This is the home he never expected...

With a terrifying ordeal behind him, former navy SEAL Jubal Pierce was supposed to stay in Covenant Falls, Colorado, for only a day or two. That’s it. He’s not prepared to put down roots here—no matter how intriguing the town’s new doctor happens to be. Not to mention Dr. Lisa Redding’s teen brother is on a troubled path that’s all too familiar. Suddenly Jubal finds himself entangled in the community and with deep, unfamiliar feelings for Lisa. But maybe a little detour is just what a warrior needs to find his true purpose...and true love.

“Do you always go around saving dogs and kids?”

Jubal looked directly into Lisa’s eyes. “Emotions get you killed.” It was said in that same matter-of-fact voice, but the tightening of his jaw emphasized the words.

“Are you staying in the army?”

“Navy, Doc,” he corrected, making it plain there was a huge difference. “No, I’ve been separated, but I don’t intend to stay in a rocking chair.”

The room seemed to shrink. The air between them was suddenly charged... Lisa could almost smell the ozone. Her face flamed, and heat surged through her, fueling a raw hunger.

She was only too aware he was almost naked, that his body was too near to hers, his breath too close...

Dear Reader,

It is so good to be writing you again. I appreciate each and every one of you more than I can express.

I thought this time I would say something about the writing process, or at least my writing process, because it was so important to this book.

When I start a book, I know who my two main characters are. I know everything that happened to them through childhood, adolescence and adulthood. I live in their heads.

Then I let them run free on the pages. My original premise changes. The plot changes. The end changes. Events happen that I never expected.

Never has characters’ drive been as strong as in this book. I had no idea how the story would end when I started it. What possibly could satisfy an eighteen-year navy SEAL who lost his very identity after a mission gone bad and two years held as a hostage? I could only hope that Jubal would find his own way.

And then one day he was running as he did every morning, and his life—and Lisa’s—changed. It surprised me as much as it did Jubal. I hope you love the iconic loner as much as I do.

And Lisa? Could she give up the goal she’d had since a child, one that had ruled her life for the past ten years? I wasn’t sure myself.

I hope you love both as much as I do.

Patricia Potter

The Seal’s Return

Patricia Potter

www.millsandboon.co.uk

USA TODAY bestselling author PATRICIA POTTER has been telling stories since the second grade when she wrote a short story about wild horses, although she knew nothing at all about them. She has since received numerous writing awards, including RT Book Reviews’ Storyteller of the Year, its Career Achievement Award for Western Historical Romance and Best Hero of the Year. She is a seven-time RITA® Award finalist for RWA and a three-time Maggie Award winner, as well as a past president of Romance Writers of America. Character motivation is what intrigues her most in creating a book, and she sits back and allows those characters to write their own stories.

Dedicated to all the nonprofit organizations—large and small—that help veterans heal through interaction with dogs, horses and other animals.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

PROLOGUE

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

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Extract

Copyright

PROLOGUE

Nigeria

JUBAL PIERCE KNEW he probably wouldn’t live to see the next dawn. It wasn’t that he had seen many dawns in...what was it? One year, two years? Maybe longer since he’d been taken prisoner by a band of terrorist rebels?

He knew his time was limited because his most frequent guard had brought him something more than a small dish of insect-filled rice.

“Gift,” the tall, thin figure said in the limited English he’d picked up while guarding Jubal.

Jubal grabbed the bowl with his chained hands. The usual rice, but this time there was also some kind of meat. There was no spoon. He was expected to eat with his fingers. He was allowed nothing that could be turned into a weapon. His sole possessions were the filthy pants and remnants of a shirt he was captured in.

“Why a gift?” he asked, using his hands to help the guard understand.

The man simply shrugged.

Jubal bowed his head in thanks. The guard left, closing the door to the tiny windowless hut that was home. There were enough cracks that he could hear activity outside. Excited chatter. A lot of movement.

Jubal ate the food, licked the sides of the tin bowl, then struggled to get to his feet and walked the length of the chain attached to the wall. He was so damn weak from lack of food. He figured he had lost nearly half of his two hundred and thirty pounds. With pure strength of will, he finally stood and peered through a crack.

His eyes slowly adjusted to daylight. Most of the fifty-some members of this particular group were scurrying around like ants. Tents were being loaded in an ancient truck. Three men, including his keeper, gestured wildly.

They were leaving. Something had happened and it didn’t bode well for him. The terrorists didn’t know who he was. If they did, Jubal knew he would be dead. All they knew—or thought they knew—was that he was a doctor.

His SEAL team had been sent to rescue a medical unit caught between warring tribes in Nigeria. They were too late. The medical civilians and their patients had been killed, and enemy soldiers were waiting for them.

His fellow team members had been killed as well, and Jubal was badly wounded. But so was one of the rebel leaders. When Jubal claimed to be a doctor instead of a soldier, he was tasked with saving the life of the wounded leader. He had enough medic training to stop the bleeding and was taken along to care for the leader.

When the man recovered, Jubal was kept prisoner to provide care for others in the tribe. After several escape attempts, he was kept chained.

Jubal was quite sure that he, like his teammates, was believed dead. There had undoubtedly been a search, but the clinic had been burned with the bodies of his team and medical unit members inside. All identifying objects had been stolen as souvenirs.

