Chapters (77)
- Cover
- Endorsements
- Books by Elizabeth Goddard
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- A Preview of Book 2 in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN COURAGE Series
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
Relief whooshed from the deepest part of Jack even as images from the past continued to torment him. He would concentrate on the here and now. He couldn’t go back. He could only go forward.
He let the deputy’s words hang in the air a few moments as he shared a look with Kylie, sure the woman had to be thinking the same thing.
“If they found the twins . . . ,” she said.
His thought exactly.
Then whose body is down there?
THREE
The day had taken a turn for the worse. Dread filled US Forest Service Special Agent Terra Connors as she hiked through the thick woods with Officer Case Haymaker, a uniformed forest service law enforcement officer. Terra loved the outdoors, especially in the Gallatin National Forest, the geographic region for which she conducted investigations. But days like today reminded her that imminent danger waited around every corner, and even the most beautiful, captivating scenery could give way to a harsh, jagged-edged landscape. Other, more sinister hazards could wait in the shadows.
She’d joined the callout to search for missing twins. While the SAR team celebrated that the girls had been found safe and sound, tragedy had also struck.
Finding a body was a huge blow to them all.
She hopped over the pristine stream—the normally soothing rush of the water unable to compete with the unease in her gut—and caught up with Case. The incident commander, Deputy Sarnes, had asked for their assistance. As it turned out, she and Case had been searching for the twins near the same region in which someone believed they had seen a body. Volunteer SAR members had been dismissed because the twins—the reason for today’s callout—had been discovered.
As she and Case neared where the forest met the five-hundred-foot granite cliff, she spotted movement. “Looks like someone’s rappelling.”
“Must be the deputy who spotted the body.” Case stepped around the thick underbrush and swiped his arm across his forehead.
Like Terra, he was probably ready to drop his pack and pour water over his head. The record-high summer temperatures seemed to want to hang on as the season shifted to fall.
She hoped the report about a body being spotted from the clifftop was a mistake. How could someone get a good look from the top of that cliff, especially when looking down into the dense woods below?
“We should almost be on . . . um . . . the body, shouldn’t we?” she asked.
Case paused and put his hands on his hips. “Maybe. I don’t want to trip over it. And I don’t want to walk all over a crime scene if there was foul play.”
“Sarnes didn’t say anything about foul play.” She studied Case, detecting a hint of concern.
“He didn’t.” Case dipped his chin.
Good. “You’re right to be cautious. We can tread slowly and carefully now.” And hope this wasn’t foul play, translated . . . murder.