More Than Memories (5 page)

“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.”

The big smile that spread across Alicia’s face was
contagious.

“I’ve missed you, girl.”

Before she thought it through, Molly blurted, “I
think I missed you, too. I don’t remember you, but I kept wondering about who I
used to spend my time with. I knew something was missing.”

Seeing Alicia tear up made Molly question why she
shared something filled with so much longing. A minute later, Alicia just
nodded, wiping her tears.

Molly tried not to see the expression on Alicia’s
face as sh
e and Trent l
eft a few minutes
later. She didn’t like the mix of hope, hurt, and disappointment. In Trent’s
truck, Molly let out her breath like she’d been holding it all evening.

“That rough?” he asked, easing the truck away from
the curb.

“I’m so frustrated!” She folded her arms, chilled
from the walk from the house to the truck. “I just don’t understand why
visiting the place I grew up and my old friends hasn’t triggered anything.” She
wanted to remember him.

She suddenly felt Trent’s hand on hers. He didn’t
offer words, just that hand, and it was enough. They reached her hotel, and he
walked her to the door. She wished she could invite him in so she wouldn’t be
alon
e, but
she hardly knew him.

“Tomorrow morning, before you take off with
Alicia,” he started, “why don’t we go over a few things so I can look into your
parents’ case?”

She thought he was off the case, but didn’t
comment. “Oh, sure.”

They paused at the door. She looked up into his
face and it felt so natural she wondered if part of her remembered. They stared
into each other’s eyes a little too long. “You’ll be o
kay
?”

“I always am,” she said, not wanting him to worry
about her anymore. It sounded as if he’d worried for the last four years
already. At her words, though, his face changed. “What? What did I say?”

“It’s just that you used to say that.”

“I did?” So why didn’t she remember? Even without
a clear memory, she couldn’t help but smile that something was the same.

“Now that’s the Mol I know.” He brushed back a
loose curl
from her face,
his fingers grazing
her cheekbone. The urge to ask about their history almost overwhelmed her, but
she didn’t want to ask in case there hadn’t been anything between them. What
about now? Could there be something there now, whether or not she remembered
any past they had?

“Is ten o
kay
?” he
asked.

“For tomorrow?” She cleared her head. “That’s fine.”

He didn’t leave until she’d shut and locked her
door
. She
found herself leaning against it,
wondering about that handsome man. Well, if she had never had a thing for him
before, she sure was
developing
one now.

That thought was followed by another, more
depressing one.
We don’t have a chance
. She shouldn’t think about
getting involved with anyone in her condition. It wasn’t just that she didn’t
remember most of her lif
e. Sh
e didn’t remember
why she ran from Ridge City.

A loud knock
shook
Molly right up in the hotel bed.
Morning? Already?

She grabbed her robe and stumbled to the door,
mumbling as she opened it, “I’m so sorry, I thought I set the alarm.”

Trent took one look at her and laughed before
entering. She flopped back on the bed, still groggy, and watched as he went to
the tiny coffee maker and started a pot. He wore Khakis and a green cotton
shirt that highlighted the red tint in his hair. Wow, imagine waking up to him
every morning. Not a bad way to start the day.

“You never were a morning person.” Trent sat on
the bed next to her, took her hand, and they looked at each other. Trent had
filled her dreams all night, but Molly wasn’t sure if they were dreams of the
past or fantasies.

She realized how bright her room was and asked,
“Is that sunshine coming through the curtains?”

He caught her amazed tone, laughed, and said,
“That happens in Oregon once in a while. It’ll be a good day to run around.”

Yes, Alicia would be here in a while, but she’d
think about that later.

“Tell me what kind of person I was. Tell me
everything you remember.” She felt fully awake now and excited. Yesterday had
been the start of the road back to herself, and now she was on her way.

With a smile, Trent responded, “That’d take a
while.” He looked away for a minute and came back with something akin to a
twinkle in his eyes. “The other girls fought over you, wanting to be your best
friend. You were the cheerleading captain, homecoming queen ....”

Molly wanted to ask who her date was, but didn’t
interrupt.

“You went through all your different business
stages from catering, a deli and then a bridal shop.” Trent was laughing now,
and Molly felt that she and Trent had been very close. Trent and Alicia had her
life banked in their heads. At the very least, she could hear about her life
here if she never got to remember it herself. “You took business classes at
college. That year was tough for you. You liked the dreaming part, but all the
details overwhelmed you.”

She liked watching him talk about her, liked the
way his face lit up and his eyes shone, and she was glad he never let go of her
hand. Sunshine warmed the hues in the room, and she wondered if that made his
face appear so bright and eager. His expression mirrored her hope. It also
helped her feel that he cherished this special time too as she sat holding his
hand. His skin on hers felt warm and comforting, yet exciting and new.

He seemed to notice how she lay there watching
him, almost adoringly, while he spoke. He stopped, everything stopped, and they
looked into each other’s eyes.

She’d done this a thousand times.

Molly blinked, startle
d.
She felt like she was falling. A memory had almost surfaced, but she’d realized
that she was remembering and that ruined it.
Did he notice?

Leaning back, he said,
“Coffee’s done.”

Yes, he looked a little jarred as he stood and
went to pour her a cup. That memory teased her like wet rope just out of reach
while she clung to a cliff. She could have grabbed it! But something had
stopped her. She’d stopped herself, it seemed. With a tremor, she realized
something scary stood between her and her memory.

“That felt so familiar,” she whispered to his
back. He glanced back at her and stopped, maybe waiting for more but there
wasn’t anything more to give him. When she sighed and looked down, he finished
stirring in her sugar.

