Freezing Point

by Elizabeth Goddard

  “I’m afraid so,” he said.

  The deep timbre of his voice sent longing through Casey. A breeze had kicked up during the day. Jesse strolled next to her as they walked on the hard, water-drenched sand, avoiding the waves.

  When Jesse said nothing, Casey’s curiosity began to burn. “How’s Miguel?”

  Jesse stopped at her words and turned to face the ocean. “I told you that Miguel would be fine. He’s recovering in the hospital, and he’s cooperating with the authorities.”

  “Jesse, I couldn’t think what else to say. Isn’t it all right to ask? He was a friend to you.”

  “Did you bring him up to remind me of my betrayal?”

  Oh, no. This wasn’t going at all like she thought. “No.”

  Now, Jesse faced her. “Good. I was afraid you still held that against me. That you thought I had used you.”

  What could she say to that? How could he not have used her, given her proximity to the events? And, hadn’t she used him, after a fashion? She’d wanted him near for protection. “You were doing your job. I don’t blame you for that.”

  How could she make him understand how much he meant to her?

  He grinned. “Come here.” He tugged her to him, the way she’d grown to love. He cupped her face then pressed his lips against hers.

  Fire stirred in her heart all the way to her belly. She slipped her arms up and slid them around his neck. “Oh, Jesse…” she murmured, her breath hot against his lips.

  Jesse intensified the kiss, seeming to draw life from her even as he poured it back in.

  How could she live without this man to hold her, kiss her and protect her? His kiss took her far from the beach and left her floating on his passion.

  Too soon, he eased back from the intensity, and his lips were soft against hers, once more. In his lingering, she breathed deeply of him, wanting to be carried away again.

  Finally, he pressed his forehead against hers, holding her hands in one of his, and the other against the back of her head.

  “I love you and never meant to use you. Do you believe that?”

  Looking into his eyes, she nodded. “Yes.”

  “I need to know how you feel.”

  Didn’t he already know? Casey regretted that she’d treated his love so poorly. “I love you,” she finally said, the words a breathy whisper. “Oh, Jesse, how I love you.”

  Her emotions too intense, Casey squeezed her eyes shut.

  “Then you belong with me forever, Casey Wilkes. Will you marry me?”

  Tears spilled from the corners of her eyes. “Yes, Jesse. Yes!”

  He wrapped his arms around her and swung her in circles while she laughed with joy. They fell to the sand, and Jesse planted kisses all over her face.

  “You’ve made me the happiest man on earth.”

  Suddenly, a morbid thought slammed into Casey’s joy.

  “What’s the matter?” Jesse asked.

  She could hardly stand to hear the fear in his voice. “Will you keep working as an undercover agent?” Casey pushed up on her elbow. “Jesse, how can we make this work?”

  He rubbed his thumb down her cheek. “Don’t worry. I’m transferring out. That was always the plan. Still, I’m not too sure about having a career in law enforcement if you’re an investigative reporter.”

  She played with the sand. “There would be conflict between us.”

  He rolled her on top of him and planted another kiss on her. “I’m willing to take the risk if it means we’re together. How about you?”

  Laughing, she kissed him back, then said, “Mrs. Jesse Mitchell. I’ve wanted to say that out loud for a long time.”

  * * * * *

  Dear Reader,

  Often we find ourselves in a difficult situation and we wonder why. Many times, the answer to that is a simple one—our own choices have taken us on the course to unhappy circumstances. That’s exactly what happened to both Casey Wilkes and Jesse Mitchell in Freezing Point. Although their choices and the resulting circumstances are different, their paths cross, and they are each given an opportunity to do something different this time, to make better choices.

  Casey realizes that digging too deep for a story sent her into hiding. Jesse knows he can’t stand by again and watch others be hurt because he’s working undercover. We can’t change the past, but we can always make different choices for the future.

  Thank goodness our God is a God of second chances, or we’d all be in trouble. I love writing stories about characters who learn from their mistakes and grow. After all, if we’re not learning and growing, then we’re not living. I pray that you look to God to direct your path in all your ways.

  I enjoy hearing from my readers. You can contact me through my website at www.ElizabethGoddard.com and sign up for my newsletter to receive updates.

  Elizabeth Goddard

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  Because her life is threatened, Casey travels nearly a thousand miles away, hoping to hide. In a way, she’s starting over someplace new. Have you ever wanted to go somewhere far away and start a new life? Or are you happy with the life you’re living? Why or why not?

  Upon arriving in Southern California, Casey makes it a priority to get a job. She needs the money, and she needs to occupy her thoughts to keep herself from obsessing over the man who is after her. Has there been a time in your life when you turned to work to keep you from your thoughts?

  Casey stays at her aunt and uncle’s home on the beach while they’re traveling. Other than the people she meets in her job, she doesn’t know anyone in town. Do you think in that situation that finding Christian relationships is a first priority? What would you do instead?

  Jesse is a man of many talents and, as a result, his undercover position as an ice sculptor almost overwhelms him. After being reprimanded on his last assignment, he wants to do the best job he can on this one, so that he can transfer to another agency with his good reputation intact. Have you ever felt like you failed at something? How did you handle that? Do you think it’s important to make amends or to succeed again to restore your image? Why or why not?

