BooksBarbecue
Back When She Returned
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

“Yep, but this time I can’t blame him.” Over the years, Dad had freaked out many times and called the police or Dean to check up on me somewhere. It was one of the reasons why I’d never had a boyfriend. I was sure he’d follow our every move, and I’d die of embarrassment. “I texted him when I spotted you sitting here, but he’s probably climbing the walls waiting for us to get back.”

“We should go?”

He nodded. “We’ll do this thing one step at a time, kiddo. One step at a time.” He reached out his hand to help me up, and I smiled at how much he sounded like Dad.

KATE

THEN

I moaned with ecstasy as the hot water spilled over my head. I couldn’t remember the last time it’d been hot. Even the water they’d used to bathe me with after I came out of the cellar had been cold. It felt so good it didn’t matter that I wasn’t in a real tub. I sat cross-legged in a hollowed-out tin while Margo bathed me in preparation for Scott’s visit. I was glad they’d allowed her to be the one. I’d still be mortified when she moved her way down to my private areas, but it’d be less awkward and embarrassing if it was her.

Her fingers massaged my scalp as she lathered my hair with shampoo. “Fill me in on how things are going,” she said, since I hadn’t seen her since the day I left the center.

I’d been secluded at a remote cabin in the woods with another recently converted disciple, Willow. New disciples were always paired up and served as each other’s mirror while undergoing their Phase One training.

“I really miss my family, but it’s a relief not to be living with one foot in both worlds,” I said. That had been the easiest part of settling into discipleship, not having to be in conflict all the time. “How long have I been gone?” I asked. Coming out of the cellar had been almost as disorienting as going in, since they’d taken us straight to the cabin and left us without any cues to time or the outside world, just like it’d been down there.

She shook her head. “Letting go of time takes a long time,” she said, laughing as she realized her play on words.