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Chapters (77)
  1. Cover
  2. Endorsements
  3. Books by Elizabeth Goddard
  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. FIFTY-THREE
  60. FIFTY-FOUR
  61. FIFTY-FIVE
  62. FIFTY-SIX
  63. FIFTY-SEVEN
  64. FIFTY-EIGHT
  65. FIFTY-NINE
  66. SIXTY
  67. SIXTY-ONE
  68. SIXTY-TWO
  69. SIXTY-THREE
  70. SIXTY-FOUR
  71. SIXTY-FIVE
  72. A Preview of Book 2 in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN COURAGE Series
  73. Author’s Note
  74. Acknowledgments
  75. About the Author
  76. Back Ads
  77. Back Cover

“There was no one else.” Aunt Nadine had lost her granddaughter, Sarah. That painful loss was the proverbial white elephant in the room.

“I understand.” Compassion suffused her gaze. “I hope she knows what you’ve given up to stay here with her.”

He shrugged, grateful to see the coroner and his crew heading their way. Jack had been ready to give up the undercover work, but more than that, he hadn’t gotten over the fact that no matter how hard he tried he hadn’t been there in time to save a trafficked young woman. And if that wasn’t enough to eat him alive every day, the secret he kept would see to it.

SIX

Fun fact for you,” Terra said through gasps as she hiked.

“Oh yeah?” Jack trailed her. “What’s that?”

He wasn’t breathing nearly as hard as she was. Terra had thought she was in great shape until now.

She paused to look out over a vista, and maybe catch her breath—majestic mountains and welcoming valleys spread over miles, easily seen from this point on Stone Wolf Mountain. “Montana has at least three thousand named mountains.”

“By mountains, you mean what?”

“Anything from a foothill to a peak.”

He’d stopped next to her and leaned over his thighs. Catching his breath? Terra took some satisfaction from that. When he straightened, he stood a head taller than her.

“Fun fact for you,” he said.

“Okay. I guess you can play too.”

“There are eight towns in Grayback County.”

Terra snorted a laugh. “How many towns are in the state?”

He hung his head. “Now that, I don’t know.”

When he lifted his face, his green eyes held shadows as he looked out at the magnificent view. “We should get going before it gets too dark. We still have a couple of miles, and I don’t want to get lost.” He winked. “That’s why I wanted you along.”

“So you wouldn’t get lost?”

A tenuous grin lifted his cheeks, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. She had a feeling his comment had a deeper meaning, and one she wasn’t willing to explore.

“Let’s go then.” She led him next to a rocky outcropping until they reached a meadow of short grass just before the evergreens grew thick and dark. Images of the deputy coroner and his assistants carrying Jim’s body away flooded her mind. A county tech had arrived to collect possible evidence, most of which would be submitted to the Montana State Crime Lab.

The deputy coroner had been quick to identify what he believed was a knife wound to the back.

Deputies, rangers, and forest service law enforcement were now searching for a murder weapon.