He knew that he could die any day, especially after the supplies they had taken from the clinic ran out and his patients started dying. He heard the loud debate outside his hut after one fatality. But the head man, whose life he had saved, prevailed. Jubal knew, though, that time was running out...

Now something—or someone—had alarmed his captors. A rival tribe? A government raid? The question was whether they were taking him with them or planning to kill him. He suspected the latter. He was in no shape to move. That meant they would either kill him directly or leave him locked in the hut to starve to death.

His guard stepped inside, threw him a chunk of bread, then left without a word. Another “gift.”

He heard the truck take off, then the three jeeps followed with armed men hanging onto the sides. No one looked back at the hut...

To them, he was already a dead man.

CHAPTER ONE

Chicago

DR. LISA REDDING woke instantly at the loud ring of the telephone. She glanced at the clock. Three a.m.

Her heart skipped a beat. It couldn’t be the hospital unless there had been a horrible accident. She’d just come off her twenty-four-hour stint as a resident three hours earlier.

“Dr. Redding?” the voice on the other end of the phone said.

“This is Dr. Redding,” she replied.

“I’m Officer Kent Edwards, Chicago Police. I understand you’re the guardian of Gordon Redding.”

“Yes. What happened?” She tried to keep her voice calm as her heart started to race. She had arrived home after midnight and hadn’t bothered to check on her brother and sister. Her aunt, who looked after them, was probably still asleep downstairs.

“He’s been arrested. He’s down at our station.”

Lisa’s heart slowed. Not dead, then. That was her first thought after seeing so many maimed juveniles in the hospital. Then it sped up again. Gordon? Arrested? “What are the charges?” she asked with an audible tremor in her voice.

“Car theft and possession of drugs,” the officer said.

She took a deep breath. She knew Gordon was having a tough time, but this? “Where is he?” she asked in a voice she’d trained to be professional in the worst of situations.

The officer gave the name and location of the precinct, and she was relieved it was one just three miles away. She knew it, in fact. She even knew some of the officers since they often visited the hospital to talk to both victims and offenders. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” she said.

She hurriedly dressed, went downstairs to wake her aunt, who’d been staying with them since Lisa’s mother had died nine months earlier.

Lisa knocked at Aunt Kay’s door and when her half-awake aunt opened it, she explained what had happened. “I’m going down to the precinct now, but I didn’t want you to wake up and find two of us missing.”

“I stayed up until he went to bed at ten,” Aunt Kay said. “He must have left after I fell asleep.” She shook her head. “I just don’t know what happened to that boy,” she said. “But I don’t think I can handle him.”

Lisa’s heart dropped. She was home enough to know how difficult Gordon had become. She had hoped he would snap out of it. But the death of their mother had sent him on a downward spiral. He had become rude and dismissive of both her and Aunt Kay, who’d moved into the Redding home to take care of her youngest niece and nephew while Lisa finished her residency.

Lisa gave her a quick hug. “I understand,” she said. “I don’t know when I’ll be back but we’ll talk then. Try to keep everything normal for Kerry.” Lisa grabbed her purse and car keys and drove toward the precinct. The late summer air was still hot, the sky dark with clouds. She concentrated on the empty road ahead and tried not to think what this would mean for Gordon, or Kerry, or her career.

She reached the precinct and identified herself, and almost instantly a young man in uniform hurried over to her. “Dr. Redding? I’m Kent Edwards. I understand you’re Gordon Redding’s sister.”

Lisa simply nodded.

“I’ve seen you at the hospital,” the officer said. “I’m sorry this happened, but your brother isn’t helping himself.”

“What happened?”

“At two-thirty this morning, my partner and I stopped a car that was reported stolen. Your brother was a passenger. The driver is also a teenager but is known to us. Drugs were in the car. Prescription pills. Weed.”

“What kind of pills?” Lisa asked sharply.

“A hallucinogen known as Adam on the street.”

She was familiar with it. It was also one of the date-rape pills. “Were they on him?”

“Not on his person but they were in the car under the seat. Your brother won’t say where they got them.”

“So he’s an accomplice who might, or might not, have known there were drugs.”

“It would help if he would talk to us. He’s not saying anything. Look, he’s a first-time offender. If he would tell us who supplied the drugs, we could probably get him probation.”

“I can tell you now he won’t tell you anything. If nothing else he’s loyal to a fault.” She hesitated, then added, “Our father died eight years ago in a plane crash. Our mother died nine months ago of cancer. As a resident at the hospital, I’m gone more than I’m at home. He’s angry and rebellious, but until this year he’s always been a good kid.”

The officer nodded. “You can see him in the interview room. Talk to him.”

“What about the boy with him?”

“He’s eighteen with a previous record. Mostly small-time stuff. Fights. Vandalism. Now he’s graduated to a felony.”

“Can Gordon go home?”

“The sarge wants to hold him for twenty-four hours. He thinks it might do some good if he gets a glimpse of what the future might hold if he doesn’t help himself now. You should probably call a lawyer.”

Her heart sank. The thought of Gordon in jail was like a jagged knife in her heart. She had failed their mother. Failed Gordon by not being there for him. For not understanding how bad things really were. “Will he be in jail?”

“Juvenile detention.”

“Can I see him?” Lisa asked.

He escorted her to a room. Gordon sat in a chair at a table, his wrists in handcuffs.

