Rocky Mountain Showdown

Danger strikes her mountain refuge

And only he can save her

Trapped between a raging forest fire and an army of gunmen, Laura Donovan and her daughter must rely on her knowledge of the mountain to get to safety. But without park ranger Seth Callahan’s help, they might not make it. And though trust comes hard for Laura, she has no doubt the wounded warrior will sacrifice everything to keep them alive.

VICTORIA AUSTIN lives in the American Midwest with her husband, children and dogs. Her kids write notes in the furniture dust and the family watches television with the closed captioning on because the house is, um, loud. She likes chocolate, peace and quiet, chocolate and silence. She gets too much of one and too little of the other. This explains the tight pants and the many, many, many gray hairs.

Also By Victoria Austin

Rocky Mountain Showdown

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Rocky Mountain Showdown

Victoria Austin

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09492-4

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHOWDOWN

© 2019 Victoria Austin

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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“Laura, I have two favors to ask of you.”

Seth went on, “I’m sorry, but I have to ask.”

“What?” Favors? What exactly could she do for him?

“If we run into the men, I’m going to fight them as best as I can. I need you to take Abby and run, okay? Through the river or wherever you think is the safest. But let me fight and distract them and buy you some time. Please?”

That was a favor for him? It seemed like a favor for her. But Laura knew why he was asking. The thought of leaving Seth to near certain death hit her harder than she would have ever imagined. He was a park ranger. A stranger.

And she did not want him to die.

“Okay. I’ll try, Seth.” She hoped that was good enough.

“The second favor is a bigger one. When you get out of this, I want you to get a message to my family. Will you please tell them that I’m sorry and that I love them?”

Dear Reader,

Thank you so much for reading Seth and Laura’s story. This is my first book for Love Inspired Suspense. I’m a big fan of stories involving suspense, love and faith and am delighted to share this one with you.

Rocky Mountain Showdown is about trying to be safe in a dangerous world. It’s also about dealing with shame. My guiding Bible verse for this book was Isaiah 54:4. It talks about forgetting the shame of our youth. I love that thought—that today’s trials will become not just something of the past, but something in the past that we are able to forget.

This world is scary and hard and uncontrollable. Though I try not to, I mess up on a daily basis. I’m familiar with shame and regret and despair. But I’m also familiar with hope. With Jesus and His promise. It’s my sincere wish that you know Him, too.

I would love to hear from you. You can find my email address and social media links on my website at www.victoriawaustin.com.

Victoria Austin

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

—Isaiah 54:4

To my family—

I have everything because I have you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page