7

Vi eventually managed to stumble down the stairs the next morning. Sunday had dawned bright and clear, and the sun coming through the window had waked her up. She felt hung over, but didn't blame the one shot of liquor she'd had. It was the crying and the emotional roller coaster. That was also something that happened when she had her moments of wallowing in her grief.

She tied her robe and stepped into the kitchen, raising an eyebrow when she saw Glen standing at the stove, stirring something. He looked over his shoulder and smiled at her. "Good morning."

"Mornin'." Vi went to the fridge, contemplated a soda, and decided that she'd have to do without. She grabbed the orange juice instead, and a glass.

"Hungry?"

Vi peered around him, saw he was making scrambled eggs, and wrinkled her nose. "Not really." She was not really a breakfast person under the best circumstances.

"What time is Josie getting home today?" Glen asked, choosing not to harass her for not eating. He figured she'd eat when she got hungry.

"Not til late. They'll have to drag her kicking and screaming out of the zoo. She loves that place." Vi sat down at the table and sipped her juice. Glen eventually sat down across from her with his plate of eggs and toast.

He took a bite and looked at Vi thoughtfully. "So about what happened…"

Vi sighed and finished off her juice. "It is way too early to get into that."

"I just don't want it hanging over us or…"

"It's not." But Vi found she had trouble meeting his eyes this morning.

"It might. I'm not sorry it happened. I just felt like you needed it."

Vi half-smiled into her empty cup. "That would be a first."

"I have to get this out in the open. I didn't sleep for shit last night because I kept thinking about…well. I just couldn't stop thinking." Now it was hit turn to look down.

"Glen. You are a great guy but…you have your own problems to deal with. You don't need my baggage on top of it."

"I think that would be something I could decide for myself." Glen stated, looking up and meeting her eyes. Vi felt herself flushing. This was the first time she was seeing that particular look from him, a look full of heat. It made her feel so strange she could not pinpoint why. She felt weak. And sad for reasons that went beyond being a widow.

Vi didn't know what to say to that, either. She'd only known Glen for a month, and she did not really "know" him. How could she get to know a person who couldn't remember anything before the night she had found him?

Glen seemed poised to say something else, but he sighed heavily instead and seemed to switch gears completely. "I told Ray I'd ride the back fences today, to see what we'd need to start on tomorrow."

"Stick to the trail." Vi reminded him, making him smile. The trail was a set of tracks worn onto their property from years of vehicles, horses and cows moving near the fence. The property was big enough that sometimes animals and even a ranch hand or two had gotten lost in the woods that overlapped the fence line.

"Will you be ok here by yourself?" Glen asked, finishing his breakfast.

"I'll be fine. Believe it or not, on occasion I can handle being alone."

"I never thought you couldn't."

"Besides…I'll be leaving in a little bit. Got some grocery shopping to do. We didn't have time yesterday." Vi glanced at the clock over the stove. "If you really want to worry over somebody, stop by and check on Ray."

"I was planning on that anyway." Glen smirked and took his plate and their empty cups to the sink. "I unloaded the stuff out of the SUV last night. Good thing I did since you're going shopping."

"You didn't have to do that." Vi smiled. She had forgotten all about that stuff.

"I put it all up in Josie's room." Glen went on as if she hadn't spoken. "I told you…I couldn't sleep." Vi's smile faded. Glen looked over his shoulder and frowned in concern again. "What is it?"

Vi shrugged. "Nothing. Just sorry if it was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault. It was all mine. So don't worry about it." Glen dried his hands on a dishtowel and turned to face her. "I do want to ask you a favor though."

"What favor?" Vi's tone was cautious.

"Maybe one day this week, would you be willing to take me on a trip to the house where I lived as a kid?"

"The place where…" Vi didn't finish. She didn't have to. Glen was already nodding.

"I think it might help. Jog something." He rapped his forehead lightly with his knuckles.

"Sure. I'll get the address from Steve tomorrow and we can go on Tuesday or Wednesday." While Glen drove around the ranch, he wasn't street legal. Since he had no way of proving who he was, it was sort of hard to get him a license. Vi was working on it though. Steve had been helping but it really was like pulling teeth to get help from the authorities on the other end.

"Thank you." Glen touched her shoulder and tilted his head toward the door. "I'll be back in a bit. And I'll check in on Ray."

Vi nodded and watched him thoughtfully as he went out the door. And felt sad again, but in a completely different way from yesterday. Any normal woman would have been tickled pink by the fact that a good looking, intelligent, hard-working man showed an interest in her. Vi could not help but wonder if it was just misplaced affection because of everything she had done for him over the past month. And going on his date last night might have somehow triggered it. With a sigh she pushed the thoughts from her mind and got ready to head into town.

