Katie stood on the seat of the car, watching the sun set, until the road became too bumpy and she was thrown into the side of the sun roof. “Ow,” she said, dropping back into her seat.
“You okay?” Sam asked, then pointedly tugged his seatbelt.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. Safety first.” Katie put her seatbelt on, but still craned to see the brilliant hues that stretched across the sky. “I just can’t get over it. This place is so amazing.”
“I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’m still not used to it,” Sam said. “I hope I never am.”
“Where did you say we’re goi
Sam rounded the corner to Zoe’s office, but had to do a double take when he saw that it was Katie, and not Zoe, sitting at the desk. “You’re back to working in the office?”Katie gave him a shy smile. “I have a confession. When I decided to work from home…I was avoiding you.”Sam pumped a fist in the air. “I knew it!” He grinned. “So, I’ve made it off your blacklist?”“Blacklist?”“Yeah, you know, everyone who is on your bad side, and if a hitman took them out, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.”
“How did it go?” Bev asked, handing Katie a sugar cookie. They sat on a couple of tree stumps outside Bev’s tent. “Mayor Freedman dropped these off this morning, so I’m guessing it didn’t go too badly.”“It didn’t go well either,” Katie said, taking a bite. “I didn’t tell him.”“I thought so.” Bev shook her head. “You can’t go on pretending, you know. A life that you want to last can’t be built on lies, and you have built up plenty of them since you got here.”“I haven’t lied about anything except my name,” Katie protested.
Katie had kept her fear and anger under control while in the middle of the festival, but now that they were out on the darkened street, this was her chance. She had seen the way Sam looked at her. Like she was a stranger. Just moments before he had been talking about how she’d changed the world for the better—his world. And now? Well, he wasn’t going to be any help. Katie was just another problem he had to deal with. But one thing was for sure. She wasn’t going to go with Teddy quietly.No one had thought to keep a hand on her, Sam walking in front of her and Teddy behind. They really didn’t know she’d try to run? Katie counted to five, slowing her breath with each number.
“I need an update,” Sam said into his phone. “We still don’t see them.” He listened, nodding. “Great. Thank you, Detective. Keep us posted.” He hung up and turned to Daniel in the passenger seat. “New Mexico State troopers have set up a roadblock about thirty miles north.”Daniel gave a grim smile. “What if they didn’t go north?”“We have a witness who saw a patrol car heading in that direction. Besides, border patrol is to the south and Bev said she and Melinda haven’t seen any patrol cars on the east route.”“Did the witness see if the car was from Colorado?”
Katie woke to the sound of a squeal from downstairs.“Wake up! Christmas is finally here and you won’t believe what’s outside,” Zoe yelled.The sound of Zoe’s feet pounding on the stairs made Katie burrow under her blankets in a vain attempt to hide. If she could just have a few more minutes—The blankets whipped off her. “I’m glad I don’t sleep naked,” Katie said, curling into a shivering ball. “That could have been embarrassing.”“Please,” Zoe said, waving her off. “I knew you wouldn’t be. You’re not the type.”
Book 2: "It's better to have loved and lost, they said. They were wrong."Ruby balanced her phone between her shoulder and ear as she wound her bike chain around a tree. “Have you decided what you want on your cake? I just arrived at the bakery.”“I told you, it doesn’t really matter to me. The cake is going to be delicious either way,” Katie said.It mattered to Ruby. An ache settled in her chest and she paused outside the bakery door. “What about pink baby booties in the middle with the writing surrounding the
Parker watched Ruby hurry out the door. Her long dark hair bounced slightly with each step, and it seemed to glow as she walked into the sunlight. After all these years he still couldn’t help but watch her every move.“Parker, did you want me to bag these up for you?” Rebecca asked. From the way she looked at him, it seemed like maybe it wasn’t the first time she had asked.“Yes, please. Thank you.” As Rebecca rung up the cake and figurines, a flash of light on the counter caught Parker’s eye. He walked over and saw that it was a blue wallet. Tiny jewels sewn into the surface reflected the light that streamed through the window. Parker opened it and saw Ruby’s face staring back at him on her driver’s license. Except the license had e
Ruby finished setting the table, then glanced at the place cards she held in her hand. She placed one next to each plate, then when she felt she had the order right, she sat down on the couch to anxiously await the arrival of her dinner guests.After what seemed like hours, Ruby glanced at her phone. It had only been twenty minutes, but she saw she had a text from Sam that she had somehow missed.Sorry, we’re running late.Of course they were. They had probably burned dinner and now had to pick up something on their way over. At least Zoe would be there as a buffer between her and Parker. And if all went well, it would be Zoe that Parker would ask to take home, and Ruby would be off the hook. At least, t