The Runaway Woman (44 page)

Authors: Josephine Cox

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BOOK: The Runaway Woman

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Emily has never been able to banish thoughts of John. But when it looks as though history is about to repeat itself, Emily must put the past – and John – behind her and safeguard her daughter. But can she forget him?

Live the
Dream

Luke Hammond: handsome, rich, charismatic, cursed by private tragedy. Amy Atkinson: humble and kind with a good – but wounded – heart. When they meet by chance, a spark of love takes hold of their hearts.

But neither are sure that they can dare to love again. And what of Luke’s public life, hidden from Amy? The owner of a large factory, he is a pillar of the community, married – though
in name only. Amy is torn between her head and her heart, but her sense of honour is paramount – and when she discovers his true identity, she is thrown into even greater turmoil.

Then disaster strikes and the future looks troubled indeed …

The Journey

Three strangers are thrown together by chance. It’s an encounter which is destined to change all of their lives forever.

When Ben Morris
comes to the aid of Lucy Baker and her daughter Mary, he is intrigued by the story behind their frequent visits to the local graveyard. Later, invited into their home, an old Edwardian place suffused with secrets of the past, Ben hears Lucy’s remarkable tale – one she must tell before it’s too late.

The story of Barney Davidson, his family and the part Lucy played in his extraordinary life, is
one of a deep, abiding love and an incredible sacrifice.

Journey’s End

Like a ghost from the past, she walked along the platform towards them …

It has been over twenty years since Vicky Maitland set foot on English soil. Twenty years since she left Liverpool with her three children, bound for a new life in America, leaving her beloved husband Barney behind.

But this long journey home is
the hardest of all. She is here in search of the truth, afraid of what she may find. Why did Barney turn against his family so suddenly, so cruelly? Only her old friend Lucy Baker knows what happened. And Lucy promised Barney she would never tell his secret. Is it time she broke her silence and explained the events of so long ago?

The Loner

Home is where the heart is – but it’s also where
the pain lurks …

After a tragic accident involving his mother, and the disappearance of his father, young Davie flees his hometown of Blackburn, to escape the haunting memories of the worst night in his young life. With little more than the shirt on his back and a fierce determination to find his father, he sets off on a lonely, friendless road.

Back home, those Davie has left behind wait anxiously;
Kathleen, his childhood friend who has held a secret close to her heart, and Joseph, his grandfather whose guilt burns right to his soul. Will they ever see Davie again?

Eventually, Davie finds a friend and a place to stay. Perhaps now his heart and mind will find peace. But his hopes are shortlived when Fate urges him to decide whether to keep running or go back and face his demons.

Songbird

In the riverside town of Bedford, four students can hear the haunting voice of a woman singing. The beautiful melody is coming from their neighbour – a reclusive creature who never opens the door to anyone or leaves her home in daylight.

They have no way of knowing that the woman next door, Madeleine Delaney is driven by a dangerous memory that for over twenty years has controlled her meagre
existence …

Madeleine’s angelic voice and striking looks capture the hearts of many. But she only has eyes for club owner, Steve Drayton – a devastatingly handsome but terrifying man.

Then one night she witnesses a horrific crime, and her life is irrevocably changed forever.The kindness and friendship of one girl – Ellen, rescues Madeleine from utter devastation. But in order to survive, they
must flee London, leaving behind those they dearly love, and danger is following them wherever they go.

Born Bad

Harry always knew he would go back one day …

Eighteen years ago, he made a hard decision that drove him from the place he loved. Since then, he carved out a life for himself and found a semblance of peace, yet he is still haunted by the warm, carefree girl with the laughing eyes.

For Judy Saunders, the pain of her past has left her deeply scarred. Cut off from her family and trapped in a loveless marriage, the distant memories of her first love are her only source of comfort in a dark and dangerous world.

Years later, Harry is heading back. Excited, afraid and racked with guilt, he has little choice. He must confront the past, and seek forgiveness.

