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left so alone.”
    But then she stood up straight, and after a pause turned to Alastair and said, “Well anyway, the road’s clear. We can go into town now and find your family and get you medical attention. I’ll see if I can find some warm clothes for you, and then we can take off.”
    She didn’t wait for a reply as she turned and bounded up the stairs.

Chapter Five
     
    Lu was knee-deep in a pile of old clothes, pulling things out of the closet in the spare bedroom when she felt Alastair’s light touch on her shoulder. She turned to face him and he asked softly, “Are you ok?”
              “I’m fine,” she mumbled.
              “We don’t have to do this right now,” he said, gesturing at the clothes. “We can go into town later today. Tomorrow even. Or the next day.”
              “We shouldn’t put it off. I’m sure people are worried about you. And you need medical attention.”
              After a pause he said, “Lu, if you want to go right now because you want to get rid of me, I understand. But if I get a vote, what I want is to stay here with you.”
    She stepped out of the clothes pile and looked up at him. “But your family has to be worried sick. They--”
    “I don’t have a family. I know I don’t.”
    “Ok, your girlfriend then.”
    He shook his head.
    “How do you know that if you say you can’t remember anything?” Lu asked.
    “I may not be able to remember people or events,” he said, “but when I think about my life, I recall some really strong emotions. And it’s not love and happiness that I’m remembering, it’s loneliness and misery. That doesn’t fit with the idea that there’s a loving family out there looking for me.”
    “You’re remembering emotions?”
    He nodded. “It’s really disturbing, actually. And it makes me think that maybe I’m in no hurry to try to get back to that life.”
    “But who knows what that is? Maybe you’re just reliving being burned and freezing and scared back at the creek or something.”
    “I don’t think so.”
     “Well, we still need to go into town. You need to be examined by a doctor,” Lu told him. “Both for your memory loss and for your hand.”
    Alastair intently held Lu’s gaze. “When I think about seeing a doctor, every fiber of my being tells me not to go. I think I should probably listen to that little voice that’s screaming inside me.”
    “You’re just not thinking clearly.”
    “But I am. Just because my memories are gone doesn’t mean I’ve also lost the ability to think or feel.”
    “So, you really won’t let me take you to the hospital?”
    “No way.”
    “Well, it’s your choice.” Lu knit her brows. “I think you’re dead wrong, but I can’t force you to get medical care. We still should to go to the police station and see if there’s a missing persons report on you though, despite these bad feelings you’re talking about.”
    “Call the police station and ask. I’ll bet you anything no one is looking for me.”
    “I can’t call, actually,” she said. “There’s no land line to the house. And like I said before, my cell phone’s dead until the power comes back and I can charge it. So we just need to drive into town.”
    He pushed his hair back from his eyes with his good hand and said, “If you still have feelings for that guy that was just here, or if you simply want me gone, ok. I’ll go without protest and I’ll let you dump me on the first convenient street corner. But if we’re going simply to find out that no one is looking for me, it hardly seems worth the effort.”
    “I don’t want you gone,” she blurted, more emotion coming through than she’d intended.
    “You don’t?”
    She broke eye contact. “I really like having you here. But it’s not like I can just keep you for myself when there might be people worried about you.”
    Alastair smiled and said, “I love the idea of you keeping me for yourself. Where can I sign