He looked up at her. His longish blond hair was mussed and his green eyes were red. He visibly swallowed as she entered the room, then his mouth tightened. Gordon was a good-looking boy, tall and lean. He had been on the soccer team until their mother died and he missed too many practices.

“We going home now?” he said while avoiding her gaze.

“I don’t think so. I’ve been advised to get a lawyer we can’t afford.”

For the first time, fear crept into his eyes but his voice was defiant. “That’s horseshit. I didn’t do nothin’. I was just riding...”

“In a stolen car?”

“I didn’t know that. This guy just called and asked me to go to a party. He picked me up. I didn’t know the car was stolen.”

“And you didn’t know about the drugs?”

His gaze wouldn’t meet hers.

“Do you know how much trouble you’re in?” she asked. “That was a date-rape drug in the car.”

“I said I didn’t do anything.”

She just stared at him. “You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, right?”

He nodded.

“Unfortunately, the police do not buy that. It’s not like school,” she added. “I can’t talk you out of this...situation. They’re going to keep you here for twenty-four hours. I’ll get you a lawyer, but you have to understand that being in a stolen car with drugs means more than a a slap on the wrist. A criminal record can destroy your chances for college, for a career.”

“Whatever,” he said, but she saw a growing awareness behind the word she’d heard too often this year.

She stood. “Think about cooperating with the police. You don’t owe that...guy anything.”

The fragile mask came off his face. Gordon blinked then, and she thought she saw tears gathering in his eyes. Her heart started to melt. He was just a kid who lost his father and then watched his mom die. She softened her voice. “I’ll do everything I can to help you,” she said. “I love you. Aunt Kay loves you. And Kerry...she would be devastated if anything happened to you. I know it’s been a hell of a year but Kerry and I need you. We can’t lose someone else.”

She left then, before she started crying. Once outside the room, she leaned against the wall and let the tears flow.

* * *

THREE DAYS LATER, Lisa reluctantly approached the office of the director of Medical Education at the hospital where she was finishing her third year as a resident. She paused, stiffened her shoulders and knocked.

“Dr. Redding,” Dr. Rainey said as he opened the door. “You wanted to see me?”

The words stuck in her throat. She had to force them out and keep the tears in place behind her eyes. “I have to turn down the pediatric surgical fellowship,” she said. “I hope it’s not too late to find a replacement.”

“May I ask why?” Dr. Rainey asked with a raised eyebrow.

She hesitated. She knew there were a hundred applicants or more for each fellowship at the hospital. It had been an honor to receive it, and now...

He waited for her answer.

She started haltingly. She told him about Gordon and her family situation. “The good news is the other boy admitted he bought the drugs on his own, that Gordon had nothing to do with it. He claimed, though, that Gordon knew the car was stolen. Gordon said he didn’t, but he must have had his suspicions.”

After she finished, she couldn’t speak for a moment. She’d fought hard to get this residency and then to be selected for the coveted fellowship. It was her long-held dream, but she couldn’t sacrifice what was left of her family for it.

“My sister and brother need more than I can give them now,” she finally said. “My brother... I’m afraid Gordon is headed for disaster. He’s just so...angry. My sister is still grieving, and her grades are diving. My aunt has been staying with us and doing her best, but she has to leave. I...just can’t be away all the hours required for the fellowship. I can’t give you or my siblings my best with...” Her voice trailed off. Every word had pain dripping from it.

“They’ve lost two parents,” Dr. Rainey said. “That’s a lot to handle.”

“My brother was...very close to Mom, considered himself the man of the house, and then he had to watch her die. He’s angry at the doctors who couldn’t save her, and I’m one of them. He feels I deserted him, as well.” She hesitated, then said the words she had practiced. “I promised Mom I would take care of Gordon and my sister, and I haven’t been able to do that.”

Dr. Rainey leaned forward. He seemed to hesitate, then said, “I don’t want to lose you. You’re one of the best residents we have and I think you would make a fine pediatric surgeon. I’m told by the attendings and nursing staff that your instincts are excellent.”

It was a rare compliment from Dr. Rainey and made what she had to do even harder.

Gordon’s arrest, though, made a change in lifestyle imperative. Gordon had been released with a number of conditions, including a curfew. His hearing would be in three weeks, and the attorney she’d hired had talked to Gordon’s caseworker. It was possible that he would be given a year’s probation and then his record could be cleared...expunged...if he stayed out of trouble.

She knew he wouldn’t. She’d caught him sneaking out after curfew last night. She knew as sure as the sun rose in the morning that he’d try again.

“What are you proposing to do?” Dr. Rainey asked after a few seconds.

“A position with stable day hours,” she said. “Maybe a clinic. Maybe after Gordon finishes high school, I can...” Her voice drifted off.

Dr. Rainey sat back in his chair and tapped a pen on his desk.

“I have a friend,” he said, “a general practitioner in a small town in Colorado. He’s had heart surgery. It leaves the town without a doctor within a hundred miles. He hopes to find someone to replace him while he recuperates.

Lisa was stunned. She hadn’t known what to expect but it certainly wasn’t what she realized what was coming.

“I’ve been to the town,” Dr. Rainey continued. “It’s small and friendly. You can step into a fully equipped practice. It would be good experience for you and a great environment for kids. There’s a lake, mountains, skiing. The school draws from the surrounding ranches and is said to be quite good.”

