More Than Memories (12 page)

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.

“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.