by R. C. Ryan
He left the room to fetch his gear, which he kept always packed and ready for just such emergency calls. Through the years Josh Conway had built a reputation as a fearless, dependable climber who could be counted on to locate lost hikers who couldn’t be found by the rangers.
When he returned to the kitchen, Phoebe handed him a zippered, insulated bag.
At his arched brow she merely smiled. “Something to eat on the drive to your mountain.”
“Thanks, Phoebe.” He brushed a kiss over her cheek before giving a salute to the rest of his family. “See you soon.”
“Take care, boyo.” Big Jim listened as his grandson’s footsteps carried him through the mudroom and out the back door.
The old man glanced at his family gathered around the table. Though their conversation resumed, it was muted. And though they never spoke of it, every one of them knew that there was no such thing as a routine climb. Not when the one doing the climbing was there because the professionals had already tried, without success, to find a missing hiker.
Josh was their last resort. The strong, capable loner who would never give up until the one who was lost was found.
See you soon.
Josh’s parting words played through Big Jim’s mind.
Funny, he thought, that ever since Seraphine disappeared all those years ago, none of them could ever bring themselves to say good-bye.
Maybe it was just as well.
Good-bye seemed so final.
“The missing hiker’s named Sierra Moore.” Mitch Carver, a ranger who had been working the Grand Teton range for over twenty years, tipped back his chair and tensely tapped a pen against the desktop, the only sign of his agitation. “A professional photographer and veteran hiker. When she filled out the required backcountry use permit, she was warned of possible storms in the area and said she was hoping to capture them on film. I didn’t think much of it, until she failed to check in with our station. I tried her contact number, and she never responded. It could mean that she simply forgot to power up her cell. Or the storm may have knocked out any chance of a signal. But her lack of response could mean she’s in trouble. And, since she didn’t fill out the names of any friends or family to contact, I decided to send Lee to track her. But she wasn’t found in the area where she’d said she was heading.” He glanced at the papers she’d filled out. “Midlevel, possibly climbing as high as the western ridge.”
“Lee knows his stuff.” Josh had worked with rangers Mitch Carver and Lee Haddon for years and was comfortable that neither of them would ask his help unless they were convinced that they had chased every lead they could.
Mitch returned to his pen tapping. “Lee found no trace of her. None of the rangers spotted her. So far she hasn’t taken advantage of any of the rest areas or campsites, though they’re all on alert to watch for her. It’s like she just vanished.”
Vanished.
Josh felt the quick little shiver that passed through him and resented the fact that even now, all these years later, the word could have this effect on him.
“Okay.” He forced himself to relax. “We know she’s somewhere on the mountain. And with the storm, she’s probably hunkered down somewhere until it’s gone. Mark all the places that Lee hiked, and I’ll chart a different route.”
Mitch handed over the map with a highlighted overlay.
Seeing Josh’s arched brow, he grinned. “After so many years, I’m pretty good at anticipating what you’ll ask for.”
Josh studied the trail taken by Lee Haddon. It was the logical path to the area the missing hiker had indicated. That meant that she’d been sidetracked along the way, or had chosen to climb higher than she’d first planned. The latter seemed unlikely, considering the fierce storms she’d have had to deal with. But he had to consider every possibility.
He began making a mental trail of his own. Though most hikers came to these mountains once or twice in their lives, this was Josh’s home turf. He didn’t need a physical map to tell him where every peak, every dangerous dip, curve, and valley lay.
The storm, however, changed everything. Here at ground level, it was merely thunder, lightning, and heavy rain he had to contend with. If he was forced to climb to the higher elevations, that would change to snow and sleet and tremendous winds.
Josh picked up his gear and strode to the door of the ranger’s office. “I’ll be in contact.”
“I know you will.” Mitch Carver lifted his hand in a salute as the door closed.
Josh had been climbing steadily for hours. And though he’d found no trail, or even a trace of another human being, he continued on.
As he’d suspected, the rain had turned to sleet in the higher elevations, and now had turned to a bitter snow driven by an even more furious, blinding wind. It whistled up the face of the mountain, flinging a sudden spray of ice and snow in his eyes, like a slap in the face.
He needed to stop for the day and make camp. His muscles were beginning to protest the extra effort it took to climb over slick ice-and-snow-covered rock. His fingers had long ago lost all feeling. Despite the protective glasses, his eyes burned from the constant buffeting of wind and snow.
When he arrived at a flat stretch of snow-covered space between two towering peaks, he lowered his pack and used it as a seat while he fumbled with his cell phone.
Hearing Mitch’s voice, he said, “Good. At least I have service here. I was afraid I was too high to get through.”
“You’re fading. I’ll probably lose you any second now. Any sign of our hiker?”
“Not yet. I’m at the North Ridge.”
“That high? You’ve been doing some serious climbing, my friend.”
Josh laughed. “I’m going to call it a day. Make camp here, then start a horizontal tomorrow before deciding if I want to go any higher.”
“Okay. Stay in touch.”
