New York Times bestselling author Susan Malleryâs classic blend of lighthearted humor and intense emotional conflict works its magic on two newcomers to the California town of Foolâs Gold, which Library Journal calls âa setting so real and appealing readers will want to start scoping out real estate.â
Destiny Mills believes passion has its placeâlike in the lyrics of the country songs that made her parents famous. After a childhood full of drama and heartache, she wants a life thatâs calm. Safe. Everything that Kipling Gilmore isnât. Her temporary assignment with the Foolâs Gold search and rescue team puts her in delicious proximity to the former world-class skier every day. Part of her aches to let go for onceâ¦the rest is terrified whatâll happen if she does.
Though an accident ended his career, Kipling still lives for thrillsâand a hot fling with a gorgeous redhead like Destiny would be a welcome diversion. Yet beneath his new coworkerâs cool facade is a woman who needs more than heâs ever given. With her, heâs ready to take the risk. But love, like skiing, is all about trustâand before you soar, you have to be willing to fall.
Praise for New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery
âSusan Mallery is one of my favorites.â
â#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber
âThe wildly popular and prolific Mallery can always be counted on to tell an engaging story of modern romance.â
âBooklist on Summer Nights
âThis book is a dynamite read filled with humor, compassion and sexy sizzle.â
âRT Book Reviews on Three Little Words, Top Pick!
âIn her second Blackberry Island novel, Mallery has again created an engrossing tale of emotional growth and the healing power of friendship as these three âsistersâ meet lifeâs challenges.â
âLibrary Journal on Three Sisters
âBoth smile and tear inducing. Mallery is one of a kind.â
âRT Book Reviews on Two of a Kind, Top Pick!
âMallery delivers another engaging romance in magical Foolâs Gold.â
âKirkus Reviews on Just One Kiss
âMallery infuses her story with eccentricity, gentle humor, and small-town shenanigans, and readersâ¦will enjoy the connection between Heidi and Rafe.â
âPublishers Weekly on Summer Days
âRomance novels donât get much better than Malleryâs expert blend of emotional nuance, humor and superb storytelling.â
âBooklist
This book is dedicated by one of my favorite readers:
To all Susan Malleryâs readers,
may you enjoy her stories as much as I do. âa devoted romance reader, Jan W.
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Praise
Title Page
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Extract
Copyright
CHAPTER ONE
NO ONE WOKE UP in the morning and thought to themselves, Today Iâm going to get lost in thewoods. But even without a plan, it happened.
Maybe it was simply that innate human need to explore. Maybe it was bad luck, or maybe it was just people being idiots. Grandma Nell had always loved to say, âBeauty is skin deep, but stupid goes clear down to the bone.â Not that Destiny Mills was going to be judgmental either way. People got lost, and her job was to make sure they got found. It was kind of like being a superhero. Only instead of laser vision or invisibility, she had a brilliant computer software program and a finely honed search and rescue team.
Well, technically the team wasnât hers. It belonged to whatever town or county had hired her company. Her firm had created the software program, and she was one of three facilitators who helped those wanting to use it. She showed up, trained the search and rescue group and then moved on to the next assignment.
If it was Monday, she must be in Foolâs Gold, she thought humorously as she stepped into her small, temporary office. Foolâs Gold, California. Population 125,482 per the sign sheâd seen on her way in. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the town attracted tourists by the thousands. They came in winter to ski, in summer to hike and camp and all year long to attend the dozens of festivals that had put the community on the map.
None of which concerned her. What was of more interest were the literally hundreds of thousands of acres right outside the city borders. Uncharted wilderness with plenty of slopes, gullies, streams and caves. Places where people got lost. And when someone was lost, who you gonna call?
Destiny chuckled as the Ghostbusters theme music played in her head. She didnât know about anyone else, but for her, life was a soundtrack. Music was everywhere. Notes formed melodies, and melodies were little more than memories to be recalled. Hear a song from your high school prom and you were back in your boyfriendâs arms.