  Since Casey’s life was disrupted and she’s hiding, she wants to trust God, but isn’t sure she can. If God was watching out for her, why is she now on the run? When Jesse enters her life, Casey considers that God might have sent him to protect her. Have you ever doubted that God was there with you? How did you overcome the doubt? Did you eventually see that God is there for you all the time?

  Casey doesn’t tell Jesse about Will Tannin at first. She hasn’t been able to prove that Will has done anything, so isn’t sure who she can trust. She fears Jesse won’t believe her, or worse, that he will think she brought things on herself by digging for a story. Can you relate to her fears? If so, how? Do you think she should have told him sooner? Why or why not?

  Working as an undercover agent, Jesse struggles with doing his job and leading a Christian life. Let’s face it—working undercover is living a lie. Add to that, Jesse has to walk and talk like a criminal—not exactly a Christian example. How do you feel about this? Do you believe a person can be a Christian and work undercover? Did you empathize with Jesse’s ongoing moral dilemma? Do you think he made the right decision to transfer out of undercover work?

  In her job as an investigative reporter, Casey works to expose wrongdoing, but sometimes that leads to danger, and other times it can lead to hurting others. How do you feel about Casey’s career and digging for the truth? What about digging for dirt, or rather, gossip?

  In working undercover, agents often have to integrate themselves into the lives of criminals, including getting to know their families and children, and even coming to love them, or consider them as close friends. This happened to Jesse with Miguel and his family. How do you feel about this? Do you think Jesse handled the situation appropriately? Were you surprised at Miguel’s loyalty?

  Both Jesse and Casey live life on the edge. In the story, Casey has come close to death several times. I
n his line of work, Jesse’s chances of being injured or killed are very high. They fall in love with each other quickly in the book. Do you think this is because they each realize life is too short to waste? Given their conflicting careers, do you believe they will have problems? If you could give advice to either of them on the day before the wedding, what would you say?

  Casey keeps a diary that she believes gives her the ability to process her thoughts and feelings, helping her to keep her priorities in focus. Do you, or have you ever, kept a diary? In what way do you think it helped you the most?

  When Will threatens to kill Casey, she makes the decision to flee town. If you had to leave your home quickly, what items would you grab? Are these items most important to your survival? Or are they important to your happiness? Why or why not?

  Miguel was betrayed by someone he considered a brother, yet he continued to be loyal to Jesse. Were you surprised at Miguel’s loyalty? Have you ever felt betrayed? How did you react? Do you see things differently now? Would you change your reaction?

  Jesse’s dilemma with his past and the deeds he has committed in keeping with his job have kept him away from God. He believes that he isn’t good enough to talk to God, even though his job ultimately leads to good when criminals are arrested. Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt uncomfortable talking to God, as if you weren’t good enough? How did you handle this?

  Most of the story centers on Jesse’s need to complete his assignment while protecting Casey, and yet protecting her could be the very thing that blows his cover and gets them hurt. Still, he can’t stand by and watch her get hurt. Have you ever been in a situation where helping someone or doing the right thing could cost you everything? What did you do?

  SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM

  Love Inspired® Suspense

  When an escaped convict vows revenge on Deputy Sierra Young, former coworker-turned-PI Bryce Elliott is determined to protect her. But can Bryce, Sierra and her search and rescue K-9, Samson, track the fugitive before he succeeds in taking their lives?

  Read on for a sneak preview of

  Fugitive Trail by Elizabeth Goddard.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Southwest Rocky Mountains, Colorado

  The wind picked up and whipped big snowflakes around Deputy Sierra Young’s head as she followed Samson, her K-9 mountain rescue English mastiff, up the densely wooded incline. She maintained a steady pace but her heart rate increased along with her breathing.

  She hoped the small plane hadn’t crashed too high in the San Juan Mountains. That could make it impossible for her and Samson as well as the SAR rescue volunteers to reach the site before nightfall or the snowstorm grew worse. But they had to find the plane before they could rescue anyone.

  Two snowmobilers had returned to the small tourist town of Crescent Springs, Colorado, earlier this afternoon claiming they’d seen the prop plane go down but they hadn’t been sure where it had crashed.

  She’d brought Samson as far as she could before releasing him to find any human scent. Samson had been trained to find humans, whether air scenting for anyone in the wilderness or tracking a specific person. He was smart and used his skills to find whoever he was searching for. The other SAR volunteers searched downwind from Samson. It was important to spread as wide a net as possible. The victims could have escaped and gotten lost in the mountains, or they could be trapped in the plane. Or worse.

  She couldn’t think about worse.

  Lord, please let us find and save them, whoever they are.

  Before the weather turned too harsh or night took over. Sure, Samson could work through the night, but not in this weather. The terrain and elements during the winter months here in the Rockies were currently too harsh for searching at night. Sierra worked as a part-time deputy and K-9 mountain rescue handler for the county. She knew that Sheriff Locke would protect the volunteers, and if it became too dangerous to search, he would call it off.

