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Back A Flicker of Light
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Half Title Page
  3. Books by Katie Powner
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Dedication
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. TWENTY
  27. TWENTY-ONE
  28. TWENTY-TWO
  29. TWENTY-THREE
  30. TWENTY-FOUR
  31. TWENTY-FIVE
  32. TWENTY-SIX
  33. TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. TWENTY-NINE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. THIRTY-FIVE
  42. THIRTY-SIX
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. THIRTY-NINE
  46. FORTY
  47. FORTY-ONE
  48. FORTY-TWO
  49. FORTY-THREE
  50. FORTY-FOUR
  51. FORTY-FIVE
  52. FORTY-SIX
  53. FORTY-SEVEN
  54. FORTY-EIGHT
  55. FORTY-NINE
  56. FIFTY
  57. FIFTY-ONE
  58. FIFTY-TWO
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. About the Author
  61. Back Ads
  62. Back Cover

Mitch’s chest tightened. The blatant invasion of privacy. The argument he and Frank had had afterward. And what right did Mitch have now, calling on Frank and the people of Moose Creek Community Church for help in his time of need, after the way he’d treated them the past two years? And yet he was desperate.

“You want me to activate the chain?” Frank had his pastor voice on.

“I . . .” Mitch gripped the phone. If he said yes, help would be on the way in no time. The church’s prayer chain would spread the news faster than a grass fire in July, and dozens of people would be here in less than an hour. All the same people who had intruded on his life when Caroline died, refusing him the courtesy of grieving on his own terms.

“Mitch?”

His phone beeped, and he pulled it from his ear to check the screen. A text had come through. “Hold on, Frank.”

He swiped the screen, and the message appeared. His heart caught. It was from Bea. He squinted at it, trying to decipher the words.

Stick up wife tail password road. Ned help. Grsdnma j with me.

What on earth? He read the words again, and a swell of hope washed over him.

He pulled his truck keys from his pocket. “Never mind the prayer chain, Frank. I know where she is. We’re leaving right now.”

If Frank responded, Mitch didn’t hear. He was already headed for the front door, jerking his chin at his dad to follow him.

“Mom is with Bea.” He held the door open for his father. “They’re stuck up on Whitetail Pass Road.”

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Bea prodded Grandma June and called her name. She pinched her arm and even blew in her face. Nothing. A rattlesnake of dread coiled in her stomach, ready to strike. How had she let herself get into this mess?

A truck with a round bale in the back drove up, its headlights shining through the pelting snow. Bea waved an arm, but it sped right past. She turned back to Grandma June, failing to keep tears from falling.

“What happened to Miner McGee?” she shouted.

Grandma’s eyes flew open. “He refused to wait until spring, so up the mountain he went. Just as the worst blizzard Moose Creek had ever seen fell upon the land.”

Bea’s throat tightened as she reached over and held her grandmother’s hand.

“The snow fell for three whole days,” Grandma continued, her voice soft as if remembering. “When it finally stopped, the people of Moose Creek gathered to decide whether to send a search party for Miner McGee’s body right then or wait . . .”