by L. T. Vargus
Ramsett Park itself wasn’t so busy, at least considering the crowd of foot traffic leading up to it and streaming past. Most of the picnic tables stood empty. All but one, in fact.
Charlie veered into the park when she saw who was there. She almost missed the turn, cutting off an older couple and apologizing as she stepped onto the sidewalk sloping down toward the trees.
She slowed as she drew closer to the two women occupying the picnic area, not wanting to get too close. Eventually she ambled out among the pines. Finding a spot where she could watch them among the boughs, for just a moment, without being seen.
Kara and Misty Dawkins ate sandwiches and talked. Mother and daughter reunited.
Charlie had visited Kara in the hospital, of course, and Kara and Misty had also stopped by Charlie’s office to thank her for all she did. But this was different. Seeing them out in the world. Living their lives. Carrying on.
Together again. Made whole again. Their wound already healing.
Charlie watched for no more than a minute, seeing this tiny snippet of their life, this tiny moment of simple warmth, simple lightness. She witnessed the little smiles that passed between them. Saw Misty dig a bottle of Pepsi out of the cooler for Kara.
And then Charlie was moving on. Away. Picking her way back through the pines to return to the throng of people heading out of the park and moving toward downtown Salem Island.
Charlie thought maybe Allie would make some joke about the situation. Some sarcastic remark or non sequitur to take the air out of the moment somehow, to degrade the reverence of it just a bit. Instead her sister went the other way with it.
“That was nice,” Allie said. “Seeing them together, I mean. A moment of light in a dark world, you know?”
Charlie could never have that with Allie. Justice. Reunion. The broken pieces made whole again. But she could help other people find it—not all, but some—and that seemed like something worth fighting for.
No one knew like her how badly people needed it.
She pressed back into the crowd, walked once more among the people. In some ways, she felt apart from them, but she wasn’t alone.
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Books by L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain
Charlotte Winters Series
First Girl Gone
The Violet Darger Series
Dead End Girl
Image in a Cracked Mirror
Killing Season
The Last Victim
The Girl in the Sand
Bad Blood
Five Days Post Mortem
Into the Abyss
Night on Fire
The Victor Loshak Series
Beyond Good & Evil
The Good Life Crisis
What Lies Beneath
Take Warning
Silent Night
A Letter from L.T. and Tim
Thanks so much for reading First Girl Gone. If you enjoyed it and want to hear about new releases in the Charlie Winters series, make sure to sign up to the Bookouture Vargus/McBain newsletter at this link:
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We’ve put together a little bonus freebie for those who sign up to our personal newsletter, too: some deleted scenes from First Girl Gone. Curious about what Kara Dawkins was up to while Charlie searched for her? Now is your chance to find out.
So what did you think of Charlie and Salem Island? What do you want to happen next for her? Let us know by leaving a review. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just a few words about your experience with the book. Reviews help authors so much, and we’d greatly appreciate it.
Charlie will be back soon, so be on the lookout.
L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain
https://ltvargus.com/
ltvargus.com/winters
Published by Bookouture in 2020
An imprint of Storyfire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
www.bookouture.com
Copyright © L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain, 2020
L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain have asserted their right to be identified as the authors of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
eBook ISBN: 978-1-83888-832-9
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.