Two hours later she was walking through the grocery store, looking at the shelves. She had already stopped and done a few other errands on the way in, so the store was her last stop. It didn't take her long since she did not have Josie stopping her every three minutes to ask for random items.

She was rearranging her emergency kit and the other things she'd bought to make room for her groceries when someone spoke from her right. Vi looked over her shoulder and saw the guy from the night before, Mark, standing there. His hair was still back in a braid, and he had a pair of dark sunglasses covering his eyes.

"Got your hands full?" He sounded amused.

"As usual." Vi was trying to shift the big bags of dog food she'd picked up. With Bridger, and the clinic, it seemed like she bought more food for the animals than for the humans in her life. Vi could do basic surgeries, but more often she kept animals overnight – or even for a few days – after they got surgeries elsewhere. She also took in random strays and took care of them until they were fit enough to go to the nearest shelter for placement. With the weather warming up, she expected an influx of animals. It usually started in the spring and kept on through mid-summer.

"Need a hand?" He had a single bag dangling from his fingers. Vi stepped back and shrugged.

"It's your back. Go ahead and throw it out."

That got a chuckle from him. Mark handed her his bag and leaned into the storage compartment of the SUV. He shifted the heavy bags around without breaking a sweat. And then he started putting her groceries in. Vi joined in, wondering what was up with these random men she had met lately who always felt the need to help. Was she seriously putting out a damsel in distress vibe? She would have to work on that.

Vi tucked the last bag in and stepped out of the way so Mark could close the door. "You're a vet?"

"Did the four-hundred pounds of animal food give me away?"

"That. And I think somebody might have mentioned it a hundred or so years ago. I just never put a face to the name, I guess." He reached over and took his single bag back from her.

"Is that a nice way of saying I look old?" Vi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mark smirked. "Nah. I might have exaggerated a little bit."

Vi smiled at that. "Well thanks for the help."

"Anytime." He stepped out of her way and watched as she got behind the wheel. She backed out of the space, tipped him a wave, and headed for home.

Vi glanced into her rearview mirror once, and saw Mark getting into an enormous black truck. She focused on her driving and headed for home. She was started to feel hungry, and was contemplating what to fix for lunch as she pulled into the driveway.

After the busy month of planning, and having Glen around, and Josie's birthday, and her own emotional hiccups, it was nice to be doing something as mundane as frying up a few cheeseburgers for lunch. She started unloading her groceries, leaving the dog and cat food, and other supplies for later.

As she was walking outside to grab a few more of the bags, the phone started ringing behind her. Vi hesitated, maybe too long. It only rang three times before it stopped. If it was Josie calling – which was something that only happened if Josie was sick – she would have let the phone ring off the hook. She would check it when she went back in.

Outside, Glen had appeared. He was standing at the back of the SUV, hand resting on the side, looking at the things she hadn't unloaded yet. He shot her a crooked smile.

"Ugh. You're gonna offer to help. I know you are." Vi grouched, reaching past him to grab a few more bags.

Glen made a soft huffing sound. "Not if you keep up that attitude."

"I don't have an attitude." Vi watched him as he hefted one of the big bags of dog food over his shoulder. "So, seriously – do I just look like a helpless female who couldn't possibly function without man-help?"

"Sure. You're weak as a kitten." As it to illustrate how weak Vi was, Glen grabbed another bag. "To your office with these?"

"Yup. But you coulda driven the SUV over to the side and saved yourself a long walk." Vi could only shake her head at his snort. So she apparently looked helpless, and she'd questioned his manly ability to carry heavy things. Vi grinned to herself and headed for the house.

Twenty minutes later she had thick burgers sizzling on the stove. Glen finished unloading the SUV and kept her company while she sliced tomatoes and onions for their burgers. Vi had just started building her burger when the phone rang again. It reminded her she hadn't checked the caller ID the first time.

"I got it." She said when Glen raised an eyebrow. Vi grabbed the cordless phone, glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was a number she didn't know. She hit the button and prepped the phone between her shoulder and ear. "Hello?"

There was a beat of silence. "Hi. Vivian?" It was a male voice, very deep. Vi paused in her burger making to shift the phone to the other ear.

"Yes?" She said it cautiously. She figured it was someone calling looking for vet services. She got a few of those each week, usually from people who knew of her from friends and neighbors.

"Hey. It's Mark." He sounded cautious too. Odd. But Vi placed the voice about half a second before he said his name.

"Hi. Did I forget something in the parking lot or…" She left it hanging there, because she honestly did not know why he would be calling.

"Oh. No, nothin'. I uh…" He made a soft noise. Vi realized it was a huff of laughter. "I'm not very good at this kinda thing."

