by Liz Shoaf
Bobby and Fran sat beside Gram, holding hands. Mary Grace smiled, recalling the stir they’d caused by breaking tradition. Fran had insisted on sitting on the bride’s side of the church with Bobby. That had brought quite a few raised eyebrows.
Her gaze swung to Laird Duncan, Ned’s irascible grandfather sitting on the opposite aisle with Ned’s gorgeous sister. Gram and Angus Duncan had enjoyed a few heated debates over the wedding, especially the short amount of time they had to plan it, but unless Mary Grace was mistaken, those two were keen on each other, as the laird’s wife had died many years ago.
At last, she allowed her gaze to drift to the front of the church where Ned stood beside his older brother, both men standing tall and proud, dressed in historically befitting kilts. The clan’s tartan colors were red and gray, and the church was filled with neighbors and friends wearing the same color. Early that morning, she had been presented with her own tartan sash, which she’d slipped over her white wedding gown.
The only kink in the day sat on the third pew, glaring at Ned’s brother. The woman was an American librarian hired by Ewan to catalog the massive number of books in the old castle. Ned didn’t trust the woman, said he sensed something off there, but Mary Grace ignored the moment of worry and turned her head to gaze at her future husband.
His smile rivaled the sun pouring through the church windows. He had come so far in such a short amount of time. He trusted her and had fully opened his heart to love. Finn’s betrayal had hurt, but he finally realized he couldn’t shoulder the burdens of the world—that was God’s job. But it hadn’t stopped Ned from trying to help Finn. He had indeed hired the best attorney money could buy. The rest was in God’s hands.
The day before, Mary Grace had submitted her article. They’d found enough proof in Finn’s cottage to force the CIA director to come under investigation, and Mary Grace alluded that Chief of Staff Hensley was instrumental in making this happen.
The music swelled in the small church and everyone stood. Her eyes trained on Ned, Mary Grace followed the path of pink rose petals and stopped at his side. She grinned and he smiled back. Before they turned to the minister, Ned surprised Mary Grace by whistling and looking back down the aisle. The whole church tittered when Krieger and Tinker Bell, both dressed in doggy tartans, padded down the aisle and sat beside their owners.
In a long Georgian drawl, Mary Grace brought more laughter to the congregation when she said, “You ready to get hitched, Mountain Man?”
“Aye, that I am.”
* * *
If you enjoyed Holiday Mountain Conspiracy, pick up these other thrilling stories from Liz Shoaf:
Betrayed Birthright
Identity: Classified
Available now from Love Inspired Suspense!
Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com
Keep reading for an excerpt from Dangerous Christmas Memories by Sarah Hamaker.
Dear Reader,
Ned, my mountain man, appeared in my first two Harlequin books and I received quite a few requests for his story, so here it is. He has an abundance of secrets and journalist Mary Grace Ramsey is the perfect woman to uncover them all. As in most of my books, this one has a Southern flavor and both characters have faithful furry companions with their own canine romance blossoming. I took extra time and care developing both these characters, so please let me know what you think of them.
You can reach me through my website: www.lizshoaf.com.
Happy reading!
Liz Shoaf
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense story.
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Dangerous Christmas Memories
by Sarah Hamaker
ONE
Priscilla Anderson set the blow-dryer on high and aimed the heat at Nancy’s damp hair with one hand, a round brush in her other hand to smooth the slightly curly hair. Thank goodness the noise of the dryer meant Priscilla didn’t have to pay attention to her client’s incessant chatter. Today Nancy gushed about her recent trip to the Bahamas with her third husband over Thanksgiving. As she straightened Nancy’s hair, Priscilla concentrated on keeping her hands steady enough that Nancy wouldn’t notice she wasn’t her usual self.
Priscilla clicked the dryer to a lower setting and began shaping the long bob to curl gently under Nancy’s cheekbone. She sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slowly in an attempt to soothe her jitters as she sent up a silent prayer. Lord, please keep me calm and safe from the man I think has been following me.
Turning off the hair dryer, she was relieved to see Nancy had her attention on her phone. Good, no small talk necessary for a bit longer. After touching the surface of the curling iron quickly to judge its heat, Priscilla put the finishing touches on Nancy’s hair.
“All done.” Priscilla exchanged the curling iron for a handheld mirror, handing the latter to Nancy to view the haircut and style as she swiveled the chair around for her client to view her reflection.
The older woman admired her hair in the mirror. “Perfection like always. I told my yoga class to ask for you if they wanted a world-class haircut at a good price.” Nancy smiled as Priscilla removed the salon cape with a snap. “You should move to one of those upscale places—your talents are hidden here.”
Priscilla shook her head as she walked her client to the front of Snippy’s, a chain of discount haircuts. “I appreciate your kind words, but this suits me just fine.”
Nancy sighed. “You are too modest for your own good. But then again, I’m happy to pay only twenty-five dollars for an eighty-dollar haircut!”
