License to Love (29 page)

“You’ve been so nice.” Molly’s words jarred him a little,
and he didn’t know where she was
heading.

“I try.”

“I’m just wondering …. If I wasn’t the most likable person
before, would you tell me?”

He looked at her quickly and wished he wasn’t driving so he
could turn to watch her while they talked. “Mol, what placed that into your
head?”

Could he have made her think that? He’d always thought the
world of her, everyone knew that.

“You and Alicia, I’m not sure you’re telling me the bad with
the good.”

“I didn’t see any bad.”

“Come on, no one’s perfect.”

“Why are you asking?”

She didn’t seem sure now. “I want to know everything.”

He’d never heard her worry over anything like this before.
Sighing, he wondered what she wanted to know and why.

“Was I spoiled?” she asked.

“You were an only child, so you had all your parents’
attention.”

“But was I a brat?”
“Mol, everyone liked you. What are you getting at?” Trent felt itchy with
frustration.

“Bev didn’t like me.”

“One person in a town of five thousand people. She doesn’t
know what she’s talking about. What did she say to you that’s got you so
upset?”

“That I’m spoiled and ‘floated through life without a care,’
and I’m ‘not what you need’.”

Trent felt like slamming on the brakes and pulling over, but
he kept himself calm. He wasn’t going to become mad at Molly over Bev. “Every
parent tries to give their kids all the opportunities they can. No one can
blame your parents for doing the same. They let you dream and encouraged you,
even if your goals sounded foolish or far-fetched.”

He’d always respected Molly’s parents. Their disappearance
just didn’t make sense. He feared they were running for their lives, and
whatever was after them caught up with them – if the accident wasn’t an
accident after all. He said, “You know how much they loved you, right?”

Once again, she didn’t respond. He glanced over to see her
looking down so he reached over to touch her leg. She put her hand over his.

“Bev doesn’t know a thing about what I need,” he said.
“Please don’t listen to her.”

“Did you two ever get together?”

“No.”

“Alicia mentioned she visits your parents a lot. I didn’t
think about it, even when she said you guys call her and David your fan club.”

“Because they’re both usually mad at me, usually something I
can’t control.”

“So she was after you all this time?”

“I’m not sure when it started, but I first noticed about a
year after you were gone. I was mad. Told her as much. That’s why she’s been so
mad at me and bitter at you. She still thought she had a chance.” He glanced at
Molly, making sure she believed him since it was the truth. “I never gave her
any reason to think I wanted to be with anyone besides you. She’s been spending
time with my parents and hanging around me, but I’ve only acted like a friend
to her.”

Now’s the time.
He needed to tell her everything
about them. Knowing might push away her doubts.

“Let’s stop at that rest stop,” she said.

Trent turned on the blinker, searching for the words to
begin, but Molly hopped out of the car as soon as he pulled into a parking
space and headed for the bathrooms. Trent got out, sighing, wondering how he
could deal with rough criminals, drunks, domestic violence, but lose his nerve
around Molly. He could hear Alicia now, and she didn’t even know the whole
story.

So why had he waited so long? He’d been waiting for the
right moment and somehow it’d flown by.

He turned as Molly approached the car and froze, struck by
her expression. Bewildered was the only word he could think of for it.

“Mol, what happened?”

She stopped and leaned against the car, looking past him, to
the surrounding trees and lawn, he realized. He said her name again.

“I walked out of the restroom and suddenly, I felt so afraid
I wanted to run back inside. A confusing fear. And I have no idea why. But it
went away.”

“You looked around and then the feeling hit?”

“Yes.” Her eyes rested on his face. “I didn’t remember
anything useful.”

“You did.” He reached a hand to her face. “You
must have
stopped here on the way down four years
ago, apparently afraid of something. That backs up our theory that your family
was running from something.”

She held onto his hand for a moment, but then pushed up off
the car and said, “I can drive now if you like.”

