License to Love (28 page)

What if they don’t?
Did she need to remember her life
before with Trent? Life on earth wouldn’t end if she never remembered, but she
had to try.

“I’m surprised ol’ sourpuss came along,” Alicia said while
they changed in a dimly lit green bathroom back by the parking lot.

“Weren’t you two friends?” Molly asked.

“Well...” Alicia left it at that. Then, “Well, she was
around. And now she’s really around since I married her cousin. She visits my
parents, too.”

Molly didn’t push that topic and said, “I haven’t seen Trent
in a bad mood at all.”

“Na, he’s easy going like chocolate milk.”

She didn’t say anything, but smooth chocolate milk seemed a
good description for Trent.

“I see that smile!” Alicia caught her. “And don’t think I
didn’t see the two of you lip locking earlier.”

Molly threw a wet shirt at Alicia and got a wet towel right
back. She only smiled and pushed her wet clothes into her bag. “Ready?”

When everyone was dry and mostly sand free again, they drove
back out on the road and up to the lighthouse to whale watch. The wind was
blowing hard, but they were all in their dry sweats. The ocean far below spread
out, vast, and Molly didn’t think they’d spot a whale in it. Big as a whale was,
it’d be a tiny speck.

“Look over there.” Trent pointed and held the binoculars
he’d brought up for her to look through.

“I don’t see anything,” she said. Just then she caught sight
of a spout of water and the back of a whale. “Wait! I see it!”

The wind stopped for half a minute, leaving a peaceful
quietness as she tracked the whale as it went under again. Trent put his arm
around her waist and pulled her a little closer to him. “Trent,” she pulled the
binoculars down and leaned her face into his chest, feeling his warmth and
strength. “This is the best day I’ve ever had.”

“Ever?” He stroked her face. “You mean you haven’t had this
much fun in the last four years?”

When she shook her head, he told her, “You’ll get your
memory back and then you’ll have tons of great days to think about.”

She wished he could promise her that, but didn’t care. Today
was fantastic and she would enjoy every second of it.

Trent added, “I also promise to give you lots of great days
from now on.”

With the cold Pacific wind blowing against them, she
realized they were making promises to each other. How had she found him and
fallen so easily into this?

They headed back to the park about an hour later to cook
lunch. Everyone carried something to a picnic table and fire place, and Molly
purposely walked alongside Bev. She decided the direct, honest approach would
be best. “I get the feeling you don’t like me.”

“Why should I?”

“You didn’t have to come.” Molly wished she could bite her
tongue just once. “I mean, if you feel that strongly, why did you come?”

“These are my friends now.” Bev faced her. “You left, broke
Trent’s heart, and you still can’t tell us why. I was here all this time. I’ve
been a friend to him.”

Molly finally understood and felt a chill. “You wanted more
than friendship.”

“Listen.” Bev’s lips twisted. “You were always a spoiled,
ditzy brat, and got everything handed to you. You floated through school
without a care. That’s not what Trent needs.”

“How would you know?”

“Coming from you? How would you know what he needs when you
don’t even remember him?”

Molly’s mouth opened to respond, but she didn’t have a
response.

“That’s what I thought. You’re the worst thing that’s ever
happened to him. You’re even ruining his career.”

Confused fury, like a blinding white smoke, rose up inside
her. “What are you talking about?”

Bev’s voice had been low so the others wouldn’t hear, but it
dropped even lower now. “Certain people want him off the force. Want him
investigated because of you.”

Molly stood dumbstruck, and triumph gleamed in Bev’s eyes.
“They’re saying your parents must have been hiding you from Trent. Didn’t you
wonder why they didn’t go to the police? People think Trent killed your
parents, and it’s all your fault.”

Bev turned to walk to the picnic table, waltzing almost.
Molly knew in her heart Trent didn’t do those awful things. She realized the
only reason people accused him was because she’d returned to Ridge City.

Maybe she didn’t have a place here after all.

