Николас Спаркс: The Return

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2020 by Willow Holdings, Inc.

Cover design by Flag. Digital imaging by Tom Hallman. Cover photo © Trevillion. Cover copyright © 2020 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

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First Edition: September 2020

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ISBNs: 978-1-5387-2857-4 (hardcover), 978-1-5387-2856-7 (ebook), 978-1-5387-1897-1 (large print), 978-1-5387-3715-6 (trade pbk. intl.), 978-1-5387-5425-2 (Walmart), 978-1-5387-1962-6 (signed), 978-1-5387-1963-3 (B&N signed)

E3-20200831-DA-ORI

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Epilogue

Discover More

Also by Nicholas Sparks

To the Van Wie family

Jeff, Torri, Anna, Audrey, and Ava

Acknowledgments

It’s hard to believe that twenty-four years have passed since my first novel, The Notebook , was published…and even more remarkable to think that so many of my initial collaborators, advisors, and friends remain the same after all this time. It is impossible to adequately express how grateful I am to the multifaceted team that has supported my long career, but I’ll give it a try once again:

First, to my literary agent Theresa Park, of Park & Fine Literary and Media: we were just kids when we started on this journey, and here we are in middle age, twenty-two books later. To say we share a brain, a heart, and the same wellspring of determination only begins to scratch the surface. Thank you for being my creative partner and unwavering supporter through all the stages of our adventurous lives.

The team at Park & Fine is the most sophisticated, proactive, and effective literary representation in the business. To Abigail Koons, Emily Sweet, Andrea Mai, Alex Greene, Ema Barnes, and Marie Michels: you are the savviest folks in publishing and a joy to work with. To the new members of Park & Fine, Celeste Fine, John Maas, Sarah Passick, Anna Petkovich, Jaidree Braddix, and Amanda Orozco—welcome! I’m thrilled to see the agency expand and avail myself of your wider expertise.

At Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner Books, back when I first got into the biz), President Michael Pietsch has continued to champion my publishing career and has shown me only unflagging support. Working with publisher Ben Sevier and Editor-in-Chief Karen Kosztolnyik has been a true pleasure—they are steadfast, insightful, and above all, kind. Brian McLendon continues to be a creative marketing force for my books, and Matthew Ballast and Staci Burt manage to orchestrate my publicity campaigns with first-rate care and skill. Flag and Art Director Albert Tang, thank you for coming up with such signature looks for my covers, each more striking than the last. Amanda Pritzker, you are a wonder at keeping all the pieces of my campaigns in sync and working hand in hand with my team at PFLM.

Catherine Olim at PMK-BNC remains my hyper-responsive and super-experienced outside publicist, whom I have leaned on so heavily over the years—Catherine, how could I have survived the shark-infested world of publicity without you? Mollie Smith and LaQuishe Wright are always, always ahead of the curve when it comes to social media outreach; you know me better than I know myself, and have never stumbled in your efforts to bring out the best in me.

My Hollywood representation is justifiably the envy of every creator: Howie Sanders at Anonymous Content, ardent advocate and loyal friend beyond reproach; Keya Khayatian, savvy dealmaker and longtime supporter; and of course, Scott Schwimer, the most dogged, conscientious, and tireless lawyer anyone in Hollywood could ask for. Scottie, they broke the mold after you were born!

However, home is truly where my heart is, and I’d be remiss not to mention the people who safeguard and warm the place from which I draw greatest comfort: my children Miles, Ryan, Landon, Lexie, and Savannah, who all add joy to my life; Jeannie Armentrout and Tia Scott, who help keep my daily life running smoothly; Pam Pope & Oscara Stevick, my wonderful accountants; Victoria Vodar, Michael Smith, Christie Bonacci, Britt & Missy Blackerby, Pat & Bill Mills, Todd & Gretchen Lanman, Lee & Sandy Minshull, Kim & Eric Belcher, Peter & Tonye-Marie, David & Morgan Shara, Dr. Dwight Carlblom, and David Wang, all of them fantastic friends. And of course, I’d like to thank my extended family as well: Mike & Parnell, Matt & Christie, Dan & Kira, Amanda & Nick, Chuck & Dianne, Todd, Elizabeth, Monty & Gail, Sean, Adam, Sandy, Nathan, Josh, and finally, Cody and Cole—who always keep the doors and phone lines open.

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Prologue

2019

The church resembles an alpine chapel, the kind you might find in the mountains outside Salzburg, and inside the cool air is welcoming. Because it’s August in the South, the temperature is sweltering, made worse by the suit and tie I’m wearing. In my daily life, I generally don’t wear suits. They’re uncomfortable and as a physician, I’ve learned that my patients respond better to me when I’m dressed more casually, as they tend to be.

I’m here to attend a wedding. I’ve known the bride for more than five years now, though I’m not sure that she would consider us friends. Though we’d spoken regularly for more than a year after she left New Bern, our relationship since then has been limited to a couple of texts every now and then, sometimes instigated by her, sometimes by me. We do, however, have an undeniable bond, one that has its roots in events that occurred years ago. Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember the man I was when our paths first crossed, but isn’t that normal? Life endlessly offers us chances to set new directions and in the process we grow and change; when we look in the rearview mirror, we catch a glimpse of former selves who sometimes seem unrecognizable.

Some things haven’t changed—my name, for instance—but I’m thirty-seven now and in the early stages of a new career, one I’d never considered in the first three decades of my life. While I’d once loved the piano, I no longer play the instrument; where I’d grown up with a loving family, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen any of them. There are reasons for that, but I’ll get to those parts later.