More Than Memories (9 page)

Their slow pace stopped altogether and they stood
facing each other. Her brown eyes shone as she looked up into his face, her
lips slightly parted. Her eyes had always been so expressive, usually holding
laughter and a joy of life, and sometimes turning darker with anger or hurt. He
especially loved her curious look that somehow appeared mischievous at the same
time. Now her eyes searched his, looked over his face, lingered on his mouth,
and returned to his eyes asking him an unspoken question.

Her roaming eyes sent heat throughout him. He felt
the need to dance around as if he stood on hot coals. His hand went to her
face, his fingertips touching her cheekbone and his palm holding her jaw, where
he always thought his hand molded perfectly. She leaned into his hand, her
eyelids fluttering, but she kept her eyes open to look at him. She had such
long, sweeping eyelashes.

“Mol,” he whispered. He thought maybe she was
going to whisper his name back, but he leaned down to her and brought their
lips together. Just a touch at first, then they lingered there, brushing lips
as if to say ‘hello’ again after all this time. He felt as if an epic quest had
come to completion. Before long, however, she kissed first his top lip, then
his bottom like she used to, and they were kissing like they always had.
Wow.
He wanted so much more, wanted things to pick up right where they’d left off.
But he’d waited all this time for her to return and he’d wait as long as he had
to.

Her arms slid up his shoulders and around his
neck. He thought she needed him close just like he needed her. He’d been alone
since losing her and wondered if this was also her first kiss since then. Her
lips were the same sensual lips he remembered that seemed to be designed for
kissing his mouth
only.
He briefly remembered
Alicia telling him a good old fashioned kiss might bring Molly’s memory back,
but he didn’t dwell on that thought long. How could he with Molly in his arms
again? He sank his fingers into her curls, messing them up probably, but found
her hair as soft as before. His Molly, here again.

She pressed against him, emitting a soft sound of
need. It sounded like she needed comfort, to be held and reassured. She pulled
back, her swollen lips smiling.

She laughed, though not a nervous laugh, and
stepped back
without moving
her hands away from Trent’s arms. He didn’t let go of
her, either, not wanting to acknowledge the moment was ending. He wanted to
feel her in his arms and have that reassurance as well.

“Am I rushing you?” he asked.

“No.” She was out of breath. “Rushing isn’t the
word.”

Was she confused? Scared? He searched her face,
her eyes, taking her head in his hands so she looked at him. She didn’t speak
but kissed him again. His mind went blank except to smell and feel her. Leaning
close, he rested his lips on her forehead.

A minute later, she leaned back and asked, “Are
you going to take me to your house today?”

“Alright. You got me.” They
strolled bac
k, holding hands again. This had been a special
place to them and now they would visit another. Trent wondered the entire way
to the truck and his house what she would think and if she’d remember anything.
He pulled into the driveway and she hopped out, looking ready and not worried
at all.

“Come on, slow poke.” She prodded in her
excitement
until he
finally grinned at her.
After waiting to see this place, she thought she’d be more nervous, but that
kiss and feeling him hold her made things feel okay. After he unlocked the
door, she let him lead the way inside and she slowly took in the front room.
The linoleum from the entrance gave way to thick, lush beige carpet in the
living room where overstuffed rich-colored sofas were arranged in a square to
create a room within a room. The sofas faced the fireplace, not an
entertainment center, she noted, and fine artwork hung on the far wall. Staring
at the empty end table in the corner, she asked, “Where’s the lamp?”

“Lamp? Guess I don’t need one,” he said in an
off-hand manner.

“But the rose?” Yes, there
should
be a rose
lamp there she knew.

“I broke it, on accident, by knocking it off. I’m
sorry.” His voice caught on the last sentence and she finally looked at him.
With a jolt, it hit her that they were talking about the past. Her heart rate
picked up until she saw how sad he was over the broken lamp.

