Chapter 5

Sitting at the far end of the sofa, knees drawn up underneath her, she stared off into space. Peter cleared his throat in the doorway. "Can I come in?" he asked softly.
She straightened up and waved him into her sanctuary.
He sank down onto the sofa with her, close, but not too close.
"This has certainly been the most interesting day that I can remember," he said, offering her a smile.

She gave him a half smile back. "That's not saying much, is it, Peter?"
"Oh, I don't know. I think I could live without this kind of excitement. I rather liked the nice, quiet little life we had going on here before today." She averted her gaze as he leaned closer and looked deeply into her eyes. He reached out and gently captured her chin, raising it until she was forced to meet his gaze. "Alainna, let me help you this time. I can see the whirlwind in your soul right now. Let it loose before it tears you apart."

Her smile was devoid of humor, her eyes without sparkle. "Whirlwind in my soul? Now there's a word picture. Are you a poet, Peter?"
"No, not a poet. Just a friend who's very concerned about you." He ran the back of his hand along her cheek.
She caught his hand, squeezing it gently. "Peter, you have a kind, sweet soul."
"How can you be sure?" he asked, softly.
"I can see it in your eyes."
"And I can see the pain in yours," he told her. "Why won't you let me in?"
"Why won't you let me into your pain?" she countered, knowing that her best defense was a good offense.

Peter drew in his breath sharply. "What are you talking about?"
She gazed deeply into the hazel eyes, watching him warily for signs he would bolt from the library like the last time. "I'm talking about the nightmares. I'm talking about the fear. I'm talking about why you don't want to find out who you are."

Her words were like a physical blow to his chest. She had managed to turn the tables on him, which was exactly her intent. "Truce," he offered. "I'm not ready to talk about this."
She smiled a true smile this time. "Me, either."
They stared at one another for several minutes. "Okay, now what?" Peter asked.
"Now," she said, slapping the back of the sofa, "we get the hell out of this house. I don't know about you, but it's starting to get on my nerves. The fact that you're here has just become public knowledge, so we might as well go out in public."

Peter grinned. "Now that you mention it, I am starting to feel a little cooped up. Do you want to explain my new name before we go?"
Pleased in the change of mood for both of them, she grinned back at him. Lighter was definitely better. "Walker? You don't like it?"
"I suppose it's fine. I was just wondering where it came from?"
"You 'walked' into my life." She chuckled. "Well, actually, you staggered into my life, but that doesn't make a good last name." Lifting her hand to brush the hair from his forehand, she then let it wander across his face, appraising the features once again. "Handsome definitely suits you, but I thought that Jimmy would see right through that. Peter Handsome. Definitely a fake." The hand rested on the back of the sofa again.

Peter blushed. How can she go from one emotional extreme to another so damn fast? Being around her is like riding a roller coaster. "Is there anything else I need to know about myself, Miss Writer? Have you written me a life that I don't know about?"
Her eyes widened slightly and she nodded her head. "That is an excellent idea, Peter. Now that Jimmy knows you're here, he'll be back and he'll be asking a lot of questions. He loves a good mystery, and you're a good one, but you are MY mystery man. If I'm not allowed to investigate your past, than neither is he."

Her eyes glazed over and Peter knew she was twisting a plot in her head. He waited patiently. When she still didn't speak, he did. "I have some other questions, Alainna, like what was the plopping down in my lap all about? And why did Jimmy give me such a dirty look when he had no clue who I was?"
She stopped staring and focused on him again. "Oh, the lap thing? Well, that was naughty of me, wasn't it? And Jimmy's reaction? Well, I really didn't expect him to get quite so…pushy about things. Hmmm. How shall I put this?" She laughed nervously and Peter began to understand.
"You were tormenting that man, weren't you?" He thought back to the expressions on the young sheriff's face when he had first seen him, and when Alainna had thrown herself into his lap. He felt a surprising twinge of jealousy when he realized the truth. "Good grief, Alainna, the man's in love with you, isn't he?"
Alainna smiled wearily at him and nodded affirmation. "Has been for a long time now, but he's as thick-headed as the rest of the men around here. He can't seem to understand that I love him like a brother, and that's it."