He paused. “The town will provide a house within walking distance of the office. If, at the end of a year, you’re still interested in the fellowship, I’ll try to bring you back.”

* * *

IT SEEMED TO be an answer to a prayer. She was exhausted from the hours at the hospital together with the ongoing drama at home. Still, she hesitated. “Our house...”

“If I remember correctly, you live near the hospital. I’m sure a resident or incoming staff member will be more than happy to rent it for a year.” He wrote down a number. “If you’re interested, call Eve Manning in Covenant Falls. She’s the mayor and can give you more details.” He looked up at her from his desk. If you’re interested, I’ll need to let my friend know ASAP.”

“Thank you,” she said, surprised at his understanding, even more so by the proposal. She had never lived anywhere other than a large city but right now a slower pace seemed inviting.

She thanked him and said she would certainly consider it. The more she thought about it during the day, the more feasible the idea seemed.

During a break, she looked up Covenant Falls on the web. The site featured a photo of a sunrise spreading gold across a pure blue lake with white-tipped mountains behind it. There were insets, including photos of a football field, a community center, an attractive main street and two teenagers riding horses.

From that moment, everything happened swiftly. She called the mayor, liked her instantly on the phone. She found herself relaying all her concerns, especially regarding the two rebellious teenagers, and by the end of the conversation was convinced Covenant Falls might be an answer.

She tried not to think of the fellowship. This was something she owed her parents, a debt she couldn’t ignore.

Two days later, Lisa used her day off to fly to Denver, full of apprehension, for a one-day visit to Covenant Falls.

She was picked up by Eve Manning and driven to Pueblo to meet with Dr. Bradley at the hospital there. He was hooked up to a monitor and his color was poor, but his eyes were challenging as they met hers.

“Dr. Rainey said you’re a good diagnostician,” he said. “But it takes more than that to be a small-town doctor. You need an instinct about people. You have to really care about them. They know if you do. And if you don’t. It’s not like a hospital where you see them once or twice before sending them to someone else.”

“I realize that,” she said, “and it appeals to me. It’s frustrating to treat a patient and never know what happens later. I intended to go into a private practice after completing my fellowship.”

“Cliff Rainey said you’re experiencing family problems?”

“Siblings. Teenagers,” she said frankly, and gave him a brief summary of what had happened. “What makes it hard is I’ve been absent when they needed me most. I thought my aunt could fill in, but it isn’t the same. I didn’t realize that until my brother, Gordon, was arrested.”

He nodded. “Sometimes we doctors are so busy taking care of our patients, we don’t have time to take care of our own families. I’m guilty, as well.”

He then asked medical questions, queried about diseases, treatments and protocols. “We have an older population with the ailments that come with it, but we also have our share of pregnancies, broken bones, flu and rattlesnake bites. We usually have a couple of those each year. We keep anti-venom in the office but then the patient has to be transported to a major hospital that maintains a larger stock.”

“As to staff,” he said, “I have a very competent nurse, but she isn’t qualified to write prescriptions. There’s also a part-time bookkeeper who works out of her own house. She can take care of most of the paperwork for Medicare and insurance companies.” He studied her for a moment. “I can’t pay you much, but the town is providing a home, and the experience will be useful.”

She nodded.

“Let me know what you decide after you visit Covenant Falls and see the clinic. The position is yours if you want it. If Cliff Rainey recommends you, that’s good enough for me.”

She breathed easier as she left. She glanced at her watch. It was one-thirty in the afternoon. She had left Chicago on an early flight that morning, but then there was the long drive from Denver. She understood it would be another hour and a half drive to Covenant Falls, then the drive back to Denver for another early-bird flight to Chicago.

Her aunt was staying with Kerry and Gordon. She hadn’t told them about the possibility of moving. She didn’t want to say anything until she felt reasonably confident the position was a real possibility.

“What do you think?” Eve asked when Lisa joined her in the hospital reception area.

“He said the job is mine if I want it,” she said.

“So now it’s my job to convince you to want it,” Eve said. She explained that the town was cradled on one side by mountains and the other by the plains. “There’s approximately three thousand people in the area, including ranches that aren’t in the city limits but contract for city services.”

“I’m going to be taking my sister and brother out of the schools and activities they know,” Lisa said. “What is there for them here?”

“The school is highly rated and will open in four weeks. We have football, baseball, basketball and track along with a terrific music and drama department. Then there’s skiing clubs, Boy Scouts and Explorer Scouts, community baseball and football. There’s also a lot of special-interest groups—music, mechanics, computers, a horseback riding club.”

“It sounds great. To me. I’m not sure it will to them. They love the city.”

“Maybe because they’ve never experienced anything else,” Eve said.

Lisa was silent the rest of the drive into town. Rolling plains reached toward the mountains. The two-lane road was bordered by fences with occasional breaks leading to houses and barns. As they entered the town of Covenant Falls, it looked even smaller than she’d imagined. She counted all of three stop signs. Eve parked in front of an attractive building she identified as city hall, and they walked across the road to the Covenant Falls Medical Clinic.

She met the nurse, Janie Blalock, who didn’t look much younger than Dr. Bradley. The nurse was friendly and showed her around the office, including a small X-ray room. It was, Lisa thought, probably well equipped for a small-town doctor but she would miss all the state of the art diagnostic technology available in Chicago.

