He nodded. “One of the ranch owners in town. He owns a jet like that, so I’m guessing it’s his. That’s not a cheap plane.”
“I see.”
“He doesn’t come back often, but when he does come to town I know he flies in.”
The only thing I could do was nod. Lord knows how many people owned planes, especially in Texas. And would someone who owned a plane like that own a crop plane as well? And for goodness sake, how many planes landed at this little airport each day? What in the hell was I expecting to find here?
“Well, thank you for not yelling at me for trespassing.”
With a friendly smile, he replied, “No yelling. Unless you come back in an hour, then I may have to raise my voice.”
I laughed and made my way to the front of the truck and slipped inside the driver’s seat.
For the next two hours, I simply drove around town. I didn’t have any idea where I should go, so I took whatever turns struck my fancy. Before it got too late, I did stop at a small shop on the main road and ran in to grab little Nolan a birthday present. I also bought Liliana a gift as well.
“Do you gift wrap?” I asked the sales lady.
“Yes! Give me fifteen minutes!” the young girl said as she disappeared into the back. I wondered around the store and then headed to the front window and glanced out. Boerne had grown so much in the past eight years. The small-town charm was still there, kind of, but there were certainly a lot of people walking around, and I had no clue who they were.
Suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. It was the strangest feeling. I hadn’t felt it since that day in Paris when I saw my mystery man.
“Here you go!” the store clerk called out as I jumped and spun around. “All ready for the party!”
I quickly made my way back over to the counter and took the two presents. “Thank you so much! They look adorable.”
“You’re so welcome.”
“Have a wonderful day!” I said as I nearly sprinted out of the store. The moment I got outside, I frantically looked around.
The feeling I had only moments ago was gone. Dammit. My body deflated, and I laughed at myself. “Goodness, Linnzi, you’re truly losing your mind. Thinking you would run into someone thousands of miles from you.”
“Do you often make a habit of talking to yourself?”
I spun around and found Sayrn standing there. “Saryn! What are you doing?”
She smiled. “I just left my mother’s store. I came out to buy Nolan one more little gift. What about you? How was your first day back in Boerne?”
“It’s been…odd,” I said with a laugh.
She tilted her head and looked at me. “What do you mean?”
I waved off my words and replied, “Nothing. Where are you parked?”
Saryn motioned down the street. “Down a few blocks.”
“Me too, let’s walk together.”
“Tell me why your day was odd.” I could tell by the concern in her voice she truly wanted to know. “When I saw you run out of the store, you looked as if you were searching for someone.”
I let out a dramatic sigh. “Oh Lord. I truly think I’m losing my mind.”
“It’s a big adjustment, Linnzi. You’ve been gone a long time, and to come home and have this gap in your memory still… It will take time.”
I nodded. “I know. I went to the airport today and parked at the end of the runway. I was hoping maybe I’d have another memory just being there.”
Saryn’s eyes lit up. “Did you?”
“No,” I said, sounding utterly defeated. “And just now, when you saw me rush out of the store, I can’t even explain it, but I felt…I felt…”
“What! What did you feel?” Saryn asked as she tugged at my arms. “Tell me!”
Laughing, I said, “I don’t know what I felt. Like someone was out here. Ugh, that doesn’t make sense. The entire time I was in Paris I turned down date after date.”
“Why?” she asked.
I closed my eyes briefly and shook my head. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, and maybe I am.”
“There is no way I’m going to think you’re crazy.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I worked up the courage to tell her. It wasn’t like Saryn and I weren’t friends—we were. We had been close at one time. It dawned on me that I could remember bits and pieces of Saryn during those few years I had forgotten. Us in a barn. The two of us riding horses.
I shook it off and focused on what I was about to admit to. “The whole reason I ran off to Paris was because it was the only memory I had at the time. I remembered wanting to pursue art and live in Paris. After the accident, I knew something was off. My parents were keeping something from me, and my mother practically pushed me out of the door to go to Paris. Once I got there, I thought maybe I would be okay with those missing years. I wasn’t, though. I felt such a profound loss, it’s hard to explain.”
Saryn’s face almost seemed to drain of color, and she looked away from me as we started to walk again. “Loss?” she whispered.
“Yes. It’s silly, but I’ve always felt like there’s been someone. A man. The man I’ve been dreaming about all these years. I don’t think he’s the guy I saw in Paris. Honestly, I think I was so smitten by his looks that I simply latched on to him. He was the first man to spark something inside of me. But the reason I didn’t go out with anyone was because I felt this deep feeling in my chest that I’d already known love. Not a normal love, a wild love. The kind that you can’t keep fenced in. Heck, I don’t even know if I was dating someone before the accident. All I know is I’m hopelessly devoted to a man I’m not even sure exists. Or has ever existed. Maybe my parents didn’t even know I was in love. So it’s not like they’re keeping something from me—maybe they don’t even know themselves. Gahhh, it’s all so overwhelming at times.”
“W-what do you mean, your parents maybe didn’t know you were in love?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Saryn. Maybe they did and he left and they’re trying to keep me from having my heart broken. I’ve seriously considered every possible scenario over the past eight years.” I laughed away the silly notion. That would hardly be enough reason for my folks to keep a secret from me. “How can your heart be broken if you don’t even remember a person? But I feel it, Saryn. God, I feel it, feel him, and I don’t know how to explain it. I’ve literally spent the last eight years turning down any man who asked me out because I felt like if I even dared to let anyone else in, I’d actually lose him. If there even is a him. See what I mean? Losing my mind.”
When I looked at Saryn she was crying. I stopped and took her hands in mine. “Saryn, why are you crying?”
She shook her head. “I can’t do this, I can’t do it. Not with you standing right in front of me.”
“Do what?” I asked, confused.
Saryn drew in a deep breath and then let her words fly out with sonic speed. “You were in love, Linnzi, so madly in love. And he loved you just as much.”
My eyes widened in shock. “What? What do you mean?”