“Can you tell me what happened?” she said, almost afraid to ask.
“Your car went off the side of the road in the Santa Ynez Mountains, not far from San Marcos Pass. You plunged down a steep embankment and landed in a ravine about two hundred yards from the road. Fortunately you ran into a tree."
“Fortunately?” she echoed.
“Otherwise you would have ended up in a boulder-filled, high-running creek,” he told her. “The front end of your Honda Civic was smashed, and the windshield was shattered."
Which explained the cuts and bruises on her face.
“You’re a very lucky woman,” the deputy added.
“Who found me?” she asked.
“A witness saw your car go over the side and called nine-one-one. Does any of this sound familiar?"
The part about going off the side of the road sounded a lot like the dream she’d been having. “I’m not sure."
“Were you alone in the car?"
His question surprised her. “I think so.” She thought back to her dream. Had she been alone in the car? She didn’t remember anyone else. “If I wasn’t alone, wouldn’t that other person be here at the hospital?” she asked.
“The back door of your car was open. There was a child’s car seat strapped in the middle of the backseat, a bottle half-filled with milk, and this shoe.” Officer Manning held up a clear plastic bag through which she could see a shoe so small it would fit into the palm of her hand. Her heart began to race. She had the sudden urge to call for a time-out, to make him leave before he said something else, something terrifying, something to do with that shoe. “Oh, God. Stop. I can’t do this."
“I’m sorry, but I need to know. Do you have a baby?” he asked. “Was your child with you in the car?"
Buy
Silent Run
The Callaway Family Series
Nobody But You
(Callaway Wedding Novella)
The Wish Series
Standalone Novels
The Sanders Brothers Series
The Deception Series
#1
Taken
#2
Played
The Angel's Bay Series
#1 Suddenly One Summer
#2 On Shadow Beach
#3 In Shelter Cove
#4 At Hidden Falls
#5 Garden of Secrets
Barbara Freethy is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of 35 novels ranging from contemporary romance to romantic suspense and women's fiction. Traditionally published for many years, Barbara turned to Indie publishing in 2011 and in two years has sold over 3 million ebooks! Fourteen of her titles have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Lists.
Known for her emotional and compelling stories of love, family, mystery and romance, Barbara enjoys writing about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary adventures. She is currently writing a connected family series, The Callaways, which includes: ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS (#1), SO THIS IS LOVE (#2), FALLING FOR A STRANGER (#3) and BETWEEN NOW AND FOREVER (#4). There will be at least eight books in the Callaway series, and if you love series with romance, suspense and a little adventure, you'll love the Callaways.
Barbara also recently released the WISH SERIES, a series of books connected by the theme of wishes including: A SECRET WISH (#1), JUST A WISH AWAY (#2) and WHEN WISHES COLLIDE (#3).
Other popular standalone titles include: DON'T SAY A WORD, SILENT RUN and RYAN'S RETURN.
Barbara's books have won numerous awards - she is a six-time finalist for the RITA for best contemporary romance from Romance Writers of America and a two-time winner for DANIEL'S GIFT and THE WAY BACK HOME.
Barbara has lived all over the state of California and currently resides in Northern California where she draws much of her inspiration from the beautiful bay area.
For a complete listing of books, as well as excerpts and contests, and to connect with Barbara: