Where the Truth Lives

by Mia Sheridan

  He was a monster and yet . . . he wasn’t. He’d saved Liza’s life. And Arryn’s and Milo’s and Sabrina’s too. He was deeply grateful to him, and yet he was a vile predator. So . . . yes, Charles Hartsman had taught Reed things as well. He’d taught him that all people moved between darkness and light into those gray areas between the two, the only difference between any of them being the degree in which they walked in shadow and how far they traveled into murkier depths. Sometimes an evil man acted as a hero, and sometimes a victim became a tormenter. Criminals exhibited unexpected grace, and honest men had moments of great weakness. There was a strange, terrible, beautiful, complicated universe inside them all where nothing was simply black or white.

  Liza turned toward him, her smile emerging on a happy sigh. “It’s going to be perfect,” she said, walking to him and taking his hand.

  He smiled at his wife. “Yes,” he agreed. “It is.” To Reed, it already was, because he took nothing for granted and saw life as the undeserved and magnificent gift it was. Heaven showed up in small, stolen moments. And he had learned to recognize them for what they were. To pause, to hold them close and breathe them in as they filtered slowly, slowly through his soul. And for those tender slips of precious time, the broken world was only perfect.

  Acknowledgments

  How lucky am I that I have so many extraordinarily talented people on my team? My cup runneth over.

  My editors: Angela Smith, Marion Archer, and Karen Lawson. Thank you for the intense focus and time spent questioning every aspect of this story and ensuring I had all the answers. You three pick up where I leave off and I could not be more grateful to have you.

  Huge appreciation to my beta readers: Cat Bracht, Ashley Brinkman, and Cynthia Lear. You not only boosted my confidence but made so many constructive suggestions and helped richen this story.

  And to Elena Eckmeyer for not only beta reading, but for beta reading six times. I am eternally grateful for all your insightful comments, your eagle-eyed finds, and mostly, for that big heart of yours that finds room to love the unlovable.

  To Sharon Broom, I’m so thankful for your final look at this manuscript. I appreciate your time, your talent, and your friendship so very much.

  Thank you to Kimberly Brower, the best agent in the history of ever.

  To you, my precious reader, thank you for immersing yourself in my story, for expending so many emotions on my characters, and for continually choosing my books when the choices are so plentiful.

  Thank you to my Facebook group, Mia’s Mafia, for your loyalty and your love.

  To Janett Gomez, who is no longer with us, but is forever in my heart. If anyone embodied the spirit of a true heroine, it was you, my beautiful friend.

  To all the book bloggers and Instagrammers who spend countless hours reading, reviewing, and creating beautiful art for the books they love, thank you doesn’t seem like nearly enough.

  To my husband, my heaven.

  Note: While I did take a few small fictional liberties, Camp Joy is a very real place in Clarksville, Ohio that features the Living History Program I spoke of where campers run for freedom in the pitch black of night as runaway slaves. Each of my own children participated in this program with their classmates when they spent a school-sponsored weekend at the camp and it was a wonderfully, life-changing experience for them, one they still talk about, and one I know they will carry with them all of their lives.

  About the Author

  Mia Sheridan is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. Her passion is weaving true love stories about people destined to be together. Mia lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband. They have four children here on earth and one in heaven. Her works include the Sign of Love collection (Leo, Leo’s Chance, Stinger, Archer’s Voice, Becoming Calder, Finding Eden, Kyland, Grayson’s Vow, Midnight Lily, Ramsay, Preston’s Honor, Dane’s Storm, and Brant’s Return), and the standalone romance novels, The Wish Collector, and Savaged. Where the Blame Lies is the prequel to Where the Truth Lives but may be read as a standalone.

  The standalone romance novels, Most of All You, and More Than Words, published via Grand Central Publishing, are available online and in bookstores.

  Mia can be found online at:

  MiaSheridan.com

  Twitter, @MSheridanAuthor

  Instagram, @MiaSheridanAuthor

  Facebook.com/MiaSheridanAuthor