9 Springs Later

The hallway was dark when I heard the voices.

I didn't think much of it at first. Then I heard Riley. I pushed the door open just as Stephen raised his hand.

I didn't think. I moved.

My hand caught his wrist before he could get any closer to her, and for a moment, neither of us said anything.

Stephen looked at me like he couldn't believe I'd stepped between them.

I held his stare.

"If you ever think about laying another fucking finger on her..."My voice stayed calm. Almost too calm. I tightened my grip on his wrist.

"...I will kill you. And I mean it."

Nine years ago, Riley left the Spring Retreat behind with a secret she never intended to bring back.
Now she's twenty-five, a mother to a seven-year-old daughter, and reluctantly returning to the one place she spent years avoiding.

The house hasn't changed. The lake hasn't changed.

But the people have.

Stephen is still carrying the past.

Riley is trying to build a life beyond it.

And Stone-who never knew her before she left-is about to become tangled in a story that started long before he ever walked into it.

Somewhere between old memories, unexpected reunions, a little girl discovering the place her mother once called home, and a connection Riley never saw coming, she begins to realize something terrifying:

Maybe the past didn't wait nine years to be forgotten.
Maybe it waited nine years for her to come back.