More Than Memories Read online

  Molly tried not to see the expression on Alicia’s face as she and Trent left 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 alone, 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 okay?”

  “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 okay?” 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 life. She didn’t remember why she ran from Ridge City.

  Chapter Four

  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, startled. 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 that. He grew 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 want
ed 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 continued talking between 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 Trent 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.”

  “So what about now that I’m here?”

  “I don’t know why he’s worried.” She pushed her plate away and glanced at the bill, buying time. “He’ll come around.”

  “We can be honest, right? I need that.” Molly knew coming to Ridge City was the start of finding the truth, and she didn’t want any kind of dishonesty.

  Exhaling, Alicia took a drink of water before saying, “He doesn’t think you should be able to jump right back in. But he doesn’t understand, we were all friends, all the way through school, beyond.”

  Molly gathered her things and thought David didn’t want her pushing into his life, taking his wife’s time, and in a way, replacing him. The idea was silly, and she hoped he wouldn’t hold onto it.

  Outside she stopped abruptly, causing Alicia to stop and look at her.

  “I’m sorry I left,” Molly started. “I don’t know why yet, but I’m sorry it caused so much pain.” Her friend stepped close and wrapped her arms around her, unable to speak. Molly didn’t know what else to add with words, so she let the moment linger.

  “We’ll figure this out, okay?” Alicia said, stepping back. Molly nodded before they started for the car.

  As they walked to Alicia’s Mazda, Molly realized she did plan on staying at least until she discovered a few answers, maybe longer.

  The sky outside only held a few white clouds and a lot of people were taking advantage of the sunshine and rise in temperature. They drove through town on the main road and turned right near the other end, toward the edge of town.

  “Here’s your old house.”

  Molly felt dismayed as she saw the baby blue house with white trim. The place looked so welcoming with the wide porch, the padded wicker chairs, and flower pots.

  “It’s quaint. A cute, country kind of quaint.”

  “You say that like it’s weird,” Alicia said.

  “Oh, no.” Molly corrected. “I wasn’t expecting it to look like this, though. It’s so different from the house in California. Did the house look so warm when my parents and I lived there?”

  “You helped a lot. You planted the flower beds because you loved growing things.”

  Molly turned to look at Alicia now. “I did? I didn’t know that.”

  Next they drove thirty miles to the city and to a mall where Alicia said they spent a lot of time at during high school. Inside, Alicia took her to their favorite clothing store.

  “This is so cute!” Molly looked through a rack of shirts.

  “You used to have more of a country style,” Alicia told her. “More casual, too.”

  “I wonder what happened to my clothes. I only had a few outfits when I first, well, you know.” Why hadn’t she ever wondered about that before?

  “Weird.”

  “Hey, I like this.” Molly pulled a baby blue shirt from the rack and found a pair of jeans and a few other things she liked.

  “That looks more like you. You came back to town dressed like your mother.”

  Molly glanced up to see her expression, then they broke into giggles. “Feel like a movie after this?” Molly asked.

  Trent drummed his fingers on his desk while waiting for Molly’s friend to pick up the phone. He almost hung up as the fifth ring started, realizing he wasn’t going to get an answering machine.

  “Hello?” The voice sounded groggy.

  “Oh, I woke you, I’m sorry.”

  “Well, who is this?”

  “I’m Detective Trent Williams calling from Ridge City, Oregon. Molly Anderson gave me your number. Is this Karen?”

  “Oh, yes. She called and told me about you, but I didn’t expect you to call me.”

  He felt bad, realizing she m
ust either work nights or be on her day off, but he’d already ruined her sleep. “I wanted to ask you about when you first met Molly.”

  “Okay…Her parents brought her to the hospital on my shift, baffled by her behavior.”

  “Was she scared?” Trent heard the rushed sound of his voice.

  “No.” Karen paused, and Trent wondered if she believed him about who he was. She finally continued, “She didn’t know where she was, or who was with her. They told her, she seemed to understand, and then she’d forget again. At the end of the day, the doctor believed she had PTA.”

  Lost, Trent said, “That’s not Parent Teacher Association?”

  She laughed quickly but returned right to business. “Post Traumatic Amnesia.”

  “Okay, got that.” He jotted down the official name of Molly’s condition and added, “I knew her before, but she didn’t recognize me when she saw me.”

  “Well, we were wrong.”

  “Wrong?” Trent didn’t understand how it could be anything else. Would Molly lie to him? He couldn’t believe that, wouldn’t believe it.

  “You see, PTA traps someone in the present, unable to make short term memories. They live minute to minute, after a brain injury, and it usually doesn’t last over a month.”

  “I’ve never heard of that,” he admitted, while thinking Molly didn’t have that problem. Trent hoped Karen could give him information on how to jump start Molly’s memory, if that’s what she needed to move on.

  “There are around two million head injuries each year, seven hundred thousand need hospitalization, and only about seventy percent of those get PTA.”

  “And Molly seemed to have this?”

  “Several doctors agreed it looked likely, but they agreed it was a tough diagnosis. Her symptoms weren’t consistent. So they decided to wait a month, believing the condition would improve.”

  He wrote Symptoms? on the top of a new page. “Do you remember the cause of her injury?”