Page 62 of Love and Memories

“I won’t be gone long,” Travis promised.

Bella sat on the edge of the finished floor and hopped down onto the ground below the cabin. She ducked under the floor joists and crawled beneath them. When she reached him, she stood in the small space with him, blocked in on all sides.

The thick air filled his chest as he breathed her in. She was so bold and beautiful looking up at him that he gripped the joists on either side to keep from reaching for her.

Slowly, she slid her arms around his waist and pressed her small body to him, wrapping him in her soft embrace.

His arms wound around her before he could think better of it–before he could stop the impending heartbreak. Every plane of his body that touched hers kindled a fire, but he’d burn to the ground before pulling away from her.

She was so much smaller than him. Tilting his head down, he rested his chin on her head and breathed in the warmth that eased the old, wounded parts inside of him.

“You’re too good, Travis. They don’t deserve you,” Bella said against his chest.

Good. What did that even mean? He’d never been good enough for his parents. No amount of virtue had ever changed the way they looked at him. Nothing he’d ever done in his life made them want him.

“I don’t deserve you either,” Bella whispered.

Travis released her and cradled her head in his hands to gently tilt her gaze up to him. The unshed tears in her eyes broke what was left of his willpower. When she was this close, he couldn’t remember why he needed to stay away from her.

“Don’t say things like that. You don’t deserve what happened to you. You don’t deserve to do this all on your own.”

Closing his eyes, Travis fought against the urge to kiss her. When he trusted he could withstand her pull, he cleared his throat and opened his eyes. “You’re an amazing woman. You’re sweet, gorgeous, smart, and selfless.”

He took two fortifying breaths before he could say the rest—the truth hanging between them. “There’s probably a man out there looking for you, and as much as I would love to know what could be between us, I can’t go after what I want until you know what you want.”

“But— but I don’t remember anyone. It’s just you,” she said, gripping the back of his shirt where her arms still wound around him.

His breaths came in shallow dips, and grinding his teeth together would only keep his mouth shut so long. She was saying everything he wanted her to say, but their feelings weren’t the only ones on the line. If she’d given her heart to someone else, he had to respect that, even if she didn’t remember yet.

Yet. Her doctor was fairly confident she would remember everything in time, but the waiting was crushing both of them.

The sound of an engine grew louder as a truck neared the cabin.

Bella’s arms slid from around him, and his hands fell from her face. She couldn’t step away with the floor joist right behind her, but she’d retreated from him. Her chest heaved in deep swells as her gaze remained locked on him.

He couldn’t say it—couldn’t give in until they knew if the father of her child was out there somewhere waiting for her to come home. He wanted more than he should, and no matter how far he reached, Bella would always be untouchable.

The truck outside quieted. Bella turned and ducked beneath the floor joist and made her way back toward the room where she’d been working but not before he saw the first tear fall down her cheek.

24

ISABELLA

Bella pinched the skin on the underside of her arm as a man she didn’t know led prayer for the congregation. The service had been a good one that kept her attention, but there was little she could do to withstand the pull of sleep right now.

When the prayer ended, Bella blinked rapidly. Her eyelids were heavy, and she had to pull on the pew in front of her to stand.

“You okay?” Anna asked.

“Yeah. Just tired.”

“Go home and take a nap.”

Camille appeared beside Anna with her son hanging onto her hand. “Hey, I meant to catch you before the service, but I had nursery duty this morning. I reached out to the investigator for an update on Friday, but he still hasn’t found much. He said it looks like you didn’t want to be found.”

The news wasn’t surprising. It had been months, and there hadn’t been any news about her former life. The police department had checked every county between here and Omaha,and there wasn’t a report of a missing person matching her description.

Bella yawned and covered her mouth with her hand. “Thanks for the update.”

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