When they returned to her house that night, empty-handed and exhausted, Samantha felt hollowed out. She slumped onto the porch steps, her heart aching in a way she hadn’t felt since her marriage fell apart. The ticking of the clock inside the house seemed impossibly loud, mocking her failure.
But even as despair gnawed at her, Samantha lifted her head and clenched her fists against her knees. She had survived worse. She wasn’t going to leave Juniper behind—not without tearing apart every last inch of this town if she had to. Tomorrow, she will search again. Harder. Smarter. She had to.