“Time for lunch,” Eve announced when Lisa finished the tour.

Lisa thanked Janie, then she and Eve walked half a block to a glass-fronted building with a big sign proclaiming it to be Maude’s. The diner was nearly empty, and they took a seat next to the window. A large motherly looking woman immediately came over.

“This is Maude,” Eve said. “She owns this place and it has great food.”

“This the new doctor?” Maude asked.

Lisa looked helplessly at Eve.

“She’s looking us over,” Eve said lightly.

“You’re a sight prettier than Doc Bradley,” Maude said. “Your meal is on the house,” she added. She studied Lisa solemnly. “Seems to me you need a bit of meat on you. How about a steak?”

“They’re good here,” Eve said. “My husband swears by them.”

Lisa wasn’t sure. The last few days of uncertainty and worry had her stomach in turmoil. But she also had to eat and she still had a long day ahead. She nodded. “A steak and salad with dressing on the side, please. And an iced tea.”

“I’ll take the same,” Eve said.

When Maude left, Eve turned to her. “What do you think?”

“I like Dr. Bradley. I like the clinic. I like the mountains. But I’m not sure Kerry and Gordon will feel the same.”

“My son lost his father when he was four,” Eve said. “I know how difficult it is for a child to lose a parent. And you and your siblings have lost both. But this town supports its own, and that would include you. We’ll do our best to keep your family safe and happy.”

They couldn’t do any worse. Their Chicago neighborhood that had once been a safe place to live now bred gangs. It wasn’t home sweet home anymore. She just wasn’t sure Gordon saw it that way.

“I’ll show you the house after lunch,” Eve said. “The owner passed away and the heir agreed to let us use it and much of the furniture for a year if we did the repairs and voided the overdue taxes. It’s a good deal for us both. My husband and his group of vets painted the house and fixed everything that needed fixing.”

“Group of vets?”

“We have a lot of veterans here,” Eve explained. “In fact, a military nurse recently moved here. She was wounded in Afghanistan and wasn’t ready to go back to nursing, but she’s available in an emergency.”

Lisa absorbed that. Since their mother died, Gordon had threatened to go into the military when he was old enough, and she had done her best to dissuade him from that path. Would a town full of vets sharpen his interest? One count against coming here.

The food came then, Lisa’s stomach’s turmoil ending at the smell of the steak. Once bite proved Eve’s recommendation. It was excellent and the salad good. The prices were amazingly low, even if the meal hadn’t been free. One count for moving here.

Eve continued to plug the town as they ate, then drove her around for a tour. They drove by a wooded park with a gazebo in front of a sprawling building. “That’s our community center and library,” Eve said. “And there’s a small museum and a beach, as well.”

“Where do the kids usually gather?”

“School. Maude’s. The falls. The community center or sports field. Or they go horseback riding as incentives. Nearly every kid in town can ride. I have two horses that your brother and sister can ride.”

A plus for Kerry, the animal lover. Lisa wasn’t so sure about Gordon. His sport of choice was soccer and he’d quit playing in the spring.

Eve took a corner just three blocks from the clinic and stopped in front of a white house. It was a two-story with a connected garage. A white picket fence stretched around the property.

She and Eve walked onto the small porch. Eve unlocked the door and they went inside. The house was not unlike her parents’ house in Chicago: a large living room with a fireplace, a kitchen with plenty of cabinets and a small dining room. There was a master bedroom and bath downstairs and two nice-size bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. It looked newly painted and the furniture, though a little more formal than she liked, looked comfortable.

She looked out the kitchen window and saw a large fenced area. “Pets are welcome, too,” Eve said.

Lisa hadn’t thought of that. Kerry had always wanted a dog, but it never happened for one reason or another. Maybe...

She realized she was making a life-changing decision for all of them. A huge decision. Kerry may be happy with it, especially with a dog and horseback riding. Gordon, the other hand, would hate it. She would be taking him away from his so-called friends and all he knew.

She thought of the argument they had when she caught him trying to sneak out of the house after his release from jail.

“You can’t tell me what to do,” he’d said, his face red with anger. “You’re not my mother. You’re not even my real sister.”

It was a barb that hurt more than she let him know. She had been adopted when her mother failed to conceive after years of trying. Eleven years later, her mother delivered Gordon, and Kerry arrived four years after that.

Lisa had mothered them, especially after their father was killed, and her mother went to work in a real estate firm. She loved her siblings with her whole heart.

And now...she would be turning their lives upside down. Again. She hadn’t told them she was flying to Colorado. They would just assume she was at the hospital. “What do you think?” Eve said, breaking into her train of thought.

Lisa hesitated. “It’s very nice.”

“I sense a reservation,” Eve said.

“I think you should know why I’m considering this,” Lisa said slowly. “You might change your mind about wanting us.” She’d told Eve on the telephone there were problems, just not how severe they were.

Eve didn’t say anything, just waited.

Lisa spelled out the story, from her mother’s death to Gordon sneaking out after his arrest. “I hoped the arrest would scare him, but it didn’t.” She hadn’t meant to say that. It was another failure on her part and she wasn’t used to failing. She should’ve noticed Gordon’s problems, just as she should’ve caught her mother’s illness before it was too late.

“Losing two parents is a lot for a kid to handle,” Eve said slowly. “I can’t imagine my son dealing with losing me after already losing his father.”

