He provided for them, like he’d promised he always would. He loved her, loved the kids, without reservation. He’d never cheat. Never so much as look at another woman. He’d kill to protect his family.

She dropped the ticket onto the table. It was common vernacular. An everyday saying. I’d kill for a bowl of ice cream. I’d kill to protect my family. But Brock really would. And would she want it any other way?

No. She wouldn’t. She knew that deep within her heart. So what was her holdup, and why was she running?

“I have to go, ladies,” she whispered. Everything was clearer and more confusing than it had been before her phone had rung. “Wait, text me Mia’s phone number. I want to talk to her too.”

“Will do.” Sarah could hear the smile in Nicola’s voice.

“Send us a postcard,” Sugar added before the line disconnected.

CHAPTER FOUR

Two days. It hadn’t been enough time for Sarah. Her kids continued to be thrilled with their new school and the friends they made in the neighborhood. Her mom hadn’t said much when she’d explained she was heading to Saint Lucia. But the look she gave Sarah made her feel like a teenager all over again. Her mom loved Brock. Had no idea why she’d left him and was taking his side without saying anything. Just that look. Irritating.

Sarah had also had two very long phone calls with Mia. After repeating several times that couple’s counseling wasn’t her specialty, Mia had talked about Sarah’s abduction experience and the mental ramifications that came with that type of trauma.

Trauma didn’t seem like the right word. At first. She’d thought about trauma in terms of emergency rooms. Lots of blood. Car accidents or school shootings. Major circumstances like that. But the more Mia talked, the better understanding Sarah had that trauma could be physical or emotional. There were people who’d been watching the Twin Towers fall from the safety of their living rooms, and they had mental and physical reactions, years later, when they saw low-flying planes. Mia called it post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD.

Mia also hadn’t been sure that flying to Saint Lucia was the best answer for Sarah and Brock to work out their problems, especially if there was a traumatic stress issue.

She had thought about everything Mia had said, then spent an unhealthy amount of the day on the Internet before she’d come to the unscientific determination that Mia was right. She suffered from PTSD and had to deal with it.

But also, the more Sarah analyzed her life before the abduction… I didn’t live. I just moved through the motions.

Some days her husband was there. Some days he wasn’t. Sometimes she wanted more, and other days, the complacency of life was fine.

“Final boarding call…” The overhead speaker announced her flight for the third time since she’d been in the bathroom nearest the gate, holding the sink rim and trying not to toss her breakfast.