License to Love (21 page)

Trent sprang to his feet. “Didn’t you hear what I just told
you? She lost her memory.”

“But they packed, all of them, and left.” Bev stood and left
in a huff, stopping only to call out a goodbye to his parents.
They packed.
How did he get around that one? Molly didn’t know why she left, but just the
same, she had packed and left.

Trent looked at them and found his mother teary eyed.

Downhearted, he tried to cheer them up. “I can’t explain it
yet, but now we can try.”

His mom threw a look at his dad before she said, “I’m just
so happy she’s back and safe.” She grabbed her son in a hug. “You know
Beverly’s cynical about everything. She watches out for her friends, that’s
all.”

“And you know she’s been trying to
be more than friends since before Molly left. It’s pretty late, so I’m heading
home.” He pulled his mom into his arms, squeezing her, before he walked
outside.

“Just be careful, that’s all I’m saying,” she called from
the front door as he climbed in his truck.

Molly’s breath gushed out in a
long exhale as she did her hair in front of the mirror. She curled her
eyelashes and applied mascara, then paused as she remembered Trent’s words. He
said she’d changed. What did he call her, a free spirit? Now she wore tan
slacks, nice but thick for the weather, and a V-neck knit top, a rich blue that
enhanced the color of her dark hair and brown eyes.

Trent’s words stuck in her mind as she readied herself for
dinner with Alicia and her husband. He’d told her, “She was your best friend
four years ago. She’s dying to see you again, and this might spark a memory.”
It was just what she was
looking for, yet she almost wanted to back out of it. When Trent said “best
friend,” she automatically thought of Karen Jenkins back in Redding, not a
stranger named Alicia Nor.

During the last four years, she’d
avoided personal conversations because when people asked her about herself she
had nothing to say. She’d spent the last four years mainly inside at her
parents’ home, in contact with Karen and her parents. She spent two years
getting to know Arnold and Ellen as her parents again and trying to remember
her life. If Karen hadn’t been a nurse at the hospital where her parents had
first taken Molly, the two of them
would have never met and become
friends. And Molly would have been utterly alone after the death of her
parents. When her parents died, Karen helped her plan the funeral.

A knock at the hotel room door quickly brought her back to
reality. She needed to
finish getting rea
dy.

“Hey there.” Trent greeted her as the door swung open, but
she didn’t acknowledge him because his cologne stopped her thoughts. She
thought he was probably dressed up, though he wore hiking boots, wranglers, and
a blue T-shirt, all of which molded to him. He wasn’t wearing his hat tonight,
just neatly combed reddish brown hair.

“You look beautiful,” he told her. His words sounded more
like a breath than voice.

“Thank you.” The blue top seemed to do the trick. “I’m not
quite ready, yet.” She didn’t like how breathless she sounded. “Would you like
to come inside?”

He nodded as she opened the door wider and left him sitting
in a chair while she finished in the bathroom. As they left, she noticed how
natural it felt for him to take her arm and lead the way to his truck, but she
felt like she was on a first date with a stranger.

“No need to be nervous.” Soft words spoken in her ear, words
to help her feel more comfortable. A shiver ran down her neck, almost tickling
her.

“Are your sister and her husband mad about what happened?”
she asked. “Do they all believe I ran out on them?”

“No.” He stopped, faced her. “There’s a good explanation,
and we’re going to find it.”

Possibilities ran through Molly’s mind, ones she didn’t like
. Not
hing seemed to explain why she up and moved to
California with her parents, without telling a soul, and lived there several
years like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Unless maybe she was the
one who’d hurt another person, done something wrong and awful, and her parents
had taken her to California to hide her.

“Mol?” His voice sounded a little
worried. She’d been so quiet T
rent seemed to sense her mood as they
drove.

“I just wonder if I did something.”

“After you left, we talked to everyone who knew you, looking
for a reason. Everyone swears up and down they didn’t have an argument or
disagreement with you of any kind.”

“So there was no reason for my family to run like that.”

