More Than Memories Read online

  She opened her door and slid out of his truck. He answered her wave with his own and left in the misty evening rain that started up. That was it, for today anyway.

  As he drove to his parents’ house, Trent unsuccessfully tried to stop the summer four years ago from running through his mind. He fought this same war every day, trying to not think about Molly.

  “But she’s here.” Styled, cultured, but still his Molly. His mind played games with him and envisioned her in a short pair of cut-off blue jeans, her long black hair flying around her as the sun shone on it. She loved anything active that kept her going. Her dark brown eyes held a mischievous gleam, but the small freckles dotting her nose gave her a little-girl look. He was really whipping on himself today, replaying the afternoon he’d proposed to her.

  They were hiking up the hill for a picnic, and Molly was running ahead of him. She made it to the apple tree they always sat under, the one he carved their names into, and plopped down to wait for him, her arms resting on her knees.

  “Slow poke!” she called with a giggle. “You can’t be a cop if you can’t chase down the bad guys.”

  “Are you one of those bad guys?” he asked upon reaching her. He spread out a blanket and set down their bag.

  “Hungry already?” she asked, her voice teasing that maybe she wanted something else.

  “Well ... hey, what’s this?” He pulled out a shoe box and handed it to her. It hadn’t been easy packing their lunch around that box, but he wanted to surprise her. A little box would have ruined it.

  She threw him a glance, a half smile, and lifted the lid. Trent remembered how her face came up, those big brown eyes filling with tears. When he asked, she just nodded, and he slid the ring slowly onto her finger. A perfect fit, just like the two of them. She grabbed him in a fierce hug, kissed his cheek, his mouth... After a long kiss, Molly jumped to her feet, ran to the edge of the hill, and shouted down to Ridge City, “I’m getting married!”

  He was sure the entire town heard her.

  His daydream ended when he pulled up to his parents’ house and saw Beverly Marshall standing on the porch, arms folded, dark eyes set for a fight. It hadn’t been her at the diner, but it was her for sure now. Damn it. He didn’t like how she spent time with his parents, but so far he wasn’t able to shake her. She was distant family in a way, in his parents’ line of thinking. His sister Alicia had married David, Bev’s cousin, and that made it okay for her to hang around.

  The porch light right above her cast shadows on her face in the dark, and he imagined a scowl on her face.

  “What’s got you going this time?” He swung out of the truck, hoping he could soften her mood before telling her the good news.

  “Molly Anderson, that’s what. Was it her?” Bev, he had to admit, was pretty, but when mad, she looked like a classic TV villain with her dark eyebrows, which were usually pulled together in a glare. She tended to overuse the pouting beauty look too.

  He was taken aback that she knew so soon. “How?”

  “Just got a call, Terry Hill swears he saw you walking with her on Main Street yesterday.” The door opened behind Bev.

  Brenda, his mother, stepped out with an anxious face. Mom usually had a pleasant face, but Trent saw the question in her eyes as she asked, “How did today go?”

  “Is it really her?” Bev questioned again.

  “Yes, it is her. She’s back. Let me come in and explain.” He followed them inside and saw his dad. Of course he had called his parents about Molly’s reappearance, but he’d been so excited he probably didn’t explain everything well. Since Bev didn’t know any of it, he repeated the appropriate parts of Molly’s story while Bev kept her eyes narrowed and lips twisted.

  “You’ll check into her story, right?” she asked when he’d finished.

  Trent shook his head in disbelief, but upon glancing at his mother’s expression, said, “Already am. The case needs to be closed, you know.”

  Bev sighed, sat back, and continued to glare at him. “We all know what she did to you by leaving, and now you’re welcoming her back, no questions asked. She could hurt you all over again.”

  Trent sprang to his feet. “Didn’t you hear what I just told you? She lost her memory.”

  “But they packed, all of them, and left.” Bev stood and left in a huff, stopping only to call out a goodbye to his parents. They packed. How did he get around that one? Molly didn’t know why she left, but just the same, she had packed and left.

  Trent looked at them and found his mother teary eyed.

  Downhearted, he tried to cheer them up. “I can’t explain it yet, but now we can try.”

  His mom threw a look at his dad before she said, “I’m just so happy she’s back and safe.” She grabbed her son in a hug. “You know Beverly’s cynical about everything. She watches out for her friends, that’s all.”

  “And you know she’s been trying to be more than friends since before Molly left. It’s pretty late, so I’m heading home.” He pulled his mom into his arms, squeezing her, before he walked outside.

  “Just be careful, that’s all I’m saying,” she called from the front door as he climbed in his truck.

  Chapter Three

  Molly’s breath gushed out in a long exhale as she did her hair in front of the mirror. She curled her eyelashes and applied mascara, then paused as she remembered Trent’s words. He said she’d changed. What did he call her, a free spirit? Now she wore tan slacks, nice but thick for the weather, and a V-neck knit top, a rich blue that enhanced the color of her dark hair and brown eyes.

