SOURCES CLAIM ROWAN KING HAD “EMOTIONAL EPISODES” BEFORE DISAPPEARING FROM SET
Rowan read the article then stared at the words.
Volatile. Emotionally unstable.
Vince was still working. Still shaping. Still making sure that by the time the truth came out, no one would be entirely sure what to believe.
Her thumb hovered over the screen.
Then she set the phone face down on the table and looked back out at the pond.
He could keep building his story.
She was done being afraid of it.
CHAPTER 43
Rowan’s momhad left twenty minutes ago. One of Luke’s kids had come down with a virus while at school, and the nurse needed a parent or grandparent there within the hour.
She’d hugged Rowan twice before leaving, pressed a kiss to her cheek, and made her promise to eat something before dark. Her mom . . . she was always so concerned with how much her kids were eating. The thought made Rowan smile and shake her head.
Right now, she stood at the kitchen window and watched the driveway. She realized that she’d subconsciously been waiting for Wes to return.
She missed Wes more than she expected to.
That was strange. A week ago, she hadn’t seen Wes Bennett in years.
Now the simple fact he wasn’t here left something quieter than it should have been. She wasn’t sure what to do with that.
She wasn’t sure she had the right to feel it at all—not with everything between them still unresolved, not with her life three thousand miles away in pieces.
And yet . . .
She pushed the thought aside before it could settle any deeper.
Naomi and Caleb had left with Grace for the prison—a visit to Sissy that had been on the calendar for two weeks. Millie was helping one of the women staying here with something. The other women staying at Refuge Cove were settled. Max was outside somewhere near the kennel.
The house was as quiet as it ever got.
Rowan’s phone buzzed on the counter.
She picked it up. A text had come in from an unknown number.
Rowan?
She paused, wondering if she should respond. What if this was a reporter?
Finally, she typed back:
Yes?
The response came immediately.
I’m so glad you got this text. Sorry for the new number. I had to leave my old phone behind.
She frowned, confused by the message.
Who is this?