"What kind of thing?" Burger forgotten, Vi cast a look at Glen and walked into the living with the phone.

"I wanted to know if you'd wanna have dinner with me. Tomorrow or the next night." Mark finally said.

Vi spent an entire minute unable to answer. She had been asked out a few times since Link's death, and she'd offered them her usual 'I'm not ready' speech along with an apology. It was weird it hadn't automatically popped out.

"You still there?" Mark asked in a voice still laced with caution.

"Yes. Sorry. I guess I wasn't expecting a dinner invitation." Vi tried not to sound too stunned.

"Well I figured if the kids are gone on that field trip…"

"Oh. Shit. I forgot about that." Vi laughed. "Sorry. That's tomorrow night isn't it?" Josie's science class would be traveling and going for an overnight trip to the local university. Vi wasn't entirely sure what exactly it was – only that it involved the planetarium at the school and the new telescope the school had just built. She'd signed the permission slip over a month before, and had paid the fees.

"Yeah. Drew's excited about it. And uh…well. I just figured some company couldn't hurt."

Vi thought it over. And could not believe she was seriously considering it. Obviously something was wrong with her. She still had a lot to do, and she would be taking Glen on a trip to his childhood home if it was still there. She had to keep that in mind. There were a dozen other things she could think of right off the top of her head. So it rather surprised her when she spoke again.

"I guess that would be all right." Mark chuckled at that. Vi smiled wryly. "Sorry, I know I should sound more excited…"

"No worries. Should I pick you up?"

Vi bit her lip. "Where were you planning on going?"

"I hadn't given it much thought. I could cook something here. Got some steaks I could thaw…"

Under normal circumstances that would have thrown up a few hundred red flags and alarm bells in her head. Vi was surprised again when she agreed that sounded like a good idea. "And you don't have to pick me up. I'd rather drive myself." She hoped that didn't sound too abrupt but she wanted to have her car so she could leave if she had to, without relying on him.

"That's fine. How about six-thirty?"

"Sounds good." Vi went to her desk as he told her his address and directions to his house. She had thought she lived in the boonies – he was even further out of town then the ranch. But she knew the general area, and had in fact seen his house a few times when she'd driven past. "Do I need to bring anything? A dessert or…"

"Just yourself. I think I can handle the rest. See you tomorrow."

They said goodbye and Vi just stood there looking at the directions she had jotted down. She had to have been crazy, accepting a dinner invitation from a stranger. Not only that, she was going to go to the stranger's house. Alone.

She jotted down the phone number as well, and folded the paper to tuck into her back pocket. She had an entire day to worry about what Mark's intentions were, and she could just call and cancel if she decided not to risk it. That decided she went back to the kitchen to eat.

Glen was sitting at the table, already digging in. "Something wrong?" He asked as she hung the phone back on the charger and grabbed her plate to add some potato chips.

"Nope. Just talking to a friend of mine. Good thing too because I got reminded about Josie's trip tomorrow night."

That seemed to satisfy him. Glen didn't ask any more questions. What Vi could not figure out is why she felt the need to hide the fact that she would be going to dinner with a guy she'd met the night before. Then again…Glen had shown an interest in her. He had kissed her, after all. And all but admitted that he thought he was developing feelings for her. But Vi did not know if she could trust it. She thought it could have been misplaced gratitude for the things she had done for him. And until he got his memories back, she wasn't sure she could ever accept that he might like her.

So obviously, she did not want to hurt Glen's feelings. And it was just a dinner. And it felt as if she would finally have someone to talk to who had been through just as much as she had. Mark was someone who might understand her depressive phases, her mood swings, or her inability to move on. At least that was the chance she was taking, having dinner with him.

Vi forced the thought out of her head. She'd been doing an awful lot of that lately. Sometimes she had to. She was easygoing most of the time, but when she worried she put all her energy into it. She sat down across from Glen and smirked as she watched him take a big bite of his cheeseburger.

"At least I know it's edible." Vi joked, picking up her own burger and taking a more ladylike bite.

"It's great grub. Thanks." Glen took a drink of the tea he had poured for himself. "So about that road trip…"

Vi looked at him expectantly. "I haven't forgotten."

Glen smiled. "I talked to Ray for a minute. He said he'll be back tomorrow, by the way."

"A two nighter? Must have been one hell of a poker game."

"I guess." Glen smirked. "I'll be helping with the fence tomorrow, patching a few spots. But Tuesday should be good."

"Ok. Well, I'll eat, and then call Steve, and we'll go from there."

"I wonder if the house is even still there." Glen said it in a low voice, obviously more thinking out loud that expecting an answer.