“It’s okay, Trent ….” She had planned to say more
but her eyes found the pictures over the fireplace and stayed there, staring at
Trent’s high school prom picture – with her. She moved forward for a closer
look of him spiffed up in a tux, his chestnut hair long enough to show its
waves, a youthfulness in his eyes and slight dimples showing in his cheeks as
he proudly grinned. Her wide smile, painted love red, looked as radiant as his.
Her hair was pulled up in an elaborate mass of curls, some spiraling down her
back, some teasing the sides of her face. The dress was black and long with a
border along the top of soft green flowers. Tasteful, not too low-cut, and
classy. She looked young as well with her freckles and tan.

When Trent stepped up behind her, Molly said,
“Such a happy couple.” She didn’t feel like she was talking about herself. Even
with the sparks flying between them and the feeling that they fit together, she
didn’t know about that long and happy past that seemed to
exist.

“We were.”

Looking over her shoulder, Molly met Trent’s eyes.
She saw oceans of hurt in those endless brown eyes, and she couldn’t imagine
losing someone she loved so much. To make matters worse, he hadn’t known
whether she was dead, hurt, or running from him. Standing next to him, she felt
silly for the times when she wondered if something had happened between them to
make her run.

Nodding toward the empty end table, he asked, “You
remember that, but not these pictures?”

It seemed he didn’t want to ask if she remembered
them. She shook her head sadly, not wanting to hurt him with her answer.

She moved on, toward the hallway, but didn’t make
it much farther when she saw the large picture frames holding collections of
snap shots in the different sized slots. Pictures of them at picnics, the fair,
gatherings with Alicia, and other friends. Trent’s parents were in a few, and
even her own parents were smiling down from the photographs.

“You put these together.” He spoke softly, and she
saw now why he had waited to bring her into his home. They must have been
fairly serious if she’d been adding touches to his house. She turned the corner
to enter the kitchen, finding a tidy space without much clutter on the
counters. Not much of anything, really, no spice rack or decorations on the
walls.

“Not big on cooking?” she asked.

“I’m learning. I like to pull things out of the
freezer and pop them in the oven. Haven’t had much to spend my money on, so I
eat out.”

Molly turned and leaned against the counter. “I
cooked a lot for my parents. When they were gone, I cooked for myself and my
friend Karen.”

“You haven’t said much about her.”

Molly looked at his boots for a minute while
chewing on her bottom lip.

Trent prodded,
“Going
to now?”

“I’ve had this guilty feeling since I met all of
you that I replaced my old friends with her, even though I didn’t know about
anyone here.”

Trent stepped forward and took her hands, making
Molly look up into his face. “That’s just silly. You didn’t have a memory or
much support. I’m glad you had someone there.”

“Karen was great. She didn’t push me to remember,
but we did things I knew I enjoyed to see if I’d remember some of my identity.
I think you’ll like her, I’ll introduce you when we get there.”

“I’d like that. I talked to her on the phone
actually. About the medical stuff and what she remembered about your hospital
visit.” He paused, wondering if maybe he should have told her about that
sooner. Knowing her made investigating this case a bit on the strange side.
Molly didn’t look mad, and if she was mad, she usually said so. “And I’d like
to talk to her more in case there’s something she might mention that you didn’t
think of.”

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure at this point, but I’ll check into
everything. I’m interested in her perception of your parents. The answer to a
case is usually in the minute details that don’t seem to mean anything at
first.” He realized she didn’t seem to mind that they stood so close, her hands
in his. Suddenly all he could think about was kissing her back at the pond, and
wanting to kiss her again.

Then the phone rang.

It was Mark calling. Trent told him they planned
to leave for California in the morning, and somehow the two of them cooked up
an idea for a barbeque sendoff that evening.

Molly had wondered how she would say goodbye to
the people she’d met here. While the trip was supposed to be short, leaving for
any amount of time brought sadness over her. It made her
realize
how attached she was to the town and Alicia.

Trent grinned at her after he hung up, “Just
Alicia and David . . . and Mark and Bev, if David can get her to come.”

“Mark and Bev, as in Mark and Bev together?” Molly
asked, realizing she hadn’t picked up on it before. She’d been told Bev was
related to David, and that was her connection with the group of friends.