Peter was startled by his relief that the feelings Jimmy had for her were not mutual. Back off, Peter, he told himself. You've only known her for two weeks, and you have no clue who you really are. You cannot mess up her life more than you already have.
She was watching him carefully. "What, Peter?"
"Nothing. So, what's my history, besides being your 'old friend,' like Jimmy is your old friend?" He arched an eyebrow at her.
"I think we'll say that we met in college. I went to Rutgers in New Jersey, and it's a massive school. Jimmy will have a hard time trying to verify anything from there."
Beginning to get into the spirit of the exercise, he grinned at her. "And I suppose we had one of those intense relationships that eventually fell apart?"

She laughed at him. "Hmmm, yes, very good. And you've gone through a rough time in your life right now, and decided that you needed to get away. You're on a leave of absence from your job…" she stopped. "Well, that's nearly the truth. Actually, you're on a leave of absence from your entire life." The quick flash of pain that flickered in Peter's eyes sobered her. "Sorry, Peter. I didn't mean to go there."
"It's okay. Continue, Miss Writer. This is all very…interesting."
"So, after all this intensive soul searching these problems have created, you've come to stay with me to get your life back in order and to…explore our options."
"Explore our options?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, Silly. Did we give up too soon when we were young and foolish? Is there still a chance for us? That kind of thing." She grinned at him. "Come on, Peter, it's a classic romance plot."
He shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, I haven't read very many romance novels in the last two weeks."
"Well, I don't know why not. There's a whole shelf full of them over there!" Alainna pointed to one of the bookshelves. "Some of them are pretty good," she told him with a wink. "Okay, so do you have it all straight, Peter Walker?"
"How much does Jimmy know about your college days?"
"Not much. He hasn't left this county for most of his life. You could tell him just about anything without blowing you cover."

A flash of a woman's face ran across Peter's mind. She was shouting at him. Your cover is blown, Peter! Watch your back! What the hell was that? He shook his head before reaching up to rub his temples again. The pounding began in his head, the pounding that seemed to be associated with any of the flashes he got of his past. He quickly glanced at Alainna to see if she had caught him in the memory. She had.

"What is it, Peter? You've got that look on your face again." Reaching out, she grasped his trembling hand, trying to still the tremors with her own.
"I just had another…flash of something. Something about a blown cover. My head is pounding again, Alainna." His voice quivered with a combination of pain and anguish.
Alainna bit her tongue to keep from answering him but filed the information in the back of her mind as her list of the clues to Peter's past grew.

She waited for the trembling in his hand to stop. The day had been filled with enough problems without pushing him.
"I'll get you some aspirin, Peter," she offered, changing the subject for him. "You know, I think it will do my reputation as a romance novelist some good around here when the town busybodies discover that I have a handsome man staying with me." Offering him a smile paired with twinkling eyes, she lifted his hand to her lips and brushed a gentle kiss across the back of it.
Relieved that she hadn't pushed the issue, he winked at her. "Well, your secrets are safe with me. All of them."
She jumped from the sofa. "Come on, let's go. We'll grab your aspirin, and then, I thought we were getting out of this house?" she asked, heading for the archway.
Peter quickly followed suit. "Where are we going?" he called after her as they strode down the hallway.
"Where ever the road leads us, Peter," she tossed back over her shoulder.


Sitting in the vehicle, he fumed silently. His obsession for Alainna Anderson had been kept tightly under control recently. In fact, it had been weeks since he'd activated the equipment he had placed in her home one day when she'd been away on a book-signing trip.
Now, however, there was a strange man in her home. Yes, he mused, it is time to reactivate the equipment and keep a closer eye on Miss Alainna Anderson. Fingering the remote in his hand, he set it down and climbed from his vehicle.


The road first led them through the small town Alainna called home. "Don't blink, Peter," she teased him. "You'll miss it."
Peter checked things out as Alainna drove down the main street of the little town. There was a church, a couple of stores, a post office, and a school. Several business offices were also on Main Street. It was a typical, sleepy, small town.
Peter recognized the Blazer parked outside an office before Alainna could point it out to him. The sign over the doorway read: Hollinger Timber Company. Daniel Hollinger was standing on the sidewalk.