“I should have been there for him,” Lisa said. “I have to do it now and hope it’s not too late.” She paused, then added, “I talked to the caseworker handling his case. She said she would ask for probation and suggested it might be possible to transfer supervision here. Can you do that?’’

“We can. We have a new police chief who’s great with kids.”

“It’s okay, then?”

“I’m sure it will be,” Eve replied. “Sometimes magic happens in Covenant Falls.”

“It would have to be pretty major magic.”

“That happens, too. Someday I’ll have to tell you how I met my husband.” Eve paused then asked, “So what do you say? Does the house and clinic work for you?”

Decision time. “Yes,” Lisa said, her stomach tightening. She was gambling and she didn’t like to gamble. She didn’t see any other choice. “I’m happy to accept the offer.”

CHAPTER TWO

JUBAL PIERCE PLUCKED the letter he’d received yesterday from the trash can. He’d read it then and discarded it. This time he reread it slowly and considered the proposal.

His first inclination had been Hell, no.

That was his answer to almost everything these days.

He took a swallow of Jameson Irish whiskey as he glanced around the San Diego apartment he shared with two other SEALs. He was the only one in residence now. The others were on missions. He usually saved the Jameson for the end of successful missions. Now it signaled the end, period.

He couldn’t stay here now. His career as a navy SEAL was over. He knew it. His superiors knew it. His body had been too damaged by two years of near-starvation and captivity—not to mention what it had done to his mental health.

He’d been a SEAL half his life. It had been his entire identity until that rescue mission had gone to hell, and he was taken.

He’d crawled out of a jungle with the last of his strength. After his captors abandoned him, he’d found a key to the chain around his wrists in the bread that his guard had thrown at him. One act of mercy, maybe because he’d saved the man’s life a year earlier. The tribesman probably didn’t think he would make it through the jungle alive. He barely did. He didn’t want to think of those days spent crawling through the jungle more dead than alive.

He’d been offered a slot as a SEAL instructor but turned it down. Too many memories. Too many friends dead. Too many sleepless nights because of nightmares. He looked at those young, fatigued warriors who were trying to survive the almost unsurvivable SEAL training and he saw the faces of his dead teammates. He didn’t have the heart to drive the candidates to be what you had to be to win the coveted trident, the SEAL symbol.

Problem was he didn’t have the heart for anything. He looked down at the glass of whiskey. The Jameson was a reminder of other days when he and his team members had splurged after a successful mission. A last salute to a life he was leaving. If there had been ice, it would have made a merry noise from the shaking of his hand.

He looked back at the letter from Clint Morgan, a helicopter pilot who had once rescued his team from one hell of a bad situation. They had gotten very drunk together that night with Jameson, and although they rarely saw each other after that, they’d stayed in touch. When they did manage to meet, it was usually a boisterous celebration with a lot of drinking. Their last meeting was three months before his last mission...

He picked up Clint’s letter again.

Hey, cannot tell you how happy I am to hear you’re still among the living. I’d heard you were missing, presumed dead, then a few weeks ago heard you’d turned up. I toasted you in absentia with our favorite whiskey. I should have known no mere terrorist could keep you down. David Turner told me you were leaving the navy but he wasn’t sure what you planned to do.

Don’t know if you heard, probably not, but I left the army because of a head injury. I was in limbo until I ended up in a small Colorado town called Covenant Falls, and believe it or not, I’m now its police chief. I’m also a married man as of a month ago. I can hear you laughing now.

In case you’re at loose ends as I was, there’s a cabin available here that is handed down from vet to vet who’s leaving the service and trying to figure out what’s next. It’s on a lake and backs up to the mountains. Fishing and hiking are great. The town is full of veterans and there’s a weekly poker game along with a fine watering hole that caters to us. What more could you want? The cabin, by the way, would be all yours. I lived there for several months and can vouch for its comfort.

The town itself is small, rather quirky, but it has good people. The last three vets who used the cabin decided to stay here, including the former Ranger I mentioned, a battlefield military nurse and yours truly. Anyway, come for a few days at least so we can tell lies, toast friends and drink a bottle of Jameson.

Jubal put the letter down. He’d changed a lot since the last time he’d seen Clint. He hadn’t gained back all his weight and he often woke in a cold sweat. After all the isolation, he was uncomfortable in crowds and had difficulty carrying a conversation. He was mentally adrift.

And then there were the nightmares. He relived the ambush over and over again. He wondered why he lived and those who’d been with him didn’t. One of the things he needed to do was visit the families of his teammates who’d died in Nigeria. He hadn’t been mentally able to do that yet. Maybe visiting Clint could be the beginning of that journey.

No one had loved flying more than Clint, and he’d planned, like Jubal, to be a lifer in the service. If he could make a successful transition, maybe Jubal could, as well. He heard Clint’s humor in his letter. There would be no pity. No sympathy. No expectations. No questions.

No reliving hell.

He picked up his cell and punched in the number Clint had provided...

* * *

EIGHTEEN DAYS LATER, Jubal stuffed some clothes in his duffel along with several books. He drove straight through from San Diego to Covenant Falls, Colorado, stopping only long enough for coffee, hamburgers and gas. He had no trouble staying awake. Sleep never came without nightmares, so he tended to avoid it, anyway.

A little more than a thousand miles and twenty hours later, he reached his destination midmorning.