  Trent’s words stuck in her mind as she readied herself for dinner with Alicia and her husband. He’d told her, “She was your best friend four years ago. She’s dying to see you again, and this might spark a memory.” It was just what she was looking for, yet she almost wanted to back out of it. When Trent said “best friend,” she automatically thought of Karen Jenkins back in Redding, not a stranger named Alicia Nor.

  During the last four years, she’d avoided personal conversations because when people asked her about herself she had nothing to say. She’d spent the last four years mainly inside at her parents’ home, in contact with Karen and her parents. She spent two years getting to know Arnold and Ellen as her parents again and trying to remember her life. If Karen hadn’t been a nurse at the hospital where her parents had first taken Molly, the two of them would have never met and become friends. And Molly would have been utterly alone after the death of her parents. When her parents died, Karen helped her plan the funeral.

  A knock at the hotel room door quickly brought her back to reality. She needed to finish getting ready.

  “Hey there.” Trent greeted her as the door swung open, but she didn’t acknowledge him because his cologne stopped her thoughts. She thought he was probably dressed up, though he wore hiking boots, wranglers, and a blue T-shirt, all of which molded to him. He wasn’t wearing his hat tonight, just neatly combed reddish brown hair.

  “You look beautiful,” he told her. His words sounded more like a breath than voice.

  “Thank you.” The blue top seemed to do the trick. “I’m not quite ready, yet.” She didn’t like how breathless she sounded. “Would you like to come inside?”

  He nodded as she opened the door wider and left him sitting in a chair while she finished in the bathroom. As they left, she noticed how natural it felt for him to take her arm and lead the way to his truck, but she felt like she was on a first date with a stranger.

  “No need to be nervous.” Soft words spoken in her ear, words to help her feel more comfortable. A shiver ran down her neck, almost tickling her.

  “Are your sister and her husband mad about what happened?” she asked. “Do they all believe I ran out on them?”

  “No.” He stopped, faced her. “There’s a good explanation, and we’re going to find it.”

  Possibilities ran through Molly’s mind, ones she didn’t like. Nothing seemed to explain why she up and moved to California
with her parents, without telling a soul, and lived there several years like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Unless maybe she was the one who’d hurt another person, done something wrong and awful, and her parents had taken her to California to hide her.

  “Mol?” His voice sounded a little worried. She’d been so quiet Trent seemed to sense her mood as they drove.

  “I just wonder if I did something.”

  “After you left, we talked to everyone who knew you, looking for a reason. Everyone swears up and down they didn’t have an argument or disagreement with you of any kind.”

  “So there was no reason for my family to run like that.”

  “I’m sorry to say it, but none at all, nothing we could find. People came up with some pretty wild stories, but none of them checked out.” He paused as if he knew how worried those words made her. “Don’t sweat tonight. I’ll be right there with you.”

  She tried for a smile to show him how much she treasured his support. She’d been brave enough to drive into town and look for her past, but she hadn’t thought about details like this. They arrived at a small, neat house after a quiet drive, and Trent explained it was Alicia’s home.

  Molly grabbed several deep breaths as they walked up toward the entrance. Before they reached the door, it flew open. A short blond with a cute bob studied her for a minute, slowly stepping out, then, “Mol? It is really you.”

  She didn’t smile, but Molly could picture her face beaming.

  “Alicia?” she asked, feeling more comfortable than she had expected. The woman was petite, had delicate features, and wore a grayish green shirt that picked up the green tint in her blue eyes. A man came out several steps behind Alicia, about Molly’s height with sandy brown hair and light brown eyes.

  “Yeah,” Alicia said and threw her arms around Molly’s neck, tears coming to her eyes. “You remember me? Trent said you wouldn’t-”

  “No, no, I’m sorry.” Molly felt horrible as she said the words to the dainty looking woman. “Trent told me who you are.”

  Alicia stepped back, wiping her tears, a frown on her face. “Yeah, he said you’d changed a lot, and he wasn’t joking.”

  “So I’m told.” Molly didn’t know what to say next, so Alicia led the way inside. Molly thought of a tiny wild flower when she saw her, a tiny delicate bloom. A strange feeling came with the thought - a feeling like jealousy. No, it wasn’t that she felt jealous now, she got the impression she used to want to look like Alicia: blonde, small, and cute. Molly thought she was remembering something, but there wasn’t a picture or place with the feeling.

  Alicia jarred her from her thoughts. “This is David, my husband. You didn’t know him before, but I wanted you to meet him tonight.”

  “And it’s a pleasure,” Molly responded, holding out her hand.

  David gave it a firm shake and said, “After all I’ve heard about you, and wondering if I’d ever get to meet you, well, I’m more than glad you’re back, especially for Alicia. She’s missed you so much.”

  Molly could only give a weak nod to David as she stepped through the door. As they hung their jackets in the foyer, Molly caught an anxious quick look between Alicia and David.

