License to Love (31 page)

Karen said, “I think he wants to know what took you away
from him.”

“I do, too.” She wanted to know what went on with her
parents – if she had been a part of something wrong. More than anything she
wanted to remember her parents the way Trent and Alicia described them. She
wanted to remember the Molly that Trent grew up with and knew, the one that
made him fall so wildly and completely in love with her.

“I’m working in the morning, early, but call me for
anything. I’ll come over as soon as you want.”

Molly wiped her eyes and nodded. Karen said goodbye to Trent
and left, leaving Molly in the kitchen thinking about the day to come, and then
thinking about the man sitting in the living room. Everything between them
could change tomorrow if they found something in her parents’ things.

Trent let the women have time for goodbyes while he reclined
on the couch, flipping through the channels. Molly came in and sat by him and
asked, “Anything good on TV?”

“Molly kind of good?”

“Good drama or romantic comedy. Or something that’s both.”

“Yup, just movies. You hated my cop shows.” He flipped
through and found an oldie but goody they both liked,
Overboard
. “This
was even shot in Oregon.” He stopped short as he remembered that the storyline
revolved around a case of amnesia. “You probably don’t want to watch this one.”

“No, I like it. She gets a happy ending.”

Apparently she could remember movies ... other people’s
stories. Trent couldn’t help but think the Annie in the movie met the love of
her life due her to amnesia, but Molly was pulled away from hers.

“It’s really fine,” she said when she saw his face. “I like
this movie a lot.” Molly settled in against him but suddenly wanted popcorn.

He laughed at her, even more so when she said, “I’m not sure
I even have any.”

He went with her into the kitchen and they found a bag of
microwave popcorn.

“Better than nothing,” he said.

“Hey,” she said. “It’s kettle corn.”

“You know I hate that stuff.” He realized his slip of tongue
too late.

Molly didn’t seem to catch it, her head in the refrigerator.
She popped up to say, “Well, good thing I have chips and salsa. And good beer.”

She handed him a beer and the salsa, then retrieved the
popcorn from the microwave.

She headed to the other room, carrying her bag of hot
popcorn and his bag of chips. Suddenly she turned around. He waited, surprise
still on his face. Her mouth fell open. “You always ate chips and salsa while I
ate popcorn.”

They just stared at each other with the shared memory in
mind. He walked to her and kissed her lips. Several slow kisses later they went
back to the movie, which was about twenty minutes into it now. “It’s a good
thing we’ve seen it.”

She’d watched it herself twice that she remembered and
wondered if they’d watched it together before that. Molly loved how the man
changed during the movie because of Annie’s love for him, how she grew to love
his boys. Maybe she liked it because they became a family, a happy one in the
end.

Halfway through the movie sh
e
wandered to the kitchen and fo
und a bottle of white wine in the kitchen
and brought them each a glass. Sharing their evening felt so right. They
snuggled as the movie progressed. Watching the characters become a family made
her think of Alicia and David and their so-far empty minivan. A normal life, a
family. She couldn’t stop herself from imagining her with Trent in his house: the
roses out front blooming, get togethers in the backyard, and starting a family.
There was room. Now she could only see Trent in that empty house, waiting for
her. She turned into him, feeling that she couldn’t get close enough. He pulled
her even closer, nuzzling her face before kissing her.

His hands knew her, remembered her, missed her. It was
heartbreaking how bad she wanted him, but she just couldn’t rush things.

He kissed her nose, then her forehead. Sometime during their
kissing she felt a buzz from the wine and was content to lay cuddled with him,
his hands slowly tracing circles on her back. They realized the movie credits
were starting. He said, “This is where you playfully slap me and tell me it’s
time to go home.”

She smiled, wrapping her arms around him, and pulled him
close, “Kind of a long drive, isn’t it?”

She saw him raise one eyebrow in surprise as she kissed him.
His hands, on her back, slipped under her shirt to feel her soft skin.

Just as he leaned back, pulling her with him, the doorbell
rang. They both jerked, looking at each other, and Trent asked, “Think Karen is
coming back over this late?”

