Courage to Change — A Short Deleted Scene

It’s kind of sad, I can’t quite remember exactly where this scene was originally. It was after the break-in, I believe (I’m trying to be vague just in case someone stumbles across this who hasn’t actually read the book yet.) I also remember being sad about cutting it. Now I look at it and…it didn’t add all that much.

It’s funny how attached we can get to all the words in our stories. This is why having a good editor is key!

Usual disclaimers about this being less edited than the parts that actually got published apply. 🙂

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Phil was finding it hard to concentrate. His morning court appearance had gone reasonably well, but a long afternoon of tidying up some paperwork from a case that had finished wasn’t holding his attention. With a sigh, he pushed away from his desk and stood at the window. He looked out over the park, his gaze settling on the bench where he and Allison had almost shared cake. Despite the embarrassment he felt about the incident, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It had been that event, after all, that had finally propelled him to look more closely at what was really going on in his heart.

A glint of sunlight caught his eye. Frowning, he leaned toward the window and squinted. He thought he saw someone with binoculars duck behind a tree. “She wouldn’t,” he muttered. “Yeah, she would.” Grabbing his cell phone, he hurried from his office.

When he reached the street, Phil sprinted diagonally across traffic into the little square, earning several long blasts from annoyed motorist’s horns. He glanced over his shoulder, trying to determine the angle he’d been at when he was looking out of his window. Mentally chastising himself for not paying more attention to which tree, he zigzagged across the path, eyes darting around for any sign of Brandi.

Phil finally found the tree, but there was no sign of his ex-wife. He kicked the dirt at the base of trunk. Turning in a circle, he searched for anything that might indicate the direction she’d run, but nothing caught his eye. With a sigh, he wondered if letting the police know that she’d been here would give them another place to look in the future. Unsure how much good it would do, he leaned against the tree and called Grant.