Derek Cox hated summer. The heat made him irritable but, worse than that, it was one of the most miserable times of year for Joy. And when Joy was miserable, so was he.
Her wedding anniversary was in June and Rachel had been kidnapped in July. She drowned in memories so much worse than usual this time of year and there was nothing he could truly do to make her feel better.
He understood why. March was terrible for him for the same reason.
That didn't make it any easier to deal with though. So many years had passed and he could still remember that horrible day like it was yesterday,
He was willing to bet Joy could too. They had talked about all the 'what ifs' a million times. What if he had noticed what was going on at home sooner. What if she hadn't let go of Rachel's hand.
All 'what ifs' did was torture you. But sometimes they couldn't be helped. Especially on hard days.