“She usually calls.” She went to the door and found Justin
Atwood waiting outside, hands in his pockets. He rocked on his heels like he
was anxious.

“Justin, hi.” She couldn’t imagine what brought him over.

“Hi, I thought I saw someone outside your house.”

“Really?” She wasn’t sure what to say to that. Thankfully
Trent came to the door and she repeated what Justin had said.

“I can go check.”

Molly sensed that Trent, too, knew Justin had made it up on
the spot, but she wondered why he’d come over. Checking up on them?

“Did I tell you Trent’s a police officer?” she asked Justin,
hoping it sounded like a reassurance. 

Trent went around the house while Justin tried to make
conversation with Molly on the porch. She didn’t invite him in. Though he was
cordial the entire time, she’d seen contempt flash across his face when he
first saw Trent. She wished Trent was with her suddenly, even though she’d
never been frightened around Justin before. Without anything else to say to
Justin, she folded her arms and walked to the edge of the porch, looking off
into the yard like she’d spot whoever was lurking around. Trent
finally
came around
the corner.

“I don’t see anything, but we’ll keep our ears open. Thanks
for coming over to tell us, Justin.”

“Just doing my neighborly part.”

They watched him leave, but even with the front door shut,
Molly felt unnerved. So he watched her house and made up a story to stop by.

She looked up into Trent’s eyes and knew they didn’t need to
discuss it to be on the same page.

He nodded. “I’ll double check the locks. Close the
curtains.”

With her arms still folded around her, she headed upstairs
to get ready for bed. Minutes later, she opened the bathroom door and found
Trent waiting in the hallway in a pair of shorts. Just a pair of shorts.

He watched her slowly take him in and said, “I don’t like
the thought of you alone tonight. There is something seriously creepy about that
guy.”

She nodded, then turned and led the way to her bed and
slipped under the covers, yawning from the wine and sleepiness. He checked
around her room before crawling into bed with her. “I’ll be glad when I’m not
living next door to him anymore.”

In answer, Trent rolled onto his side, laying his arm over
her and kissing her temple. She felt herself mold into him as need rose up
inside her.

“You’re buzzed, aren’t you?” he whispered and she could tell
he was smiling.

“Maybe a little, but that’s not why I’m ....” she lost her
nerve to say anymore. His arms felt so good and reassuring. She yawned again
and he followed suit.

“There’s things I need to tell you before we do ... certain
things.” His arm pulled her closer. She wanted him but wanted to know more. With
so much confusion swirling around her, she gave in to the sleepiness.

“I’ve been dreaming about you,” she confessed as she drifted
off. “But I haven’t been sure if they were memories or dreams.”

Another kiss on her temple. “I’ve been dreaming about you,
too, since the first grade.”

Trent woke with the sun and startled at finding Molly curled
up in his arm. Then he remembered the night before. Man, they had some
self-control. Unless they were just too scared to move forward. Either way, he
felt good about their decision now in the daylight, especially since he still
had time to tell Molly a few things. Big things. He kissed her head and slipped
out of bed. He felt restless and she looked deep asleep. And beautifully
peaceful.

Downstairs, he brewed coffee and scanned the living room
windows before moving onto the kitchen. They never did find any reason to think
Molly was in danger, but he was being careful. Justin’s late night visit might
have been nothing more than a nosy neighbor with a crush, but Trent’s gut told
him to watch him closely. Yesterday evening, he’d looked out the window and saw
Justin pulling out of his driveway, looking the house over too closely as he
drove by.

Trent used a window in the back of the house to see Justin’s
backyard. Through the leaves of a tree, he could see Justin’s spiky blond hair
and the sun’s glint off sunglasses. No, binoculars.

Trent slammed his coffee mug down on the counter and headed
upstairs. Molly must have awoken and was running the shower in a bathroom that
faced away from Justin’s house, so he made sure every last curtain was drawn
shut. He dialed Mark on his cell, got voice mail, and left a message about
Molly’s snooping neighbor.

