Caroline's Seduction (Montgomery Family and Friends) Read online

  “Well,” Abigail chimed in, “Caroline hasn’t really lived here long enough to make any enemies. Mason assured me that there have not been any parent or student complaints about Caroline. They love her,” Abigail stated with complete confidence. “She hasn’t dated anyone so there can’t be any angry ex-wives or girlfriends out to get her, or any jilted boyfriends for that matter,” Abigail added. “As a matter of fact the only ex I know of is Kyle Wakefield.” She glared at Kyle when she made the last statement.

  Caroline heard the words, but she didn’t want to believe them. She snatched her hand away from Kyle. “We broke up?”

  The anxiety in her voice was heartbreaking even to Kyle. He glanced around the room and hoped no one refuted the little white lie he was getting ready to tell. “Actually we recently reconciled,” he took her hand back firmly in his own. He thought fast. It was said in business circles that he had a mind like a steel trap, they were right. “That’s why you were giving Sarah a ride home from school. The three of us were going to have dinner together later on tonight.”

  Caroline believed his explanation and let out a great sigh of relief. One thing she did know for sure. She loved Kyle Wakefield and she couldn’t imagine life without him. She turned her attention to the sheriff. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember anything at all about what happened. The doctor says I have retro something amnesia. I don’t even remember how I got hurt, but I’m guessing it had something to do with this kidnapping attempt you mentioned?”

  She looked so fragile sitting in that narrow hospital bed with the thin white sheets pulled up to her chin. Kyle’s gut clenched and he squeezed her hand even tighter. “That’s right sweetheart. You told Sarah to run and she found a deputy. The deputy went to help you and when the kidnappers saw him coming they threw you to the ground. You hit your head on the hard cement. That has to be what triggered the amnesia.”

  Caroline chewed on her bottom lip. “I wish I could remember! They are still out there and I can’t remember what they look like. I could come face to face with one of them tomorrow and never know it!” A wayward sob escaped. “Why can’t I remember?”

  Kyle sat on the edge of the bed and sheltered her in his arms. “The doctor wants to release Caroline tomorrow. I don’t think it’s safe for her to be in her apartment alone. I want her to live with Sarah and me, at least until these men are caught and she’s no longer in danger. We have to assume they think Caroline can identify them. They will have no idea she has amnesia. She and Sarah both will still be in danger until you catch these monsters.” He directed that last comment to Cole Duncan.

  “I can take care of part of that right now easy enough,” the sheriff stated in that self-assured and confident manner that was so much a part of his persona. “I have several contacts in the local media. I’ll make sure they mention that today’s attempted kidnap victim has amnesia.”

  Kyle nodded. “Thanks, but I still want Caroline at my house. I will feel better if I am able to keep an eye on her myself. Besides the house I’m renting has a state of the art security system. Her apartment has nothing. Sending her back there by herself is not an option I’m willing to accept.”

  “I don’t know,” Abigail wasn’t so sure it was a good idea for her friend to move in with Kyle. It might cause all kinds of problems when Caroline’s missing memories returned. “Maybe she should stay with Mason and me.”

  Caroline felt warm happy thoughts when she looked at the blonde, but the truth was she really didn’t remember her. “No I want to stay with Kyle, besides Sarah will be there too.”

  Abigail shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, if you’re sure.”

  “She’s sure,” Kyle spoke for Caroline. He didn’t know why it was so important to have her under his roof, but he wasn’t giving her a chance to change her mind. He knew Abigail was just trying to protect her friend, but he wasn’t going to let her interfere with his plans either. “I’m the one she remembers and I’m the one who needs to protect her. She’s coming home with me.” He gave one last defiant look at the sheriff and Abigail. He was relieved when neither one of them offered a protest.

  Caroline felt the tingle of awareness spread through her at the thought of Kyle’s protectiveness. Surely that was a good sign. She had to believe that he wouldn’t go to so much trouble if they were still estranged. “I want to stay with Kyle,” she insisted to everyone in the room. “He’s right. I remember him and most importantly I feel safe with him. I know he would never let anything awful happen to me if he could stop it.” She said the words, but she couldn’t suppress the feeling that indeed something bad had happened to her and Kyle was partly to blame.

