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As everyone stood in silence, Katherine took a long-labored breath, wiped stinging tears from her eyes, smoothed her hair away from her forehead, and glared into the faces of everyone around her.

“Oh yes, of course. Forgiveness. How could I forget? I should forgive you, and him, and him, and him…” she said, pointing at Matthew, Justin, and her father. “Then, just like magic, everything will be fine, right?”

Seeing everyone’s looks of fear and pity heightened Katherine’s emotions as she started backing out of the diner. Fueled by pent-up fury, she swung her arm and smashed her fist into what was left of the diner’s front door.

“Katie, no!” Matthew called out to stop her, but it was too late as all the tiny pieces of glass fell to the floor. He had tried rushing forward to protect her from hurting herself, but his feet wouldn’t move fast enough.

“You stay away from me, Matthew Brandon,” she warned as drops of blood from a multitude of tiny cuts dotted her skin. “In fact, that goes for all of you… stay the hell away from me!”

“Miss Bennett… what in heaven’s name do you thinkyou’re doing?”

Katherine whirled around to find Millie Fraser standing behind her. The Fraser matriarch had been just outside the threshold of the diner, holding a bouquet of roses in one arm and a neatly wrapped gift in the other. That was when Katherine remembered the fifth anniversary of The Copperwall.

“I thought I’d bring you a little gift,” she said, stepping inside and looking around at everyone’s faces and then at the glass on the floor. “But clearly, you’re in no mood for celebrating.”

With so much going on, Katherine had completely forgotten the important milestone.

“I’m sorry.” She brushed by Millie. “I’m sorry I let you down.”

Jerome, Justin, and Matthew tried to chase after her, but Katherine was too many steps ahead of them, and she made it to her truck and out of the parking lot before anyone could stop her.

Chapter 27

Determined to find Katherine, Matthew drove the same loop from the neighborhood where they lived, past her parent’s house and the diner, by Hope Community Church, then through Mr. Chen’s parking lot and back again nearly a dozen times.

“Whereareyou, Katie?” he repeated over and over again.

Every time he saw a vehicle that remotely resembled hers, then realized it wasn’t, his heart sank deeper into a pit of disappointment and worry. “Please, God, let her be okay. Please bring her home safely.”

As he drove through their neighborhood one more time, Jerome stepped out into the road, and Matthew had to stomp on the brakes and swerve to avoid hitting him.

“What the hell, Chief?!” Matthew cried out as the car slammed into a pair of garbage cans and came to a screeching halt.

Then Jerome marched over, ripped open the passenger door, reached inside, and yanked the keys from the ignition.

“Enough!” he bellowed, stuffing the cruiser keys into his pocket, then stomped back to where he’d been sitting on Katherine’s front porch.

“Don’t you think we should move the car out of the road?” Matthew called out after him.

“No! Turn the hazards on and leave the damn thing there!”

By the time Matthew reached Katherine’s house, the Chief was already settled on the porch swing. “No tellin’ how long it’ll be before she shows up. You should go home and get some sleep.”

Matthew was exhausted. But the only thing he wanted more than to lay his head down and close his eyes was to find Katie and hold her in his arms. He couldn’t think of a time when he’d ever felt this drained and defeated.

“What will you do?”

Jerome Bennett thought about it. “I’ll probably stay here a little longer. But in all honesty, it won’t do a damn bit of good. I know my baby girl, and it won’t make her come home any quicker.”

As Matthew’s hope crumbled, it felt like he was losing Katie forever.

“Where do you think she is?”

“My guess is she’s with one of her sisters. Those girls are thick as thieves and as tight-lipped as monks when they wanna be.”

Matthew felt a brief but reassuring wave of relief wash over him. “Can’t we call around and find out which one she’s with?”

“I don’t think so.” Jerome shook his head. “I mean, we could try, but if Katherine told ‘em not to say anything, I’m pretty sure they’d honor it. Even if their mother or I was doin’ the askin’. They’re just like that.”