An imprint of Simon Schuster Children's Publishing Division 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020

AH rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Printed in the United States of America 10 987654321

Library of Congress Control Number 2003100465 ISBN 0-689-85521-4

Isabel watched the road from the window of the van. She stared straight out, and the road flew past her field of vision. When she was bored with that, she could track a single spot a few feet away and watch that one pass more slowly. At least it gave the illusion of moving at a lower speed.

It was a child's game, one that would distract her for seconds at a time. When she was a girl, she would stare out the window watching the road go by and her mind would fly off to a thousand different directions… all of them fun, all of them exciting, and most of them having to do with the future. Now she was living that little girl's future and all she wanted to do was crawl back into that past life.

Isabel wasn't a girl anymore. She was a married woman… a married woman who had just lost her husband. Would she ever see Jesse again? She didn't think so. The memory of him pulled at her. How much of herself had she left in Roswell? Isabel had had plenty of time in the

last two weeks to ponder that question. She didn't like any of the answers she'd come up with.

Too much, she thought. Too many parts of herself that were good and full of new hope. What was left of her felt shredded, and the pieces didn't form a whole person… at least not a person she wanted to know, let alone be.

Finding no relief on the road, Isabel scanned the inside of the van. In the front, Max and Liz sat in contented silence. Isabel felt a flash of envy at Max's happiness. He had brought his life with him, or at least the part that mattered most to him: Liz.