He paced the hallway till the bathroom door opened. He was
about to tell her about seeing Justin when she gave him a rueful smile, opened
the door all the way, and strolled to her room with a small towel wrapped
around her. Just enough to cover.

Molly still loved teasing him. He followed her slow saunter
to her room where she swung the door almost shut.

“Don’t come in yet, I’m as naked as a new born babe.” Oh
yeah, he heard the laughter in her voice.

“What do you think, pink or red panties?”

“Molly, you’d better keep quiet or I’ll come in.”

She gasped, loudly, “And I thought you were a gentleman!”

“You’re not being much of a lady.” He had to force the smile
off his face while he spoke, or else he’d start laughing. Her door swung open
and she stepped out in a coral silk tank top and khaki shorts with her hair
still up in a towel.

“I went with the pink ones, thought they matched better.”
She didn’t hide her grin as she went to the bathroom to blow dry her hair.

Didn’t he come up here to tell her something? Instead he
watched, fascinated, while she flipped her hair around under the dryer’s heat.

“No curls today?” He asked when she put away the blow dryer
and pulled her hair up into a pony tail. She looked so young and happy,
summery, tempting.

“No time. We’ve got work to do.” She eased by him, called
for him to come, and headed to the basement.

“Molly, I caught your neighbor watching the house.”

She spun around, quickly losing the temptress smile. “Can’t
we do something about it?”

“I’m getting a background check. The doors are locked, the
curtains shut.” His mind kicked into overdrive as he thought about Molly’s
house sitting empty while she was in Oregon. Justin could have snuck in. Trent
didn’t always carry his weapon off duty, but he felt better knowing he had it
on him now. “I think he’s just a pervert, but we’ll keep an eye on him.”

She wore an uneasy expression on her face as she turned and
went down the stairs. The light flicked on and they saw the walls were lined
with mostly boxes, but also a wide file cabinet.

Slowly, they walked to the center of the room, looking
around, and Trent said, “Your mother always was a neat one. That’s good for us
today.”

Curious, Molly went to the nearest box and pulled it down,
finding it labeled on the back side. “Look at this.”

“Even better.” He started on the stack where she’d removed
the box and turned them all around. Some were old household items, other boxes
held pictures and school certificates. Molly found albums with pictures of
Trent, Alicia, and some of the other friends that were at Trent’s house that
night.

“I can’t believe this. Why didn’t they show this to me?” She
didn’t give Trent time to answer. “They didn’t want me to remember.” She
flipped through the pages, finding shots of a young Alicia and Molly in swim
suits. She’d loved that orange one piece, wore it two summers before she grew
out of it. They loved to swim, especially at that lake. “Trent, I remember
this!”

“This is great,” he agreed. “I think we were a little
worried or nervous about what we’d find, but this could be fun. All these happy
moments from your childhood, that seems like the best place to start
remembering, right?”

She looked over at his warm brown eyes. “I’m glad you’re
here with me.”

“Me too.”

He joined her on the floor to flip through the rest of the
pictures. They pulled out an album with her early school pictures, laughing at
how cute they all looked.

“It’s hard to tell what a rascal you were from these
pictures,” he teased, laughing. “There we are smiling with Alicia in that one,
but right after you guys chased me with mud pies.”

“Did you deserve it?” she said back. He hid a snicker. “Oh!
You poured ice cubes down the back of my shirt first!”

More and more memories were coming back, at a faster rate,
giving her hope. Tears stung her eyes and she wiped them away several times
before he reached over, turned her face towards him, and kissed her cheek
softly. She whispered, shaking, “If I’d seen these a few years ago ....”

“Maybe there’s a good reason you didn’t.”

Maybe, but she needed to know that reason. Her parents had
kept the basement door locked and told her there were only old tools and
painting supplies below. Since she’d trusted them, she never thought of
snooping until after they were gone. She looked back down at the photo album.

“We had Mrs. Moore that year.” She remembered her teacher,
the field trip. Excited, she kept turning the pages, but the rest didn’t bring
back any memories. “I don’t remember these. Isn’t that weird?”