Priscilla ran Nancy’s credit card and handed her the slip to sign, glad that her hands had regained their steadiness. “Last time, you said you looked like a million bucks. I must be slipping.”
The other woman laughed as she gave the receipt back to Priscilla with a generous tip scrawled on the bottom. “See you next month.”
As Nancy exited the salon tucked into a strip mall, Priscilla caught a glimpse of a blond man in his late twenties—near her own age—lounging at one of the outdoor tables in front of the next-door coffee shop. She stepped closer to the floor-to-ceiling window, careful to keep her body partially hidden behind a decorated artificial Christmas tree positioned to the left of the front door. Unease coiled in her stomach like a strand of hair wrapping around a roller, tightening with a jerk as she recalled seeing the tall man behind her in a checkout line at the grocery store last night.
She had also seen him somewhere else before, but where? She closed her eyes briefly to pull up the memory. Ah, yes. Jogging by her apartment building Friday morning when she left for work. Now three days later, here he was again, outside her place of employment. Fairfax, Virginia, wasn’t that big a city that she could attribute the sightings to mere coincidence.
Fishing her phone from her apron pocket, she surreptitiously snapped several photos of the man as he sipped from a cup while gazing down at his smartphone.
Heart pounding, Priscilla moved away from the window and through the salon toward the small break room next to the back door. With her next appointment in fifteen minutes, she had time to call Mac.
“Everything okay?” US Marshal James “Mac” MacIntire’s voice had a sharp edge to it that Priscilla hadn’t heard before. The married marshal had become like an older brother to her since becoming her point of contact three years ago.
“I think someone’s following me.” Priscilla paced the length of the empty room.
“Tell me more.”
She relayed a description of the man. “The first time I noticed him, he was jogging by my apartment building. Last night, he was behind me in the checkout line at the grocery store. Now today he’s outside the salon at the coffee shop next door. Perfectly legitimate actions but something tells me it’s not accidental, that he meant to be in those places because I was there. I managed to take a couple of photos of him, but it was through a window, so it might not be clear. I texted them to you before I called.”
“Let me pull them up.”
Waiting while Mac accessed the photos, Priscilla concentrated on taking deep, controlled breaths to slow her racing heart. No sense in hyperventilating over what might be a coincidence. Her gut screamed that there was no way this guy just happened to show up exactly where she was at least three times in under a week.
“I emailed them to our tech guys to see what they can do to enhance them and trace his identity. He hasn’t tried to approach you?”
“No.” She kneaded the tight muscles in the back of her neck. “He’s been kind of lurking in the background.” She blew out a breath. “You know I don’t see danger behind every bush. He’s following me—that much I’m sure of.”
“Do you think he’s connected with our friend?” Mac voiced the very question that had occurred to Priscilla.
“If he is, I don’t know why I’m still alive.” She blinked back sudden tears at how comfortable she had been in her life here, that for a while, she’d managed to live like a normal person. If you called normal not being able to date or have close friends. If she stayed in witness protection much longer, she was afraid she’d never be comfortable getting close to anyone, given how superficial she had to keep all her relationships. With the very real potential of having to relocate at a moment’s notice, she had grown used to her own company. But with the trial coming up, she’d begun to let herself think of what life could hold beyond witness protection, and that had heightened her sense of loneliness. “I can’t believe I let my guard down enough to not notice someone was following me.”
“Priscilla, don’t beat yourself up. It happens to most people in the witness protection program.” Mac’s gentle tone soothed her. “We see it all the time in those who have been in WITSEC for more than a few years. And you’ve been in for seven.”
She centered her thoughts back on the problem at hand, grateful for his reassurance. “What should I do?”
“For now, nothing. You know the best way to stay alive is to not panic, and any deviation from your normal routine could tip him off that you’re onto him. Until we know what his agenda is, take extra precautions, have your go-bag ready and wait to hear from me. I’m headed into a briefing about our friend in five minutes, but then I’ll come get you.”
“Okay. I have clients scheduled through six today. I only hope I won’t mess up their haircuts because of my nerves.”
“I know I don’t have to say this, but please, be careful.” The seriousness of the way Mac delivered the platitude alerted Priscilla to just how shaken her handler was about the danger to her.
“I will.” Priscilla said goodbye just as a bell tone on her phone’s alarm rang to let her know she had a few minutes before her two o’clock appointment. She ducked into the single-stall restroom and locked the door. She needed to calm her inner turmoil or she’d never get through the rest of her shift.
Washing her hands, she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. It had been just over seven years since she witnessed the shootings that had thrown her into the US Federal Witness Protection Program. She had worked hard to change her appearance and her mannerisms. No longer did she bite her nails when nervous. Her formerly blond hair lay hidden underneath a rich brown hair coloring that she recently streaked with purple and turquoise. Her hair, which she used to keep short and spiky, now hung past her shoulders. Today she’d twisted it up into two side buns higher on the crown of her head than the typical “Princess Leia” hairstyle.