Trent sat on the bed again and held a cup out for
her.

“Mmm.” She sat up. “Thanks for making it.”

As they sipped their coffee, she noticed he was
ready to take notes.

Within a few minutes, he’d written her address in
Redding, California, a phone number for a nurse named Karen Jenkins, and the
location of her parents’ accident: highway 299, heading west from the city. He
acted all business as he took her info down, stepping into a detective role
comfortably. His quiet, low voice with that faint sway of an accent drew the
information right out of her, and Molly imagined it helped him quite a bit on
the job.

“Where did the drawl come from?”

“I have my dad to thank for tha
t. He g
rew up a good old country boy in Alabama.
’Cause of him, I grew up listening to country and folk music, going to rodeos,
watching Nascar, learning how to live off the land and respect it.”

Molly could hear the respect in his voice for his
father, and she felt a respect for Trent knowing that he honored his dad like
that. He spoke about his life with gusto, and she loved watching his charisma.
The light in his eyes. The warmth on his face. And that smile. Glancing over,
he caught her watching him. Instead of looking down, she smiled.

Trent smiled back, feeling that the carefree Molly
was coming through this morning. “You’re really going to be late if you sit
there all morning.”

He’d spoken with a grin but his nervousness came
through anyway. 

She finished her coffee and he sent her to the
bathroom to get ready. Alicia knocked while Molly was in the shower. “Hey,
sis.”

“She’s not ready?” Alicia breezed in. “Still the
same, even if she can’t remember. I even came late.”

Laughing, Trent said, “That’s our Molly.”

It felt so good to say that again. Alicia repeated
it after him before sitting down.

“Have you told her?” she asked.

Trent had to sit on the bed for this question. “I
can’t. I don’t think telling her would make her remember.”

“A good old fashion kiss might.” Alicia just
wanted her best friend back with her memory intact. She caught Trent’s look and
realized he’d already been tempted to kiss his old fiancée.

The blow dryer came on and Molly’s voice called,
“I’m about ready.” Within minutes, all three were walking out the door. Alicia
jumped right in her car, but Molly stopped and turned to Trent, wanting to hug
him goodbye. She didn’t, though. It felt strange, but she just smiled and
waved, all the while looking into those soulful brown eyes.

Molly and Alicia started their day by stopping by
a family café for breakfast. While they waited for their food, Molly prompted
Alicia by saying, “Tell me more about your teaching job. You didn’t mention
what grade you taught.”

“Oh.” Alicia broke into a warm smile before she
described her class of second graders, about twenty-five kids that were a
really good bunch this year. “I had a couple of boys last year that wanted to
cause all kinds of problems. They wanted attention, but really disrupted the
classroom. That made my first year a little hard. If it weren’t for David,
I’m not sure I would have
made it. I
met him two and a half years ago. I wasn’t the most together
person back then, trying to get through college and wondering about you—” She
cut herself off
, then
skipped over the subject
and said, “We were married a year ago, and he’s already talking about starting
a family. We both want to.” Everything Alicia shared seemed so right, familiar
in a strange way.

“So.” Molly had held off any questions about
Trent, but knew she needed to ask now in case the rest of the day became too
busy. “Why does Trent know so much about me?”

They paused as their server set their plates down.
Alicia said, “He wants you to remember on your own.”

“So there was something there at some point?”

“I can’t lie to you, but I think he’s right.”
Alicia picked up her fork, and Molly thought she’d finished speaking, but she
continu
ed talking betw
een bites. “I guess you
could ask him, but then what? You can’t pick up where you left off without
remembering, and you might feel like you have to.”

Molly started on her own food, thinking for a
minute. “So it wasn’t over between us when I left?”

A sound gurgled out of Alicia’s throat as if she’d
almost choked. “Over? You and Trent? You were the happiest couple I’ve ever
seen.”

So she knew without a doubt she’d had a
relationship with Trent. And, without warning, she abandoned him one day. It
must have broken his heart. Why wasn’t he mad at her now that she was here? Or
why didn’t he grab her in a big hug when he found her waiting in the police
station? Alicia must have felt her change of mood and let her be … about Tren
t at least.

“So what are your plans? Everyone thinks you’re
back—” Alicia broke off, fork paused, not wanting to add the “but.”

Without knowing why she left Ridge City, Molly couldn’t
make a concrete decision on whether to stay or not, but she didn’t want to tell
anyone that. “I didn’t know what to expect, so I was just planning a trip. I
still have the house in California to deal with.” Her voice faded as her eyes
went to look out the window. “Now I don’t know what I’ll do.” In her mind, she
thought about how she didn’t have a history tying her to any one place. Her
parents were gone. California had her house, and one friend. And a pesky
neighbor that thought they were a match made in heaven.

As if reading her mind, Alicia asked, “What’s in
Redding to keep you there? From what you’ve said, you didn’t really put down
roots. Why not stay here?”

Molly met her friend’s eyes, and answered
honestly, “I’ve been thinking about it.” This brought on a new thought and she
suddenly asked, “Where did I live before?”

“With your parents, on Elk Street. I can take you
there.”

Maybe that would bring back something. She pushed
the last of her food around her plate before nervously asking Alicia, “I get
the feeling David isn’t actually glad that I’m back.”

Alicia stopped chewing, thought for a minute, and
swallowed to say, “He was jealous of you. Of how much I talked about you, I
should say. He felt like he couldn’t compete. Well, at first he
completely understood,
but after we married he
wanted me to move on. I guess he thought getting married would fix it, heal me
somehow. I told him he’s the love of my life. That’s different than a best
friend, and you were gone anyway.”