*** PART THREE ***

The first few days turned out to be pretty uneventful. Most mornings, Nahla slept in late. By the time she arose, Uncle had already left the house to take care of business related issues. It turned out that the plantation was actually a large vineyard. Most of the wines produced were sold locally, although Uncle had been persuaded over recent years to branch out.

Once Nahla finally got over the jet lag, she began getting up to watch the sunrise with Gino. Not typically a morning person, she had to admit it was a great way to start out the day. Plus a nap in the early afternoon usually helped.

It was on one early morning that Gino suggested taking a ride through the vineyards. Nahla eagerly agreed. It had been years since had ridden but that didn't hold her back. Meeting Gino in the stables after changing into long pants, she arrived to find he had already chosen a mount for her.

"Her name is Niveo."

"She's beautiful," Nahla replied, extending a hand to let Niveo become accustomed to her scent.

"Do you need some help getting up?"

"No, I think I got it."

Placing her left foot in the stirrup, she took hold of the saddlehorn and pulled herself up. As she settled herself in the saddle, Gino adjusted the stirrups to the correct length. He then approached his own mount, a pale gray appaloosa and swung himself up.

"Ready?"

Nahla nodded. "Let's go."

It was on the edge of Gino's tongue to tell Nahla how beautiful she looked. The happiness she was feeling was written all over her face, making her almost radiant. It worried him that he had developed such strong feelings for her over a short amount of time.

Sure he had watched her grow up; feeling her pain during those awkward years, and then cheering with her at her triumphs. Even through there was no blood relation between them, they were still family. Not to mention she had a significant other. Reigning in his emotions, he turned his horse towards the barn door, setting him into a canter once they were out in the yard.

Nahla followed at a distance, taking in the beauty of the landscape around them. The day would soon turn hot, but it was still early enough to enjoy being out and about. Seeing that Gino was quickly increasing the distance between them, she gently nudged her horse into picking up the pace.

"I trust that you do know where you are going?" She teased once she was along side of him.

"Of course," Gino said with a grin. "Lance and I used to run amuck through these vineyards as kids."

Nahla laughed, "I bet you two were holy terrors as children. Poor Uncle."

"Poor Uncle?? More like poor us when he would catch us."

"Serves you right for allowing yourselves to get caught."

"Oh thanks, you're all heart." Gino muttered.

Nahla just shrugged and laughed.

Gino led them up a small hill that overlooked most of the vineyards. Nahla took in the view and emitted a heavy sigh.

"Something wrong?"

"No, not really. Was just thinking Jace would love to see this."

"You miss him?"

"I think I started missing him the minute the plane took off." Nahla replied then laughed nervously. "Corny, huh?"

Gino smiled softly. "No, I think he's very lucky."

When Nahla turned to look at him, Gino had already turned his horse to head back down the hill. Taking one last look at the rows upon rows of greenery, Nahla reigned her horse around to follow Gino, letting her mount leisurely trod down the path

A movement in the brush to her right caught Nahla's attention. Without any warning a flock of small birds took flight directly in front of her horse, startling it. Before she could guess her mounts reaction, the mare reared up on her hindquarters. Not experienced in these matters, Nahla didn't think to grab hold of the horse's mane. Thrown backwards off the horse, Nahla hit the ground hard.

Gino heard the flurry of movement behind him but didn't turn around until he heard Nahla's started cry. Racing to where she lay still on the ground, he quickly kneeled and checked for a pulse. It beat steady and strong beneath his fingers.

"Nahla? Can you hear me?" He asked, tapping her lightly on the cheek.

She moaned and turned her head, but didn't awaken. It was as she rolled her head to the side that Gino saw blood. Being careful of her neck, he gently probed the back of her head to find a large knot. Then he saw the rock she must have hit her head on. No wonder she was unconscious.

Taking a big risk, Gino swept Nahla up into his arms. Mounting his horse, he set the stud into a pace that would return them to the house as quickly as possible. The mare would return to the barn on her own, having been trained to do so. Arriving at the front door, Gino hollered for the
housekeeper, instructing her to contact Uncle and the family doctor.

An hour later, Gino paced the room while Uncle sat quietly to the side while the doctor finished his examination.

"Well, she has a minor concussion, very lucky considering the size of the knot on her head. Other than that I'd say she's just going to feel a little banged up when she awakens."

"Thank you Angelo." Uncle said. "I'll walk you out."