"Wave, Peter," Alainna quipped. "There's Daniel. I'm sure he's been foaming at the mouth since he saw you standing shirtless behind me on the front porch. Give him something more to talk about, would you?"
Peter chuckled evilly and did as she bid, garnering a dirty look from the other man as they drove past. "You are a bad girl, Alainna. Why do you love to torment people so much?"
"That snake deserves whatever torment he gets," Alainna snapped. She was no longer joking and Peter realized he had stepped over the lines they had both drawn around themselves.
Too late to back up, he opted to press forward. "You're right, he does."
She looked at him sharply, then turned her attention back to the road.

"Doc told me, Alainna." His voice was soft and he tried to sound casual.
"Blabber mouth," she muttered under her breath. "That's it. He wants a new mystery; he's got it. How sad that the beloved country doctor is about to be murdered."
Peter laughed at her. "Would you really do that to Doc?"
"Oh, yeah." Her voice was dripping with anger.
"What did you say?" Despite the aspirin, Peter's head began to pound once again, the disconcerted feeling returning.
"I said, oh, yeah, as in, you'd better believe it, Mister!" Alainna's knuckles were turning white as she gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"You know, Alainna, maybe we should either just shut up or really talk. This tiptoeing around each other isn't working for either of us," he informed her, rubbing his temples.
"Fine," she snapped. "If it's going to be really talk, you go first. If it's going to be shut up, then go ahead and do that."
Pausing to consider the choices, he pondered the day's events. I feet like we've come full circle, back to the point where she left me sitting in the living room with the dogs. I've learned a lot about her since then, but on a personal level, we're back in the same place. Time to move forward.

He cleared his throat. "When you just said that, you know, that Oh Yeah, like that, I got another flash of my past. I can hear a voice saying that to me. I just don't know who it was." Peter felt his face flush, uncomfortable baring his soul. "Something else that's very strange is the fact that every time I get one of these flashes, I get this pounding headache. If pain is what remembering my past causes me, then maybe I'm better off not to remember."

She glanced over at him. His attempt to open up rather than shut down surprised her. "Why are you so afraid, Peter? What is it you think you're going to find if we look into your past?"
Peter turned his head to stare out the window, the sight of the woods and fields floating by outside completely lost to his eyes. "I…I don't really know. I think I'm afraid that in reality, it's as empty as it is right now." He toyed with the buttons on the door. "I'm…I'm afraid there's no one there for me."

Alainna could relate to the ache he was trying so hard to express. "Oh, Peter. I know that feeling well…" She broke off. Her pain was real. His was currently only a fear. "I don't know, Peter. I'm not so sure myself that I'm ready to do this soul-baring number. I'm a lot better at lightness than I am the darkness, even thought I've got plenty of it. I prefer to try to ignore it." She shook her head as Peter continued to stare silently out the window. "Stupid!" she chastised herself. "And that's exactly what you're trying to do, isn't it?"

Turning the car onto a highway, she stomped on the gas, shifting into fifth for the first time. She laughed at the wary look Peter sent her way as the car picked up speed. "Not to worry, Peter. I'm an excellent driver. What good is having a car like this if you don't open it up once in a while?" His grin was answer enough. "I knew you appreciated this car!" Alainna's hand slipped from the gear shaft to give him a quick tap on the knee. "We are going someplace in particular now. Enough sappy emotionalism for today, okay? I obviously can't bare my soul and drive at the same time, so you're in luck. We're not going anyplace spectacular, but it's a good place for a diversion."
He shook his head. She's done it to again; changed the emotional scene on a dime. The roller coaster ride never slows down with her. She is going to turn me into an emotional yo-yo.


Chapter 6

The journey ended in the large, crowded parking lot of a mall. "Okay, what are we doing here?" Peter asked her as they climbed from the car.
"Oh, who knows?" she responded, taking his arm. "Sometimes I come here to people-watch. I love the bookstore here."
He laughed. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"I am also in the mood for some ice cream. Today is definitely an ice-cream kind of a day."
"Very well, Miss Writer, lead on."

