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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

“Kate, I hate doing this to you, but it’s eating me up inside. I need to know what happened the day you went missing. Brian and Camille think that you left to join Love International willingly. I told them there was no way that was true, that there had to be some other explanation, and I know you don’t want to talk about things, sweetie. I get that.” He got off the couch and knelt on the floor in front of her. Their engagement photos flashed through my memory unbidden. I shoved them away as he stared at her with desperation written all over his face. “But please tell me what happened that day. You don’t have to talk about anything else with me ever again, I promise. I just have to know—did they take you, or did you just leave?”

The room filled with the enormity of his question. I scooted forward in my chair, as eager for the truth as Scott.

“I left.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“I don’t get it.” Confusion filled his eyes. “Why would you leave us? Why?”

Huge tears slipped down her cheeks as her lower lip quivered. “I’m so sorry, Scott.”

He raised his hands and touched her face as softly as I was sure he’d touched Abbi’s when she was a baby. “You went because you wanted to?”

“I did, Scottie. I did,” she said. A heaving sob shook her body.

Scott’s eyes never wavered from hers. He gazed at her with as much love as he had before he asked the question.

“Why, Kate? I just want to know why?” He was crying too. They’d forgotten I was there. Sadness washed over me.

Kate held Shiloh against her chest, rocking back and forth like she did when she got really upset. She muttered underneath her breath while she moved.

“Please, Kate.” He sounded like a little boy.

“I waited for you to come,” she said when she’d finally found her voice. “Why didn’t you ever come?” Her question was engulfed by another sob.

KATE

THEN

Ray quickly ushered me into his office and shut the door behind us. “Are you sure you’re ready?” he asked.

Short of marrying Scott, I had never been more sure of anything. “I’m ready.”

He moved over to his desk, opened the bottom drawer, and dug through folders until he found whatever he was looking for. He grabbed it and slammed the drawer shut. “Wait here,” he said, hurrying to the door. “I’ll be right back.”