Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- 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
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
Kayla loved it up here in the mountains, drinking in the spectacular views, the trees, the streams and waterfalls as they rolled by little diners, campgrounds and villages. The region was so vast, you could still find remote spots.
Traffic was sparse along the winding two-lane road. They couldn’t go too fast, which gave Kayla time to think. Driving to the cabin was bittersweet for her, especially as they got closer to their destination. Kayla eyed the roadside carefully when they came to a particular sharp curve.
“Slow down.” Kayla leaned forward, searching, spotting it under a tree on the right. “There! There it is! Pull over.”
Emma checked her mirrors and pulled over. A few cars passed. They got out and stood before a wooden white roadside cross just under three feet tall, rising straight from the ground in the shade of a pine tree. The cross was weatherworn.
“Dad and I made it.”
“Yes, I know.”
Emma read the small, engraved plate in the center. Brooke—Forever In Our Hearts.
Kayla caressed the plate.
“Maybe we can come back later and put fresh flowers on it?” Emma said.
Smiling, Kayla nodded.
They drove for another four miles before they came to a bend in the highway marked by a car-sized granite outcrop, shaped like a bear’s head.
Emma slowed and signaled for a right turn near the rock formation, at the mouth of a narrow dirt road.
The cabin sat on the site of a long-abandoned prospector’s trail. Shaded and bordered by dense pine forests, the earthen road snaked for some sixty yards to their cabin.
Kayla’s parents had bought it after Ben’s first movie deal. It was a low-standing ranch-style cabin that had belonged to a film actor, who had it custom-built in the 1950s. The front wall was nearly all glass with floor-to-ceiling windows. It was spacious, beautiful and Kayla loved it.
“You stay here.” Emma got out, her keys jingling. “Let me go in and check it out.”
“Why?” Kayla looked around. “We’re totally alone here.”
“Humor me. Then we’ll get our stuff inside.”
Kayla let it go with a long, tired sigh.
Unlocking the door, Emma went in. The air was stale. Dust danced in the columns of light flooding the inside. The front opened to a large living room–dining room area with a cathedral-style ceiling and a stone fireplace on the far wall. The area was bordered by an island that flowed into the kitchen. It led to the hall, the utility room and two bedrooms separated by a full bathroom. Next was the large master with an en suite bathroom and beyond that, a den, where Ben wrote. Every room had enlarged windows with a mountain view.
One by one Emma inspected the rooms. She was satisfied each one was empty until she reached to the last door—the den.
Emma hesitated.
A rustling noise sounded from the inside.
Emma held her breath, listening.