Second Chances(10)

She began to turn, but he reached out for her. She flinched away and he quickly drew back his hand.

"Please. I don't know why you are acting this way. Maybe you don't know. Maybe you don't remember. Amnesia, perhaps? I don't know, but I will prove it."

She stopped breathing for a moment, the world slowed. She watched as he reached into his jacket and saw, literally saw, him pull out a gun. Had he moved any quicker, she likely wouldn't have been able to stifle the scream that was building in her throat.

He saw the spooked look in her eyes and turned his hand to the side, making certain she saw it was only his wallet in his hand. He opened it and pulled free the plastic picture holder. He extended it towards her, holding it by the tips of his fingers.

She took the pictures. Her hands were trembling and she nearly dropped them. The sound of his voice, the look she'd seen in his eyes, she was already certain of what the pictures would reveal and it was that certainty more than anything else that made her terrified to look.

She kept her eyes locked on his for a moment longer. He backed up a few steps and waited.

She silently counted to ten, trying to slow her thundering heart and then looked down.

The world spun out of control. Everything got suddenly loud before silence took over and the world around her disappeared. Beads of sweat erupted on her brow. She tried to look away, but her eyes refused to obey.

There she was, right there. Her arms around the man she'd only just met, a huge smile on her face. She didn't instantly take it all in, but they were standing at the edge of a lake. The trees around them in the full splendor of autumn. But she didn't see the trees, nor the water, not even the golden retriever lying on the ground at their feet. All she saw was the two of them and even then her focus was mostly on herself.

The world continued to spin and she pitched forward as all sense of balance left her. But she didn't fall. He was there and he caught her with ease.

Once more in his arms. Once more? No, for the very first time her mind insisted, despite the evidence to the contrary that she held in her hands.

He reached out and turned her head toward him and said something. She saw his lips moving, but still heard nothing. She pulled her head free and turned her attention back to the pictures, flipping to the next one.

The two of them together again. This time he was on her left, but it was still them. She was smiling and hugging him again. She was wearing a pink and black bikini and he had on a royal blue bathing suit. The water behind them could only belong to the Caribbean, but again it wasn't the surroundings that she really noticed, only the two of them.

"Paige?"

The two of them together again. This time sitting at a table, arms stretched across the tabletop holding hands. It was at some outdoor cafe, but where she didn't know. All she saw was the two of them.

Nathan lowered her into one of the chairs. He took her face in his hands forcing her to look at him.

"Paige? Breathe Paige, please."

"We will now be boarding rows ten and higher. That is rows ten and higher."

Paige winced in pain as sound suddenly came rushing back into her world. She let out the breath she hadn't even known she been holding. Her chest burned. Her stomach rolled and she could taste warm saliva in her mouth.

"I think I'm going to throw up."





CHAPTER SEVEN



Nathan waited outside of the ladies room for her. When she exited, her face was flushed, which he supposed was better than the white it had been minutes before.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up his hand.

"They are doing final boarding."

"Final boarding?" The words sounded foreign to her, meaningless.

"San Diego. Would you like me to switch the tickets for a later flight?"

"San Diego? No," she said, shaking her head. "No, I need to get on that plane."

"Then let's go," he said, grasping the handle of her luggage and moving towards the gate. Paige followed, unsure what else she could or should do.

The attendant took Nathan's ticket and smiled at him.

"Cutting it close, we were about to close up and leave without you."

"Sorry," he apologized. "It's the way we always travel."

Paige stopped digging in her purse for a moment and looked at him. She considered saying something, but then thought better of it and resumed her search.

"It's not in there," Nathan said softly, his voice nearly cracking. "Front pocket, where you always put it."

Paige stopped, looked at him again and then unzipped the front pocket of her bag. Her hands trembled slightly as she withdrew the ticket.

The attendant didn't seem to notice Paige's trembling nor the moisture threatening at the corners of Nathan's eyes.

"Thank you. Have a wonderful flight," the attendant chirped as she returned a portion of the ticket to Paige.