All the Shiny Things: A Kate Reid Novel (Kate Reid Series Book 1) by Robin Mahle Page B

here so soon and certainly not for this reason. She would have to tell Sam everything.
    Katie freshened up, threw on some clean clothes, and followed the scent of coffee toward the kitchen.
    Sam held two mugs, placing one in front of Katie on the breakfast table. “So, are you ready to talk yet? I’m guessing you’re not here to talk about your wedding plans?” Sam pulled out a chair and sat across from Katie, taking a sip of coffee.
    Her mind raced as she tried to figure out the best place to start. “No, not exactly.” She took a sip as well and began retelling all the events of the past several weeks.
    Sam exhaled with some despair. “So, what do you think now? You think maybe someone really did take you when you were little? Why wouldn’t your parents have told you?”
    “I don’t know, Sam. Maybe because I didn’t remember anything, they decided not to tell me. I mean, I couldn’t have been more than what five, maybe six?”
    “I guess, but you need to sit down and talk to them. I know that’s not easy for you, but you have to know what happened. It could have been anything and, maybe it just appeared as dreams of you trying to escape from someone. Did Dr. Reyes suggest that you could have been kidnapped, or did you?”
    “I did. She said not to rush to conclusions.” Katie wrapped her hands around the warm mug.
    “Exactly. You can’t just jump to conclusions like that. It could be anything that your subconscious is trying to deal with. The best thing you can do is speak to your parents. Whatever it is, I’m sure they can shed some light on the situation. After that, you can go back home to Spencer.”
    Katie’s half-hearted smile wasn’t going to convince anyone. “You’re right. Thank you.” She finished her coffee and a short while later, stood up to leave.
    “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you to your folks’ house? You’re still welcome to take my car. Jarrod’s going to be home all day, so it’s not like we’ll be without a vehicle.”
    “I appreciate that, Sam,” Katie began. “I’ll just borrow your car, if that’s all right. No point in you driving me and picking me up again.”
    “Sure. No problem.”
    “Thanks. I’d probably better get going. I told my mom I’d be there around lunchtime. Of course, she’s probably laid out some huge spread just for the occasion. You know Deborah, ever the consummate host.”
    “All right, I’ll walk you out.” Sam opened the front door. “Here are the keys. No rush; whenever you’re ready to come back.”
    Katie hugged Sam and gave her a peck on the cheek. I’ll call you later and let you know how it went.”
    “It’ll be okay,” she whispered. “I’m sure everything will turn out fine.”
    A thin smile briefly appeared on Katie’s lips as she turned away and walked out into the crisp spring air. The scent of roses lingered as she stepped off the porch. “Beautiful roses, Sam.” She didn’t turn around for a reply, only continued to the car.
     
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    The drive to her parents’ home, Katie’s childhood home, wasn’t long. Within about thirty minutes, she’d arrived and now was unsure of what to do next. She made no mention of the reason for her visit other than that she’d planned a trip to see Sam and decided to swing by.
    Her father’s car wasn’t in the drive as she’d expected, although this was no surprise. He knew she was coming. Katie shut off the engine and sat in the car, waiting, staring at the house that used to be her home.
    The vision of herself as a young girl, sitting on the front steps, playing with her favorite doll flashed before her. It was a warm summer’s evening and the sun was setting. Her dad pulled onto the circular drive, home from work and he stopped short of her bike that was in his way.
    “Katie, how many times have I told you to keep your toys out of the drive?” he shouted.
    She dropped her doll and ran over to pick up her bike. “Sorry, Daddy.”
    He