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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

Terra started to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. She could handle that. Finally, he relaxed enough that she eased away, though she could have stayed in his arms forever. She needed to talk.

“I’m sorry for what I said to you in the hospital.”

“I understand being afraid of losing someone. I almost lost you on this mountain, Terra.” He held her at arm’s length. “I lost you before, too, because I was stupid, and I walked away from the best thing in my life.”

I love you enough to let you go. Because he’d loved her enough to sacrifice. But how did he feel about her now?

She pressed her hand against his cheek. “Stop. You were wounded. Trying to prove yourself. Trying to prove something you didn’t need to prove. Besides, I forgive you.”

He smiled for her—that smile boasting warmth and dimples, edged with the pain and exhaustion of the last few days. Longing filled his gaze, emanated from his presence, and maybe he didn’t have the strength to hide from her something she knew had been there just under the surface the whole time since he’d returned to Montana.

Terra stood on her toes and leaned in to kiss Jack. He reeled her in much closer and kissed her. Gently—Owen stood there, after all—but she sensed the love Jack held back, the passion he reined in.

She ended the kiss. “Where do we go from here?”

Flashlights shone in the forest. A helicopter suddenly swooped in close and shined a line directly on them. Terra and Jack stepped apart.

Nathan rushed forward from the forest and shouted over the noisy chopper. “Oh, thank goodness, you guys are safe. I thought we were going to be too late to save the day.” He directed the beam of light to the ground. “I see you got Briggs.”

“I shot him in self-defense,” Jack said. “He shot at Terra. So, yeah, self-defense.”

Nathan holstered his weapon. “Terra, your dad is in the hospital. He’s going to be okay. Except he could be charged because of his involvement in the trafficking. I don’t know what will happen, exactly. The FBI is involved now.”

“As I figured they eventually would be. The artifact. Does anyone know where it is?”

“I think I might,” Owen said.

SIXTY-FOUR

Hours later, Terra stood with Jack and Nathan in the barn.

Owen was holding a pitchfork and moving hay around. “I startled Gramps one day. I guess he thought I was still in town. He was out here shoveling hay. I thought it was strange then. Now I think I might know what he was up to.”

Jack scratched his chin. “Why don’t we just ask him?”