumption. Her little sister was growing a backbone. Good for her.

“Don’t give me that look. You don’t understand. You died in the ambulance and they brought you back. I lost one sister. I can’t lose another.”

Charlotte took a deep breath. “There’s a project deep in the Carpathian Mountains. Some kind of archaeological dig. Holden Beach just isn’t the same anymore with Aunt Pittypat and Lucy gone. Everywhere I look I see sadness. You walk around like a zombie. Barely functioning at work, and you’ve quit smiling.”

She squeezed Melinda’s hand in hers and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

“I’ll stay until they let you go home, and then I’m leaving.”

One thing about her sister—she might be the free spirit of the family, but when Charlotte made up her mind, there was no changing it. Melinda knew better than to try. She wanted desperately to keep Charlotte next to her, keep her safe. But knowing she couldn’t, she pushed the feelings down, managing a tiny half-smile.

“Thank you for staying with me and believing I would make it back. I thought I heard your voice calling me back from the shadows.”

She looked up at her baby sister, tears in her eyes. “I swear I heard Lucy’s voice too. Maybe I was dreaming; maybe it was something more. She sounded happy.”

Melinda motioned Charlotte closer and whispered, “I won’t nag you to death about staying if you promise to do one thing for me.”

“Anything.”

“I’m not staying here a few more days. I’ll rest today, but tomorrow I’m outta here. I need answers. The only place I’ll find them is in England. Where Lucy disappeared.”

Charlotte smiled. “I’ll pinky swear.”

Melinda held out her pinky, letting the tears roll down her cheek as they swore the solemn oath from childhood.

Charlotte insisted on driving to the airport, claiming Melinda might still be loopy from the drugs they’d given her in the hospital. Her baby sister got out, grabbed her bags from the trunk, and hugged her. Melinda swallowed.

“Be careful. Now that the psycho is dead, we should be safe, but all the same, you’re going to vampire country.”
 

Charlotte waved a hand in the air, the stack of bracelets on her arm tinkling.

“Will you ever quit teasing me about what I read?” She hugged Melinda tight. “Be careful driving back home. Are you sure you’re okay to drive?”

“I’m fine. Go.”

“I thought the doc was going to stroke out when we signed you out.”

“He was pretty ticked. Promise I’ll take it easy. Now get going, or you’ll miss your flight. I’m going home to stare at the ocean, read, and take a long nap.” Melinda crossed her fingers behind her back so the lie wouldn’t count.

She drove to the house, parked the car in the garage, grabbed the bags she’d stashed in the bathroom, and left the keys with a neighbor. The lady who lived next door had a son who needed a place to stay. He’d housesit while she was in England. She’d asked for two weeks’ vacation and hoped it would be enough time. A horn sounded, signaling the car was waiting.

The driver stowed Melinda’s bags then held the door.

“One stop before the airport.”

At the cemetery, Melinda made her way down the meandering path to the Merriweather family plot.

“I know you would understand what I have to do.” Melinda arranged the flowers in front of the tombstone. Aunt Pittypat would have loved the bright colors.

“I swear I will find out what happened to Lucy. Charlotte and I are out of danger, but I’ll always look out for her. Promise.” She blew her nose. “Wherever you are, any help you can give me from the great beyond would be greatly appreciated.”

With a heavy heart, Melinda turned to her right and stared at the other shiny new headstone, the letters carved dark and deep.

So much had happened over the past seven months. Losing her sister had given Melinda the courage to dump Carl. What was it with the Merriweather sisters? They all seemed to have terrible taste in men, herself included. Even Aunt Pittypat married eight times trying to get it right. She always said men were fun but more trouble than they were worth.

Lucy used to call him a grade-A jerk. Melinda remembered how mad her sister would get at something Carl said or did. The final straw came right after she’d found out about Lucy. Melinda caught Carl in the women’s bathroom at the Shiny Diner doing the nasty with the waitress. She suspected he’d been cheating on her, but didn’t have proof until that moment.

If Melinda hadn’t lost Lucy, would she have had the strength to kick Carl to the curb? She’d invested a lot of time with him. Working to make him into the man she wanted him to be. He’d been a rough, lumpy rock when she found him, and now he was starting to smooth out some of the rough edges. All that work down the drain.
 

It took months after the breakup for her to realize—you can’t change a man. Or anyone, for that matter. They come in the state they are, and, in her experience, rarely changed. It was a hard lesson learned, one she would never forget.

She placed a hand on top of the tombstone. “I swear I’ll find out what really happened.”

The sunflowers bobbed in the breeze as if agreeing. Melinda wiped a tear away and walked to the waiting taxi.

It took every last mile she’d banked over the years, but it was worth it. There was no way Melinda could deal with being scrunched together in coach until they landed in London in the morning. First class all the way, baby.

Talk about a different world. None of the other passengers made eye contact or spoke to one another. A flight attendant handed her a glass of champagne, an eye mask, and a blanket. Nice.

“Dinner will be served once we’re airborne. Make your selection from the menu, and here’s the dessert menu.”

“Ooh, lemon cheesecake, my favorite.”

The flight attendant leaned down. “It’s even better with a scoop of raspberry sorbet.”

“Done.”

The attendant moved on. Melinda noted each person had a single seat that reclined into a bed. Good. She wanted to be left alone. Before she knew it, they were airborne and dinner was served.

She would bet a pound of country ham Simon was behind the attempt on her life. In the hospital she’d asked Charlotte if anything strange had happened, any near miss, but her sister just looked at her like she was crazy.

The English guy was dead. They were safe. No more worrying. Her only task was to find out what happened to Lucy.

For the first time ever, Melinda woke refreshed on the plane. The air smelled stale, but at least she’d been able to sleep. Breakfast was actually good. She brushed her teeth, used enough makeup to achieve that no-makeup look, and was ready to put on her private investigator hat. Hopefully between all the books she’d read and television she’d watched, Melinda would find the answers she needed.