  Samson’s massive two-hundred-pound form plowed up the hill through the deepening snow, giving credence to his aptly picked name. Snow could tire out some breeds of search dogs and limit their time searching, but mastiffs were the stronger working breed dogs, and Samson hadn’t tired yet.

  An old friend—Bryce Elliott—had given Samson to her when he was a puppy, and had even named him. After the attack when she’d been a detective in Boulder, she’d wanted a big dog, and Bryce had surprised her with the English mastiff. A pang of regret that she’d left her friend behind when she’d moved from Boulder stabbed her at the worst possible moment. She missed Bryce. But she needed to focus on this search.

  The sheriff radioed he was calling the search, bringing her back to the present.

  At the same moment, Samson alerted her.

  “Wait, no. Sheriff,” she said into her radio. “Samson…he’s found something. Let me check it out.”

  “All right. I’m on my way to you.”

  Her leg muscles burned as she tried to keep up with the big dog scaling the incline until they topped it, then over again to a terraced ridge and well over a hundred foot drop.

  Sierra stood tall and caught her breath. Her heart lurched.

  A red Cessna rested on the ledge—halfway on. Halfway off. The banged-up plane looked partially crumpled on one side. She could make out a figure inside the cockpit, and another one outside, beside the plane. Both were utterly still.

  Sierra radioed the sheriff. “I found it. I found the plane. I see two—” Bodies, but she didn’t want to say the word. “We need to check and see if they’re alive.”

  “Good work, Sierra,” he said. “Wait there while I let everyone know to head your way. And…be careful.”

  “Always,” she responded.

  If the two people she spotted were still alive, it would be a difficult rescue at best, getting them down this mountain. The most difficult part would be saving the person inside that plane that teetered on the ledge. In the snow and cold, even if they had survived, hypothermia most likely would kill them if the SAR team didn’t get here quickly and get them medical attention.

  She signaled for Samson to remain then she hiked closer to the wreckage in the deepening snow. A man rested face down in the snow and would soon be completely buried. Sierra removed her glove and brushed the snow away then pressed a finger against his neck. His body was cold and he had no pulse. Sorrow bled through her.

  She released a heavy sigh. SAR missions with Samson always started with the hope of rescue. Of finding a lost hiker or helping someone who’d fallen by bringing them to safety. Always the hope that she would find survivors and the day would end well. But more times than she’d like to admit, the searches ended in tragedy when they found victims of an adventure gone wrong.

  The wind whipped around the mountain blasting the snow at an angle and causing a near whiteout. Not good.

  She eyed the small plane and from here couldn’t see the other person. Should she get closer and see if she could help?

  She hoped the rest of the search team arrived soon. An eerie metallic sound resounded from the plane. Its position was precarious at best. Could the howling wind push it over? She spared a moment to wonder what these people had been thinking, taking the plane out on a day like today. The plane probably shouldn’t have been flying in this weather, and she guessed that the weather had everything to do with the crash. But she wasn’t here to question them; she was here to save them…if she could.

  She crunched through the snow to get closer to the plane and look inside the cab.

  The pilot remained inside, his body hunched over. It was possible that his position meant he remained warm enough if he was still alive.

  “Can you hear me? Are you all right?” She crept even closer to the plane.

  The sheriff had said he and the others were coming. What was taking them so long?

  The pilot shifted. Her heart jumped. She radioed. “Hurry, sheriff. The pilot is still alive. He’s going to need medical attention…”

  Me
tal scraped.

  The plane shifted. Fear skated across her nerves. “The plane is in a precarious position. It could fall from the ledge at any moment. I’m not sure what to do!”

  The radioed squawked but a burst of static meant she couldn’t understand the sheriff. Panic built up in her chest. Sierra eyed the plane and the junk scattered around the crash site. She searched for anything she could use as a rope. Samson whined, sensing her growing anxiety.

  “It’s going to be all right, Samson. You found the crash site. We’re going to save the man who’s still alive.” What was she saying? She had no idea if she could actually save him, but she could hope. And she could try.

  God, please help me!

  Was there anything worse than finding someone and then being completely helpless to save them?

  The man groaned inside the plane. She had to reassure him so he would hang on to the will to live.

  “Hold on! Help is coming.”

  She peered at the wreckage. It would be too dangerous to try to get in and get him out with the plane shifting on the ledge. She had to find a rope.

  The snow was quickly covering the scattered wreckage—duffel bag, sheets of metal, clothing articles. Then she spotted what she needed—a wire rope used in aviation.

  She eyed the airplane then the top of the slope. Something must have held the SAR team up. She couldn’t risk waiting if they weren’t going to make it in time. She found a boulder on which to secure the rope and tied the other end around her waist. Then she edged slowly to the plane.

  Sierra ducked under the broken wing. Nothing about this was safe. The plane was completely unstable, but that was the whole reason she needed to act—and act now. She had to get this guy out, even though, depending on his injuries, that could also be dangerous for him.

  The mangled door creaked when she pulled it open and toppled to the snow-covered ground. Sierra yelped and jumped out of the way. She could enter only on the passenger side because the other side of the plane was hanging near the ledge. She couldn’t reach it.