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Back Until I Find You Save as PDF
Chapters (60)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. Epigraph
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. EPILOGUE
  56. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  57. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  58. Also by Rea Frey
  59. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  60. Newsletter Sign-up

Caroline is no longer shielding Rebecca from the crowd, and people swarm her. They offer help, sympathy, and fling questions at her like she’s a celebrity. Crystal practically lunges off the stage and elbows her way through the neighbors. She struggles for breath, never one for crowds. Shouldn’t Jake be with Rebecca? Where is he? She turns her head to see if he’s still talking to Toby, but he’s marching through the crowd too, which parts for him automatically. They reach Bec at the same time, and Crystal stops a few feet away. Someone else grabs her attention first: Pam.

Crystal grabs her elbow and steers her toward a tree. “What are you doing here? Where’s Savi?”

Her red hair is in a topknot, and a few strands have escaped and gotten caught on her glossy red lips. She rips the strands free, and a smear of ruby drags across her cheeks like blood. “She’s in the car.” She points to Crystal’s white Suburban that idles at the curb. From behind the tinted windows, Crystal can’t see Savi.

“I really wish you wouldn’t have brought her.”

Pam points at the crowd. “What happened? What did they say?”

“I’ll tell you at home.”

Someone calls Pam’s name and she waves and tells him to hold on just a minute.

Crystal assesses the guy: cute, young, tall. “Who’s that?”

“Just a friend. Greg.” Pam glances at her shoes and at Greg again. She bites her bottom lip and smiles. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Pam tentatively approaches Greg and succumbs to a flurry of flirtatious behavior. Crystal sighs and retreats toward the car. When she turns back, she hunts for the red hair, but Pam has been sucked into the crowd.

Crystal curses under her breath. Should she go after her? She strains to find Rebecca, but she’s vanished too. She raps on the window for Savi to roll it down.

“Where’d Pam go?”

“With a friend,” Crystal says. She peers into the car, her daughter’s large eyes worried. She jogs around to the driver’s side. “I told you I wouldn’t be gone long.”

Savi points out the window. “But I wanted to see Ms. Rebecca.”

“I know.” Crystal buckles her seat belt and tentatively steps on the gas. “I do too.” She inches forward as people flood the street. She hunts for Rebecca or Pam. Her mind is a vortex of jumbled facts and thoughts. Through it all, Rebecca’s statement still roars in her ears:

His name is Oliver Watson. And he’s not my son.

40

BEC

Oliver Watson. I chew over the unfamiliar name and sift back through Chris’s colleagues, his family, my family, and our mutual friends, but I don’t know anyone with the last name Watson.