Page 102 of Love and Memories

“I’ve got this. You need to rest.”

Bella chuckled. “I just woke up, and I haven’t done anything yet.”

Travis turned around to face her. “What’s your point?”

“That I’m fine. I’m pregnant but not bedridden.”

Travis pointed the spatula at the table. “Have a seat, and tell me what you want to drink.”

Bella rolled her eyes, but a smile lifted her lips. “Fine. I’ll have water.” She sat in front of an open book and flipped a page.

“What’s that?” Travis asked.

“New journal.”

She’d been writing down things she remembered for weeks now, and she let Travis read them whenever they talked about her memories. The fact that she’d filled up a whole journal already should have been a good thing, but he knew some of the things she wrote about, and it was enough to give anyone nightmares.

Travis turned back to the stove. “What did you remember?”

“I’m trying to remember leaving. I still don’t know how I got out of there or why I even tried it. I don’t remember preparing to leave or making any kind of plan. It doesn’t make sense. Something is missing.”

Travis rested the spatula beside the pan and walked over to where Bella sat at the table. Watching her struggle with her own mind knowing he couldn’t help left him with a gaping hole in his chest. His hands rested on her small shoulders, praying for any way to comfort her as she struggled. “It’ll come in time.”

Bella placed her hand on top of his. “I know. It’s just frustrating.”

“How are you handling the new memories?”

She turned to look up at him. “Better than before. It’s easier to remind myself that it’s the past now.”

Travis squatted beside her chair and rested a hand on her knee. If only he could show her the extent of his love and protection. “He can’t hurt you here,” Travis promised.

She smiled down at him before jerking her head toward the stove. “The omelettes are going to burn.”

“You’re more important. I’ll make another one.”

Taking his hand, she tugged him to his feet. “I’m fine, but if you burn our breakfast, we’ll both be hungry.”

Travis pressed a kiss to her soft hair before taking his place in front of the stove. “I can’t let my girls go hungry.”

“Travis,” she whispered behind him.

He turned just as she closed the journal and slid it away from her. “I trust you.”

Bella had plenty of reasons to put up walls and shut people out, and the value of her trust wasn’t lost on him. She’d changed his own views of loyalty. When others had left him, she proved over and over again that love was still worth the risk.

38

ISABELLA

Bella stared at Anna’s parents' massive home as they entered through the gates at the end of the drive. The mansion stretched out on both sides and up to the pale-blue sky. A paved path led to the stately front with tall windows that looked out over the sprawling land.

For the most part, Bella had avoided the main house when she’d lived with Anna in the cottage on the same property. The mansion always radiated an untouchable air that made Bella instinctively look away.

Anna sighed as she parked by the front entrance. The archway around the doorway was bigger than the entire front of Bella’s cabin at Silver Falls Ranch.

The drive from Cody had been quiet, but the meeting with the wedding planner had been anything but. After the quarreling between Anna and her mother, the peace of the ride was more than welcome.

Bella reached out to touch Anna’s arm. “Are you okay?”

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