She took the car out onto the freeway, and he decided he
needed to talk to her before things went any further. He should have done it
already, so he could just tell her ‘I wanted to tell you sooner . . . ’.

“There’s something I need to tell you before we get there,”
Molly said as Trent opened his mouth.

“Huh?” Wasn’t that his line?

“I have a neighbor, Justin, who’s had a thing for me. He’s
rather annoying, so hopefully we won’t see him, but I wanted to prepare you in
case he comes out when he sees the car.”

Trent wasn’t ready for that, for thinking other men were
attracted to Molly and that she’d spent four years without knowing about him. A
grown woman, a beautiful one, alone for four years, and he never thought she’d
gotten lonely?

“Trent?” She glanced over. “You’re not worried now, are
you?”

“What kept you from dating?” he asked, trying to keep his
voice neutral. She hadn’t known about any commitment to him so it wouldn’t have
been cheating if she’d met someone else. He just hated to dwell on that
possibility.

“How could I? I had no idea what my plans had been. I felt
like I couldn’t go forward, even though it seemed like a waste of time to think
about the past. Or wonder about it, in my case.”

Trent knew about being stuck, but that didn’t help the
feeling nagging at him. Things had been tough for her, and she didn’t have many
people to turn to. Couldn’t there have been one time she wasn’t telling him
about?

Molly seemed to be over the conversation already, hitting
the scan button on the radio till she got a clear country station.

Two hours later, she turned the
car onto an exit ramp and said, “I think it’s lunch time.” She added they had
about two and a half more driving hours.
Having two drivers cut the trip
down compared to her previous drive from Redding.

Trent smiled when she pulled into a small seafood place.
He’d call it almost a shack, really.

Catching him smile, she said, “I’m craving cod, and these
places seem to have the best stuff. I don’t like instant, oil fried patties.”

“Never did.”
Some things don’t
change
. “
And you still like seafood.”

“You don’t?”

“Yeah, I do. I just don’t get a craving for it at odd times
and drive to the coast to get some.”

“I did that?” She laughed as she exited the car. Inside they
could see part of the kitchen where the cook passed the prepared plates through.
It looked tiny enough with only eight booths and two employees, but it
seemed li
ke locals enjoyed the place.

Trent found himself wishing he could undo Molly’s hair clip
and send all those curls loose. The white tank top contrasted the rest of her,
drawing attention to her almost black hair, her dark eyes, and her mouth. She
wore an off-red lipstick, a brick color, he’d say, that tantalized him. He
couldn’t figure out how a color made her full lips jump out at him like that,
making him want to pull her across the table and kiss her.

Right then he realized she was watching him, starting to
smile. The look on his face must have told her everything. She said, “You look
yummy today, too.”

“Yummy?”

Instead of answering with words, she raised an eyebrow, and
almost made him blush. He wanted to take his eyes off her but couldn’t. About
then, they both remembered they were sitting in a public restaurant.

Molly sat back and said, “I don’t get Alicia and David. I
can’t say anything since I don’t remember, but he seems wrong for her.”

“Cynical, you mean?”

“Cynical to meanness, yes. He’d be a better fit for Bev.”

That cracked Trent up. “But,” he said, “they balance each
other out, and they both want the same things.”

“A family, she’s told me.”

Trent sobered fast enough that he knew Molly noticed. They’d
talked about a family, too, and a little house. In fact, they’d picked out the
house and Trent bought it so it’d be ready after their wedding. He lived in it
for these years, waiting for Molly to come home.

He thought she knew. How many single men lived in a family
home?

“So when will I hear the entire story of us?” She threw the
question out there like a fast curveball.

“Mol . The story’s so big, I don’t know if I can tell it all
to you.”

“Well, if I don’t get my memory back, you’ll have a long
time.”

“Actually, I’ve been trying to tell you something and just
haven’t figured out how.” His words made her face blanch. He reached for her
hand, wondering why she’d be scared.