  Eleven

  Caroline had quickly grown sick of the hospital. Inactivity was not her friend. If she thought things would be better when she was released, she realized she was sadly mistaken. Caroline was regulated to the sidelines literally. She was stuck sitting in a chair in the bedroom of her apartment while Kyle and Sarah packed the things she’d need for an extended stay with them. She had the next two days to settle into their house before Kyle went back to work and Sarah went back to school. Caroline grimaced at the last thought. Mason Blake the superintendent of the school system had come to visit her in the hospital that morning. She was surprised to learn that he was married to Abigail, the woman claiming to be her best friend. Caroline didn’t remember him either. He seemed nice enough even if he wasn’t one of her favorite people right now.

  He and Kyle had gone behind her back and already agreed to put her on a medical leave of absence. Caroline had tried to argue, but as Mr. Blake had pointed out she didn’t remember any of her students and that could be awkward as well as disruptive. Kyle pointed out the safety issues and drove home the killing blow when he had calmly stated, “I know you don’t want to do anything that might endanger even one of your students, right Caroline?” In the end she’d been forced to agree. She might not remember any of her students, but deep down she knew that if one of them was hurt because of her the guilt would follow her for the rest of her life. So here she sat in the bedroom of her apartment watching Kyle and Sarah sort through her things while she was regulated to the backseat and did nothing.

  She watched Kyle grab her boots and a couple of other pairs of winter shoes from the back of her closet. He disappeared inside the closet and came back out again carrying a large hatbox. Caroline broke out in a cold sweat. She felt the anxiety slam into her. She jumped up from the chair and ran toward Kyle just as he cracked open the lid of the box. She slammed the lid back down with a forceful snap. “Don’t open that.”

  Kyle had never seen Caroline so out of sorts. It had to be a result of the attempted kidnapping and her injury he decided. “It’s just a box, Caroline. It looks like you’ve had it awhile. Whatever you keep in there can’t be that bad or you wouldn’t have hauled it around with you when you moved.”

  Caroline let out a little growl of frustration and rubbed both hands briskly over her face. It didn’t help. Her memory didn’t magically reappear. “I don’t know what’s in there, but I do know I don’t want to see it right now and I definitely don’t want you going through it! Let’s get one thing straight right now Kyle Wakefield.” She accentuated each word with a poke to his chest. “I might be moving in with you, but I am still entitled to my privacy and don’t you forget it!”

  Kyle took a deep breath and sat the box aside. Whatever was in there sure wasn’t worth an argument with Caroline. He was trying to sweet talk her back into his life not send her running the other way over a silly disagreement. It wasn’t worth her getting so upset either. He was sure the doctor would say that wasn’t good for her. “No problem,” he promised. “I didn’t invite you to stay with me so I could snoop into things you’d rather not share.”

  “Why exactly do you want me staying with you Kyle,” the words were out before Caroline could stop them. No matter how much she wanted it too, something about this just didn’t feel right.

  “Well I would think that w
ould be obvious.”

  “It’s not to me,” Caroline informed him in a huff. She couldn’t remember the past four years of her life. That meant she couldn’t take anything for granted.

  Kyle had to smoother the laugh threatening to break through. She was starting to act more and more like the Caroline he knew. “First as I mentioned before I want to keep a close eye on you while the men that targeted you and Sarah are still on the loose.” He gave her a wicked wink before he plucked up something lying on top of the folded clothes in her suitcase. “And second, I can’t wait to see you model these.” He held up the turquoise scrap of lace and smiled a mischievous smile.

  Caroline was appalled. She snatched the small slip of silk panties from his hand and shoved them into her suitcase. “Don’t get your hopes up. The disappointment might be more than you can deal with,” Caroline boldly stated. “I plan to have my own bedroom. One that is separate from yours! It’s only appropriate with Sarah in the house.”

