Free More Than Memories by Kristen James Page A

sure if any of it would help her regain her memory.
    “So,” she said when she saw Trent take a break
from the paper in front of him, “They came to Ridge City in February of 1990
with a little girl, bought a house, settled in, and were pretty quiet but did
eventually get involved in the community. But no one seemed to know much about
their past except that they were sweethearts in college.”
    “Good summary,” he pointed out. “And I have to say
there’s not much about them to draw attention. I did find out their marriage
certificate was issued in Reno, so they could have driven in from anywhere.”
    Their conversation paused while his eyes looked
glazed, as if Trent also forgot where they were. Several minutes seemed to
pass. He said, “Well, maybe we should think about driving down to your house in
California. How much more time did you want to spend here?”
    “I—” Molly didn’t have an answer. “I want to know
the truth, I’m just ….”
    “You can come back here. There’s nothing to fear
down there, Mol. Whatever we find, I’ll help you through it.”
    She felt pulled between the desire to stay a
while, get to know Trent’s friends better, and the need to find the truth and
possibly remember them. “I guess we could leave tomorrow if that’s alright with
you.”
    She had to look away to calm herself. Thinking of
leaving struck panic in her, and she realized she was afraid she wouldn’t come
back, like last time. Only this time she would have Trent with her.
    They left the station without much new
information, but Trent wasn’t too worried. He wanted to cover everything and
take things slow, hoping she’d remember. On the other hand, he didn’t want her
to remember too much, too soon. He wanted her to adjust as things came back to
her. One other reason existed that he didn’t want to come to their answers too
soon – he didn’t know what happened four years ago to make her run.
    Something happened to make her lose her memory,
something probably involving her parents. He hoped it wasn’t something
involving him, though he couldn’t see how that was possible. Because he loved
her so much, he worried. He didn’t want to lose her again.
    “Awe, it’s raining.” She yanked up her hood as
they stepped outside.
    “Give it a minute, it’ll stop.” He took her arm
and they hurried to the truck. His hat kept him mostly dry, and once they were
inside, the rain stopped. “See. The weather’s never predictable in the spring,
but it changes enough to please everyone.” Something about his comment made him
stop and think about their situation, but he pushed aside his worries. Life is
full of stress and he just needed to keep going until they figured some of this
out.
    As they passed her hotel, Molly asked where they
were headed.
    “It’s just the mill pond on the edge of town, but
we went there all the time.” He felt grateful as the sun came through the
clouds and brightened the day. When he glanced over, the sun sparkled on her
hair. He parked by the road and they got out. “Do you mind walking?”
    “Not at all.” She smiled and he noticed she hadn’t
covered her freckles with make-up today. She wore lip gloss, making her red
lips shine and her amazing smile stand out even more. Her long black hair shone
in the sun, hanging in loose curls down her shoulders.
    He surprised himself by holding out his hand, but
then again it was habit. She took it and asked, “We used to hold hands and walk
through here?”
    He nodded, almost jumping at the feel of her hand
in his. They’d been so careful not to touch since they saw each other that
first day. He had put that space between them, knowing he was a stranger to
her, and also knowing how he would react to touching her again. Just like
before, her hand fit into his as they entwined their fingers. She didn’t seem
to think twice about it.
    The path they walked on beside the small pond had
been formed over the years by all the people taking