Upon returning, Uncle lit in Gino for letting Nahla get hurt. It had taken over ten minutes to calm his father down and reassure him that it really had been an accident. Uncle also lost some of his stream when he saw how genuinely upset the fall had made his son.

*******

Nahla didn't show signs of staying awake until the following morning. Although Gino had stayed by her side, awakening her every couple of hours per the doctors' orders, she didn't stay awake long enough to speak with him.

Perched on the edge of the bed, Gino waited for her to focus on her bearings. "How are you feeling?"

"My head is pounding, what happened?" she asked.

"You were thrown from a horse and hit your head on a rock. We've been worried about you."


"We?"

"Uncle and I."

Nahla turned to look at him, a confused expression on her face. "Uncle? You?"

"You don't know me?" Gino asked as his heart dropped straight into his stomach.

She shook her head 'no'.

"What can you tell me? What do you remember?" He asked.

"I." she began, trailing off. It was obvious by the expression on her face that she was having difficulty remembering anything. Glancing around the room, she returned to look at Gino with tearful eyes. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"Don't get upset, please, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm your cousin, Gino. You're at my father's home in Italy, visiting for a couple of weeks. None of this sounds familiar?"

Nahla shook her head, swiping at her eyes. She looked liked a lost child.

"It's alright, I'll help you. You're not alone in this." He said, taking her hand in his. He misinterpreted her flinch. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

She stopped him from getting up with a hand on his forearm. "You didn't. Strange as it sounds, I'm not afraid of you. If I didn't' know better, I'd go so far as to say I'd trust you with my life. But danged if I know why."

"You can. I'd do anything to keep you safe," he admitted softly.

A knock at the door interrupted them. The housekeeper entered with a breakfast tray, glad to see that Nahla had awakened, and with an appetite at that. The doctor was brought back for another examination, but could only say that the amnesia was probably a temporary result of the fall.

"She could remember in ten minutes, or it could be two months before she regains her memory. The best thing is just to let her rest and take it a day at a time. However, I must warn you. Don't try to force her memory back, it will only serve to confuse her, let her work it out on her own."
The doctor told them.

The problem was, they didn't have two months. They didn't even have two weeks because Nahla had to return to Section in a little over a week. Gino figured he'd give her a few days and if they didn't make progress he'd call Sherry. The last thing he wanted to do was worry his cousin if he could avoid it.

By that afternoon, Nahla was feeling well enough to spend a few hours out on the terrace. Gino of course, stayed close by.

"Tell me about my life. My parents? Do I have any sisters or brothers? Do I have a job?"

Gino hesitated, unsure of what he could tell her. For sure, he couldn't tell her about Section One. And how was he to tell her that her parents were dead and her one sister, whom she had only just found about recently, was literally a trained killer for a secret anti-terrorist organization.

"The doctor advised us not to tell you, that your memory should be allowed to come back on its own."

Nahla sighed heavily. "I guess I can understand that, but its' driving me nuts that I don't remember anything!"

"Don't try so hard to remember," Gino advised. "Why not just enjoy being here?"

Smiling, Nahla raised her face to feel the warmth of the setting sun. "I can try."

"Good."

A few minutes later, she stood and stretched.

"Where are you going?"

"I thought I'd take a short nap before dinner, do you think I have time?"

"Yes, would you like me to come wake you?

You wouldn't mind?" Nahla asked, walking over to stand beside him.

"Not at all."

Completely taking him by surprise, Nahla leaned over to brush her lips against his. "Thank you." And then she turned and went into the house.

Gino tried not to put too much thought behind the kiss she had given him. She didn't remember Jace, or else he was positive she wouldn't have done it. Letting it go as an expression of gratitude, Gino closed his eyes to take a short nap himself. Drifting off, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she never remembered Jace.

Two days later, he was forced to call Sherry. He was running out of time, and it was becoming obvious to him that Nahla was forming some kind of romantic attachment to him. Although she hadn't kissed him again, she was always finding ways to touch him. It was nothing overtly sexual in nature, just a touch in passing, or something as innocent as tucking her hand in his elbow as they walked about the grounds.

How he wished the circumstances were different. His conscious kept nagging at him to tell her about Jace. Hadn't it been just the other day she had been mooning over missing him? Gino also felt a sense of loyalty to a man he had never met. It wasn't like him to purposely break up a relationship for his own desires, and he wasn't about to begin now.