  “We’ll see about that, and Caroline you’re never a disappointment.”

  Caroline let out a startled sound of outrage. “I think I have everything I might need for several days, we’re done here.” She marched out the front door and down the apartment stairs with Kyle’s laughter chasing her all the way.

  ******

  By Tuesday Caroline was feeling much better, but her memory still hadn’t improved. Kyle and Sarah had left bright and early that morning. Kyle was off to work and Sarah was off to school. The same school Caroline was told she should be going to, but instead she was left to her own devices. She moped around the big house bored to tears. She went to her room, but she’d put everything in order Saturday and she was a tidy person by nature, so there was nothing to do there. Her eyes drifted to the open closet door. She could see the hatbox sitting on the top shelf beckoning her to look inside.

  She hadn’t realized Kyle had brought it from her apartment until it was too late. She felt dread pool in the bottom of her stomach as she took a step toward the box. Nope, she decided. Whatever was in that box she didn’t need to know about it at least not yet. She closed the closet door and almost ran down the huge curving staircase to the bottom floor. Her flight led her to the family room. She took a moment to study the framed photos strewn about the room. They were all of Sarah and Kyle, Sarah mostly. Caroline couldn’t help but notice there weren’t any photos of her on display. She wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but she knew it bothered her. She thought about asking Kyle when he returned home from work, but decided she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to hear the answer. She was saved from her in-depth study of Kyle’s knick-knacks by the ringing of the doorbell.

  She was lonely, and out of her mind with boredom, but she wasn’t so sure she should be answering the door. After all it wasn’t really her house and her attackers were still out there somewhere. They could come right up to the door and she still wouldn’t recognize them, not as long as her memory was imitating a piece of Swiss cheese.

  She cautiously approached the door and was relieved to hear a feminine voice call her name. “Caroline? It’s Abigail. I know you’re staying here with Kyle and Sarah. If you’re home please open up. I’m worried about you!”

  Caroline glanced out the small windowpane in the door to make sure it was the blonde from the hospital and that she was alone. When Caroline was satisfied she wasn’t in any danger she opened the door. “Sorry it took me so long, but I don’t want to take any chances with my safety. I’m at a severe disadvantage until my memory returns.”

  Abigail pulled her into a brief hug. “I would be more upset if you’d just thrown open the door. We all want you to be safe Caroline, don’t ever forget that.” She held out a large tote bag that had been hanging on her shoulder. “I know you’re used to staying busy and that today is your first day alone, so I thought I’d come for a visit. Maybe I can cheer you up. We’ll kill some time anyway. I brought some of my family photo albums from the past year. You are in several photos. As I mentioned at the hospital you might as well be a Montgomery. You attend most of our family functions and we all love you.”

  Caroline could barely contain her excitement. She initiated the hug this time between the two women. “Oh, thank you so much! Maybe they’ll trigger my memory.” She all but snatched the bag from Abigail and hurried into the family room. “It’s funny actually, right before you arrived I was wondering why Kyle doesn’t have any photos of me in his house and here you are with several photo albums for me to look through.”

  Abigail made a distressed face and joined Caroline on the couch. “I can’t answer for Kyle. You’ll have to ask him about his choice of decor.”

  Caroline gave the blond next to her a beseeching look. “Surely you must know something about my relationship with Kyle. At the hospital you mentioned we were best friends.” She took a quick breath and hurried on before Abigail could cut her off. “I know I could ask Kyle about our relationship, but it just seems awkward. I mean they say there are two sides to every story, but wouldn’t he be inclined just to give me his side?”

  Abigail arched her eyebrow. “You could be right about that. I really don’t know Kyle all that well. What I do know is that you two were definitely involved in the past. You broke up over four years ago.” Caroline started to speak, but Abigail held up a hand to stop her. “Before you ask, I don’t know why your relationship came to an end. You never told me. You moved here alone a little over a year and a half ago. We both worked for the same school district and met the first day back from summer break. We hit it off right away. You didn’t have any friends or family in the area, we begin hanging out, and my entire family adopted you. You’re a Montgomery just not by blood.”