The clear morning felt more like a day in June to Trent, not
the normal stormy March weather. He wore blue jeans and a white T-shirt and
thought about changing into shorts, but he got lost in his thoughts.

Despite the day’s nice weather, he felt like he was in the
middle of a storm he couldn’t see. He felt something.

Standing outside his back door, he realized
it wasn’t the weather that felt off. The ride home
from the coast had been a quiet one with Molly nestled under his arm. Everyone
had been quiet, looking out the windows, and their faces looked like each had
something on their minds.

Trent thought Mark was making progress with Bev, but they
either had a fight or she’d given him the cold shoulder for some other reason.
Trent noticed Bev pulling away from Mark when they talked and she’d ignored
him. He’d given Mark a questioning look, to which his friend just shook his
head and sighed, muttering something about not understanding women. Trent had
never explicitly told Mark that Bev had been chasing him, but he had a hunch
most people had noticed. And everyone except Bev knew Trent only wanted Molly.
Mark had developed a thing for Bev about two years ago knowing all that. He
took her out all the time, but she saw other men here and there. As far as
Trent knew, she wouldn’t commit to a relationship.
Mark
deserved a medal for everything he’d been through for that girl. Waiting,
taking her moods and harsh com
ments. No, she wasn’t one to hold her
tongue.

Was that what was bothering him? David and Alicia had been
in their own world in the front of the van while driving home yesterday.
Knowing they were trying to get pregnant, Trent had thought maybe Alicia would
make an announcement sometime. She had the quiet, thoughtful air about her,
something he’d noticed in a few of his female friends before when they were
wondering. One friend shared that she kept thinking she felt different, and
once she thought she could be pregnant, she couldn’t think about anything else.
But Alicia hadn’t said a word.

Molly, too, hadn’t said much on the way home while she’d
laid her head on him, sleepy. Maybe she remembered something. If that was the
case, though, he felt certain she’d tell him. He knew he’d never guess but he’d
worry about it, over analyze it.

The phone rang and he reached inside the sliding glass door
and grabbed the cordless.

“Have you talked to her?” Alicia asked right off.

“Yeah, we’ve done a lot of talking.”

“Trent.”

“Alright.” He didn’t like admitting it. “I haven’t. Why rush
anything when this is going well? She’s starting to remember events from her
childhood now.”

“I kept my end of the bargain and stayed quiet, but I
expected you to tell her. You said you wanted her to hear it from you.”

“I know. I’m getting there.”

“Why are you so afraid of telling her the truth?”

“Afraid?”

“
What do you do for a living? Yet
you
go spineless when she’s around.”

“You’re sure in a mean mood,” he said. “What’s bothering
you?”

She paused, then said, “You are. I’m worried about you and
Molly since you won’t tell her the truth.”

Trent knew his sister wasn’t being honest with him, but he
guessed she had good reasons. He didn’t want to ask about David and stir up
more problems. He sighed. “I’m planning to tell her today.”

He heard a car pulling up and told Alicia he had to go, then
headed through the house and to the front door where his bag waited. Trent
emerged before Molly was halfway up the walk and met her, bag in hand.

“Travel light, I see,” she said, returning to the car and
unlocking the trunk.

He grinned. “Good morning to you, too.”

“I can’t believe how the weather changed.” She stretched
while speaking. “It’s like spring came overnight.”

“The flowers think so.” Everything was blooming. Including
Molly. She wore a white, wool tank top that made her skin
look darker and black slacks. Casual, but sleek. Her
hair was curled again, swept half way up from her face. Trent thought it gave
her a fresh look, like the spring time around them. He’d call the overall
effect sophisticated, but her toenails peered out of the end of her black
sandals. Bright red toenails. The carefree, fun-loving Molly showing through.
He was about to tell her how good she smelled when she tossed him the keys.

“I’m sleepy still. How about a coffee stop before hitting
the freeway?”

He threw his hat in the backseat before getting in.
“Alright, we can get gas while we’re at it.”

