Chapter 1

I woke up young again, back in Harmony Creek, my small Southern hometown.

It was the late 1990s, I knew that much.

The air felt the same, thick with summer heat and the smell of honeysuckle.

My old life, long and lived, felt like a dream I was slowly forgetting.

Then I remembered Mark.

My Mark.

Childhood friend, the boy I married, the man I grew old with.

A warmth spread through me, a hope.

If I was back, maybe he was too.

We could do it all again, maybe even better this time.

A few weeks later, Mom told me Mark was back from college.

"There's a welcome-home BBQ for him at the park," she said, watching me.

My heart beat fast. This was it.

I put on my best sundress, the yellow one he always liked in our past life.

The park was full of familiar faces, people I hadn't seen young in decades.

Then I saw him.

Mark.

He looked just as I remembered from our youth, handsome, a little reckless.

He was laughing, holding a beer, surrounded by his old buddies.

He hadn't seen me yet.

I took a breath, ready to walk over, to see recognition in his eyes.

Then he stepped onto the little wooden gazebo, tapped the microphone.

"Hey everyone," he grinned, "glad to be back."

People cheered.

"And I'm especially glad," he continued, his eyes finding someone in the crowd, "because it means I can finally tell Jessica Miller how I feel."

My blood ran cold.

Jessica Miller, the town's golden girl, homecoming queen, everything I wasn't.

Mark's gaze was fixed on her, a look I knew so well, a look he used to give me.

"Jessica," he said, his voice loud and clear, "I've been crazy about you since high school. Go out with me?"

Jessica blushed, smiled, and nodded.

The crowd roared.

I stood frozen.

He didn't even glance my way.

This wasn't my Mark. Or, if he was, he wanted a different life.

A life without me.

The yellow dress felt wrong now, a stupid reminder of a past he clearly didn't want to repeat with me.

I turned and walked away, the cheers for Mark and Jessica fading behind me.

Mom found me by the creek, tears silently streaming down my face.

She just held my hand.

The hope I'd carried felt like a stone in my stomach.