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Chapters 1-3, pages 1-31
In these chapters you are introduced to the main characters. Katie is a woman in her 20's who moves to small town Southport and no one really knows why she is there. Alex is the widowed store owner with kids named Josh and Kristen. Jo is the last main character introduced, she is Katies's next door neighbor. Read 30 pages, 808 total -
Chapters 3-6, pages 31-53
While Josh is fishing off the dock he gets pulled into the water when his line gets stuck and Alex must save him. Katie stays with Kristen and Alex realizes how much he likes her. Alex realizes Katie walks everywhere and after giving her a ride home, decides to get her a gift. Read 22 pages, 830 total -
Chapters 6-11, pages 53-100
Katie and Jo spend time together during a big storm and when Jo tries to get Katie to talk about her past she becomes quiet and ends the conversation. Katie kind of tells her story, trying to get a viewpoint, but tells it like one of her friends was beaten. Katie agrees to spend a day with Alex and the kids at the beach. Read 47 pages, 877 total -
Chapters 11-16, pages 100-133
Katie easily bonds with Josh and Kristen at the beach and they quickly being to feel comfortable around her. Alex and Katie had been spending time apart and he couldn't stop thinking about her. Alex and Katie decide to have their first formal date. Read 33 pages, 910 total -
Chapters 16-20, pages 133-170
Katie reveals to Alex that she is hiding things and wants to tell him all about it. She is surprised to find out that from his military training he was able to guess, she ran to Southport to flee an abusive husband. You also meet Kevin, Katie's husband she is running from and see that he is an angry drunk who beats her. Read 37 pages, 947 total -
Chapters 20-24, 170-218
Kevin's co-workers at the Boston PD are starting to get suspicious about where his wife Erin really is. Kevin is furious that Erin left him and is determined to find her. The chapters take you through the well planeed scheme Katie needed to make a successful escape from Kevin. Read 48 pages, 995 total -
Chapters 24-29, pages 218-263
Kevin begins to pick up on Katie's track and comes closer to finding her. Alex teaches Katie how to drive because he thinks she really should know, just in case. Alex finds a letter to him from his passed wife Carly telling him how much she loves him and wants him to move on and be happy. Read 45 pages, 1040 total -
Chapters 16-20, pages 263-313
Alex takes Katie and the kids to a carnival and asks her if she has ever considered remarrying and if she would think about it with him. A slip from the daughter of a passed neighbor leads Kevin directly to Erin's new life. Kevin goes searching for her and at the very end of the section finds her at a carnival with Alex and the kids. Read 50 pages, 1090 total -
Chapters 36-41, pages 313-362
Kevin follows Katie, Alex, and the kids but eventually loses them in the crows from the carnival. While Katie is alone at Alex's watching the kids Kevin spots their bikes. Kevin doused the house in gas and burned it down along with the shop, after a long struggle Katie kills him. Read 49 pages, 1139 total -
Chapters 41-43, pages 362-382
Katie is struggling with what to do after her life has been essentially destroryed once again. She decides to try and talk to Jo but discovers that Jo was Alex's deceased wife and only appeared to her to make sure that she ended up with Alex. She struggles with her identity but unltimately decides her true home is in North Carolina with Alex and the kids. Read 20 pages, 1159 total