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Chapters (73)
  1. Goodbye to the Dead
  2. Also By Brian Freeman
  3. Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Epigraph
  7. CONTENTS
  8. PROLOGUE
  9. THEN
  10. 1
  11. 2
  12. 3
  13. 4
  14. 5
  15. 6
  16. 7
  17. 8
  18. 9
  19. 10
  20. 11
  21. 12
  22. 13
  23. 14
  24. 15
  25. 16
  26. 17
  27. 18
  28. 19
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. 23
  33. 24
  34. 25
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. NOW
  46. 36
  47. 37
  48. 38
  49. 39
  50. 40
  51. 41
  52. 42
  53. 43
  54. 44
  55. 45
  56. 46
  57. 47
  58. 48
  59. 49
  60. 50
  61. 51
  62. 52
  63. 53
  64. 54
  65. 55
  66. 56
  67. 57
  68. 58
  69. 59
  70. 60
  71. 61
  72. FROM THE AUTHOR
  73. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Cat sat down on the end of her bed. She switched off the music. ‘What’s up?’ she asked.

Because she knew something was up. She could read his face. And he saw in her nervous brown eyes the uncertainty of a teenager who was keeping lots of secrets and wondering which one he’d uncovered.

Stride sat on the other bed. ‘I was thinking about your mother today,’ he told her. ‘I cared about Michaela a lot.’

‘I know you did.’

‘There’s not a day where I don’t feel regret about what happened to her.’

Cat hooded her eyes. ‘Me, too.’

‘Michaela told you to find me if you were ever in trouble,’ Stride said, ‘and you did. I’m glad you did, Cat. I didn’t always believe that things happen for a reason, but more and more, as the years go by, I do. Even when the worst things happen. I find myself realizing that the turns of life take us where we’re supposed to go.’

Cat was silent. She didn’t understand what he was saying, and when she didn’t understand, she got scared.

‘Do you like it here with us?’ he asked her. ‘Do you feel safe here?’

She nodded urgently. ‘Of course. You know I do.’

‘Then what’s going on with you, Cat?’ Stride asked quietly. ‘I need to be able to trust you, and I can’t. Neither can Serena. All summer, you’ve kept crazy hours, not telling us where you are. You’re hanging out with people you shouldn’t. You’re making bad choices. Why? We gave you a second chance, Cat. I gave you a second chance.’

‘I know you did, but I don’t deserve it. I’m not worth anything.’

He watched her eyes welling with tears, and he put up his hand. ‘Stop that. Listen to me. I don’t want to hear you talk like that. I don’t hold your past against you, and I never will. Who you were the day before you came here doesn’t matter to me, but what you do right now does matter.’

‘I told you, I’m not worth it!’

‘Well, I’m here to tell you that you are worth it,’ Stride said, ‘but that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences, or that you get a free ride. You’re going to have to figure out a way to put the past behind you. You’re going to have to decide that your life – and your son’s life – mean something. And you’re going to have to look in my eyes and realize that I’m not going anywhere. Other people have turned their backs on you. Not me. And not Serena.’