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      RUTH LANGAN

      is an award-winning and bestselling author. Her books have been finalists for the Romance Writers of America’s (RWA) RITA^® Award. Over the years, she has given dozens of print, radio and TV interviews, including Good Morning America and CNN News, and has been quoted in such diverse publications as The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan and The Detroit Free Press. Married to her childhood sweetheart, she has raised five children and lives in Michigan, the state where she was born and raised. Ruth enjoys hearing from her readers. Letters can be sent via e-mail to [email protected] or via her Web site at www.ryanlangan.com.

      For my sisters,

       Pat Brodzik and Margaret Griffith, with love. And, of course, for Tom. Always.

      Acknowledgments

      I wish to thank Dr. Scott Lewis and Melissa Lee of Premier Internists for their valuable assistance.

      Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Epilogue

      Prologue

      Devil’s Cove, Michigan—1981

      The boy plunged blindly through the woods, unmindful of the blackberry brambles that snagged his bloody T-shirt and ragged jeans. He barely noticed that it was raining, as the moss of the forest sucked at the soles of his sneakers, slowing his progress. He was desperate to reach his secret place. He’d come upon it by accident one day, when he’d been fleeing his father’s drunken fury. A tiny cave, formed between two giant boulders. Just big enough for a small boy to hide and lick his wounds, safe from a world of violence.

      There had been plenty of violence in Jason Cooper’s young life. Whenever his father got liquored up, he came home itching for a fight. In the past he’d taken out his temper on his timid, frightened wife. But lately eight-year-old Jason had decided to become his mother’s champion. Now his father got his kicks knocking his son around until he tired of the sport and passed out on the floor.

      Jason’s breath was coming in short bursts as he stumbled into his sanctuary and dropped to his knees.

      At the realization that he wasn’t alone his head came up sharply. “Who’re you?”

      The girl sat hunched against the far corner of the cave. Her white shorts and camp shirt were streaked with mud. Her knees, he noticed, were bloody. In her arms was a sleeping puppy.

      “Emily. Emily Brennan. What’s your name?”

      “Jason Cooper.” He glowered at her, annoyed at this intrusion. After all, this was his spot. His. He resented having to share it with anyone. “A tourist?”

      The little town of Devil’s Cove was littered with them during the summer. Visitors who flocked to the pretty beaches along the edge of Lake Michigan, ate in the fancy restaurants, shopped in the pricey gift shops. They clogged the highways and put money into the hands of local merchants. And, he thought bitterly, bought his father whiskey.

      She shook her head, sending a honey-colored ponytail swinging. “I live in town.”

      “You’re lost then?”

      Again that shake of the head. “I just wanted to get out of the rain.”

      “What’re you doing here in the woods?”

      “I was trying to catch Buster.” She looked adoringly at the puppy in her arms. “Mr. Mulvahill called him the runt of the litter and said he was going to drown him. But Buster ran off before anyone could catch him. So I came after him.”

      “That’s pretty dumb. Why didn’t you let him run away?”

      “Dogs can’t survive in the forest.”

      “They can’t survive drowning either. You bring him back, he’s just going to be killed.”

      She shivered and tightened her grasp on the bundle of fur. “I’m taking him home as soon as the rain stops. My family will let me keep him.”

      “Want to bet? Parents don’t like strays.

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