13. Kaci

"This is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted."

Hunter chuckles at my running joke. Everything's the best when you can't remember what came before.

We've been out here talking and eating for the last few hours. We watched the sun dip in the sky and the pale pink sunset turn to the darkness of night.

I haven't brought up the military again since Hunter got so upset about it.

I wonder about the other men in the photo and if they are from his unit. I want to ask about the man who looks like me, but I don't want to upset Hunter again with what's obviously a painful memory.

I'll ask him tomorrow. I'll show him the photo, and we'll try to figure out what it all means. Tonight I'm enjoying sitting under the stars with a campfire, good food, and good company.

The night sky is visible as a pool of darkness through the trees populated by bright stars. I lean back in my camp chair and stare up at the sky.

"That's the Big Dipper."

Hunter meets my gaze, as surprised as I am. "Which means that's Polaris." I point to the bright star that the tail of the Big Dipper is pointing to. "The North Star."

I can't get the grin off my face. "I know about stars!"

Something else I can add to my list.

I lean right back in my chair, gazing upwards to see if there's anything else I know. "The Big Dipper is made up of some of the same stars as the Ursa Major constellation. And that one over there is Ursa Minor."

I give an excited bark of a laugh and jump out of my chair.

"I know about stars! Maybe I'm an astrophysicist."

"Or an astronaut," Hunter adds.

I'm excited and jumping around, and he catches my hands.

"Or an astronomy teacher," I add.

Excitement bubbles up inside me, because I'm sure I do something with stars. How else would I know the constellations?

Hunter spins me around and I lean back against him, resting my head on my chest as I look to the sky.

"That star that's the brightest, I think that's Vega. And there's a satellite or a plane." I squint at a light moving across the sky.

"Or a UFO," Hunter ads.

I spin around and slap him playfully. "No such thing."

"How do you know?" He smiles playfully. "Maybe you were abducted by aliens and that's why you can't remember."

I laugh as I snatch up my notebook. "I doubt it."

I add astronomy to the list as well as not into conspiracy theories.

When I glance up, Hunter's watching me with a hungry look. My heart skips a beat. I know he won't touch me until I get my memory back, but I long to feel his body against mine.

As if reading my mind he draws me close, and I drop my notebook on the chair.

"Promise me you'll always remember this moment." He tilts my chin so I'm looking into his eyes that have gone serious.

"What's so special about this moment?"

"Promise me." He brushes my hair back and rests his hand on my head. "When this head gets filled with memories. Promise you'll always remember this moment with me under the stars."

He's so close his breath skates across my lips.

"Promise you'll remember that I love you, angel. No matter what, I love you."

My eyes go wide, and I forget to breathe. He just said the L word, yet it feels so right.

"I love y…"

He hastily puts his finger to my lips.

"Don't say it back, angel. Don't say it. Just remember how I feel about you. Remember it, always."

I nod slowly, and he removes his finger. His lips press gently to mine, making them tingle. Then the kiss is over and his arms are around me, hugging me close to his chest.

"Whatever happens, leave room for this memory."

We stand for a long time with his arms wrapped around me and my head pressed to his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. We stay wrapped together as the fire burns down and the earth shifts beneath us, slowly changing the position of the stars.

I breathe deeply, thinking about this complicated man and if he is the man in the photo and what it all means.

I don't know, but for now I'm in his arms and safe. He doesn't have to ask, because I already know I'll remember this feeling forever.