At the mini mart, Molly took her time picking out just what
flavor she wanted in her coffee while Trent smiled behind her and listened to
the
music playing over the store speakers.

“Hey.” She glanced at him over her shoulder.

“Hey what?”

She started singing along with John Michael Montgomery’s
“Life’s A Dance,” playing over the mini mart’s speakers, and she slid up to
him, throwing her arms around his neck and swaying with the music.

“Mol, we’re in a mini mart.” He laughed, resisting.

She looked up at him, her eyelashes curling around her big,
teasing eyes. Sweet eyes. “You don’t want to dance with me?”

People stared, smiling at them, and he couldn’t do anything
but put his hands on her small waist and turn with the song.

“This was our song,” he said next to her ear.

“It still can be.”

Twenty minutes later, with coffee and fruit Danishes, Trent
steered the car onto the freeway entrance ramp while Molly gave Ridge City a
farewell look.

“You’re sure you want to make this trip now?” There he went
again, second guessing himself. It made for a good detective, but sure got in
the way in his personal life.

“I am.” She faced forward. “I need to get a clear picture of
my life so I can get on with it. This trip should help bring things into
focus.”

He felt something like that, too, wanting them to be on the
same page, both with a full memory of their relationship. Or just full
knowledge. Several times he felt it was the right time to share everything with
her. Then the moment passed. He couldn’t wedge this kind of stuff in just
anywhere
– h
e needed a good time to tell her.

Molly was silent, in thought like him, but he still had the
feeling she had something on her shoulder. “What’s up?”

“Up?” She turned to him. “Nothing. I’m just so glad I came
back. I was thinking, what if I’d known sooner, realized earlier, or if my
parents had told me about my friends waiting to hear from me.”

He’d wondered the same thing, wished he could demand some answers,
but her parents were gone. “I’m surprised you’ve been so calm about it.”

“I’m trying not to get mad when I don’t know the reasons,
but man it’s hard.” She stopped, looked out the window. “Think where we’d be
now if everything had kept going like it was supposed to.”

Yeah, Trent had thought about that a lot over the last few
years. At times he thought about trying to move on, but he wouldn’t tell Molly
that. He’d thought about it, but he’d never been able to try. He’d worked,
spent time with his friends, but he never dated. Never thought about other
women. Never thought he could replace Molly.

Her words gave him the impression she did understand their
past, maybe a little, if not all of it. He still had to find a place and time
to tell her the rest.

“Let’s hope we can find out what your parents were
thinking,” he said.

“I have to know the truth. It could be a lot worse than the
scenarios I’ve thought of, or maybe something far more innocent.
Either way,
I need to know why they lied to me.”

Lied to me
echoed in Trent’s head, but he wasn’t
lying to her. He just couldn’t tell her yet. He’d read up on amnesia since
Molly had shown up, and knew an information overload wouldn’t bring it all
back. It might do just the opposite. Some little part of him always wondered if
she’d run from him because she felt they’d gotten too serious, too soon by
getting engaged.

Things were going good right now, almost like they used to
be. He couldn’t expect her to be in love with him right now, but they’d catch
up. Then he could tell her everything.

Trees and bushes along the freeway were in bloom with pink,
lavender, and white blossoms, and their scent saturated inside the car, mixing
with the coffee’s aroma. They both watched the scenery pass by in silence.
Trent still felt that strange itch that something wasn’t right. The feeling
grew stronger when he remembered how Molly used to get quiet when she was
brooding over something. If something made her mad, she didn’t carry it around.
She usually confronted the problem, or the person, right away. Not that she
yelled or spouted expletives, but she valued being honest and straight to the
point. Getting hurt was another matter. Every once in a great while, something
got to her on a personal, emotional level, and that’s when she seemed to keep
it inside. Not wanting to admit she felt hurt until she couldn’t handle it
anymore. His gut knew this was one of those times.

What had he done? Or said?

“Are you going to feel like talking about it any time soon?”
he asked, knowing he couldn’t leave things be if she was upset over something
he did, especially when they were on this trip together.