He gave a helpless gesture. He didnât know how to make his daughter brave enough to cross the bridge. And wasnât sure if he should force her to.
âHow about this,â Casey said to Veronica. âYou hold my hand and your dadâs hand while we all cross together.â
Casey held out her free hand to Jake. He slid his palm over hers, felt the strength in her fingers as she guided his hand to cover his daughterâs other hand. Slowly, Veronica released the rope and gripped his hand. With Casey in the lead, they walked single file across the gently rocking bridge. When they reached the other side, Jake caught Caseyâs hand as she moved past him. Gratitude and affection filled his heart. âThank you.â
Alaskan Bride Rush: Women are flocking to the Land of the Midnight Sun with marriage on their minds
Treasure Creek DadâTerri Reed
August 2010
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 Steeple Hill. Her second book, A Sheltering Love, was a 2006 RITA>® Award Finalist and a 2005 National Readersâ Choice Award Finalist. Her book Strictly Confidential, book five of 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 at www.ladiesofsuspense.blogspot.com or e-mail her at [email protected].
âTell me youâve found him.â Jake Rodgers planted his palms on the Treasure Creek, Alaska, police chiefâs desk and tried to keep the guilt and worry churning in his gut from spilling out. His friend Tucker Lawson was missing. And Jake should have done something to stop it.
Police Chief Reed Truscottâs haggard expression bore concern and patience. âJake, youâd be the first to know if we had. Weâve got search-and-rescue out. There just doesnât seem to be any trace of him.â
Jake pushed away from the desk. Aggravation and distress burned in his chest. He should have been a better friend to Tucker during his fatherâs passing. But Jake had been dealing with his own issues, and hadnât taken the time to console his friend or talk him out of the crazy idea of renting a plane and flying it across Alaska in search of solitude at some remote cabin.
Regret lay heavy on Jakeâs shoulders. He ran a hand through his hair, his short nails scraping along his scalp. âHow can a plane just disappear? Weâre not in the Bermuda Triangle. This is Alaska, for crying out loud. And it isnât even snowing.â
âMy best guess is he got disoriented in the thunderstorm we had just after he left, and he headed in the wrong direction.â Reed rubbed his jaw. âThanks to your funding, weâve expanded the search area. Even as we speak, Gage Parker is leading another search. All we can do now is wait.â
âNo, what we can do is pray,â Jake countered, with a meaningful look at Reed, another friend he should have done better by.
Reedâs mouth tipped upward in a rueful grimace. âRight. Good luck with that.â
This was old groundâone Jake and Reed had covered before. Jake didnât understand Reedâs ambivalence toward faith. For Jake, relying on his belief and trusting in God were the only things that had given him strength to survive the tumultuous years of his marriage, subsequent bitter divorce, and then later, struggling to balance his career and single parenthood after his ex-wifeâs death.
Deftly changing the subject, Reed said, âSo your dad is finally giving you both reins of the family oil rigs?â
Jake sighed with a mixture of acceptance and anticipation. Heâd left home vowing not to be like his parents, and now here he was hoping to carve out a life similar to theirs. âLooks like Iâm going to be an oilman after all. He left me in charge of the whole shebang.â
âHowâs Veronica taking the move?â
Reedâs question layered more tension on Jakeâs already tightly strung shoulder muscles. âSheâs angry. We can barely have a civil conversation.â