  “Would you both like something to drink? Dinner’s almost done.” They followed Alicia into the brightly lit and clean kitchen. She had already set the table in the attached dining area. After pouring wine in glasses and beer into mugs, they sat down in the living room, decorated with matching forest green recliners, a couch, and love seat. Trent sat on the love seat with her. The room felt cozy with a coffee table and books between the chairs, but she wasn’t sure what to talk about.

  Molly wanted to run out the door. It felt so strained sitting there, knowing they were waiting for her to recognize them. “I don’t know why, but nothing helps. I know I didn’t just leave, something must have happened.” Molly wondered if she could explain this so they’d understand. “I don’t remember, but I know myself. Why would I just leave my home and friends?”

  “Where did you go all this time?”

  Although she hated to relive those first few days, months even, she told them about finding herself in a strange house and then realizing the house wasn’t new, she was. “I had no memory of who I was.” She didn’t mention Karen, her only friend in California, who in a way replaced Alicia. She knew sharing about her parents would be even harder than talking about losing her memory, but she tried. “I was trying to put everything back together.” She stopped, closing her eyes for a second. “It was like I didn’t have a life before. There just wasn’t anything there. My parents didn’t tell me about my life here in Ridge City, or all the things Trent told me about. I was starting to think I spent my life doing nothing.”

  “Did they ever give you any explanation?” Alicia asked.

  “No.” Molly realized she hadn’t gotten to that part yet. “Two years after that, they were killed in a car wreck. So now that I know about my life here, I can’t ask them why they didn’t tell me.”

  Alicia’s eyes filled with sadness. Molly didn’t need her memory to tell that Alicia cared about her.

  “Why did you come back now?” Alicia asked, “Why after four years, if you didn’t know you had a life here before?”

  Wonderment filled Molly’s face; she couldn’t miss the hurt in her friend’s voice.

  “I thought I lived here for a while, not my entire life, before we moved to California, so I came in case it brought something back.” She paused. There wasn’t anywhere for this conversation to go. “You thought I was a missing person?”

  “You were.” Alicia’s throaty exclamation kicked the tension in the room up twenty degrees. Molly couldn’t respond. Her hand went nervously to an earring before she caught herself and clasped both hands in her lap.

  “Whatever happened, she’s back now.” Trent’s voice came out low, emotional like Alicia’s. “We need to give her time and help her remember.”

  “Smells like dinner is almost done.” Alicia rose and went into the kitchen.

  Grateful that was over, Molly gave a little sigh and leaned back into the sofa next to Trent. She so wanted to know who she used to be, but nothing had come back tonight. She turned to Trent and found warm eyes watching her. That glow lit his entire face, made him look so inviting. If she knew him, maybe she’d understand the unspoken message. Or maybe she didn’t need her memory for this.

  Something jumped inside her. A memory? No, not a real memory, but this felt familiar.

  “I …..” What could she say to him?

  “What, Mol?” he prompted, trying his best to hold his excitement.

  “This feels like I’ve done it before. I mean you and me sitting here, that look.” Now she felt like an idiot. She didn’t want to talk about the kind of look he gave her at times.

  “We’ve been friends a long time.” He searched her eyes before they got up and followed David to the table.

  Alicia’s face brightened with a small smile as she sat down with them. “Just like old times. Like things should have stayed.” She began serving baked chicken while Molly thought about her words.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, you know, all of us together.”

  That wasn’t what Alicia had been thinking, and they both knew it. Molly wanted to know why her old friend was holding something back. She didn’t want to be rude so she dropped the comment and smiled as they ate. Even though they were quiet, the awkwardness wore off.

  “I thought it might help if I took you around to some familiar places tomorrow,” Alicia offered.

  “I’d like that.” She would for more than just the drive, she wanted to talk to Alicia alone and question her about Trent.

  “Does any of this even feel familiar to you yet?”

  As her friend spoke, it hit Molly that she felt comfortable, maybe familiar with Trent. Somewhat with Alicia. She liked her, she knew that much. But she shook her head, not wanting to explain.

  “I’m sorry about your
mom and dad,” Alicia said.

  “Were you and I good friends for a long time?”

  “We were best friends from the start.” Her fond memories warmed Alicia’s eyes. “We made mud pies by your porch when we were little. That’s when we weren’t riding horses. And dad helped us build that tree fort in the fourth grade. It’s still there.”

  Molly pictured herself as Trent had described her—running around in blue jeans, her hair down, just her freckles to decorate her face. She had to smile.

  “We hid up there to talk about boys after that,” Alicia added with a laugh. “Of course Trent would try to sneak up to spy on us.”

  “Have you and Trent always been so close?” Molly asked her.

  “We’re so close in age. We fought a lot growing up, but if anyone else messed with me, Trent gave it to them. He was my defender. Practicing for the police force, I guess, since that’s what he wanted to do since he was little.”

  “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 business. 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.