Terri Reed - Treasure Creek Dad

He gave a helpless gesture. He didn’t know how to make his daughter brave enough to cross the bridge. And wasn’t sure if he should force her to.

“How about this,” Casey said to Veronica. “You hold my hand and your dad’s hand while we all cross together.”

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 daughter’s 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 Casey’s hand as she moved past him. Gratitude and affection filled his heart. “Thank you.”

Alaskan Bride Rush: Women are flocking to the Land of the Midnight Sun with marriage on their minds

Treasure Creek Dad—Terri 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 Readers’ 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 terrireed@sterling.net.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

—Philippians 1:6

Thank you to my fellow Alaskan Bride Rush authors Jill, Janet, Debra, Brenda and Linda.

It’s been a pleasure working with you.

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

Epilogue

Letter to Reader

Questions for Discussion

“Tell me you’ve found him.” Jake Rodgers planted his palms on the Treasure Creek, Alaska, police chief’s 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 Truscott’s haggard expression bore concern and patience. “Jake, you’d be the first to know if we had. We’ve got search-and-rescue out. There just doesn’t seem to be any trace of him.”

Jake pushed away from the desk. Aggravation and distress burned in his chest. He should have been a better friend to Tucker during his father’s passing. But Jake had been dealing with his own issues, and hadn’t 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 Jake’s shoulders. He ran a hand through his hair, his short nails scraping along his scalp. “How can a plane just disappear? We’re not in the Bermuda Triangle. This is Alaska, for crying out loud. And it isn’t even snowing.”

“My best guess is he got disoriented in the thunderstorm we had just after he left, and he headed in the wrong direction.” Reed rubbed his jaw. “Thanks to your funding, we’ve expanded the search area. Even as we speak, Gage Parker is leading another search. All we can do now is wait.”

“No, what we can do is pray,” Jake countered, with a meaningful look at Reed, another friend he should have done better by.

Reed’s mouth tipped upward in a rueful grimace. “Right. Good luck with that.”

This was old ground—one Jake and Reed had covered before. Jake didn’t understand Reed’s 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-wife’s death.

Deftly changing the subject, Reed said, “So your dad is finally giving you both reins of the family oil rigs?”

Jake sighed with a mixture of acceptance and anticipation. He’d left home vowing not to be like his parents, and now here he was hoping to carve out a life similar to theirs. “Looks like I’m going to be an oilman after all. He left me in charge of the whole shebang.”

“How’s Veronica taking the move?”

Reed’s question layered more tension on Jake’s already tightly strung shoulder muscles. “She’s angry. We can barely have a civil conversation.”

Reed shrugged. “She’s twelve. And you moved her away from all her friends in Chicago—the only place she’s ever known—to Podunk little Treasure Creek, which doesn’t seem all that Podunk to you, because it was the only thing you knew growing up.”

Of course he was right, but knowing that didn’t help. “Mom tells me Veronica is acting like a typical preteen, but I don’t know.”

“She is. She’ll adjust.”

“Hopefully sooner, rather than later.” Jake pinched the bridge of his nose. “She’s so addicted to her electronics, she hardly even steps outside.”

“Why don’t you take Veronica on a wilderness tour, using Amy’s company?”

Amy James, one of Treasure Creek’s more prominent citizens, owned and operated a company called Alaska’s Treasures tour company. Hmm. A guided wilderness tour. The idea had merit.

Get Veronica out into the great outdoors, away from the television and the electronic gadgets she so loved. Some physical activity they could do together. Some father-daughter time away from all the distractions might be just the ticket to getting her to adjust to her new surroundings.

He’d have to confiscate her magazine stash. She’d fight him on it. Loudly. She’d start out hating the adventure, but maybe, by the end, she’d appreciate nature and come to accept their move. And he really wanted her to fall in love with the beauty and majesty of Alaska. It had taken him moving away to realize the specialness of this part of the world.

“Do you think Amy would be willing to take us out?” Jake asked, knowing that Reed and Amy had a relationship of sorts. He wasn’t sure of the particulars, but he knew Reed had proposed to the widow and was turned down.

Reed’s brows drew together. “Actually, I think you’d do better to ask for Casey Donner.”

“Why does that name ring a bell?”

“The Donner twins,” Reed prompted.

“Oh, yeah. I remember them.” Jake could picture the two girls, both with dark, curly hair, big blue eyes. One had been the prom queen while the other a tomboy. Each pretty in different ways.

Not that he’d ever dwelled on the fact. He’d been so set on leaving Treasure Creek that forming any ties, even with a pretty girl, was not something he allowed. He left town with a clear conscience. No broken hearts to come haunting him.