Stolen Chances (Citrus Cove #2)

1. Sarah

CHAPTER ONE

sarah

Present Day

Strawberry Pop-Tarts sprung out of the toaster and I tossed them on plastic plates. I poured two glasses of milk, listening to the boys argue upstairs.

“ Boys !” I shouted.

This was the fourth time I’d called for them. My patience was wearing thin, but I took a breath, holding myself together.

One, two, three…

“Almost ready!” Jake yelled down.

I glanced at the clock on the stovetop. Dammit, I was going to be late for my therapy appointment.

I didn’t want to go. I always felt drained afterwards, but it helped me get a grip. Slowly but surely, I was becoming myself again.

Emma glided into the kitchen in pink silk pajamas and her under-eye patches in place. Her dark curls were bound into a topknot, adding a couple extra inches to her five-foot frame. Her golden skin glowed in the morning light, and her brows were perfect, even without makeup.

Nine months ago, I’d resented how effortlessly beautiful she was. But as I’d gotten to know her, I’d since let go of that. The first few weeks of living together had been a rough change for both of us, but it didn’t take long for me to understand why Haley loved her so much. Emma quickly became a pillar in my life—in all of our lives—even if she regularly complained about Texas.

“Do you want me to run them to school?” Emma pulled a pitcher of cold brew coffee out of the fridge. “I don’t mind. I don’t have a call until eleven a.m.”

“No, it’s okay.” I didn’t want to burden her any more than I already had. “I’ve got it.”

She glanced at the clock. “But it’s Thursday. Let me take them, Sarah. Don’t you have therapy?”

I swallowed hard, my ears ringing as I heard the boys fighting again. Goddammit.

“Davy! Jake!” My voice rang through the kitchen at full volume. “Come down and eat. Now!”

Emma raised a brow with a snort. “Damn, you’ve got that mom-tone down.”

“Sorry.” I sighed, rubbing my temples.

She was right, though. If I took the boys to school, I’d be late. And if I was too late, then I’d have to pay a fee and it would be another bill I didn’t want to worry about.

Therapy was one of those things I couldn’t skip, either. I’d made a promise to Honey, Haley, and myself that I’d go. I needed extra support, especially after what we’d gone through nine months ago.

My sister went through hell. After finding her neighbor dead and being threatened by the killer, she’d come back home only for him to stalk her.

That killer ended up being my then husband’s twin brother.

I was convinced David had been involved in all of it. I couldn’t stop reflecting on the years we were married, remembering all the times where he hadn’t quite seemed like himself.

Now, I wondered if it was truly David acting odd during those times. What if he hadn’t been himself at all? What if Thomas Connor, his twin, posed as my husband? I wasn’t sure I’d ever know the answer, and part of me didn’t even want to.

The aftermath was life changing for us all. Several women were dead, and my sister had almost been one of them. That knowledge was a weight that sat on my chest. While I had no direct part in the pain and suffering caused, I felt like it was partially my fault. Shouldn’t I have seen the signs? Shouldn’t I have realized that David wasn’t himself? That he was someone else entirely—even if they looked the same?

Given what I knew now, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d ever be able to trust another person again.

If I’d ever be able to trust myself again.

I was about to yell for the boys for a fifth time, but footsteps rumbled through the house. My shoulders relaxed a fraction as they flew down the stairs and emerged in the kitchen.

“Morning,” Jake chirped as he beelined for the small table beneath the window.

“Thanks, Mom,” Davy said. “Hi Emma.”

“Hello, gremlins.” She smiled at them as she took a sip of coffee. “I’m taking you to school.”

“Does that mean I get to hold Donnie?” Jake asked excitedly.

“No, Donnie has his own car seat.” Emma drummed her nails on her coffee cup. “You know this. Nice try, though.”

Donnie was Emma’s small, ancient, naked dog held together by pink sweaters, peanut butter, and some sort of spell. I glanced through the kitchen to the living room where he was curled up in a patch of sun, tongue out, eyes glazed in bliss.

Sunshine in January was a tease for spring. The weather couldn’t make up its mind about the cold. Allergies were rampant. We all constantly had headaches or sniffles, and some days we needed coats while others we needed short sleeve shirts.

“Get your shoes on after you eat,” Emma said to Jake and Davy. “I’ve got them, Sarah.”

My shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Thank you. I owe you.” I owed her a lot.

She rolled her eyes. “If you want to do me a favor, go out and get… go out and have fun ,” she said, taming her language with a side glance at Davy and Jake.

