Nearly six years had passed since they''dst seen each other, and Theresa Carlisle''s face had slowly begun to fade in Evangeline''s memory. There were terrifying moments when Evangeline had wondered if she would even recognize her friend if they ever met again. She had forced herself to look at old photos, fighting back waves of sadness and loneliness, but the more she stared, the more unfamiliar the face became.


    To her despair, she thought she was truly starting to forget. But now, as Theresa stood before her, a single nce the shape of her silhouette, the look in her eyes, the small beauty mark just below her eyebrow-was all it took. Recognition hit her like a tidal wave.


    A lump formed in Evangeline''s throat. Forgetting the pain in her knee, she ran toward Theresa.


    Theresa seemed just as stunned to see her there, freezing for a moment. But she quickly set down the clothes in her arms, ready to catch Evangeline as she threw herself into her embrace.


    "How are you here...? I thought... you were..." Evangeline''s voice broke, choked with emotion. Finally, she managed to whisper, "Thank God, you''re okay."


    She said the words, but tears streamed down her face, and soon she was sobbing uncontrobly.


    Theresa''s eyes reddened, but she managed a smile, patting Evangeline''s back soothingly. "Still such a crybaby," she teased gently. "You won''t be pretty anymore if you keep this up."


    She tried to wipe away Evangeline''s tears, hoping to regain someposure. But feeling the hot tears on her fingers and seeing the raw grief on her friend''s face, Theresa''s own control shattered, and she began to cry too.


    The reunion descended into a tearful mess as the two women clung to each other at the doorway, both sobbing their hearts out.


    A short distance away, Finn and Soren exchanged a look. The moment their eyes met, Soren quickly looked away.


    "Is that Theresa? I thought she was dead. What is she doing here?" Soren asked the man beside him.


    Soren didn''t know much about Theresa. He''d only learned of her existence when he had Evangeline investigated after their divorce He Lockridge and


    also knew that the


    Carlistes families had recently spent a fortune trying to find someone named Theresa. But he''d heard


    rumors that she had died at sea long ago.


    The man, Leo, sized Soren up for a moment before deciding he could be trusted. “I was nearby when it happened,” he exined. "I was lucky enough to save her.”


    "She was on the verge of death, but she was lucky, too."


    Leo then filled them in. He was the son of a fisherman and had been out at sea when a violent storm hit. He found Theresa unconscious in the water and pulled her from the waves.


    After getting her to a hospital, he tried to ask for her name and information; but she refused to tell him anything. "The doctors told her to rest, but she seemed to be hiding from something. As soon as she woke up she insisted on leaving and made me promise not to tell anyone I''d seen her."


    "I was worried something would happen to her, so I followed her."


    At first, Theresa had been angry, demanding he leave her alone. But Leo was persistent, and eventually she told him a little of her story. She Said some enemies were after her, so she needed to disappear and not let anyone know her whereabouts."


    "She also said she only came back because she heard her best friend''s marriage had been a disaster, that her scumbag ex-husband had driven her to the brink of suicide, and that she''d recently suffered a miscarriage."


    At those words, Soren froze.


    Finn cast a cool, sidelong nce at him but said nothing.


    Leo didn''t notice their reactions and continued, pointing toward Evangeline. "It was only just now that I realized thedy with you looked exactly like the friend in her photograph. That''s why I brought you all here."