Second Chances Ch. 10

"Any idea why she might have done something like that?" Brian asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

"Nope," the sheriff said with a sigh. He took the poster back from Brian and pinned it to a bulletin board. "Seems like a shame, too. She's an awful pretty young thing." The sheriff gave him a grin. "Enough about that. Tell me about this new sister-in-law of yours."

Brian stayed and chatted a few more minutes before saying his goodbyes. He retrieved his wagon and headed home, anxious to be away from the town. His mind was swimming with questions. He didn't believe for a second that Sarah was capable of murder. There had to be another explanation, but unless she could remember what had happened, he was purely speculating.

Brian had only known Sarah for two days, but he would bet his life that she was not a murderer. It wasn't possible that she could be so sweet, generous, selfless, and thoughtful and also be a cold-hearted killer. He refused to accept it. He thought about what she had told him of the visions she had seen. It was possible that Mr. Henderson had been trying to rape her. Maybe she had stabbed him to defend herself. Now, it was up to Brian to defend her. The best thing he could do was make sure no one knew she was living at his home and pray that she regained her memory before it was too late.

**********

He arrived home, and Sarah came running from the house to greet him. Her cheeks were flushed with color, and she gave him a brilliant smile.

"Brian," she cried, "I'm so glad you're back."

"Me too," he laughingly replied. He cast a quick glance around, glad that Liam was nowhere in sight, as she threw herself into his arms and kissed him soundly on the mouth. "Now that's a welcome I could get used to," he teased her. "Give me another one like that."

He kissed her long and thoroughly, kneading her bottom as she leaned into him. She moaned into his mouth, flattening her breasts against his chest as she clasped him to her. He released her mouth and waited for her eyes to flutter open. His cock was throbbing in his breeches, and he pressed it against her belly, letting her know that she had aroused his full attention.

"Later, my angel," he promised, with a wicked grin. "Tonight, you'll pay for making me want you so badly in the middle of the morning."

"Why wait?" she asked, boldly stroking him. "I'm perfectly willing to take care of you now."

Brian groaned, loving the feel of her hand on his aching erection. "Naughty girl. You know I have work to do. And so do you. I brought you the fabric you asked for."

He retrieved the fabric and other things and carried them into the cabin. Sarah was as excited as a kid at Christmas when she unwrapped the paper and saw the materials he had chosen.

"Oh Brian, these are lovely," she cooed. "There's more than enough here. I'll even have enough to make a tablecloth, I'm sure of it."

He watched for a few minutes as she sorted through the supplies. She kept up a steady stream of excited chatter, unaware of the worry in his eyes. He was careful to disguise it when she met his eye.

"Did you find anything out about me when you were in town?"

"No," he lied. "We'll have to wait for a while and hope your memory comes back on its own."

"Oh," she said, scanning his face. Something about his expression made her think he wasn't being totally honest with her.

"I'd better go help Liam," Brian said. He gave her a quick kiss and turned to leave. "We'll see you at lunch."

Brian left before she could question him further. He joined Liam and filled him in on what he had found out about Sarah. When he had finished his tale, Liam blew out a long whistle.

"What does Sarah say about it?"

"She doesn't know," Brian said, "and I don't want her to find out."

"Why not? Maybe it would stir some memories," Liam suggested.

"Or maybe it would scare the daylights out of her. For now, I'm not going to tell her. Hopefully, she will begin to remember on her own. Promise you'll keep this between us."

"You know I will, Brian. I just hope you're right. It seems to me like you're getting deeper and deeper into trouble with Sarah Martin."

"Well, it's too late to do anything about it," Brian said quietly. "I love her."