Return To Falcon Ridge
As a child, Elsie Timmons had barely escaped Wildcat Manor with her life. As an adult, she'd mysteriously inherited the crumbling structure, ghosts and all. Now, after a lifetime spent running from her past, Elsie was ready to confront her demons and expose the orphanage's long-buried secrets…until Deke Falcon threw a wrench in her plans.The enigmatic P.I. was hired to reunite her with the mother she'd never known, but before she could return with Deke to Falcon Ridge, evil forces threatened the future Elsie only recently considered. Luckily, she had Deke on her side - for protection, for comfort…forever?
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âAre you only being nice to me because you think you owe it to my family?â
Elsieâs blunt comment took him off guard. âI⦠At first that was the reason.â
âAnd now?â
Wariness darkened her eyes, but desire also flickered in the depths. Deke didnât quite know how to answer.
âNowâ¦â He hesitated, hating the churning in his stomach. âNow I want to protect you.â
Disappointment tightened her mouth. âBecause you think Iâm helpless? Well, Iâm not, Deke. I know how to fight, how to take care of myself, how to shoot that gun. And I wonât hesitate to do it.â
âThat doesnât mean you have to face everything alone all the time, Elsie.â
Emotions clouded her eyes. âI donât know any other way.â
He twined her fingers in his own, stroking her palm with his other hand as he pulled her into his lap. âLet me show you.â
Return to Falcon Ridge
Rita Herron
To all those fans who read The Man from Falcon Ridge and asked for Elsieâs storyâhope you enjoy!
And to Jenny Bent for loving the dark, creepy stuff!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning author Rita Herron wrote her first book when she was twelve, but didnât think real people grew up to be writers. Now she writes so she doesnât have to get a real job. A former kindergarten teacher and workshop leader, she traded her storytelling for kids for romance, and writes romantic comedies and romantic suspense. She lives in Georgia with her own romantic hero and three kids. She loves to hear from readers, so please write her at P.O. Box 921225, Norcross, GA 30092-1225, or visit her Web site at www.ritaherron.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Deke FalconâA tough P.I. with a soft spot for wounded birds of preyâand women in trouble.
Elsie TimmonsâShe disappeared twenty years ago. But now that sheâs returned to Wildcat, Tennessee, someone wants her dead.
Howard HodgesâJust the thought of the man gives Elsie nightmares. Will the vile acts he committed against the girls at Wildcat Manor be exposed?
Hattie Mae HodgesâDid she die of natural causes, or was she murdered to stop her from telling the truth about what happened at Wildcat Manor?
Sheriff Andy BushâHe vowed to protect the citizens of Wildcatâbut he wants Elsie run out of town at any cost.
Dr. Morty MiresâHe provided health care for the pregnant teens housed at Wildcat Manor. But what is he hiding?
Burt ThompsonâHow far will he go to keep Elsie from digging up the past?
Renee LebermanâThe social worker who helped arrange the adoptions for the pregnant teens died suddenly. What secrets did she take to her grave?
Eleanor Cross & Donna BurgessâThey both adopted babies from teens at the orphanage, and will do anything to stop Elsie from exposing the adoptions.
Contents
Prologue
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
Prologue
She was going to die in Wildcat Manor.
Fourteen-year-old Elsie Timmons shivered as the lock turned on the door, sealing the girls into their dismal cavern. The orphanage was haunted.
At night, the cries and screams taunted her. But they were her punishment.
And this was where she belonged. In the town of the damned where wildcats as big as tigers roamed the woods. Where the unwanted were hidden away forever. Where children disappeared into the forest, possibly eaten by the monsters.
Because they were all evil.
Elsie had known she was ever since she was four. Ever since sheâd told her mama that the man next door was hurting her friend Hailey. Then Hailey and her family had been butchered, and her daddy had dragged her off, claiming theyâd come for her next. Either the killer or the law.
Because she had brought the evil upon Hailey and her family.
Tears filled her eyes and dribbled down her cheeks. She wanted to change, but then sheâd failed, and Daddy had left her here, alone, trapped in the tangled lies of Wildcat Manor.
Her hand went to her stomach. The images of the dark basement where sheâd been taken last week still tormented her dreams. The sounds of her own cries. The sounds of others. The gripping pain that she had barely survived.
The emptiness that now consumed her.
Trees rattled and shook their winter fury against the thin, fog-coated glass panes, shrouding any light from the outside. Heavy footsteps shuffled down the corridor outside her room, and she hunched over in the shadows of the wall behind her bed, hoping to be invisible.
Little Torrie huddled beneath the faded quilts covering her cot, a low whimper of fear drifting toward her. Elsie was big and could take care of herself. She had been doing it for ages.
Torrie was nothing but a child, only eleven, with long blond hair and the eyes of an angel. Surely, he wouldnât hurt herâ¦.
Suddenly a key rattled in the door, and the ancient stone walls throbbed with the sound of the door screeching open. Elsie held her breath as he entered. The vile smell of whiskey floated into the musty space, and evil kissed her neck as he shuffled forward in the darkness. Every muscle in her body clenched with terror. He slanted her a sinister smile that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