“I’m sorry to say it, but none at all, nothing we could
find. People came up with some pretty wild stories, but none of them checked out.”
He paused as if he knew how worried those words made her. “Don’t sweat tonight.
I’ll be right there with you.”

She tried for a smile to show him how much she treasured his
support. She’d been brave enough to drive into town and look for her past, but
she hadn’t thought about details like this. They arrived at a small, neat house
after a quiet drive, and Trent explained it was Alicia’s home.

Molly grabbed several deep breaths as they walked up
toward the entrance. Before
they reached the door,
it flew open. A short blond with a cute bob studied her for a minute, slowly
stepping out, then, “Mol? It is really you.”

She didn’t smile, but Molly could picture her face beaming.

“Alicia?” she asked, feeling more comfortable than she had
expected. The woman was petite, had delicate features, and wore a grayish green
shirt that picked up the green tint in her blue eyes. A man came out several
steps behind Alicia, about Molly’s height with sandy brown hair and light brown
eyes.

“Yeah,” Alicia said and threw her arms around Molly’s neck,
tears coming to her eyes. “You remember me? Trent said you wouldn’t-”

“No, no, I’m sorry.” Molly felt horrible as she said the
words to the dainty looking woman. “Trent told me who you are.”

Alicia stepped back, wiping her tears, a frown on her face.
“Yeah, he said you’d changed a lot, and he wasn’t joking.”

“So I’m told.” Molly didn’t know what to say next, so Alicia
led the way inside. Molly thought of a tiny wild flower when she saw her, a
tiny delicate bloom. A strange feeling came with the thought - a feeling like
jealousy. No, it wasn’t that she felt jealous now, she got the impression she
used to want to look like Alicia: blonde, small, and cute. Molly thought she
was remembering something, but there wasn’t a picture or place with the
feeling.

Alicia jarred her from her thoughts. “This is David, my
husband. You didn’t know him before, but I wanted you to meet him tonight.”

“And it’s a pleasure,” Molly responded, holding out her
hand.

David gave it a firm shake and said, “After all I’ve heard
about you, and wondering if I’d ever get to meet you, well, I’m more than glad
you’re back, especially for Alicia. She’s missed you so much.”

Molly could only give a weak nod to
David
as she stepped through the door. As they hung their jackets in the
foyer, Molly caught an anxious quick look between Alicia and David.

“Would you both like something to drink? Dinner’s almost
done.” They followed Alicia into the brightly lit and clean kitchen. She had
already set the table in the attached dining area. After pouring wine in
glasses and beer into mugs, they sat down in the living room,
decorated with matching forest green recliners, a
couch, and love seat. Trent sat on the love seat with her. The room felt cozy
with a coffee table and books between the chairs, but she wasn’t sure what to
talk about.

Molly wanted to run out the door. It felt so strained
sitting there, knowing they were waiting for her to recognize them. “I don’t
know why, but nothing helps. I know I didn’t just leave, something must have
happened.” Molly wondered if she could explain this so they’d understand. “I
don’t remember, but I know myself. Why would I just leave my home and friends?”

“Where did you go all this time?”

Although she hated to relive those first few days, months even,
she told them about finding herself in a strange house and then realizing the
house wasn’t new, she was. “I had no memory of who I was.” She didn’t mention
Karen, her only friend in California, who in a way replaced Alicia. She knew
sharing about her parents would be even harder than talking about losing her
memory, but she tried. “I was trying to put everything back together.” She
stopped, closing her eyes for a second. “It was like I didn’t have a life
before. There just wasn’t anything there. My parents didn’t tell me about my
life here in Ridge City, or all the things Trent told me about. I was starting
to think I spent my life doing nothing.”

“Did they ever give you any explanation?” Alicia asked.

“No.” Molly realized she hadn’t gotten to that part yet. “
Tw
o years after that, they were killed in a car
wreck. So now that I know about my life here, I can’t ask them why they didn’t
tell me.”