  Caroline scrunched her brows. I can’t remember anyone. Who else is in your family? Maybe you should give me a brief rundown before I look at all the photos.” She sent Abigail an encouraging smile.

  “Well there’s my son Jay and daughter Emily. They both adore you. Jay is in your biology honors class with Sarah. What little contact I’ve had with Kyle the past few months has been because of Jay and Sarah’s friendship.”

  Caroline squeezed her head between her hands and let out a distressed moan. “You mean I teach my best friend’s son and I don’t remember either one of you,” she wailed. She felt the comforting squeeze on her shoulder. “Who else,” Caroline demanded to know. She had to remember. It was driving her crazy not to.

  “Well,” Abigail said in a soft and friendly tone, “let me show you. I have two sisters Annabel and Aubrey. Annabel and her husband Jonathan and their two children live here in town.” Abigail opened the photo album and flipped through a couple of pages until she came to a picture of a smiling couple standing in front of a gorgeous southern plantation house. This is Annabel and Jonathan right after they were married and this is the house Jonathan bought for her as a wedding present. You’ve been there several times including for my wedding reception last year.”

  Caroline felt a tug of recognition. Something about that story and the house rang a bell with her. She strained trying to remember, but only got a headache for her efforts. Maybe it was just the romantic nature of the story that struck a chord with her. She watched as Abigail flipped through a few more pages.

  “And this is Aubrey and her husband Matt Hampton.”

  Caroline looked at the photo of the gorgeous blond and the undeniably sexy dark headed man next to her. “He looks familiar,” she had a hard time keeping the excitement out of her voice. “Maybe I’m starting to remember!”

  “Maybe or it could just be because he’s a famous rock star. You could have seen his picture anywhere over the past decade. He and Aubrey live in Savannah, but Aubrey is a regular visitor here. The four of us that is you, Aubrey, Annabel, and I were together at the last Urgent concert in Atlanta. That was about two months ago.”

  Caroline let out a long sigh. “I don’t remember the concert, but I remember listening to Urgent when I was in high school. That must be why he lo
oks familiar.”

  “Here are some photos from the last family barbeque. “That’s Jay my son along with my daughter Emily and my husband Mason. You meet Mason at the hospital. Here’s a photo of you standing with my mother, Joyce Montgomery. She thinks of you as her fourth daughter you know.”

  No, Caroline didn’t know, but she kept the sharp retort to herself. It wasn’t Abigail’s fault she couldn’t remember anything. And Abigail was proving to be a true friend, visiting her at the hospital and now here at Kyle’s home.

  Abigail gave her an understanding look and patted her shoulder. “My mom wanted to come visit you too, but I warned her it might not be a good idea right now. You met me at the hospital with Kyle and the sheriff present. They were able to vouch for my identity, but you shouldn’t be opening the door to anyone you don’t know right now male or female. It’s just not safe. I’m sure Cole will get to the bottom of this soon and things can get back to normal.”

  She spent the next hour looking through family photos with Abigail. Finally she was resigned to the fact that while everyone seemed vaguely familiar she wasn’t going to have an instant recall of her lost memories no matter how much she might want to.

  “I’m sorry Abigail. It was very kind of you too bring these photos over and spend time with me, but it doesn’t seem to be working.”

  “You don’t have to apologize about your memory. I enjoy spending time with you regardless. Just because you can’t remember me doesn’t mean I will stop loving you. You’re still my sister just by choice instead of blood.” She looked down at her watch. “I have a few hours before I have to pick the children up from school. Do you need to run any errands? I don’t think it’s safe for you to be out and about by yourself at least not until Cole has found the men that hurt you.”

  Caroline brightened. “Actually before you came I was thinking about having a nice dinner waiting for Kyle and Sarah when they got home, but when I checked the kitchen there wasn’t much there.”