The ice cream parlor was her first stop. "We missed lunch, Peter. What do you want? Personally, I'm just going to gorge myself on ice cream, but feel free to have whatever you want."
Peter opted for a burger and fries, which he ate while she devoured her ice cream. "Is it working?" he asked with a grin. "Feel better now?"
"Actually, yes," she informed him, twirling her spoon loaded with cookie dough ice cream and chocolate sauce. "Ice cream always does the trick." She popped the loaded spoon into her mouth.
"I'll keep that in mind next time I catch you with a shot gun."

She grinned back at him, pointing the now-empty spoon in his direction. "Watch yourself; you're skating on thin ice," she teased. "You are about to join Doc as a corpse."
"Now, I know you said you'd do that to Doc, but would you really do that to me?" Lowering his eyelashes, he flirted at her with half-lidded eyes.
She threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, Peter. Now that you mention it, you are definitely more romance novel material. I think I'll have to keep you alive." She dropped her voice as she confessed, "You have already stirred this writer's imagination. I wouldn't be surprised to find that my next main character looks remarkably like you."

Choking on a french fry, he carefully tried to evaluate her eyes, unable to tell if she was joking or not.
"Of course, just remember, even if I keep you alive, there are still terrible things I could do to you, even in a romance novel." Picking up another fry from his plate, she dipped it in ketchup, and popped it into his mouth. "A writer's life is so very sweet. So many stories, so little time, so many wonderful things to do to your enemies - and friends, in your imagination!"
She's teasing, he thought, carefully gauging her eyes. Probably. I hope.


Their next stop was the bookstore. "I'll be wandering, Alainna," Peter told her. "I'll catch up with you in here someplace."
Alainna nodded, and went off to find her favorite clerk. Peter headed for the romance section, wanting to see just what he could find of Alainna's work on the shelf. I could find copies of them at home, but it's more interesting to see them out here, in the real world.
He was startled when she caught him 20 minutes later, standing with one foot perched on the shelf, reading one of her books.
"Auggh! What do you think you're doing?" she cried, snatching the book from his hands.

He snatched the book back, grinning at her obvious discomfort. "I'm reading. What does it look like I'm doing?" She has the right idea; tormenting people can be a whole lot of fun, especially when the person you're tormenting is Alainna Anderson.
"Not THIS one, Peter. Please, can't you at least pick a decent one?" she begged, cheeks aflame.
"Oh? What's wrong with this one?" he asked, surprised by her blushing reaction. She grabbed for the book again, and he held it up above her head, well out of her reach.

Another customer, a rather short woman, interrupted their game. "Excuse me, please. Young man, you're quite tall. Would you do me a favor?"
Peter held the book close to his side and smiled pleasantly at the woman. Alainna quickly scooted down another aisle, laughing embarrassedly at being caught in their silliness. "Certainly. What is it I can do for you?"
Looking up into Peter's hazel eyes, the woman began to babble at him. "I do wish that my favorite author's name didn't begin with an 'A.' The A's are all the way up on the top shelves. The clerks here are usually busy and I am way too short to reach up there. Would you be so kind as to pull down a copy of Seasons of the Heart for me? It's on the second shelf there." She pointed to the general location.

Glancing up at the shelf, Peter scanned for the title the woman had requested. She continued to chatter away at him while he looked. "I am so glad the store has some in stock. This is the latest by this author and I've been waiting for it since I read her last book."
Peter felt the laughter well up inside him again as he pulled the book from the shelf. Seasons of the Heart, by Alainna Anderson. He scrutinized the woman as he handed her the book. "Here you are, Ma'am. Now, may I ask you a question?" She smiled her permission at him. "What is it about this author that appeals to you?"
"Oh, she has such a way with emotions. You can always count on her stories for a few good laughs, but she can make you cry, as well. And they always have a happy ending."
I'm not surprised to hear that, Peter thought. I just wonder if she'll be able to write her own happy ending. He turned his attention back to the woman. "Can you keep a secret?" he whispered.

The woman's eyes lit up at the prospect of a secret. "Oh, absolutely," she promised.
"Your favorite author is right over there." Peter pointed to the back of Alainna's head, which was visible over the top of the short bookcases several rows to their left.
"No!" the woman said. "You can't be serious."
"Yes, I am. That's her, all right. Would you like me to introduce you?" She nodded, clutching her book tighter. "Okay, come on."