“Sort of. He’s working on it anyway.”

Molly gave a
hmm
at the vague answer and
checked his refrigerator. “Supplies?”

“Yeah, maybe we need to go to the store.” He
grabbed his hat, her hand, and started out. She walked a step behind, watching
him. There was something sexy about him putting on his cowboy hat and the way
he walked.

In his truck, she asked him, “Is it just me or is
everyone rubber necking at us?” Or maybe it was the truck they were checking
out since it was a pretty sweet ride.

“At you, I’d say.” He smiled slowly. “Maybe people
recognize you.”

His idea must have been on the mark Molly decided.
They walked through the town’s grocery store and someone nearly tripped as they
did a double take of Trent and Molly. She gave Trent an unbelieving look, and
he said, “I almost trip sometimes when I look at you too.”

That got a giggle out of her. Since they didn’t
grab a basket, they both ended up in the checkout line with their arms full.

“Molly Anderson?” A surprised voice exclaimed
behind her. She turned to find a short, energetic looking woman in her forties
wearing the store’s blue uniform.

“Hey, Birdie.” Trent greeted her as space became
available for them to lay down the groceries. “Molly, this is Birdie Duncan.”
The other woman looked surprised that he had to introduce her.

“I was just going to lunch. Molly, I can’t believe
it’s you! Where have you been?”

“Redding.” Molly spilled her load onto the belt
and looked to Trent for help.

“Birdie’s a real sweetheart. Everyone shops here
just to talk to her.”

“I wouldn’t go that far!” Birdie’s warm
personality showed in the laugh lines around her eyes. “I heard rumors, but
they never pan out. So you really are back?”

“Back, yes. I’m re-meeting everyone.”

“You’re staying?”

After a quick glance at Trent, Molly replied,
“Yes, I am. I’m running back down tomorrow for a few days, then I think I’ll be
back.”

Birdie shook Molly’s hand, told her she was happy
to see her again, and wished her luck in getting her memory back. When Birdie
left, Molly noticed other people watching them, and she had to wonder if any of
them had known her before. Trent caught her eye and said, “You worked here for
a while in high school.”

“I did?” Molly looked back toward the aisles. “We
just walked all through here and—” She stopped when it was their turn to check
out. Trent paid and bagged despite her attempts to help. They escaped outside
without anyone else stopping them.

After opening her truck door, Trent put the bags
in back and started to walk toward the driver side door.

A huge pop caused Molly to about hit the ground.

“Trent?” she called and saw him straighten up on
the other side of the truck and open his door.

“Backfire.” He got in, dismissing it, but saw
Molly’s bewildered face. “Did that scare you?”

“I didn’t see you at first.” She smoothed her
hair, still feeling rattled. “Do you ever get shot at? In your job?”

“Some people are bound to get violent.”

“You have?”

“I’ve been shot at twice. Never hit,” he said.
“Actually, the first time it was some drunk guy firing up through his roof. I
just wasn’t sure what happened at first.” Molly stayed quiet for a while, and
he wondered what she thought of his job. He was trying to keep the conversation
light today, take some of the pressure of her, and let her enjoy herself.

She asked him, “Have I told you thank you for
helping me, and offering to drive down to Redding with me?”

“Hmm, not sure, but you don’t need to.” He turned
into his driveway and led the way to the kitchen where he stuffed the bags into
the refrigerator.

“Come on out back, we’ll start the grill.” Trent
had a decent sized landscaped yard with a grill, a covered patio table, and other
lawn chairs, and then the yard turned to forest. Alicia had said there were
five acres out here. She wondered what he planned on doing with all that space.
Maybe it was for kids to play in and build forts in the trees.

She reclined in a chaise and watched him pour
lighter fluid on the charcoal. “So you like to play with fire?”

He moved his eyes toward her without moving his
head and she caught the gleam in them. They smiled at the heated question and
let it go. “I can grill. Not too good in the kitchen, but I can make a mean
steak or hamburger out here.”