He followed Clint’s instructions through a small town to a road that ran beside a lake. Clint hadn’t been kidding when he said the town was small. He couldn’t imagine Clint, who was always the life of the party, being happy here. Even less could he imagine his friend as its police chief. That must have been one of Clint’s jokes. He’d been a full-blown hell-raiser back in the day, made even Jubal look like a saint.

It was just after ten in the morning when he found the place, the last one on Lake Road. He drove down a gravel lane to a cedar-sided cabin with a large screen porch stretching across the entire front of the structure. He stepped out of his car, a dark blue Mazda, and took a deep breath. The air was scented by the giant pines that surrounded the cabin. The clear blue lake was visible through the trees.

Clint had told him the cabin would be unlocked, the keys inside on the kitchen counter. Jubal grabbed his duffel from the backseat of the car and took the three steps up to the porch. He opened the screen door, then the door to the interior of the cabin, and looked inside.

As Clint promised, it was cozy. A stone fireplace filled one side of the main room and a wall of windows another. He looked outside. There was a rock grill surrounded by several comfortable-looking lounge chairs. Then the yard ended in what appeared to be forest stretching upward.

He checked out each room, then retreated to the kitchen where there was a thermos of coffee and a plate of cinnamon rolls waiting for him, along with a note.

Tradition dictates the cabin comes with fridge full of food. I added some beer and, knowing you, some damn good whiskey. Help yourself. Call me when you’re settled.

Jubal didn’t call. Instead, he took the thermos of coffee and rolls and headed toward the front porch. He sipped the coffee, which was still hot, and ate two rolls, then decided to explore further. He walked out to the road, glanced at a dock, which looked new. To his right, he noticed a path winding up a mountain. He took the path and climbed up to a spot where he had a good visual of the land around him.

Habits die hard. It was still part of him, this reconnaissance of his immediate environment, a suspicion of strangers, a springboard reaction to the slightest noise.

He was tired. It had been an exhausting drive from San Diego, and he hadn’t slept in more than forty-eight hours. There had been a time when he would still be going strong, but he hadn’t regained the stamina he once had. It had been one reason he’d rejected the job of trainer. He couldn’t imagine driving candidates to do something he could no longer do himself.

He was working on that stamina. His weight had gone from two hundred and ten pounds on a six-foot-three frame to little more than half that during his long months of captivity. It was up to a hundred and seventy-five now, all of it hard muscle after a strict exercise regime, but there had been enough permanent nerve and joint damage to end his career as an operating SEAL.

After returning to the cabin, he relaxed in one of the lounge chairs outside and watched as the sun reached its zenith and started back down again. He appreciated the fact trees shielded the cabin from the dwelling next to his. He was used to isolation.

At least this isolation was of his choosing.

His mind flipped back to Africa as it did too often. He’d been left alone for long periods of time, unless one of his guards came into whatever cave or hut they kept him in. And then it was only to beat, taunt, threaten or sometimes do all three. A gun was held against his head or a knife across his throat. He had scars all over his body from repeated torture.

The only thing that kept his captors from killing him was their belief he was a doctor and could be of use to them. He advised them on what medical supplies to take from the clinic before they burned it, to reinforce his lie.

Jubal took a deep breath. He was in the States again, the master of his own fate once more. Problem was, he had no idea what he wanted that fate to be. That was a first for him and he didn’t like it.

He knew he should call Clint, but he kept putting it off. He didn’t want to answer questions. He didn’t want to deal with small talk. He certainly didn’t want to talk about the last two years.

As a SEAL, he never thought about the next week or the next month, just the next mission. It was better that way. Think about the future and you start making mistakes.

Now he had to consider it.

He heard a car pull into the drive. He looked at his watch. It was nearly six. Clint, most likely. He’d probably been waiting all day for his call.

Still, he didn’t move as Clint appeared from around the cabin. A scarred pit bull was at his heels.

“Hey, Reb.” Clint used the nickname Jubal’s fellow SEALs had given him when he joined his first team. His grin was wide as ever.

Jubal looked at him. Clint wore a tan uniform and carried a sidearm, but he looked relaxed. The exhausted lines Jubal remembered around his eyes were gone. He turned his gaze to Clint’s scarred companion.

“Who’s your friend?” Jubal asked without moving.

“Bart. He rides along with me.” Clint leaned down and whispered something into the dog’s ear. The dog came over to Jubal and looked at him solemnly with deep brown eyes.

“I told him you’re a friend. He’s saying hello.”

The dog was among the ugliest Jubal had seen. Like himself, the dog had scars all over his body, but the animal waited patiently for a response.

Jubal immediately felt a kinship with the dog’s obvious brutal past. He leaned over and rubbed behind his ears. “Hello, Bart.”

“He adopted me last year,” Clint explained. “I had no choice in the matter, but I thought he would be a good icebreaker today,” Clint said. “I wasn’t sure I’d be welcome since you didn’t call.”

Jubal relaxed slightly. He sounded like the old Clint. “I just needed a few hours’ rest. I drove all night,” Jubal said without elaborating. Then he looked Clint up and down. “You weren’t kidding about being a cop?”

“Nope. Some of those MPs we encountered would have strokes if they knew. Okay if I get a beer?”

Jubal didn’t bother to get up. “Since you supplied them, I’d be a real jerk to say no.”

