Sharon Dunn - Big Sky Showdown

DANGER ON THE MOUNTAIN

When Heather Jacobs climbs a Montana mountain to pay respects to her late father, the last thing she expects is to be running for her life. But she’s living a real-life cat-and-mouse chase, trying to escape a punishing foe from her guide Zane Scofield’s past. How can a California city girl help outwit a ruthless criminal dead set on scouring the wilderness to kill them? Though Zane knows their pursuer and his nefarious motives far too well, he’s not sure why the man is after him now. Only his wits—and an unlikely partner in the determined woman fighting beside him—can save them. But Zane’s also battling a past that’s threatening to swallow him whole...and take Heather along with him.

“We’ve made it this far. Don’t give up.”

Heather glanced down. The men had slowed their pace.

“The real danger will be at the bottom of the mountain on the other side. They can get around to there with their ATVs faster than we can get down. They’ll be waiting to ambush us.”

She tensed. “When will this stop?”

“We are witnesses, Heather. Willis is not going to let us out of the high country alive.”

Her stomach tightened into a knot.

Zane grabbed her at the elbows and pulled her toward him. The look in his eyes intensified. “I know you want to give up. But hold on. Can you do that for me?”

She nodded, but felt as though her knees would buckle.

He drew her into his arms. “You’re smart and strong. You got me out of that bunker. We can do this.”

His arms enveloped her. She melted into the warmth of his embrace, breathing in the scent of his skin. “I just don’t see how.”

Dear Reader,

I hope you enjoyed going on the wild ride with Zane and Heather as they faced danger together and found a way to each other’s hearts. Big Sky Showdown is more than a love story filled with suspense, though. It is the tale of two fathers and the two men whose lives were changed by their influence. Willis controls Jordan through fear and punishment and the promise of promotion. Stephan transformed Zane’s life by spending time with him and loving him. While it is possible to gain obedience from someone through shaming and fear, only love and grace can change the human heart. Heather’s father was a human being who, before he became a Christian, hurt the people he loved because of his destructive choices. Heather had a great deal of pain because of her father’s legacy and her mother’s bitterness. Even people who love us often hurt us. When I am faced with that reality, I am so grateful that we have a Father who loves us unconditionally, is faithful and keeps His promises.

Ever since she found the Nancy Drew books with the pink covers in her country school library, SHARON DUNNhas loved mystery and suspense. Most of her books take place in Montana, where she lives with three nearly grown children and a spastic border collie. She lost her beloved husband of twenty-seven years to cancer in 2014. When she isn’t writing, she loves to hike surrounded by God’s beauty.

Big Sky Showdown

Sharon Dunn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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How great is the love the Father has lavished on us

that we should be called children of God.

—1 John 3:1

For Susan, Kathy and Jenny, my cheerleaders

and fellow suffering artists. For the inspiration,

the feedback and the accountability.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

THIRTEEN

FOURTEEN

FIFTEEN

SIXTEEN

SEVENTEEN

EIGHTEEN

NINETEEN

TWENTY

TWENTY-ONE

Extract

Copyright

ONE

Fear skittered across Heather Jacobs’s nerves as half a dozen birds fluttered into the morning sky. Something had spooked them. She gripped the firewood she’d gathered a little tighter. She was alone here. Her guide, Zane Scofield, had taken his rifle, binoculars and hostility and left muttering something about scouting for elk for the next bunch of hunters he would guide into the high country of Montana.

This trip was to take her up to fulfill the last request of the father she barely knew. Five days ago, a certified letter had come to her home in California. Her father’s dying wish was that she spread his ashes in his favorite spot in the Montana mountains and that Zane, the outfitter who had worked for Stephan Jacobs, be the one to guide her to the spot on Angel Peak. Heather hadn’t seen her father since she was five years old. Her memories of him were faint. Her mother, who had died over a year ago, had never had anything nice to say about her ex-husband.

A brushing sound behind her caused Heather to whirl around. The logs she held rolled from her arms. Her heartbeat revved up a notch. The hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention. She sensed another being nearby.

What kinds of wild animals lurked in the forest?

Now she really wished Zane was closer. He knew how to deal with wildlife. Even if they’d been on each other’s nerves since they left Fort Madison two days ago, she at least felt physically safe when he was around.

She stood as still as a statue, listening to the sound of the creaking trees and the drumming of her pulse in her ears.

Taking in a breath, she leaned over to pick up the firewood she’d dropped. Again, she heard what sounded like something moving toward her. She straightened, her gaze darting everywhere. Adrenaline charged through her, commanding her to run.

The smart thing to do would be to head back to the safety of the fire and camp and maybe even find Zane. A flash of something neon yellow caught her eye. Not a color that occurred in nature. Her heart skipped a beat. Whatever was out there was human. For a moment, she found that reassuring. Better a human than a wild animal. But then apprehension returned. Just who was out here, and why did they seem to be following her?

She saw blond hair for a quick second. A yelp as though someone were in pain filled the forest. The cry sounded childlike. Concerned, she ran toward where she’d seen the movement. Crashing noises up ahead alerted her as another moan of pain filled the forest.

Was a child hurt? Afraid?

She sprinted in the general direction of the noises, running around the trees and ducking out of the way of low-hanging branches. She saw the flash of blond again, a boy. More than ten years old, she would guess—but not by much. Perhaps twelve or thirteen.

She caught only fleeting glimpses of the child in the early-morning light.

She came into a clearing as silence descended once again. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears. She pivoted one way and then the other, searching.