The Lost Fisherman (Fisherman #2)(5)

His bandaged face.

His casted arm.

“Rory and Rose,” he said in a rather weak voice.

It didn’t matter how weak his voice was; it still did things to my crazy heart.

“Ding. Ding. Ding.” Arnie gave Fisher a slow clap. “Two for two, Bro.”

“No more motorcycle for you,” Rose said as she moved to one side of his bed while Rory inched closer on the other side of the bed, leaving me in clear sight.

He knew them, so he would know me. I was quite certain of it. I gave him a small smile.

He smiled back. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Please tell me we haven’t met. I fear I’ve already made too many people feel insignificant today,” Fisher said.

Rory and Rose exchanged a look.

“How has your brain misfired so badly that the hottest women in your life are just … poof … gone?” Arnie shook his head at Fisher.

Fisher narrowed his gaze, as if doing so increased his chance of recognizing me, as if it were his eyes’ fault and not his brain’s fault.

“This is Reese, my daughter,” Rory said. “But you haven’t seen her in years, so don’t stress. She lived with me in your basement for a few months. And she worked with you for less than … what?” She glanced at me. “A few months?”

I nodded. It was all I could do. Of course Angie was crying. When the man you love (loved) didn’t recognize you, it wasn’t a great feeling.

“She just graduated from nursing school in Michigan. She’s going to get her master’s starting next year. Midwifery. She’s going to deliver babies.”

Fisher returned a slight nod. “Congratulations.”

I cleared the thick emotion from my throat. I think only Rose sensed my true level of emotions. “Thanks,” I managed to say. “I’m really happy to see that you’re okay.”

“Yeah. That’s what they tell me. I don’t remember the accident either.”

“The doctors think his memory loss is probably temporary,” Arnie said.

I knew it could be temporary. Or it could last a long time. Or it could be permanent. The brain was hard to predict.

“I hope so.” Fisher stared out the window for a few seconds. “That um … woman was really upset. My fiancée?”

Oh my gosh …

That woman. He reduced Angie to “that woman.” I was never an Angie fan, but I also wasn’t a monster. I felt her pain. He didn’t ask me to marry him, but I felt total devastation at his lack of recognition. I could only imagine how Angie must have felt.

“Well…” I returned a nervous laugh, feeling Rose’s gaze on me “…I’m sure it must be heartbreaking to be a stranger to the one you love most.”

Fisher’s brow tightened into lines of wrinkles. “I’m sure you’re right.”

“We’ll let you get some rest.” Rory leaned down and kissed the side of his head. I wanted to be that close to him.

Feel the warmth of his skin, the brush of his lips, the intensity of his eyes as he looked at me with wonder and anticipation.

The irony? Had I “given” him my virginity, he wouldn’t have remembered. I don’t regret it being Brendon, even if I hurt him. Had it been Fisher, I wouldn’t have been able to walk away. I would have treated losing my virginity like donating a kidney.

More Fisher Mann lessons …

It wasn’t about firsts. Every moment mattered. Every touch. Every word. It was selfish to think of our lives as nothing more than an endless series of giving and taking. It implied we were, more or less, just moving from one moment to the next with no meaning. I knew … deep down I knew it was never about my virginity. Not with Fisher. It was always about my heart.

Looking at Fisher in that bed and being unrecognizable to him was a clear reminder that I, nor anyone else, shouldn’t rely on another human to be a measure of self-worth and success.

“Ready?” Rory asked me.

I nodded slowly.





Chapter Four





“I’ve missed this … you know … time with you two,” I said on a long sigh as the three of us took a hike in the mountains several days after seeing Fisher in the hospital.

“We never took our trip up here,” Rory said, reaching for her water bottle in the side pocket of her backpack as we stopped at a clearing. “I promised to bring you here. Remember when you were adamant about coming up here by yourself?”

I nodded. “Can I be honest now?” I smirked.

She rolled her eyes. “You drove up here anyway?”

Shaking my head, I chuckled. “No. Fisher brought me … on his motorcycle.”

“Oh, Reese.” Rory shook her head. “I didn’t need to know that, especially since his accident.”

“I said you wouldn’t be happy about it, but he said we didn’t have to tell you. He really was a terrible influence. I can’t believe you left me with him.”

Rose rubbed her lips together, enjoying the way I was telling Rory so much, yet nothing at all.

“Well, as soon as he gets out of the hospital, I’ll have a word with him.”

Rose laughed. “You’re going to talk to him about taking your daughter on his motorcycle when he doesn’t remember her? Good plan. Make sure I’m with you when this conversation takes place. I want to listen.”