MARRYING MR. RIGHT (The Brides of Hilton Head Island Book 3) by Sabrina Sims McAfee Page A

placed the photo over his heart area and prayed for God to please send her and their child back to him.  Mourning the loss of the only girl he’d probably ever love, his lids drifted closed, and he fell into a deep slumber.
                  The full moon glistened in the night sky. Hound dogs sniffed the ground. Bats flew overhead, all throughout the forest. Sticks broke beneath Zeke’s shoes as he, along with his father, brothers, Taylor’s mother, and people from all over the world, searched for his girlfriend three days after she’d gone missing from Hilton Head Island.
                  “Taylor. Taylor,” Zeke muttered beneath his breath, inwardly dying inside. Never in a million years could he have predicted something so horrifying as this.
                  “Don’t you think it’s time we get home?” Katherine asked.
                  “No,” Zeke responded.
                  Katherine sighed. “We searched this area already, haven’t we?”
                  Zeke paused in his tracks and gave Katherine a disgraceful look. “Look, Katherine. If you’re tired of looking for Taylor, then just leave.”
                  Katherine released a frustrating sigh. “I never said I was tired of looking for Taylor, Zeke.”
                  “You don’t have to say it for me to feel it,”  Zeke snapped.
                  Katherine shook her head. “Aren’t you ever going to forgive me for what I said? I’ve apologized a million times for suggesting she have an abortion—”
                  Colton’s finger flew to his lips, silencing Katherine. “Not here, Katherine. You should’ve never suggested such a thing in the first place. Anyhow, please don’t rehash that here, in front of all these concerned people. In fact, don’t ever bring it up again. Now, let’s get a move on. There’s work to be done. Taylor is depending on us to find her.”
                  “Over here! Over here!” a policeman shouted.
                  Zeke’s stride picked up as he walked in a hurry toward the shouting police officer. “What is it?” Zeke asked, coming to a stop in front of several officers.
                  Clad in a navy blue uniform, one of the officers gripped young Zeke’s shoulders. “You don’t want to see this, Zeke,” the officer stated.
                  Bracing himself for the worst, Zeke inhaled deeply. “Yes…I…do.” With his family, friends, and searchers standing behind him, the officer stepped to the side. Heart pounding in his chest, Zeke slowly stalked toward the white sheet lying on the ground.
                  His breathing increasing, Zeke knelt beside the white sheet. Clenching the ends of the fabric, he rolled it downward. Zeke gasped. Breath left his body.
                  Taylor lay dead on the ground, on top of some scattered leaves and grimy dirt. Crying his eyes out, Zeke gathered Taylor in his arms. Someone had killed her. Someone had murdered her and his baby. Holding his dead, pregnant girlfriend to his chest, he kissed her forehead–and suddenly her eyes shot open.
                  Zeke bolted up in his bed. His pulse beat rapidly at the base of his throat. Sweating profusely, he glanced around his dorm room. Jesus Christ! Thank God, it was just a stupid nightmare.
                  Dread ripped Zeke’s heart to tiny little pieces. He lifted the picture of Taylor from his chest, held it over his eyes. Using his index finger, he traced the outline of her beautiful brown face. “I’m going to find you and our baby, Taylor. I promise.” He kissed the photo. Rolling to his side, he slid the picture back into his pillowcase.
                  As Zeke headed down the hallway towards the bathroom to take a very much needed shower, knots pained his shoulders. I’m going