'For what?'
'For saying I could actually be a threat. That's cool.'
Hilary smiled. 'Take care of yourself, Tresa.'
'You too. You're lucky, you know?'
'I know.'
She watched Tresa disappear into the trees, and then she turned with a strange sense of anxiety and relief toward Mark, trying not to run. He climbed off the bench as she drew near. Their faces told the story. They didn't need to speak. His arms enfolded her, and she grabbed him hard, and they kissed with an outpouring of love and longing that left her fighting back tears. It was as if everything in her life had come within a breath of slipping away, and then, suddenly, miraculously, she had it all back in her grasp. They stood there in silence for long minutes, clinging to each other, still somehow afraid that they would be torn apart. When they finally let go, they walked back to the bench hand in hand and sat, still not speaking, listening to the steady beat of the water on the rocks.
'I thought I'd never—' Mark began, but she stopped him firmly with a hand over his lips.
'Don't. Don't say it.'
He nodded and let it go. She didn't want to talk about fears or nightmares. She didn't want to talk about what might have happened or how close they'd both come to the edge of the precipice. The only thing that mattered to her was that they were still here and still together.
'I got a call from the principal at the high school,' Hilary told him. 'Oh?'
'It sounds like the last few days have made a lot of people rethink what happened last year. Or maybe they got nervous and called their lawyers. I think they're going to offer you your teaching job back.'
Mark's head bobbed in surprise. 'Seriously?'
'Looks that way. Do you want it?'
'After everything that's happened?' He hesitated, and she assumed he was about to say no. Not ever. Not again. He surprised her.
'Actually, yeah,' he continued. 'I do. All I ever wanted was the life we had before.'
She smiled at her husband. He was the idealist between them. He thought things could be the way they were again, as if the horrors had never happened, as if the injustices had never been perpetrated. She wasn't so blindly optimistic. Life didn't go backwards. She prayed that she could look in the mirror one day and see the same two people who had come to this place to escape, that she could live in peace among the neighbors who had wronged them, that she could find a way to heal the wounds in her soul.
Something had been taken from her, and she didn't know how to get it back. She would never admit it to him or anyone else, but when she was alone, she still heard Katie taunting her. You're like every wife, loyal and stupid. Do I need to spell it out for you?
She saw Mark and Glory. On the beach. No one will ever know.
Hilary told herself for the thousandth time that nothing had happened between them. Mark was an honorable man, and Katie was a sociopath playing with her head. And yet she wondered. She was human. It was a seedling of doubt she wouldn't water, in the hope that it would wither and die. That was all she could do. You push aside your fears and hope there are no monsters waiting behind them. You live your life. You trust. You have faith.
'So do you want to stay here?' she asked.
'I do,' Mark said. 'Don't you?'
Hilary nodded. What they had, what they wanted, was worth fighting for.
'I don't want to be anywhere else,' she said.
* * *
JOIN BRIAN'S COMMUNITY
You can write to me at [email protected]. I welcome e-mails from readers and always respond personally. Visit my website at www.bfreemanbooks.com to join my mailing list, get book club discussion questions, read bonus content, and find out more about me and my books. You can join me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bfreemanfans.
* * *
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I lost a dear friend during the writing of this book. Gail Foster sent me my very first 'fan' letter in 2005 before the release of my debut novel, Immoral. As we got to know each other, she became a sounding board and advance reader for my manuscripts, and I always looked forward to her feedback and reflections on my work. Marcia and I had the good fortune to meet Gail several times and to become friends with her and her family. We miss her greatly.
This book is in your hands because of the efforts of many people around the world. I am grateful to everyone in the publishing industry who has been so supportive of my career throughout the past six books. A special thanks to my agents, Ali Gunn, Deborah Schneider, and Diana Mackay - and the agents in many countries who work with them.
Of course, I'm particularly grateful to my readers. I grew up enjoying entertainment from many wonderful authors, and it is an honor to play the same role for readers around the world. Keep writing to me and sharing your stories. I always appreciate it.
This would be a lonely business without the support of family and friends. My own family in California has been with me every step of the way, even when we are separated by long distances. I'm also blessed with wonderful friends close to home, across the country, and around the world. Many thanks to people like Barb and Jerry, Matt and Paula, and Keith and Katie, for the ways you enrich our lives.
Every book is dedicated to my wife, Marcia. Those of you who have met her know that she is (as one bookseller described her), 'the icing on the cake' at book events. Actually, that's not true - she's the cake, too! Whenever I get invited back to a bookstore or library, I can count on hearing the question, 'You will be bringing your wife, too, won't you?' So the biggest thanks of all to Marcia for twenty-six years of marriage and for joining me on this roller-coaster ride.
Table of Contents
Prologue
PART ONE
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
PART TWO
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
PART THREE
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
PART FOUR
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
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