Treacherous Slopes

KILLER COMPETITION

A champion ski jumper, Nick Walsh wants one thing: to win the gold for his late brother. Nick has always blamed himself for his family’s tragic loss—and so does everyone else. To complicate things, sweet and shy reporter Julie Frost insists on doing a story about him. But as Nick gets closer to achieving his dream, someone will do anything to stop him. Somehow, Nick must keep Julie from getting too close as they confront a threat that can destroy them both. Julie and Nick are on the verge of discovering the truth about his brother’s death…unless an unknown murderer finds them first.

“You never married?” Nick asked.

Julie’s gaze dropped to her hands. She fiddled with the pen. “No. Never found the right guy.”

He’d struck a nerve. Which made him more curious and stirred an ache in his chest he couldn’t explain. Had someone hurt her? “I remember in high school you didn’t date.”

He’d chickened out and hadn’t asked her to homecoming their junior year. Of course that was before he’d had his talk with Dad and realized falling in love, making a commitment, meant giving up on his dreams. Something he had no intention of ever allowing.

“I didn’t date in high school because no one asked,” she said.

“If you drop this whole interview thing, we could go on a date.” It had been a while since he’d dated anyone. Dating did not equal commitment.

“You promised to tell me why you have a bodyguard,” she said briskly. “And why did you think the ambulance crash wasn’t an accident?”

So much for dating her. “Someone’s trying to kill me.”

TERRI REED

At an early age Terri Reed discovered the wonderful world of fiction and declared she would one day write a book. Now she is fulfilling that dream and enjoys writing for Love Inspired Books. Her second book, A Sheltering Love, was a 2006 RITA® Award finalist and a 2005 National Readers’ Choice Award finalist. Her book Strictly Confidential, book five in the Faith at the Crossroads continuity series, took third place in the 2007 American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award, and Her Christmas Protector took third place in 2008. She is an active member of both Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband, two wonderful children and an array of critters. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening and playing with her dogs.

You can write to Terri at P.O. Box 19555, Portland, OR 97280. Visit her on the web at www.loveinspiredauthors.com, leave comments on her blog, www.ladiesofsuspense.blogspot.com, or email her at [email protected].

Treacherous Slopes

Terri Reed

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

—Psalms 37:4

Thank you to my family for always believing in me, Leah Vale for keeping me from embarrassing myself, and my editors for all the support and encouragement.

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

DEAR READER

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

EXCERPT

ONE

“Welcome to this evening’s segment of Northwest Edition. I’m Julie Frost reporting to you live from the annual Festival of Snow in beautiful Bend, Oregon. It’s a crisp Friday night and a perfect way to start the weekend. The festival is proud to host the U.S. Aerial Freestyle National Championship. Excitement is in the air.”

Julie kept her gaze on the round, black lens of the handheld camera in front of her. The temperature had dipped below ten on this January evening. Though she’d lived in central Oregon all her life, she couldn’t remember it being this cold. Her smile felt frozen in place, like her toes. She should have worn thicker socks. Or boots made for the cold, not fashion. The station stylist had insisted the pink boots matching the pink ski suit completed the outfit. She felt like a big, pink lollipop. The price she paid to be on camera. She refrained from stomping her feet and settled for wiggling her freezing toes. It didn’t help.

“As you can see around me, quite a crowd has turned out for the festivities.”

She paused as Bob, her cameraman, panned the area, giving their viewers at home a glimpse of what they were missing. The Festival of Snow was held across the Deschutes River from the Old Mill shopping center. The mill with its three towering smoke stacks had been converted into a popular sporting-goods store and provided the anchor to the center. On this side of the footbridge, along the river path, white tents and canopies gave local vendors and artisans warm, dry places to show off their wares while local eateries tempted festivalgoers with tasty treats. A live band played in the amphitheater opposite the wooden structure erected for the skiing competition.

Every year more and more tourists traveled to the mountain oasis to attend the annual festival celebrating the best of winter in Oregon.