"I suppose there's only one way to find out." Vi smiled and took another bite of her burger. "We'll have to be back by six, so I can pick Josie up from school."

"That shouldn't be a problem. I don't want to camp there or anything."

"I never said you did." Vi said with a smirk. "Do you think going there will really do anything?"

Glen shrugged. "I have no idea. I've been reading a little…about memory loss. And amnesia. It's rare to have a completely blank past. And rarer still that I remember how to do a lot of things. I just don't remember what happened to make me learn those things."

"Well. We're going to figure it out."

"Are we?"

"Of course." Vi sounded confident. She could afford to sound confident. Maybe all Glen needed was to be in a place associated with his childhood. "So this reading you've been doing…any thoughts on why you might have the blank past?"

"Nothing. The books all say extreme trauma – and I'm fine – or experiencing something so horrific the mind just shuts down and hides the memories from itself. But…what could have been that bad? I know you said that my mother died…and I thought maybe I did see it happen. But wouldn't I remember from then until now? I understand forgetting the actual trauma, but completely losing everything?" Glen took another sip of his tea. "Nothing makes sense."

"Well, we'll make it make sense eventually." Vi smiled reassuringly at him. She only hoped that if they did find something to remind Glen of his past, it was not something that only brought the bad. As horrible as going through Link's death had been, Vi had so many good memories. They'd had a great life together. She had those good times to pull from when she needed to. And oddly enough, it was those good memories that often caused her depression. That she had lost the best thing that ever happened to her…and that she wasn't sure she would ever be able to find it again without Link. It was just sad.

"Hopefully, it helps." Glen said grimly, picking up the remains of his burger. He took a bite and looked out the window as he chewed thoughtfully.

After lunch, Glen offered to wash up the dishes. Vi let him, because arguing with him was usually counterproductive. He would do the dishes while he tried to argue his point, and get them done and it made arguing with him sort of unfair. Vi made her phone calls. Steve was reluctant to give her the address but she wore him down. And he admitted something that was another surprise for her. The day had been full of them.

"House is empty. Hell…that place has been sitting empty since that shit went down. They had a cleaning crew in, and they put it on the market, but it never sold. Got a reputation. I wouldn't go s'far as to say it's haunted, but small town, small minds." Steve drawled out. "I'd offer to go with you, but Jess is having contractions."

"Finally!" Vi smiled happily.

"Yeah. Fifteen apart. They don't wanna see her at the hospital until she's about 5 minutes apart. So we'll see." Steve perked up, talking about the impending birth of his child. "You all be careful out there. And take a couple of those business cards I gave you. If you go poking around that house, somebody might call the local cops on you and you'll have to explain why you're there." Steve did not need to explain why that would be a bad thing. Vi could figure it out on her own. If Glen had been in trouble, and had been hiding from something, she shouldn't be taking out ads in the paper talking about it.

"Good luck with that baby. And tell Jess I'll come see her in a couple of days whether she has that kid or not."

"I'll warn her." Steve chuckled. "Ya'll take care."

Vi hung up the phone and thought that had been a little too easy. She went upstairs to find Glen and let him know that she had the address. She wasn't too familiar with the town though, so she also wanted her laptop so she could look up the neighborhood. The sound of water running told her Glen was taking a shower. It only took a few minutes to print out a map with decent driving directions.

And at that point there was really nothing more to be done. She could go to her clinic, and take care of some paperwork. But she didn't feel like it. She heard the shower shut off and a few minutes later Glen appeared in the doorway, long hair dripping onto a towel that was wrapped around his shoulders. She told him the trip was a go for Tuesday and handed him the printed directions. He nodded and smiled gamely.

"Hopefully something comes of it. I don't want to feel like I'm wasting your time."

"It is not a waste of time. If it was wasting my time I would get somebody else to take you." Vi smirked.

"Well thank you anyway." Glen smiled. "I keep thinking I was pretty damn lucky. You finding me. Taking me in. It could have ended with me dead there by the road."

"It didn't." Vi said softly. "So it's not worth thinking of things that way. Right?"

"If you say so."

"I do say so." Vi nodded. "Want to watch a movie?"

Glen smirked and shrugged. Sundays were not nearly as busy as the rest of the week, and normally Vi didn't bother with the TV but she felt like making an exception. She wanted to watch something totally mindless that she wouldn't have to think about. They both went downstairs and settled onto the couch in the living room for a quiet afternoon watching DVDs from Josie's collection.

Unfortunately none of the movies could fully distract Vi from her thoughts. She'd gone from happy about Josie's birthday to miserable, confused to amused, all in the space of twenty-four hours. She could only wait to see what the rest of the week would bring. So far it was shaping up to be even more of a roller coaster.