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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

Later that evening, Terra lay in bed in her old bedroom. Gramps had left it the same even after she’d officially moved out. She couldn’t shut her mind down enough to sleep, so she stared at the ceiling. The day’s events swirled in her thoughts. Too much information coalesced in her mind. She was the only agent for her region and was actively working twelve cases, including timber theft and assault on one of their ranger station volunteers. The job of forest service law enforcement included protecting the natural resources—water and soil—as well as the cultural aspects. Her investigations helped to enforce and prosecute those committing acts against the forest. And they could assist the county sheriff’s department in searching for a suspect.

Finding a killer could unfortunately take months rather than days.

Would she and Jack be working together on this investigation in six months? Could she continue to work with him and not think about what they’d had before?

Both she and Jack had attended Montana State. She knew she would go into the forest service in some capacity to follow in her mother’s footsteps, so she got her degree in natural resource management with an archaeology minor, her goal to somehow live up to her mother’s legacy.

Strange to think that she hoped to live up to her mother’s legacy when Jack strove to prove he was nothing like his father. He had nothing to prove, if you asked her, but he hadn’t asked her.

Instead, he’d left town.

The week after they graduated college, Terra had sensed that Jack was anxious. She thought he was as in love with her as she was with him. She’d let herself hope for a proposal since they had often talked about a future together. But Jack had also dreamed of joining the FBI. Terra just didn’t realize how their dreams could end up so diametrically opposed.

Jack had left a letter explaining that she deserved better than him.

His words scraped across her heart now.

“I love you enough to let you go.”

The ceiling blurred as the memory took over—her heart crushing again at the news Nadine had delivered.

“I’m so sorry, Terra. He’s gone. He packed up his things earlier today and left.”

TEN

Jack parked at the curb at his aunt’s house, barely registering that he’d arrived. He was relieved to finally be “home,” though he still struggled to accept that he was truly back in Big Rapids, Montana, living with his aunt. This arrangement was the best one for her.

His mind kept flashing back to all the times he’d stood on that porch with Terra—before he’d left for Quantico.

He’d planned to propose. Bought a ring—weird that he still had that ring.