Dana Mentink - Hazardous Homecoming

Little girl lost

Ruby Hudson finds new evidence that could shed light on her childhood friend’s disappearance. But she’ll have to fight for her life to keep it out of the wrong person’s hands. Cooper Stokes’ brother is still the prime suspect, and as the cold case heats up, so do Ruby’s forgotten feelings for Cooper. Ruby wants justice for her friend. Cooper wants to prove his brother’s innocence. Despite being on opposite sides, they find themselves drawn to one another. But the deeper they dig into decades-old secrets, the closer they come to having to make a choice between family and love.

Wings of Danger: The path to love is treacherous

Fear rippled through her.

Her attacker was still at large somewhere, but Ruby did not think he would brave the sanctuary property, and definitely not with the police on the lookout.

Anxiety lingered in her veins, but she forced herself into action anyway. Her whole life had been steeped in fear that shadowed her every moment since her friend’s disappearance, and she was sick of it. Finally, there was a chance to shed some light on that darkness, and she would not let the precious moment pass.

She had almost reached the tree when she heard footsteps running through the underbrush, moving fast, coming close. She slipped behind a screen of bushes, heart thudding. Her two brushes with death replayed in her mind. She felt the knife slicing into her flesh and felt the hot breath against her throat. The thoughts ratcheted her pulse even faster.

Stay hidden, she told herself. You’re safe.

Not in these woods, her mind taunted.

Not anywhere.

DANA MENTINK

is an award-winning author of Christian fiction. Her novel Betrayal in the Badlands won a 2010 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, and she was pleased to win the 2013 Carol Award for Lost Legacy. She has authored more than a dozen Love Inspired Suspense novels. Dana loves feedback from her readers. Contact her via her website at www.danamentink.com.

Hazardous Homecoming

Dana Mentink

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

—Matthew 10:29–31

To my two little birds poised at the edge of the nest.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text Little girl lost Ruby Hudson finds new evidence that could shed light on her childhood friend’s disappearance. But she’ll have to fight for her life to keep it out of the wrong person’s hands. Cooper Stokes’ brother is still the prime suspect, and as the cold case heats up, so do Ruby’s forgotten feelings for Cooper. Ruby wants justice for her friend. Cooper wants to prove his brother’s innocence. Despite being on opposite sides, they find themselves drawn to one another. But the deeper they dig into decades-old secrets, the closer they come to having to make a choice between family and love. Wings of Danger: The path to love is treacherous

Introduction Fear rippled through her. Her attacker was still at large somewhere, but Ruby did not think he would brave the sanctuary property, and definitely not with the police on the lookout. Anxiety lingered in her veins, but she forced herself into action anyway. Her whole life had been steeped in fear that shadowed her every moment since her friend’s disappearance, and she was sick of it. Finally, there was a chance to shed some light on that darkness, and she would not let the precious moment pass. She had almost reached the tree when she heard footsteps running through the underbrush, moving fast, coming close. She slipped behind a screen of bushes, heart thudding. Her two brushes with death replayed in her mind. She felt the knife slicing into her flesh and felt the hot breath against her throat. The thoughts ratcheted her pulse even faster. Stay hidden, she told herself. You’re safe. Not in these woods, her mind taunted. Not anywhere.

About the Author DANA MENTINK is an award-winning author of Christian fiction. Her novel Betrayal in the Badlands won a 2010 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award, and she was pleased to win the 2013 Carol Award for Lost Legacy. She has authored more than a dozen Love Inspired Suspense novels. Dana loves feedback from her readers. Contact her via her website at www.danamentink.com .

Title Page Hazardous Homecoming Dana Mentink www.millsandboon.co.uk

Bible Verse Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. —Matthew 10:29–31

Dedication To my two little birds poised at the edge of the nest.

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

TWENTY-TWO

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Extract

Copyright

ONE

Something glittered, garish and out of place against the massive framework of sticks that comprised the abandoned eagle’s nest, a flash of metal, gold. Ruby Hudson shaded her eyes and peered through her binoculars at the aerie tucked high in the pine tree and moved to find out what the glittering object was. She estimated the structure to be a good two tons worth of tangled branches, no doubt added on to and reused by many generations of eagle pairs since her father purchased the land in the wilds of Oregon decades ago. It had been hemmed in by a tight clench of fir trees, recently removed due to borer beetle damage. The disease had taken hold throughout the area. Ruby had been distraught to watch the nearby trees cut down. So had Josephine Walker, who lived nearby.

“You can’t cut them,” Josephine had wailed. “My Alice won’t be able to find her way home.”

Alice won’t be coming home, Ruby’s heart had answered. Not after twenty years.

Now the sharp scent of the felled trees mingled with a small pain wriggling through her stomach again. If her family had never come, she wondered for the millionth time, would the tragedy have still occurred?

Stop it, Ruby. It isn’t healthy. She loved the property, the birds, the endless blue sky and the smell of life burgeoning all around her. The Hudson Raptor Sanctuary had saved countless birds, it was a haven...and also the place where she’d first learned what evil was. The memory of Alice Walker came to mind, hair so fine it blew in the breeze like downy feathers, and eyes of... Had they been blue? It bothered her that she could not remember.

If the Hudson family—Ruby, her father and brother— had only remained in San Francisco it never would have happened, the one fleeting moment that changed them all forever. She slapped away a leaf that had become tangled in her auburn hair. Blue or green? She should know the color of Alice’s eyes.