Alicia’s eyes filled with sadness. Molly didn’t need her
memory to tell that Alicia cared about her.

“Why did you come back now?” Alicia asked, “Why after four
years, if you didn’t know you had a life here before?”

Wonderment filled Molly’s face; she couldn’t miss
th
e hurt in her friend’s voice.

“I thought I lived here for a while, not my entire life,
before we moved to California, so I came in case it brought something back.”
She paused. There wasn’t anywhere for this conversation to go. “You thought I
was a missing person?”

“You were.” Alicia’s throaty exclamation kicked the tension
in the room up twenty degrees. Molly couldn’t respond. Her hand went
nervously to
an earring before she caught herself
and clasped both hands in her lap.

“Whatever happened, she’s back now.” Trent’s voice came out
low, emotional like Alicia’s. “We need to give her time and help her remember.”

“Smells like dinner is almost done.” Alicia rose and went
into the kitchen.

Grateful that was over, Molly gave a little sigh and leaned
back into the sofa next to Trent. She so wanted to know who she used to be, but
nothing had come back tonight. She turned to Trent and found warm eyes watching
her. That glow lit his entire face, made him look so inviting. If she knew him,
maybe she’d understand the unspoken message. Or maybe she didn’t need her
memory for this.

Something jumped inside her. A memory? No, not a real
memory, but this felt familiar.

“I …..” What could she say to him?

“What, Mol?” he prompted, trying his best to hold his
excitement.

“This feels like I’ve done it before. I mean you and me
sitting here, that look.” Now she felt like an idiot. She didn’t want to talk
about the kind of look he gave he
r at tim
es.

“We’ve been friends a long time.” He searched her eyes
before they got up and followed David to the table.

Alicia’s face brightened with a small smile as she sat down
with them. “Just like old times. Like things should have stayed.” She began
serving baked chicken while Molly thought about her words.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, you know, all of us together.”

That wasn’t what Alicia had been thinking, and they both
knew it. Molly wanted to know why her old friend was holding something back.
She didn’t want to be rude
so she dropped the comment
and sm
iled as they ate. Even though they were quiet, the awkwardness
wore off.

“I thought it might help if I took you around to some familiar
places tomorrow,” Alicia offered.

“I’d like that.” She would for more than just the drive, she
wanted to talk to Alicia alone and question her about Trent.

“Does any of this even feel familiar to you yet?”

As her friend spoke, it hit Molly that she felt comfortable,
maybe familiar with Trent. Somewhat with Alicia. She liked her, she knew that
much. But she shook her head, not wanting to explain.

“I’m sorry about your mom and dad,” Alicia said.

“Were you and I good friends for
a
long time?
”

“We were best friends from the start.” Her fond memories
warmed Alicia’s eyes. “We made mud pies by your porch when we were little.
That’s when we weren’t riding horses. And dad helped us build that tree fort in
the fourth grade. It’s still there.”

Molly pictured herself as Trent had described her—running
around in blue jeans, her hair down, just her freckles to decorate her face.
She had to smile.

“We hid up there to talk about boys after that,” Alicia
added with a laugh. “Of course Trent would try to sneak up to spy on us.”

“Have you and Trent always been so close?” Molly asked her.

“We’re so close in age. We fought a lot growing up, but if
anyone else messed with me, Trent gave it to them. He was my defender.
Practicing for the police force, I guess, since that’s what he wanted to do
since he was little.”

“And you? Trent said you’re a teacher. Did you always want
to do that?”

Alicia shrugged. “I wanted to do something with kids and
eventually decided on teaching.”

“Trent said I was in business school but still didn’t have a
career goal.”

“Well, you did, in a way.” Alicia laughed, giving Trent a
look. “You planned on running a busine
ss. You
just didn’t know what kind of business.”

Even though she didn’t remember the things Alicia talked
about, it felt so good to be around someone who knew her. When Alicia stood and
started to clear the plates, Molly helped her. “Maybe we could catch a movie
tomorrow, something fun,
after
you show me
around.”