Heat crept up my spine. “I’m too busy for anything like that .” Not that I didn’t like the idea. “Thanks for taking them to school, Emma. I’ll be home later tonight and Haley is picking them up.”

I was ready for therapy and a double shift at the cafe. I gave my boys a kiss on the head and rushed upstairs to change quickly. I pulled on soft denim jeans and a clean T-shirt I rummaged from a pile of clothes that hadn’t moved since I pulled them from the dryer four days ago.

Fun.

Emma meant I should go get laid, but the idea of being with someone after David scared the hell out of me. The two of us weren’t sexually active the last few years of our marriage, and now I had to wonder if I’d slept with him or his psychotic twin. Don’t even think about that.

The lump in my throat never went away. I ran a brush through my auburn waves and raced back downstairs, snatching my purse and keys.

“Bye, babes!” I called.

“Bye Mom,” Jake answered.

I lingered for a moment, waiting for Davy to say bye too. I ignored the sting of his silence and stepped out onto the front porch. Sometimes, being a mom was the best thing ever. Other times, it made me feel like I was doing it wrong all the time.

The porch spanned the front of the house with two rocking chairs and a swing, all courtesy of Hunter Harlow, my brother-in-law’s older brother. I hadn’t even asked how much they cost—outside furniture was expensive.

The house itself was bought for us by Haley. Another thing I didn’t know how to repay. I was grateful, but it stressed me out knowing how generous she was. It was a spacious two-story home on a picturesque street where neighbors seemed to take a particular interest in watching the family of the infamous Citrus Cove killer go about their lives.

I breathed out and pushed my stress down. If I thought too much about it I’d cry, and I was so sick of crying.

My therapist, Brenda, had seen me break down more times than I cared to admit. She’d also hurt my feelings more times than I cared to admit with her very pointed questions and challenges, but …

I was coming back.

The bits and pieces of the girl I’d been before David were still there—broken and covered in dust—but I was picking each one up and gluing them back together.

Brenda called our relationship abusive.

My ex-husband had controlled our finances, our whereabouts, our everything. In the midst of it all, though, all I’d ever been able to care about were my boys. Shielding them from his anger, his erratic drunken arguments, the threats. Walking on eggshells had become my default.

Brenda called me a victim.

It had been a slow decline. The flags were a different shade of red when wearing rose-colored glasses. I’d loved him once, with everything a starry-eyed girl, fresh out of high school, could. He’d used that. He’d twisted that.

Brenda said a lot, but she never called me weak. She never told me I was stupid. She never said I was a whore. And before going to therapy, I’d never realized how numb I’d become to that kind of language.

Looking back, my wedding day was the worst day of my life. But now, David was out of our lives. There were court proceedings still happening, but my part was mostly done. Last I heard, he’d never step another foot in Citrus Cove.

I hoped it stayed that way forever.

I had two boys who needed to be loved and cared for. On top of that, I was navigating a crash course in managing everything he’d taken control of. I went from having no control over finances, to having all the responsibility, and facing decisions I’d never had to make before.

Emma was the one who realized I didn’t know how to pay an electric bill. Haley was the one who realized I didn’t have a credit card or savings—all my checks had always gone to David. To say the last few months had been a learning curve would be an understatement.

On top of it all, there was a layer of tension between Honey and I so thick that we’d barely talked the last few months. I’d lied to her countless times over the years about how controlling David really was, and those lies had divided us. She was still there for the boys, but the two of us had yet to talk candidly about all that had happened. Every time I thought about finally talking to her, a wave of nausea hit my stomach.

I got in my beat up Honda and turned the key, sending up a silent prayer that today wouldn’t be the day it gave out.

The engine light flashed orange. Fuck.

“I can’t afford this,” I whispered, holding in the tears.

I was already a burden on everyone around me. Haley had yet to charge me rent, even though I knew Emma paid her. Most of the furniture inside was bought by Emma or gifted by the Harlow family. When we’d rushed out of the house I shared with David last year, we’d only taken my clothes and the boys’ things. Everything else had been left behind.

It was like they had all made a secret agreement that I needed help.

I hated it.

But I was so thankful for it too. Having Haley back in my life had been healing for both of us. I loved seeing how happy she was with Cam. He was a good influence on the boys.

My eyes shifted to the clock, and I muttered under my breath as I backed out of the driveway. The engine light would have to wait. The Honda had made it over fifteen years, I just needed it to hang on for a couple more.

All I needed was one day where everything didn’t fall apart.