Mountain Rescue
SECRETS OF THE MOUNTAINIt took just one look in Quinn Donovan's eyes and Wilhelma "Billie" Bronson knew the search and rescue volunteer had saved her life. Again. But this time her fall down a mountain was no accident. It seemed her past had come back to haunt her, and trusting Quinn to protect her was the best way to stay alive. Before long, though, old feelings resurfaced, and being around him became more challenging than figuring out who wanted to hurt her. And why they'd stop at nothing to spoil any possible future with Quinn.Echo Mountain: Saving lives and finding love in the mountains of Washington State
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SECRETS OF THE MOUNTAIN
It took just one look in Quinn Donovanâs eyes and Wilhelma âBillieâ Bronson knew the search and rescue volunteer had saved her life. Again. But this time her fall down a mountain was no accident. It seemed her past had come back to haunt her, and trusting Quinn to protect her was the best way to stay alive. Before long, though, old feelings resurfaced, and being around him became more challenging than figuring out who wanted to hurt her. And why theyâd stop at nothing to spoil any possible future with Quinn.
Echo Mountain: Saving lives and finding love in the mountains of Washington State
âI want answers,â Billie said.
âLike who is still after me,â she continued. âWho tried to run us down, and most importantly, why wonât you look at me?â
âThey have a video image of the driver from the hospital and are sending it to local police departments for identification,â Quinn said. âThat should help them narrow down the suspect list.â
âAnd you wonât look at me becauseâ¦?â
âYouâre imagining things.â
âLook me in the eye and say that.â
He snapped his attention to her, his blue eyes aflame with anger. âLetâs see, the fact I shouldnât have let you leave this room for the SAR mission and I shouldnât have left your side at the hospital because the thought ofâ¦â He shook his head.
âWhat?â She squeezed his upper arm.
âThe thought of you being hit by a car because I wasnât there is tearing me apart.â
âWhat would you have done? Would you have stopped the car with your bare hands?â
He gently gripped her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. âI could have protected you.â
HOPE WHITE
An eternal optimist, Hope White was born and raised in the Midwest. She began spinning tales of intrigue and adventure when she was in grade school, and wrote her first book when she was elevenâa thriller that ended with a mysterious phone call the reader never heard!
She and her college sweetheart have been married for thirty years and are blessed with two wonderful sons, two feisty cats and a bossy border collie.
When not dreaming up inspirational tales, Hope enjoys hiking, sipping tea with friends and going to the movies. She loves to hear from readers, who can contact her at [email protected].
Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love.
â1 John 4:8
To Dr. James Keen for answering my medical research questions, and SAR volunteer Doug Caley for his insight into this special world.
Contents
Her husband was dead.
Billie Bronson stood on the Cascade Mountain trail overlooking the steep drop down the side of the mountain. She took a deep breath and finally released the pain weighing heavy on her heart.
Pain. Anguish. Dread.
There, sheâd finally admitted it. Sheâd been living under a cloud of dread during the last year of her marriage, nervous about Rickâs volatile moods and erratic behavior.
She tugged her fleece hat down to cover her ears. It felt as if the temperature had dropped ten degrees since sheâd started out on her hike. But she had to finish this, had to visit the site where Rick had spent his last hours in her arms.
It had taken her a year to get to this place emotionally, the place where she accepted that what she needed most was closure. Closure and forgiveness.
âAnd I do forgive you,â she whispered, hugging herself. Forgiveness was a step toward grace, and it would help her heal.
Still, there were those occasional moments when sheâd lie awake at night wondering if she could have done something to stop him from his downward spiral.
She glanced at the plateau below where Rick had shivered and groaned as sheâd portioned out food to sustain them both until help had arrived.
If only they hadnât argued; if only he hadnât stormed off and tripped, falling over the edge and hitting his head on a rock below. But you canât rewind the past, no matter how much you want to.
A sudden flash of Quinnâs blue eyes and confident smile haunted her thoughts. No, she wouldnât think about search-and-rescue volunteer Quinn Donovan, not today. He may have rescued her from the mountains and helped her get back on her feet by giving her a place to live, but he was another lost soul like Rick, running from his pain.
âItâs good that I left,â she whispered.
Sheâd only seen Quinn sporadically since sheâd started her new job at the Echo Mountain Resort. Theyâd agreed it was the best thing to do, the right thing, because they both had suspected she was leaning on him a little too much after heâd rescued her.
She was falling for him.
But she wouldnât make the mistake of thinking what they had was anything more than an emotional condition brought on by trauma. Billie was smarter than that.