She looked nothing like the terrified cocktail waitress who’d hidden underneath a skirted serving cart in the kitchen of the Las Vegas Last Chance Hotel and Casino and seen through a slit in the fabric a man with a gun and silencer shoot three people in the head. The events of that night still had a hazy film on them, meaning that she had trouble recalling her exact movements or why she ended up hiding in the kitchen, but the memories of the shooting itself had been seared into her memory. The news that the hit man, Mason Culvert, had escaped custody while in the hospital after an emergency appendectomy had shaken her to the core. With Culvert’s trial scheduled to begin just before Christmas, Priscilla feared the blond man could be connected to Culvert.
Leaving the bathroom, she walked toward the front of the store, passing three other stylists in various stages of cutting or styling their clients’ hair. The blond man stood by the register, talking to the owner, Sandra Yu. Priscilla froze. Her pulse kicked into high gear. Before she could slip out the back door and contact Mac again, Sandra turned and spotted her.
“Priscilla?”
Priscilla considered ignoring the summons and bolting, but the blond man had had numerous opportunities to hurt her if he’d wanted to do so. That lessened her fear enough to allow her curiosity to pique as to why he had been following her—and what he was doing in the salon.
“Yes, Sandra?” Priscilla pasted a smile on her face and joined them.
“This is Mr. Long, your two o’clock.” Sandra smiled at Mr. Long. “Priscilla’s one of our best stylists.”
“I’ve heard.” His voice triggered a hidden awareness. She’d heard him speak before, but before the memory could resurface fully, the impression vanished.
Instead, Priscilla took a deep breath and gestured toward her station. “Right this way, Mr. Long.” Cutting his hair would give her the perfect opportunity to question him under the guise of small talk—and wielding sharp scissors would offer some protection if his intentions weren’t on the up-and-up. With another prayer for God’s protection, she settled her client in the salon chair.
* * *
Lucas Benedict Langsdale III ran a hand through his shaggy hair. There had been a flicker of recognition in Priscilla’s eyes when he spoke. Clearly, his voice had jarred a memory from their shared past, but other than that brief pause, she acted as if she didn’t know him.
With effort, he kept his expression impassive. He’d play along with her game for a while, but soon enough he’d get the answers to questions he’d been waiting seven years to ask.
“Wash and cut?” Priscilla tapped the back of his chair.
“Both, please.” At least that would buy Luc more time with her to see if she was pretending not to know him. A bride who skipped out on her husband mere hours after their wedding had a lot of explaining to do. Not that her explanation would make him change his mind about officially dissolving their short union.
She draped a cape around him, her fingers lightly skimming the back of his neck as she fastened the snaps. The large mirror directly in front of him afforded an opportunity to watch as she combed out his thick hair with gentle tugs.
Raising her eyes to meet his in the mirror, she cocked her head to one side. “You want the same style you currently have?”
“That sounds good. I like it a bit shorter around the ears—can’t stand to have hair in my ears.” Luc closed his mouth, willing himself not to bombard her with questions about why she’d skipped out shortly after saying “I do.” When he couldn’t find her, Luc had filed a missing person’s report with the Las Vegas police, which had turned up nothing. It was as if Priscilla had vanished into thin air. That first long year, he’d searched for her off and on, but eventually, he’d resigned himself to her not wanting to be found. Thinking that perhaps their Las Vegas wedding hadn’t been legal after all, Luc had deci
ded to forget the whole thing. But three years ago, an online post about a celebrity who had nearly committed bigamy because he had mistakenly thought his Las Vegas wedding license wasn’t real pushed Luc to reinvestigate Priscilla’s disappearance. After confirming through a Nevada attorney that their marriage was indeed legal, he had finally tracked her down.
“It’s easier to cut your hair shorter first. Then I’ll shampoo and style it.” Priscilla picked up a pair of scissors, and Luc noticed her hand trembled slightly.
Maybe she wasn’t as indifferent to his presence as he thought. Of all the scenarios he had imagined when coming face-to-face with Priscilla again, Luc had never anticipated a total lack of recognition. God, what should I do now—ask my questions or wait to see what she says?
He stayed silent as her fingers in his hair brought forward vivid memories of their time together at the Last Chance Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He closed his eyes, letting go for a moment all the unanswered questions, and tried to relax as she touched his hair.
The front window shattered and an object zipped by him. His eyes popped open as someone screamed. Then something whizzed by his chest, striking the wall to the right of him with a thump.
“That’s gunfire!” Luc slid out of the chair onto the floor as the pop-pop-pop of three consecutive shots mingled with the sound of more breaking glass. Shards from the mirror at Priscilla’s station rained down on his head. Where was Priscilla?
Luc shook his head to rid it of bits of glass as he frog-walked behind the next station, then saw Priscilla running toward the back of the store. Lord, please keep her safe. Help me to protect her. Another hail of bullets shattered more glass and mirrors, eliciting another round of screams from stylists and clients hiding behind stations and chairs. Sirens wailed in the distance but there wasn’t time to wait for law enforcement to rescue Priscilla.