Shadow of Deceit (Shadow #2) by Barbara Goss

and I have no idea who Lydia is.”
    “Doctor, what is wrong with me?” Julia asked.
    “I think you have a mild case of amnesia,” he said checking her pulse again. 
    “Amnesia!  Oh no!” she cried.  “Can you fix that?”
    “No, I can’t,” he said, “but you might be able to help by trying to remember after the pain in your head lessens.  The memory loss is more than likely temporary.  We’ll have to see.  In the meantime, don’t stress over it.  That will only make it worse.”
    “I feel panicky, like there is something I need to do, but I don’t know what it is,” Julia said.  “This whole experience is beyond frightening.  I feel as though I’m back in our cabin in Hays, but everyone else is gone, or older.  And to hear my beloved mother had died… I feel grief-stricken.”
    “How old do you think Billy should be?” the doctor asked.
    “He was twelve when I went to bed last night.”
    “Excuse me a moment,” the doctor left the room and came back a few minutes later. 
    “Your brother is now seventeen, almost eighteen.  That tells me that you’ve only lost the memory of the last five or six years.  It’s a more promising sign than being totally unable to remember anything .  I think you’ll recover,” he pulled the sheet up to her chin and said, “Just rest.  The memory will slowly return.  It seems the part of your brain that holds recent memory was injured.  In most cases it eventually returns.”
    “I just know there is something urgent that I have to do,” she said.
    “Relax, Julia.  It’s probably something from years ago, and whatever it is, I’m sure it’s already been resolved.”  The doctor stood.  “I’ll be back in a few days.”

Chapter 10
     
     
    Martha settled in with the Armstrong’s.  Caleb went on with his life as usual. He worked days in the lumber mill, went to church on Sunday, and spent his nights in the craft building.
    Caleb didn’t see Martha again until he ran into her at church on Sunday.  She sat with his father and Phoebe.  He introduced her to Jonas, Ivy and little Zoe.   Then, probably out of curiosity, Peggy and Quinn Iverson came over expecting an introduction, and Caleb obliged.  Peggy immediately invited Martha shopping, Quinn invited her to the barn dance at the Smith’s Saturday night, so Caleb now felt relieved that it was no longer his duty to escort and entertain her. 
    As the Armstrong’s were crossing the side yard of the church to the their buggy, the Jeffries family hailed them.  Caleb performed the introductions, and he purposely watched Violet’s face when she heard the name of their guest. 
    She gave him a look that could only be described as an “are you kidding me?” look.
    Violet waved her family on, and told them she would catch up to them later.  Today’s Sunday dinner was at the Armstrong’s, and she told them she would meet them there.  After both carriages had trotted away, she turned to Caleb.
    “What?  How can that be?  We just wrote to her a few days ago?”
    Caleb gave her a knowing smile.  “May I escort you to my chariot?”
    He helped her onto his buggy, jumped up himself and then sat and smiled like the cat who just swallowed a mouse.
    “Come on, Caleb.  What happened?  I’m dying to know.”
    “You would not believe the afternoon I had after you left the other day.”
    “I might if you’d ever tell me,” Violet sounded so impatient that Caleb decided to put her out of her misery.
    “First, Miles came crying about his lost love and what could he do—I had no advice for him. After he left, I had another visitor, Martha.  Here’s her story.” He proceeded to explain the whole story.
    After he’d finished he saw contemplation on Violet’s face.  “Well, what do you think now that you know the story?”
    “I think it’s miraculous.  Could it be God’s doing?”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “Because she just happened to choose your envelope to use to write