The Bone House (56 page)

    'Actually,
yeah,' he continued. 'I do. All I ever wanted was the life we had before.'

    She
smiled at her husband. He was the idealist between them. He thought things
could be the way they were again, as if the horrors had never happened, as if
the injustices had never been perpetrated. She wasn't so blindly optimistic.
Life didn't go backwards. She prayed that she could look in the mirror one day
and see the same two people who had come to this place to escape, that she
could live in peace among the neighbors who had wronged them, that she could
find a way to heal the wounds in her soul.

    Something
had been taken from her, and she didn't know how to get it back. She would
never admit it to him or anyone else, but when she was alone, she still heard
Katie taunting her.
You're like every wife, loyal and stupid. Do I need to
spell it out for you?

    She
saw Mark and Glory. On the beach. No
one will ever know.

    Hilary
told herself for the thousandth time that nothing had happened between them.
Mark was an honorable man, and Katie was a sociopath playing with her head. And
yet she wondered. She was human. It was a seedling of doubt she wouldn't water,
in the hope that it would wither and die. That was all she could do. You push
aside your fears and hope there are no monsters waiting behind them. You live
your life. You trust. You have faith.

    'So
do you want to stay here?' she asked.

    'I
do,' Mark said. 'Don't you?'

    Hilary
nodded. What they had, what they wanted, was worth fighting for.

    'I
don't want to be anywhere else,' she said.

    You
can write to me at
[email protected]
. I welcome e-mails
from readers and always respond personally. Visit my website at www.bfreemanbooks.com
to join my mailing list, get book club discussion questions, read bonus
content, and find out more about me and my books. You can join me on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/bfreemanfans.

    I
lost a dear friend during the writing of this book. Gail Foster sent me my very
first 'fan' letter in 2005 before the release of my debut novel,
Immoral.
As we got to know each other, she became a sounding board and advance reader
for my manuscripts, and I always looked forward to her feedback and reflections
on my work. Marcia and I had the good fortune to meet Gail several times and to
become friends with her and her family. We miss her greatly.

    This
book is in your hands because of the efforts of many people around the world. I
am grateful to everyone in the publishing industry who has been so supportive
of my career throughout the past six books. A special thanks to my agents, Ali
Gunn, Deborah Schneider, and Diana Mackay - and the agents in many countries
who work with them.

    Of
course, I'm particularly grateful to my readers. I grew up enjoying
entertainment from many wonderful authors, and it is an honor to play the same
role for readers around the world. Keep writing to me and sharing your stories.
I always appreciate it.

    This
would be a lonely business without the support of family and friends. My own
family in California has been with me every step of the way, even when we are
separated by long distances. I'm also blessed with wonderful friends close to
home, across the country, and around the world. Many thanks to people like Barb
and Jerry, Matt and Paula, and Keith and Katie, for the ways you enrich our
lives.

    Every
book is dedicated to my wife, Marcia. Those of you who have met her know that
she is (as one bookseller described her), 'the icing on the cake' at book
events. Actually, that's not true - she's the cake, too! Whenever I get invited
back to a bookstore or library, I can count on hearing the question, 'You
will
be bringing your wife, too, won't you?' So the biggest thanks of all
to Marcia for twenty-six years of marriage and for joining me on this
roller-coaster ride.