Peter escorted the woman to Alainna's side. Ignoring them, she pretended to be engrossed in a book she was reading. He cleared his throat. "Alainna? I have someone here who'd like to meet you. She's a fan." He wanted to make that clear before Alainna could get silly on him again.
Alainna's smile lit up her entire face; the sunrise spread twinkles of delight into her eyes. Peter knew he was being treated to a real glimpse inside her. This face was no façade. Turning to the woman, she thrust out her hand. "Hello. I'm Alainna Anderson."

"Oh! I can't believe it. Darling, I just want to tell you how much I love your books." She clasped Alainna's hand and squeezed it tightly. "You have moved me to tears, and you have made me laugh. It's truly a pleasure to meet you."
Alainna's eyes sparkled her pleasure at the woman's compliments, and a slight blush tinged her cheeks. "The pleasure is all mine…?"
"Rose," the woman supplied.
"Rose," Alainna repeated. "Thank you for those kind words. It means a lot to me that people are enjoying my work."
"That I am, my dear." She carefully appraised Alainna. "Somehow, I thought you'd be a little older. Your books seem to convey an air of seasoning and wisdom that I thought were the result of…well, a little more life experience."
"Sometimes it's not how far you've walked, Rose, but rather the conditions you've walked through that provide the seasoning."

Peter carefully tried to look into her eyes without letting her know he was seeking truth there. But she turned her head and caught him, and he watched the shield slip back into place on her face. She grinned at him, then faced her fan once more. "That and I have one heck of an imagination, Rose."
Rose chuckled appreciatively, holding out her book towards Alainna. "Well, Dear, would you be so kind as to sign my copy of Seasons of the Heart?"
Alainna took the book from her, digging for a pen in her purse. Signing it with a flourish, she handed it back to the woman. "There you are, Rose. I hope you'll enjoy it."
"Oh, I'm sure I will. Thank you so much." She leaned in to whisper something to Alainna, who threw back her head and laughed delightedly, a musical sound full of joy.
"You got that right, Rose," she replied, staring at Peter. Peter blushed, wondering exactly what Rose had said.

Rose wandered off with the book Alainna had just signed for her, leaving Peter and Alainna alone again. Peter still had her other book clutched under his arm.
Alainna finally succeeded in retaking possession of it, snatching it quickly and bolting with it. "NOT this one, Peter, " she called back over her shoulder. "I am putting it back. I've got copies of them all at home, anyway. You can read any of the others, EXCEPT this one. It was my first, and it's rather pathetic."
Peter followed her, watching as she stretched to reach the upper shelf. "Let me help you," he offered.

"Promise you'll put it back?"
"I promise." Peter put the book back in its proper place and the two of them strolled back out into the mall. "So what's the new one about?" Peter asked as they sauntered down the corridor.
"Seasons of the Heart?" she asked, guiding them to a bench in the middle of the mall; one of her favorite people watching perches. She scanned the crowds as she answered him. "It's the story of the different loves in a woman's life. We follow her through her life, meeting and sharing her spring love, her summer love, and her fall and winter love."

"This woman gets a new boyfriend every four months?"
"Peter!" Alainna laughed, shaking her head in dismay. "I know you've lost your memory, but don't you have a clue about romance?"
Hazel eyes twinkled mischievously at her. "Oh, I think I might have a clue or two. Now, explain this story to me, or I'll have to read the first book."
"Anything but that," she gasped in mock horror. "The story is about the girl's springtime romance - her first love. You know, young and foolish. Then we see her summertime romance - an adult relationship full of commitment in the prime of her life. Unfortunately, she's widowed, and raises her sons by herself. Then, when she's older, she falls in love again. And she spends the fall and winter of her life with that man. Season doesn't mean of the year; it means season of her life."

"I get it now. So, Peter Walker and Alainna Anderson had a springtime romance and now they're seeing if they can rekindle that flame into a summer romance?" Peter reached over, tugging gently on her blond hair. "Is that how it works?"
Alainna was startled by the way he had applied the concept to the two of them, even though it was in jest. "Yes, that's exactly it, and that's what you can tell Jimmy if he asks."