“You do the same.”
He tucked away his cell phone and began looking around for a spot to set up his small tent.
The wind had picked up to nearly gale force, kicking up snow in little funnels that were nearly blinding.
He blinked, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. When he looked a second time, he knew that what he was seeing was real. A small white bubble tent was snugged up against a snow-covered peak, making it almost invisible. Had it not been for the extreme wind, causing the tent to shimmer with each sudden blast, it would have been impossible to see. Almost, he thought, as though it had been deliberately set up that way to deceive the eye.
At the same moment, a strange thought leaped unbidden into his mind.
Was this how his mother had been able to leave without a trace? Had she yearned for a new life, far from the demands of a husband and sons and the loneliness of ranching, using camouflage to make her escape across the mountains?
The instant the thought took form, he banished it from his mind. His memories of his mother, though distant and scattered, were happy ones. Seraphine had been a loving, though unconventional, mother. She neither cooked nor cleaned, but she had happily read to her sons and played classical music and directed them in plays and musicals for hours on end. When her boys grew weary and insisted on doing the things boys loved, playing outside or riding their ponies, she would simply take her books and music outdoors and watch them from a nearby hill.
Though she was athletic, with a lithe, sinewy dancer’s body, she never took part in any of their outdoor activities that Josh could recall. That told him that she would have never resorted to climbing these mountains.
Josh had never seen her unhappy or moody or less than exuberant about life. She would often tell her boys that, though she missed dancing onstage and receiving the adulation of the audience, she didn’t miss the gypsy lifestyle, living in dingy hotel rooms, traveling from town to town. She seemed to genuinely love being a rancher’s wife, and their mother, and had treasured the anchor of their big, comfortable home and sprawling land to call her own.
But there had never
been an explanation for the fact that she vanished, without a trace. There had been only theories.
The code of silence that had descended upon her family prevented any of them from knowing just what Cole Conway believed to be true. Did he suspect desertion by an unfaithful wife? Foul play? An alien abduction?
Josh pulled himself back from the thoughts that had plagued him for a lifetime. Forced himself back to the present, and the job at hand.
If, as he suspected, this was the tent of Sierra Moore, his task had just become a lot simpler than he’d imagined.
Josh hoped the saga of the missing climber would have a happy conclusion and by this time tomorrow he would be enjoying another helping of Ela’s corn bread.
THE DISH
Where authors give you the inside scoop!
From the desk of Stella Cameron
Frog Crossing
Out West
Dear Reading Friends,
Yes, I’m a gardener and I live at Frog Crossing. In England, my original home, we tend to name our houses, and the habit lives on for me. Some say I should have gone for Toad Hall, but enough said about them.
Things magical, mystical, otherworldly, enchanting—or terrifying—have occupied my storytelling mind since I was a child. Does this have anything to do with gardening? Yes. Nighttime in a garden, alone, is the closest I can come to feeling connected to the very alive world that exists in my mind. Is it the underworld? I don’t think so. It is the otherworld, and that’s where anything is possible.
At night, in that darkness, I feel not only what I remember from the day, but all sorts of creatures moving around me and going through their personal dramas. I hear them, too. True, I’m the one pulling the strings for the action, but that’s where the stories take root, grow, and spread. This is my plotting ground.
In DARKNESS BOUND, things that fly through tall trees feature prominently. Werehound Niles Latimer and widowed, mostly human, Leigh Kelly are under attack from every quarter by fearsome elements bent on tearing them apart. If their bond becomes permanent and they produce a child, they can destroy a master plan to take control of the paranormal world.
The tale is set on atmospheric Whidbey Island in the Pacific Northwest, close to the small and vibrant town of Langley, where human eyes see nothing of the battle waged around them. But the unknowing humans play an important part in my sometimes dark, sometimes lighthearted, sometimes serious, a little quirky, but always intensely passionate story.
Welcome to DARKNESS BOUND,
From the desk of R.C. Ryan
Dear Reader,
Ahh. With QUINN I get to begin another family saga of love, laughter, and danger, all set on a sprawling ranch in Wyoming, in the shadow of the Grand Tetons. What could be more fun than this? As I’m fond of saying, I just love a rugged cowboy.
There is something about ranching that, despite all its hard work, calls to me. Maybe it’s the feeling that farmers, ranchers, and cattlemen helped settle this great nation. Maybe it’s my belief that there is something noble about working the land, and having a special connection to the animals that need tending.
Quinn is all my heroes wrapped into one tough, rugged cowboy. As the oldest of three boys, he’s expected to follow the rules and always keep his brothers safe, especially with their mother gone missing when they were children. In tune with the land he loves, he’s drawn to the plight of wolves and has devoted his life to researching them and to working the ranch that has become his family’s legacy. He has no need for romantic attachments… well, until one woman bursts into his life.
Fiercely independent, Cheyenne O’Brien has been running a ranch on her own, since the death of her father and brother. Cheyenne isn’t one to ask for help, but when an unknown enemy attacks her and her home, she will fight back with everything she has, and Quinn will be right by her side.
