“What’s your opinion?” he asked anxiously.
“The memory loss was originally attributable to the fractured skull,” he replied. “Then she found herself in such a traumatic situation that her mind couldn’t handle it and closed down. There’s no reason why the memories shouldn’t come back, but she’ll need a lot of support to get through them when they do.”
“She’ll get it. Count on that.”
“I know she will.”
“Should we encourage her to remember, or is she better off not knowing?”
“Unfortunately there are no hard and fast rules in these cases. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but only Cantara can know what’s right for her. My advice is, if she asks and you think she’s strong enough to take it, then show her pictures of her past, tell her things. Drop the odd comment into conversations and see how she reacts. You know her better than anyone, so you’re the best person to judge what she can and can’t handle.” Sanford handed him a card. “My business and personal numbers are on there. I’m very interested in Cantara’s recovery.”
“You think she will recover?” Raoul jumped on the suggestion.
“I think there’s every chance.” Sanford flashed a professional smile. “She’s a tough young lady. And, in case you’re blaming yourself, it’s my belief that thoughts of you got her through her ordeal. She wouldn’t have remembered your names otherwise.”
“Thank you for that,” Raoul said, offering the consultant his hand as he walked him to the door. “It helps a lot.”
Chapter Nine
Over the next four weeks, Cantara’s rate of progress exceeded Raoul’s most ambitious expectations. Each day they saw small improvements in her. Her appetite returned, so did her strength. She gained a little weight, looked a little less gaunt, and the shadows lifted from her eyes. Her bruises had gone, her cuts healed and her scars began to fade. The physical ones, anyway. She walked longer distances with the two of them each day and got to know Iesha. The mare quickly caught on to the fact that Cantara was a soft touch and was waiting at the railings every morning for the treat Cantara took her.
“That mare is precocious,” Zeke declared, chuckling.
“She is magnificent,” Cantara replied defensively, smoothing her sleek neck and kissing her soft muzzle.
“Whatever you say works for me,” Raoul said. If she said the moon was made of cheese, who was he to argue?
She met Mark and Karl and didn’t seem afraid of them, which was encouraging. The guys had taken over the day to day running of the Agency while Raoul and Zeke devoted themselves exclusively to Cantara’s recovery. Significantly, she remembered more and more snippets, and asked more questions about what had happened to her. But her memories were still patchy and the guys had decided she wasn’t strong enough to hear the complete truth just yet.
“It’s very early days,” Sanford told Raoul during one of their many telephone consultations. “She’s doing way better than I would have expected at this stage. Just don’t push her too hard.”
A significant breakthrough came when Cantara had been in Wyoming for almost three weeks. They had fallen into the routine of Zeke helping Cantara to bed while Raoul tidied up the day’s business, answering any queries Mark and Karl couldn’t handle. That gave Cantara a bit of time alone with Zeke. Raoul made it to bed in time to kiss her goodnight, before her eyes fluttered to a close and she snuggled up between them. She occasionally woke in a sweaty panic but they had taken to leaving a low light burning in the room, so she knew immediately where she was. That she was safe. The nightmares appeared to come less and less frequently after that.
In the mornings it was Raoul’s turn to be alone with her while Zeke fixed breakfast. Raoul loved waking before she did, just so he could watch her sleeping and observe the small changes that had occurred in her since the previous day. No one would ever convince Raoul that he didn’t notice each and every one of them, no matter how insignificant.
This morning, Cantara turned the tables on him. He woke to find her leaning up on an elbow, watching him.
“Hey, you applying for my job?” he asked, leaning up for a kiss.
She returned that kiss with considerable enthusiasm. Up until now she had been wary of excess physical contact, and so he and Zeke had kept their kisses chaste. But this morning that didn’t seem to be enough for her. Her lips parted beneath his in an invitation that was simply too tempting for Raoul to resist. He had been burning with desire ever since her return, his frustration growing daily more acute as he yearned to exorcise her demons in a manner he knew the Cantara of old would have embraced with enthusiasm. He had been able to keep his instincts in check all the time she had been passive, but asking him not to follow up the messages she was now sending him—intentionally or otherwise—was too much.
With a groan, Raoul plundered her mouth with his tongue, savoring the sweet taste of her. With their lips still fused Raoul sat up, gathered her onto his lap and closed his arms possessively around her as he deepened the kiss. Her lips were soft and warm beneath his as Raoul kissed her like it was an Olympic sport and he a contender for the gold medal. He invested his heart and soul into that kiss, telling her without the need for words just how comprehensively he loved her, and how his heart had shattered to smithereens when he had thought she was dead. Her arms worked their way around his neck and her fingers tangled with his hair, just the way they used to. Did she remember that, or was her action instinctive?
“Baby,” he said, breaking the kiss, breathless and aroused. “We need to stop this right now, while I still can.”
“What if I don’t want to stop?” she asked, canting her head flirtatiously.