Final Exposure
Safety. Serenity.That's what Jack Matthews wants, and what he seeks in Lost Falls, Montana. A quiet retreat is just what Jack and his orphaned nephew, Max, need–especially with gentle, beautiful Erin Cole as their host. But when sirens in the night leave Max screaming, Jack's faced with the harsh truth. They're not safe–not him, not Max and especially not Erin. What is she hiding? What does the shadowy figure stalking her want? And how much will Jack have to risk to keep her safe?
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âWhy didnât the intruder take anything?â Erin asked.
Jack voiced his thought. âIf nothing was taken, maybe someone has a more personal reason to break in.â
In this isolated setting, a half-mile from the edge of a small, resort-area village, with a dense, dark pine forest and a lake beyond the trees, anyone could find easy cover out here.
âI havenât lived up here since I graduated from high school. I canât imagine who it could be,â she said.
She managed to present a casual air, yet heâd seen a flare of fear in her eyes, and the way she jammed her trembling hands into the pockets of her apron. She was sure there had been someone hereâ¦and she had an idea of who it could be.
But was it someone from her own pastâ¦or his?
ROXANNE RUSTAND
lives in the country with her family and a menagerie of pets that frequently find their way into her books. If not working at her day job as a registered dietitian, writing at home in her jammies, or spending time with her family, youâll find her riding one of the familyâs horses, playing with her camera or hiding with her nose in a book.
She is the author of twenty-three romantic suspense and heartwarming relationship novels. Her first manuscript won the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award, and her second was a Golden Heart Award finalist. She was a Romantic Times BOOKreviews Career Achievement Award nominee in 2005, and won the magazineâs award for Best Superromance of 2006.
She loves to hear from readers, and can be reached by snail mail at Box 2550, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406-2550 or through www.roxannerustand.com.
Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let me bring peace to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
âPsalms 43:3
Donât worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience Godâs peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Jesus Christ.
âPhilippians 4:6â7
For Larry, with love and thanks for all that youâve
been to me. You are my true hero.
CONTENTS
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
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
ONE
Erin Cole shivered away an uneasy feeling as she unlocked the door of Millieâs Provisions and stepped into her new life. The cold. Surely it was only the cold that raised goose bumps on her arms and sent an eerie premonition racing through her mind.
A silly, city-girl reaction to the loneliness of the mountains after being away for so long.
Nothing ever happened in Lost Falls, so there was no reason to be afraid. The peaceful little village, with its few dozen touristy businesses trailing along the shore of Bear Island Lake, swelled with vacationers and bumper-to-propeller traffic during the summer, then slept quietly with only a handful of year-round residents to brave the long winters.
Sheâd come back to put old ghosts to rest once and for all. She was past all that, and didnât plan to give in to the old fears that had dogged her for so many years.
Inside the little general store, the crisp scent of northern Montana pine and the gentle sound of waves sloshing along the shore of Bear Island Lake gave way to the faint smells of leather and cinnamon and the steady tick of the old Coca Cola clock above the cash register.
It all brought back a rush of sepia-toned images from a childhood spent at this lake. Of all the times she and her cousins Laura and Megan, and their best friend, Kris, had sat on the wooden steps just outside, licking melting ice-cream cones as they decided on their next adventure. Theyâd been inseparable, back then.
The good memories helped settle her nerves. The bad ones she still tried to forget.
Owned by her grandparents, Millieâs had always reminded her of a magicianâs hat. Small as it was, it still held everything from bait to books, from groceries to camping gear and tourist supplies.
Her favorite part had always been the little café set up in the front window, with six wrought-iron, ice-cream tables and an old-fashioned soda fountain complete with eight brass stools that could spin.
And now, this place was her future. Who wouldâve thought? Brimming with emotion, she locked the door behind her and started across the pine-planked floor.
A shadow moved across a beam of moonlight at the back of the store.
She froze, the nape of her neck prickling.
The ticking of the clock slowed.
The glass-fronted pop-and-beer-cooler compressor hummed louder as she strained to listen. A sixth sense told her that the shadow had not been her imagination.
Holding her breath, she edged backward toward the front door, her heart pounding against her ribs and her palms damp.
Ten feet to go.
