Runaway Wife
To Have & To Hold, Book 5
Joy faked her own death to escape a dangerous conspiracy, but six years of hiding couldn't kill the love she still feels for the husband she abandoned. When Nolan unexpectedly appears in her small town, demanding answers, she's forced to choose between protecting him from a deadly secret or risking everything to reclaim the life they once shared.
Nolan never stopped loving his wife. Finding her alive awakens a fury of emotions: love, betrayal, and an overwhelming need to understand why she chose to vanish. But as he pushes Joy to reveal what she's been hiding, he uncovers a web of lies that reaches far beyond their broken marriage, implicating the one person he trusted most.
With long-buried secrets threatening to destroy them both, Joy and Nolan must decide if their love is worth fighting for or if some betrayals cut too deep to heal.
Nolan looked into the man’s eyes and almost choked. He recognized this face. He knew this man.
This was the sheriff who had come to him six years ago with news that had shattered his life. The man who had informed him that Joy was dead. Silas something.
Nolan took a step back.
What was he doing here? Something wasn’t right.
A force beyond his control compelled him to scan the faces of the congregation, all of whom were openly staring at him. Row by row, he examined them—and then halted, doing an incredulous double-take as his gaze locked onto a woman’s familiar features.
His heart slammed against his ribs as he took in her curly hair swept up in an intricate updo, the way she always wore it to charity events, the warm brown tone of her smooth shoulders exposed by her sleeveless dress, the way she tilted her head to avoid looking up - it was all familiar.
As she fidgeted with her dress, he caught a glimpse of the small scar on her right index finger from a broken champagne glass during an anniversary celebration. His throat tightened.
Nolan’s mind reeled. How was this possible? His knees became weak as the room spun around him.
He had kissed that delicate scar a thousand times. He had caressed that neck, run his hands through that beautiful hair.
This was the woman who had whispered, I love you in the darkness as they held each other. His wife, his heart - his Joy.
“Joy? It can’t be you! You died,” he said, realizing how absurd it sounded.
As she turned to flee, their eyes met for a split second that stretched into eternity. In that instant, Nolan knew.
This was no illusion. The connection, the spark, was undeniable. The woman ran.