******

Sherry sat in her office, behind a stack of papers. Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, she surveyed the amount of work before her. Oh how she hated evaluation time. It was one of the few times she regretted being a mommy, the paperwork required to keep things in order was outrageous!

The phone beside her rang, startling her. "Ya, hello?"

"Sherry? Did I catch you at a bad time??"

"Gino!" she exclaimed. "No, not at all! Actually you have great timing! So how are you? How's my little sis enjoying her visit?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, that's why I'm calling. Sherry, I don't know how to tell you this ."

"What? What happened?"

"Calm down. Please. This is hard enough as is. Nahla had a little accident, she was thrown from a horse a few days ago."

"Oh heavens! Is she all right? Is anything broken? Can I speak with her??"

"No, no. Nothing's broken. But we do have a problem."

"Well spit it out!"

"The doc says she's suffering from amnesia, she doesn't have a clue who she is."

"WHAT?!?" Sherry nearly screeched. "That's it, I'm on the next flight out."

"Sherry, wait. There's something else. I think it might be more important for someone else to come."

"Who's better than her own sister??"

Gino sighed; he could only imagine the reaction he was going to get with his next sentence. "I really think it might be in her best interest if Jace were to come."

'Another doctor?' Sherry wondered. Surely Uncle already had the best medical help money could buy looking after her sister. "Why Jace?"

"Because I think Nahla has become . attached to me. And we both know that can't happen. Just a short time before the accident, she had been telling me how much she was missing Jace. Maybe seeing him will trigger her memory since he was possibly the last thing she was thinking about before she lost her memory."

Sherry had to admit his line of thinking held merit. "Ok, I'll speak with him ASAP and put him on the next flight."

"Thanks, Sherry."

"You're welcome. Oh, and Gino?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry..." she whispered.

"For what?"

"That she would be the one to finally break down that wall you built up after Katrina died."

Gino nearly dropped the phone. No one had dared mention Katrina to him. Not since the day she had died nearly five years before. The day that should have been his wedding day. "Yea, me too." He replied softly, and then hung up the phone.

****

Sherry hung up her phone, dreading what she now had to do. Jace was *NOT* going to be a happy camper. Within a half-hour of speaking to him on the phone, there came a knock at her office door. Buzzing him through, she quickly motioned him to take a seat.

"Thanks for coming so quickly. I'm afraid a situation had developed that is going to require your attention. But first things first. You need to know that the explanation for Nahla's absence isn't exactly 100% truthful."

"So how truthful, exactly, was it?"

"Alright, it was a complete lie. But only because her real destination had to remain unknown."

"Why all the secrecy? Is she in some kind of trouble??"

Sherry sighed. "Originally no, but there was an accident."

"What happened?" Jace exclaimed, coming out of his chair to smack his hands on the desktop in front of him.

"Jace, please. Calm down."

"Tell me what happened."

Sherry stood up, not liking the way he was towering over her. "You chill out. Don't try to intimidate me, it won't work. I'm on your side."

He didn't say anything in response, but he did take a couple of steps back, giving her some breathing room.

"Thank you." Sher replied, taking a deep breath. "A few days ago, Nahla was thrown from a horse while out riding. Now before you freak out again, she wasn't seriously injured. No broken bones, just some minor bumps and bruises."

"So where do I fit into this?"

"I guess I should amend that 'not injured' part. She did suffer one little injury. Apparently when she fell, she hit her head and can't seem to remember a thing."

"She what? What have the doctors said? Surely she's had medical attention??"

"Yes, of course she has. She's had nothing but the very best, believe me. But it's been 4 days with no signs of improvement. It's been suggested that you go and see her, maybe seeing you will jog her memory."

"Of course I'm game. Where is she?"

"Italy. She's staying at a ..."

"Italy?? What the hell is she doing in Italy?" Jace exclaimed, interrupting her.

"I'll explain if you'll just keep quiet for a minute and quit interrupting!" Sher huffed, waiting for him to remain silent so she could continue. "A friend of mine owns a vineyard there. It's really a lovely place and I thought she would enjoy herself. And before you even think to ask, I didn't
send you with her because I couldn't arrange the time off for you."

"And now all of a sudden you can? How?"

Sherry smiled. "Never doubt the power of female persuasion." Then quickly giving him his flight itinerary, she shooed him out of her office to go pack.

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