Peter's attention was suddenly diverted by a group of four young men who were loitering on the edge of the mall commons. Something on an instinctual level triggered his inner alarms, setting his nerves on alert. Some deeply ingrained sense was telling him that the group was trouble.

"What, Peter?"
"See those kids over there?" He pointed with a jerk of his chin. "Pay attention, Miss Writer. They are up to no good."
"How can you tell?"
"I just can. Now, be quiet." What is it about this adrenalin rush that feels so familiar?

Alainna turned to watch the group of young men Peter had indicated. She could see three of them seemed to be instructing the fourth. Alainna scanned the rest of the area. Looking back towards the bookstore, she noticed Rose coming out, having finished her transactions in the store.
As Rose walked past the group of young men, they appraised her like wolves looking for weak prey. She strolled onward, oblivious to the possible danger.
Once she was several yards past the group of boys, one ran after her, grabbing her purse, forcefully knocking her to the ground. He ran quickly towards an exit.

Peter was off the bench in a flash, long legs quickly covering the distance. He flew past the dazed woman, pursuing the thief. "STOP!" he commanded. Let the punk know that someone's after him, Peter thought.
Looking back over his shoulder, the young thief saw Peter rapidly gaining on him. He headed for the escalators, hoping to reach them before he could be caught. Lowering his head, he gave himself an extra burst of speed.

Closing the gap between himself and the thief, a determined Peter pushed himself harder, taking his body into sprint mode. Diving at the boy, he tackled him around the knees. The two of them landed on the floor with an audible thud. The kid dropped the purse, and tried to roll over, as Peter scrambled to place his knee directly in the center of the thief's back. His left arm was firmly pinning the kid's head to the floor, his right gathered the kid's hands behind him. "Just stay right there, buddy. Don't move a muscle, or one of us is going to get hurt, and I promise you, it's not going to be me," Peter informed him.

Two mall security guards arrived quickly to take control of Peter's suspect. Peter reluctantly stood up and turned the boy over to them before retrieving the purse from the ground. "Guys," he addressed the guards, "I'm returning this to the lady. You can clean up the trash." Shooting the kid a disgusted look, he turned, heading back in the direction of the bookstore.

Peter found the women on the bench, Alainna comforting a shaken Rose. Alainna had her arm around Rose's shoulder and was murmuring softly to her. Both faces lit up at his approach.
"Peter! Oh, you got her purse back!" Alainna stated with relief in her voice. "Did you catch the kid?"
Peter handed the leather bag back to Rose with a smile. "Yes, I did. Security's got him now."
"Oh, thank you so much," Rose gushed. "I can't believe that happened here. This is a nice place, not the middle of a city. How can I thank you?" Rose held her hand out to Peter.

Peter took the woman's trembling hand in his own and gently squeezed it, then, with a quick glance at Alainna, he bent over the hand and lightly kissed it. "The pleasure was mine, dear lady. It is always my pleasure to put the bad guys in their place and help out a lovely lady."
Rose began to blush furiously, stammering as she tried to speak again, "Mmmy, ww what manners." She turned to look at Alainna. "You are a lucky young woman, my dear."
Alainna was doing her best not to giggle at Peter's little performance. "Yes, I am Rose. I am definitely lucky."

Peter gently disengaged his hand from Rose's, assisting her from the bench. "Ma'am, if you're up to it now, security will have called the police and you will need to go and speak with them."
"Oh, of course." Gathering her bag containing her new books, Rose glanced at Alainna again. "Thank you again, Dear." She turned to Peter, giving him a smile that would have lit up the darkest night. "And you, too."
Peter grinned at her as she walked away.

Alainna flung herself off the bench, wrapping her arms around Peter, soundly kissing him on the cheek. "My hero!" The giggles she had been containing finally escaped, and she stepped back from Peter to watch his reaction. "That was amazing! Rose is right; I am a lucky woman. It's not every day that I get treated to such an interesting experience. That certainly fed my writer's imagination."
Peter laughed. "With all the meals that imagination of yours has gotten today, it should be stuffed."
"It is. Let's go home. I need to get back to work."

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