Jillian Hart - The Soldier's Holiday Vow

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

**Buttons and Bobbins

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

†The Granger Family Ranch

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

*The McKaslin Clan

“Why?” She had to know why Hawk had chosen to be a Ranger. “Why do you guys feel so committed to the army?”

“Because I fight for what I believe in. I love this country. I want to do my part.” Not defensive, just powerful. Poignant. “Although it comes at a cost. I’m still single.”

“Why haven’t you gotten married?”

“Why get involved with someone when I knew I had to leave?”

“And yet being alone is the reason you stayed in the army?”

“It’s a circular argument. Don’t think I don’t know that.” He shrugged a shoulder, as if dismissing it, but something that looked like sadness clung to his features. “You’re alone too, September. I don’t have to ask to know the answer. You aren’t dating.”

“No. I don’t have the heart left.” She couldn’t give voice to the loneliness of the past two years and the fears that she had been broken beyond repair. Beyond hope. Beyond God.

“We are two of a kind.”

Love Inspired

Heaven Sent

* * The McKaslin Clan His Hometown Girl

A Love Worth Waiting For

Heaven Knows

* * The McKaslin Clan The Sweetest Gift

* * The McKaslin Clan Heart and Soul

* * The McKaslin Clan Almost Heaven

* * The McKaslin Clan Holiday Homecoming

* * The McKaslin Clan Sweet Blessings

For the Twins’ Sake

* * The McKaslin Clan Heaven’s Touch

* * The McKaslin Clan Blessed Vows

* * The McKaslin Clan A Handful of Heaven

* * The McKaslin Clan A Soldier for Christmas

* * The McKaslin Clan Precious Blessings

* * The McKaslin Clan Every Kind of Heaven

* * The McKaslin Clan Everyday Blessings

* * The McKaslin Clan A McKaslin Homecoming

A Holiday to Remember

* * The McKaslin Clan Her Wedding Wish

* * The McKaslin Clan Her Perfect Man

Homefront Holiday

* * The McKaslin Clan A Soldier for Keeps

* * The McKaslin Clan Blind-Date Bride

† † The Granger Family Ranch The Soldier’s Holiday Vow

Love Inspired Historical

* * The McKaslin Clan Homespun Bride

* * The McKaslin Clan High Country Bride

* * The McKaslin Clan In a Mother’s Arms

“Finally a Family”

** ** Buttons and Bobbins Gingham Bride

grew up on her family’s homestead, where she raised cattle, rode horses and scribbled stories in her spare time. After earning her English degree from Whitman College, she worked in travel and advertising before selling her first novel. When Jillian isn’t working on her next story, she can be found puttering in her rose garden, curled up with a good book and spending quiet evenings at home with her family.

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

—Hebrews 4:16

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

Questions for Discussion

September Stevens fought despair. Not an easy thing to do. The cold damp earth surrounded her like a grave. The jagged, crumbling walls of the mine shaft lifted above her and drank up the faint starlight. She and little Crystal Toppins had been down here for a good twelve hours. Sunset came early, near to four-thirty this time of year. That meant enough time had passed for it to be nearly midnight. If the sky wasn’t partly overcast, typical for the Pacific Northwest in winter, the rising moon might have offered some relief from the suffocating dark and fear.

Maybe then it would have been easier to hold on to hope.

“They aren’t coming, are they?” The ten-year-old girl gulped down a sob. It was too dark in the belly of the shaft to see more than a shadow of the child lying on her back on the earthen floor. Terror made the girl’s voice thin and raw. “Are we going to d-die?”

“No, of course not.” September leaned back against the hard-packed dirt wall and stretched her legs out as far as they would go. She had to believe that was the truth, but privately, she wasn’t so sure. Crystal had been seriously hurt. September’s injuries weren’t as severe, but her left forearm had a compound fracture. With no antiseptic wipes, no sterile bandages and no first-aid kit—all of which were still packed safely in her saddle pack on her horse—she had done all she could.

She couldn’t let her fear win. The horses would have returned to the stable, although it was miles away down Bear Mountain. Comanche was well trained and fond of his molasses snacks. He would have gone straight home and that meant Colleen, her boss, knew they were missing. Search parties would have gone out immediately—probably ten hours ago or so.

“They know where we were headed, so everyone knows where to look,” she reasoned, putting as much reassurance as she could in her voice. Crystal’s condition could be fragile, and she had to give the girl strength. “They are coming. They will be here as soon as they can.”

“What if they can’t find us? What if they stop looking?”

“They won’t do that, sweetie.” September pressed her arm against the girl’s gently, comfortingly. “Do you think your mom would let that happen?”

“No.” Crystal had to almost be smiling. “Mom’s a little intense.”

“Yes, she is, and that’s a great thing. A fantastic thing. She will mow this mountain down to find you. I’m absolutely sure about that, so no more worrying. Got it?”

“Got it.” Crystal sighed, a desolate sound in the dark.

A nearly absolute dark. September looked up through the ragged hole in the earth above to the disappearing stars. A cloud layer was moving in from the coast, blotting out the twinkling lights one by one. The dank chill of the ground crept into her bones, and it was a cold that gripped with talons. She would never be warm again.

Where was their search party? It was the question she had been asking since their horses balked, probably feeling the earth shift beneath their hooves. It was a good hour’s ride back to the stable. That meant a search party should have been passing by within an hour, maybe two. Although she had listened diligently and watched carefully, there had been no sign of anyone riding the trail hunting for them. Did that mean no one would be coming? How long could they last, injured and without food or water or even a blanket for warmth? Was it possible they would die in this thirty-foot grave?