Published by Steeple Hill Books™

      If you search for good, you will find favor, but if you search for evil, it will find you.

      —Proverbs 11:27

      This story is dedicated to my own dear college

       friends, including Cynthia, Liz, Ginny, Phyllis,

       Babs, Barbara and any others whose names I’ve

       missed. And, as always, to Brian, with much love.

      Special thanks and acknowledgment to Marta Perry for her contribution to the REUNION REVELATIONS miniseries.

      CONTENTS

      PROLOGUE

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

      CHAPTER THREE

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CHAPTER SIX

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      CHAPTER NINE

      CHAPTER TEN

      CHAPTER ELEVEN

      CHAPTER TWELVE

      CHAPTER THIRTEEN

      CHAPTER FOURTEEN

      CHAPTER FIFTEEN

      CHAPTER SIXTEEN

      CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

      CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

      EPILOGUE

      QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

      PROLOGUE

      He was about to meet the daughter he’d never known existed. He sat alone on a park bench, watching the spring sunshine filter through veils of Spanish moss and trying to make sense of the changes that had turned his life upside down.

      Across the park, a father pushed his child on the rustic swing set. The little girl—four or five, maybe—laughed, her light voice floating toward him on the sultry air.

      “Higher, Daddy. Higher.”

      A cold hand seemed to squeeze his heart. What did he know about being a father? His own father certainly hadn’t set much of an example. In fact, if his father were alive today, he’d be quick to point out that this was just another opportunity for him to fail someone.

      He couldn’t fail this child. She didn’t deserve that after all she’d been through. But he was probably the last person in the world who should be trusted with the responsibility for her.

      He glanced at his watch. They’d come soon, and his life would change irrevocably.

      But it already had, hadn’t it? It had started to change months ago. He just hadn’t recognized it at the time.

      ONE

      Magnolia College’s ten-year reunion was in full swing on a warm southern evening. Jennifer Pappas stood alone near the French doors that opened to the terrace, wondering what on earth had made her agree to come.

      The Mossy Oak Inn on the edge of the college campus prided itself on elegant service, and the staff had outdone itself tonight. Discreet waiters circulated with trays of hors d’oeuvres, while a string combo played a delicate counterpoint to the reliving of college memories. The scent of roses mingled with that of expensive perfume, almost dizzying in its impact.

      She took an automatic step back from the exuberant greetings going on between two women who’d just, apparently, found each other after ten years and were determined to catch up on everything that had happened since.

      That was what she feared the most tonight—that seemingly innocuous question: What have you been doing since graduation?

      How do I answer that, Father? She sought refuge in prayer, as she always did, focusing inward and shutting out the clamor of insistent voices rising above the chamber music. How could I talk about the day-care center I ran in Syracuse without mentioning how it ended?

      A shudder touched her heart, and she steeled herself against the memories, locking them away. She wouldn’t dwell on the past. She’d started a new life. That was what this was all about, wasn’t it?

      But she’d been back in Magnolia Falls for over a month now, and she still hadn’t found her balance. She was beginning to wonder if she ever would.

      Her gaze fell upon Steff Kessler, a fellow class member who was now the alumni director for Magnolia College. Steff had seemed eager to renew their college friendship, but even with Steff, she’d held back. How did you explain to anyone, let alone a friend, what it was like being arrested, charged, fingerprinted?

      No one here knew the