To me, Cheyenne is the embodiment of the Western woman: strong, adventurous, willing to do whatever it takes to survive—and still very much a beautiful, soft-hearted, vulnerable woman where her heart is concerned.
I loved watching the sparks fly between Quinn and Cheyenne.
As a writer, the thrill is to create another fascinating family and then watch as they work, play, and love, all the while facing up to the threat of very real danger from those who wish them harm.
I hope you’ll come along to share the adventure and enjoy the ride with my new Wyoming Sky trilogy!
www.ryanlangan.com
From the desk of Bella Riley
Dear Reader,
When my husband I were first married, one of our favorite things to do was to go away for a romantic weekend together at a historic inn. We loved to stay at old inns (the Sagamore on Lake George in the Adirondacks), or windswept inns on the Pacific Ocean (the Coronado in San Diego), or majestic inns made of stone in the middle of a seemingly endless meadow (the Ahwahnee in Yosemite Valley). Now that we’ve got two very active kids, we have slightly different requirements for our getaways, which are more boisterous and slightly less romantic… although I have to say our kids put up with “Mommy and Daddy are kissing again” pretty darn well! Fortunately, my husband and kids know that my favorite thing is afternoon tea, and my husband and son don’t at all seem to mind being the only males in frilly rooms full of girls and women in pretty dresses.
As I sat down to write the story of Rebecca and Sean in WITH THIS KISS, I immediately knew I wanted it to take place in the inn on Emerald Lake. With those pictures in my head of all the inns I’ve stayed at over the years, I knew not only what this inn looked like, but also the many love stories that had been born—and renewed—there over the years. What’s more, I knew the inn needed to be a large part of the story, and that the history in those walls around my hero and heroine would be an integral part of the magic of their romance. Because when deeply hidden secrets threaten to keep Rebecca and Sean apart despite the fireworks that neither of them can deny, the truth of what happened in the inn so many years ago is finally revealed.
I so enjoyed creating my fantasy inn on Emerald Lake, and I hope that as you’re reading WITH THIS KISS, even if you aren’t able to get away for a romantic weekend right this second, for a few hours you’ll feel as if you’ve spent some time relaxing… and falling in love.
Happy reading,
www.bellariley.com
From the desk of Jami Alden
Dear Reader,
Who hasn’t wished for a fresh start at some point in their lives? I know I have. The urge became particularly keen when I was starting high school in Connecticut. Not that it was a terrible place to grow up, but an awkward phase combined with a pack of mean girls eager to point out every quirk and flaw had left their scars. Left me wishing I could go somewhere new, where I could meet all new people. People who wouldn’t remember the braces (complete with headgear!), the unibrow, the glasses (lavender plastic frames!), and the time my mom tried to perm my bangs with disastrous results.
In RUN FROM FEAR, Talia Vega is looking for a similar fresh start. Granted, the monsters from her past are a bit more formidable than a pack of snotty twelve-year-olds, and the scars she bears are physical as well as emotional. But like so many of us, all she really wants is a fresh start, a new life, away from the shadows of her past.
But just as I was forced to sit in class with peers who remembered when I had a mouth full of metal and no idea how to wield a pair of tweezers, Talia Vega can’t outrun the people unwilling to let her forget everything she’s tried to leave behind. Lucky for her, Jack Brooks, the one man who has seen her at her absolute lowest point, will do anything to protect her from monsters past and present.
And even though I got my own fresh start of sorts when I moved across the country for college, I sure wish someone had been around to protect me from my mother and her Ogilvie home perm kit. I don’t care what the commercial says—you CAN get it wrong!
www.jamialden.com
ALSO BY R. C. RYAN
Montana Legacy
Mon
tana Destiny
Montana Glory
Raves for R. C. Ryan’s Novels
Montana Glory
“The child adds a lovely emotional element to the story, the secondary romance is enjoyable, and all loose ends are nicely tied up.”
—RT Book Reviews
“[The Montana trilogy] is a good series of hunky cowboys and nail-biting mystery. Zane and Riley have great chemistry and are a read that you can’t put down.”
—Parkersburg News and Sentinel (WV)
“These not-to-be-missed books are guaranteed to warm your heart!”
—FreshFiction.com
“Ms. Ryan did an amazing job keeping the story line at a perfect pace… A stand-alone novel, but I would definitely recommend you grab the other two… because I promise you will love them, too!… I, for one, definitely want to visit my friends at the McCord ranch again!”
—TheRomanceReadersConnection.com
“Wonderful romantic suspense tale starring a courageous heroine who is a lioness protecting her cub and a reluctant knight in shining armor… a terrific taut thriller.”
—GenreGoRoundReviews.blogspot.com
“I love romantic westerns, and this book fit the bill to a T. The characters were very well developed… The chemistry between Zane and Riley was electric. If you enjoy a great romance with a bit of suspense and mystery, then you are going to love this book… I do want to go back and read the first two, because this story was just that good!”