“I think you’ve been right.” She said as she stared at their
hands at the table.

“About what?”

“Maybe we should give things a while, not rush them, and see
if it comes back to me.”

She didn’t want to know. It surprised Trent that he didn’t
feel relieved about delaying the conversation. He also couldn’t put it out of
his mind.

“Are things going too fast between us?”

Molly laughed, pulling her hand back and rubbing her face.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? We’ve done this all before, I assume. So this doesn’t
seem fast to you.”

“It’s been a while. Things like this take time. We’re
getting used to each other again. Even if you remembered right now, four years
is a while.”

She nodded. Their food came: the breaded cod she’d been
craving
while driving. Trent ordered a shrimp
basket and Molly stole a couple of those, too.

Their old habits were coming back so easy. At least it
seemed that way, but they hadn’t discussed their present relationship. Four
years ago, he knew what Molly wanted, but that didn’t mean she still felt the
same way.

“I feel like I’m asking this kinda late, but my job’s taught
me not to take anything for granted.” He needed a drink before continuing. “The
thing is, Molly,
I don’t want you to feel
obligated to our relationship because we had one before.”

He thought he saw her brown eyes lose their luster. She
didn’t move.

“What are you saying by that? Do you mean anything else?”
she asked.

“No, no, what else would I mean?” He’d used the wrong words.
“I realized I never asked you if you wanted this
– us
– right
now.”

He’d been nervous about this conversation as well, but it
sure felt better to be getting it out in the open. While their past effected
the present, having a new relationship didn’t depend on her remembering what
they had before. However they could be together, he wanted her. He watched her
eyes in the few seconds of silence.

“Us?” She looked him over the same way she had that first
day, then smiled shyly. “Do you have to ask that?”

He had to smile and breathed again.

“But are you implying something else by that? Are
you
having doubts?” she asked.

“Do you have to ask that?”

Molly sat in the driver’s seat and watched Trent sleep in
the stopped car, amazed at what a deep sleeper he was. He’d turned his head
away from the window and faced her, breathing softly. Looking at his dark
lashes, his freshly shaven skin, and sleep-swollen lips, she wondered how many
times she’d watched him sleep before. The silence finally roused him and he
rubbed his eyes and looked at her.

“Tired of driving?”

“Flat tire.”

He jerked up, looking out the windshield at the cars
whipping by on the freeway. “I slept through it?”

“The question of the day is do you know how to change one?”

Trent rubbed his eyes again, laughing. “I didn’t think that
was something you forgot, even with amnesia.”

She gaped at him before looking out the window. “I know how
to change one?”

He followed when she opened her door and made her way around
to the trunk, careful of the traffic. Once they had the spare out, he insisted
on loosening the lug nuts, so she leaned against the side rail and watched him
work. Thankfully the flat tire was on the side that didn’t face the freeway. He
looked back at her with the start of laughter shining in his eyes because he
caught her checking him out.

The laughter stopped when their eyes met. She loved that
look and knew no one else ever saw it. Hot and intense. So intimate she
wouldn’t be able to handle it from anyone else. Even though she tried to resist
the urge, she felt one corner of her mouth lift in a coy smile meant for him.

Trent’s tool hit the pavement and he strode up to her,
grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her face close. She expected a hard
kiss, but he stopped an inch away and met her mouth like he was tasting honey.

A semi roared by and she pushed him back, thinking about
what the truckers were saying on the CB. “You can’t kiss me like that on the
highway.”

He smiled, more on one side, and said, “Want to get a room?”

“Ah! Trent Allen Williams, how dare you!” She marched
towards the car, but he caught her smile before she turned away. When he
announced he was done and the car was ready to go, she slid into the driver’s
seat.

“I’ll drive if you like,” he offered, still smiling. She hit
the gas as he buckled his seat belt. “Or not.”

She ignored his grin, not wanting to talk about what had
happened, or what they were both thinking about now. Instead he shared more
stories about everyone in Ridge City.