More Than Memories

Book 1, Memories Series

Can she love him if she can't remember him? Molly Anderson returns "home" to a town she doesn't remember, hoping it will spark a memory. She runs into Trent Williams, a Ridge City police detective, and something else definitely sparks.

He wants to know why she left town, with her parents, but without a word to anyone. She doesn't remember that life. She can only tell him she knew her parents briefly before they died . . . or were murdered, she's not sure. She hopes regaining her memory will help answer that question.

Trent has his own secrets, but they have a mystery to solve. As they work together and Molly meets their old friends, she realizes their relationship went deeper than memories. In fact, she grew up in Ridge City, even though her parents had said they lived there just a few years. How could she have forgotten her lifelong friend and love? Can she love him again if she doesn't remember him? There's also the possibility that she did something awful -- and maybe that's why she's afraid to remember her old life.

Molly knows she wants him now, but the truth might destroy their love.

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Excerpt:

When Trent knocked, Molly threw open the door, proud of herself for being ready in the lavender shirt she'd bought earlier and a floral skirt. Trent stood, flowers in hand, in an olive dress shirt that set off his brown eyes and a nice pair of slacks.

What caught her then and held her motionless was the gleam in his eyes and his smile as he gazed at her from top to bottom.

"I'm ready. On time." Now that was a classy 'hello.'

"And looking gorgeous." He handed her the flowers and followed her inside. She murmured a thank you while smelling them, and realized he must have picked them himself because the bouquet included wild irises and violets. They were growing on the hills around the town, she'd noticed. They did every spring . . . and he picked them for her each time he came over to her house. One time, in the second grade, he'd handed her flowers and planted a kiss right on her mouth and took off running before she could say a word.

"Molly?"

She became aware of her hotel room and Trent beside her, and could see how strange she must look standing still and staring at those flowers.

She looked at him and whispered, "You brought me flowers in the second grade and kissed me."

At first he turned red, then a lop-sided grin appeared on his face. "You remembered something."

She did remember! Staring into his eyes now, she could picture his childish face and the glow in his eyes. He'd plunked that kiss on her mouth and looked so shocked with himself, or maybe the sensation of their lips meeting ever so briefly. She felt the breeze that had been lightly blowing, carrying the smells of Oregon spring in all its wet glory.

"That's it. One little memory in a big, blank sea." She sat on the bed, looking at the flowers again, wanting to get lost in the memory that felt so real like it was really happening all over again.

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Kristen James writes romance, romantic suspense and women's fiction, often featuring the beauty of Oregon's mountains, rivers and coastline. Her novellas include A Spy for Christmas and A Special Ops Christmas. Her full length novels include Point Hope, A Cowboy for Christmas, More Than Memories, Embers of Hope and More Than a Promise. Learn more and connect at kriterkristenjames.com.