Page 41 of Love and Memories

The Lord organized this shopping trip? Anna said a lot of things about the Lord and belief, but she never gave Bella enough information. It was highly unlikely that the Creator of everything cared about her little problems.

Well, they weren’t little problems to Bella. They were huge, but in the grand scheme of things, her life didn’t matter.

“You want to ask her to have dinner with us tonight? She could tell you about getting her memories back. She might even have tips for how to get yours back faster.”

Could it be that simple? Could this familiar stranger be the key to piecing together the fragments of her life?

Camille removed the phone from her ear as she walked back over to Bella and Anna. “There isn’t a record of you checking into the Hope House. You did say your name is Isabella Young, right?”

“As far as I know. We didn’t find a marriage license,” Bella said.

Camille pocketed her phone. “We’ll figure this out. You could have used an alias. A lot of women do that if they’re afraid someone is following them, even though we offer the best security and confidentiality. I asked if there was any indication that someone had gone missing lately, but there haven’t been any instances that we’ve noticed. We keep up with women even after they move out, and our representatives have been in touch with most of them within the last week.”

“Maybe she wasn’t at the shelter,” Anna said. “Could you have represented her in a court case?”

Camille shook her head. “I remember all of my clients’ faces. I know it’s not that. I have access to some resources that might bring up some information, though I’m sure Anna has already helped you with that.”

“I did. She hasn’t had mail delivered in her name to any address in the last five years other than her parents’ house. Maybe you can find something I didn’t,” Anna said.

“Are you opposed to a private investigator? I know a few who could probably help.”

“I definitely don’t have the money for that.” The bills were piling up already.

Anna pressed her fingers against her temples. “We’re so close. I know it.”

Camille gently patted Bella’s back. “Don’t force it. My memories started returning when I relaxed. It also helped that I had Noah. He’d known me my whole life, and he helped keep me on the right path.”

“I don’t know anyone. My parents are in Omaha, and they claimed not to know me when Travis called them.”

“Travis Monroe? He’s worked with my husband before,” Camille said.

Bella shook her head. “Wow. This really is a small town.”

“Small world, apparently,” Camille said.

Anna’s phone rang, and she pulled it out. Her excited smile faded. “Sorry. This is my mom. I’ll be right back.”

As Anna stepped away to have a private phone conversation, Camille clasped her hands in front of her chest. “First things first. What brings you in today?”

Bella held out her arms, showing off her jeans and simple T-shirt. “I need a few outfits.”

Camille’s smile returned, and she gestured toward the circular racks of clothing. “This is my favorite thing to do.”

Anna returned a few moments later back in her usual happy mood. “Camille is great at finding cute outfits. We’ve done a few collabs on social media, and she truly has a gift.”

“Collabs?” Bella asked.

“You know. I promote boutiques and small businesses, and she offers a low-cost fashion option.”

“You don’t have to have lots of money to look good!” Camille said over her shoulder as she led the way through the store.

After trying on dozens of outfits, Bella carefully avoided looking at the screen as Camille scanned the tags. The clothes were cute and fairly cheap in general, but everything was too expensive when you didn’t have two pennies to rub together.

Camille pressed a button on the register and started folding the clothes. “Your total is zero dollars.”

Bella’s head jerked up. “No. That’s not right.”

Anna pointed at the screen. “Looks like it is.”

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