Page 149 of Only Be Mine

The detective closed the door behind him, the sound echoing louder than it should have.

He sat across from us, folding his hands on the table, studying us for a brief, unreadable moment.

Trevor’s hand brushed my knee beneath the table, a small, anchoring touch.

I took a breath.

And waited.

Chapter 55

Cate

Present

The chair felt colder than it looked.

Detective Marshal opened a legal pad in front of him, pen resting but not yet moving.

“I know this isn’t easy,” he said. “I appreciate you coming in.”

Trevor nodded. “Of course.”

The detective’s eyes flicked to him, then back to me.

“Mrs. Reeder,” he said carefully, “before we begin, I want to be clear. This is not an interrogation. You’re not in any trouble.”

My chest loosened a fraction.

Trevor spoke before I could. “We understand. Cate’s been through a lot.”

The detective inclined his head. “That’s exactly why I want to proceed carefully.”

He turned to me again. “If at any point you need a break, or don’t want to answer something, just say so.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

Trevor’s hand slid into mine beneath the table. His thumb brushed across my knuckles once, reassuring.

“I know I asked you some of this before,” Detective Marshal said, pen finally moving. “But I need to hear it again. From the beginning. Let’s start simple. When was the last time you saw Johnathan Rosewood?”

My throat tightened. I glanced down before answering.

“Ten years ago,” I said. “The week before our wedding.”

Trevor’s grip firmed - not stopping me, just reminding me he was there.

“And at that time,” the detective continued, “was there any indication he intended to leave town?”

“No,” I said quickly. “None.”

Trevor nodded along, like we were telling a shared story.

The ease of it unsettled me, how smoothly the words still fit together.

“He’d gone for a walk,” I added. “He needed time to think. That wasn’t unusual.”

The detective wrote something down. “Did he say what he was thinking about?”