Divorced and Deadly

Footloose, fancy free and ready to get back in the game, newly divorced Ben is back home with mum which is just where she wants him. But best mate Dickie has other ideas, and soon they are sharing a flat, up to all sorts and plotting Ben’s future romantic adventures.

But being single isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Ben staggers from one disaster to another – all under the beady gaze of his
ex, who may not want him but doesn’t want anyone else to have him either! And then there’s Ben’s co-worker Poppy, who seems very interested in his escapades too – could she have plans of her own?

Laugh-out-loud funny and based on true stories that you just couldn’t make up, Divorced and Deadly is the perfect feel-good read.

Blood Brothers

Alice Jacobs has finally found the family she always
wanted …

With her shy smile and kind nature, Alice wins the hearts of the Arnold family. A decent and well respected couple,Tom and Nancy Arnold have raised two very different sons, Frank and Joe.

Frank is a devious, brutal man. Seeing Alice as the key to his fortune, he is determined to have her for himself. However, his younger brother Joe has fallen in love with Alice, so when she and Frank
become engaged to marry, Joe leaves home, determined to put a distance between himself and temptation. He reluctantly returns when Frank summons him to be his best man.

Alice finds herself inexplicably drawn to Joe, but feeling it to be her duty, she goes ahead and marries Frank, not wishing to hurt him. On their wedding night Frank shows his true colours and when he forces Alice to reveal a
devastating secret, and his evil nature reaps a shocking revenge.

In his blind hatred, intent on punishing those who have crossed him, Frank plans the final, ultimate retribution. An act that could tear apart not only the Arnold family, but shatter the lives of those around them forever. Unless someone can stop him …

Midnight

A powerful story of love, shocking secrets and malignant forces
from bestselling author Josephine Cox.

All Jack’s life, the nightmares had haunted him, dragging him back to a place where it was always midnight …

Molly and Jack are deeply in love but their relationship is being torn apart by Jack’s nightmares. Trapped in a place where he is taunted by eyes in the gloom, it is becoming harder for Molly to pull him free, and even when daylight comes the haunting
visions remain.

Realising that Jack is being driven close to the edge, Molly urges him to seek help, and with their relationship faltering, Jack decides to hunt for answers.

His search takes him back to the place where he grew up, and it soon becomes clear that he must trace people from his past, particularly the one person he could turn to through his troubled childhood. But Jack could never
have imagined the true horrors of what he is about to uncover …

Three Letters

Eight-year-old Casey’s mother Ruth is a cruel woman, with a weakness for other women’s husbands.

Casey’s father is gentle and hard-working and, though Tom Denton has long suspected his wife of having sordid affairs, he has chosen to turn a blind eye to keep the peace. But then, out of the blue, Tom’s world is cruelly
shattered when he receives two bits of devastating news. Because of this, Tom realises that from now on their lives must change, forever.

Tom is made to fight for his son, determined to keep him safe. But, when fate takes a hand, life can be unbearably cruel, and Casey is made to remember his father’s prophetic words …

‘It’s done. The dice is thrown, and nobody wins.’

But, unbeknown to Casey,
there are three letters penned by his father, that may just change his destiny forever.

The Broken Man

Sometimes a damaged child becomes a broken man …

It’s 1954 and Adam Carter is twelve years old, an only child with no friends nor any self confidence. His father Edward is a bully of a man. A successful and ruthless businessman, he breeds fear into the heart of his family. Adam’s mother
Peggy is too cowed to protect her son, so Adam’s only support comes in the shape of Phil Wallis, the school bus driver.

One particular afternoon, when Adam is his last drop of the day, Phil decides to accompany him along the darkening wood land to his house, never suspecting that as they chat innocently, in the house at the end of the track a terrible tragedy is unfolding which will change Adam’s
life forever.

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Copyright

Published by HarperCollins
Publishers Ltd

77–85 Fulham Palace Road

Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2014

Josephine Cox asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is
entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right
to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN:
9780007419937

Ebook Edition © February 2014 ISBN: 9780007419944

Version: 2014-01-16

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