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Back When She Returned Save as PDF
Chapters (48)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT
  3. CONTENTS
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“I said, be quiet, child,” he told her another time, but her cries didn’t relent. Before I could stop him, he slapped his hand over her mouth, so big it covered her tiny nose and mouth. She quieted instantly. Her body writhed underneath his. “Quiet now. There you go. Quiet.”

“Give her to me!” I screamed, ripping her from his hands.

His hand smacked me across the face. My skin stung as my teeth cut through my lower lip. He grabbed me by my hair and yanked me up, tightening his grip. “You do as the Lord commands. Do you understand me?”

Blood pooled in my mouth. “I understand, I understand,” I said as the blood drained down my throat. It wasn’t the first time he’d hit me, just the first time it’d been in the face. He released me, and I staggered backward, clutching Shiloh. I dropped my head down. “I’m sorry, Abner. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

He pointed to the tent entrance. “Get out.”

Margo and I had emerged from the birthing tent a few days ago, and so far neither of us had put our babies down. We wore them at all times. Each minute counted. Margo had pleaded our case to Will, but he’d barely let her speak before making it clear he sided with Abner. The children were the Lord’s—not ours—and giving them over to Abner to work with their souls so young would have a huge impact on the kingdom.

“You should hear Will. He’s just like, ‘I don’t see what the big deal is; they’ll be back.’ Uh, they’re babies?” She rolled her eyes. “He would’ve let Abner get him pregnant if he could have.”

I twisted toward her in shock. “Margo!”

“You know it’s true.”

Normally one of us would’ve laughed, but nothing about this was funny. How could one person take care of two infants in the middle of nowhere? Even the most skilled child expert couldn’t do it alone. And where would they be? They didn’t have a shelter or supplies. Would he take them someplace? Where would he take them? How would they get there? My brain spun with constant thoughts, and I hadn’t expected to sleep at all last night, but I did despite my worries. My sleep was fitful, continually interrupted with images of Abner returning from the woods empty handed, saying he’d lost our babies. It was awful.