“Now that’s the wholehearted ‘Hello, great to see you’ that I expected,” Clint groused good-naturedly. “But I accept the invitation.” He headed for the cabin, disappeared inside and reappeared with a beer. He slouched down in the lounge chair next to Jubal. “Like that scruff on your face,” he said. “It’s a hell of a lot more civilized than the last time I saw you in Afghanistan.”

“I didn’t want to scare the natives,” Jubal replied.

“I don’t remember you being that sensitive.”

“It’s only on your account,” Jubal said. “I’m your guest. I wasn’t sure you weren’t kidding when you said you were police chief. Didn’t think it would look so hot if I turned up looking like a biker.”

Clint shrugged. “They’re kind of used to us now. Nothing bothers them much.”

“Us?”

“Vets occupying the cabin. We’ve kinda been adopted by the town folks.”

“What if you don’t want to be adopted?”

“That’s okay with them, too. The people in town don’t ask questions or impose, except maybe to quietly drop off a pan of brownies or cinnamon rolls. That’s rule number one in town.”

“Dropping off brownies or not asking questions?”

“Okay, rule one and two,” Clint corrected himself.

Jubal looked at him curiously. “How did you come here? Doesn’t look like your kind of place. Seem to remember you liked big cities with lots of bars.”

“The shrink at the military hospital where I was treated recommended it,” Clint said. “Dr. Payne. He was Josh Manning’s doctor at Fort Hood, and they became friends.”

Clint hesitated before continuing. “This is Josh’s cabin. He inherited it—along with a traumatized military dog—from his best buddy who died saving his life. He admits to being in pretty bad shape when he arrived with a lot of survivor’s guilt and a bad case of PTSD. All he wanted was to be left alone and wallow in grief and guilt.”

Jubal understood that. He waited for the rest of the story.

“The town mayor somehow lured him out of hermitsville. A very pretty mayor, too. Single mom to a young son. She’s a force of nature in a soft, unassuming way,” Clint said. “Sounds contradictory, but there it is. I’m sure you’ll meet them at some point.

“To make a long story short,” Clint continued, “Josh and Eve married and he moved into her ranch house. He asked Dr. Payne if he knew a vet who needed a temporary place to stay. That was me. Then Andy came through before moving in with her fiancé. She’d been a surgical nurse in a forward base. The cabin was sitting here vacant when I heard you were leaving the navy...”

“I’m not staying,” Jubal broke in. “I thought to be here just long enough for a bit of hell-raising, but I guess that’s out of the question seeing you’re the law these days.”

“The two things are not mutually exclusive,” Clint retorted. “What are your future plans?”

Jubal shrugged. “Haven’t thought much about it.”

“Haven’t wanted to, you mean,” Clint corrected. “Been there, done that.”

Jubal wanted to change the subject away from himself. “You said in the letter you had a head injury. A chopper crash?” The question was out before he could withdraw it. He usually didn’t ask personal questions because he didn’t like them directed at him. He wouldn’t have with anyone other than Clint, but since the day Clint rescued his team, they’d been like brothers.

“I did something stupid,” Clint said. “I was at Fort Hood between deployments. I’d practically rebuilt an old Corvette and wanted to try it out on a road a friend said no one used. I was going pretty fast when an old truck pulled onto the road and I had to turn suddenly to miss it. The car went into a ditch and my head hit the side of the interior. I suffered a concussion with brain trauma. I had continuing blackouts and headaches. For a while I couldn’t even drive, much less keep a pilot’s license.”

Clint said, “I haven’t had a blackout in a month and I’m hoping to get a clean bill of health from the doctor to fly again, but this time I’ll be fighting fires. We had a bad one a few months ago. Good news is I can drive. If I do feel a blackout coming on, I can turn off the highway and call a deputy. Can’t do that in the sky.”

Jubal heard the pain in his voice. It hadn’t been as easy as he tried to make it sound.

“I’ll be honest,” Clint said. “It was rough in the beginning. I wasn’t very happy about coming here until I ran into a redheaded veterinarian who almost killed me the day we met, and a mayor that duped me into teaching computers to senior citizens.”

Jubal raised one eyebrow. His mind couldn’t comprehend it. The image of daredevil pilot and woman-magnet Clint teaching elderly women the basics of computers was just too...crazy. Maybe even more crazy than being police chief.

“Don’t you miss—”

“Hell, yes. There’s still those times I hunger for a throttle in my hand, the lift of a chopper. Bringing guys back.” He paused, shrugged. “But I love my fire-breathing wife, and I like this town. We have a lot of veterans here and we help each other.”

“You’re planning to stay here, then?” Jubal asked.

Clint nodded. “Stephanie loves it here, and I have good friends, including Josh and a number of other vets. And dammit, I like my job.”

“What does a cop even do here?” Jubal asked curiously.

“We’ve been having some old-fashioned cattle and horse rustling. That’s keeping me busy now.”

“Rustling? You’re kidding.”

“Nope, but now it’s done by trucks rather than horses. There are petty robberies, too, bar fights, domestic disputes, accidents. We also assist county and state agencies if needed,” he explained. “It’s a small department of ten. Three dispatchers and seven officers, including me. Mostly, though, it’s being diplomatic.”

“And you don’t get bored?”

“I might if it weren’t for Stephanie. You don’t get bored with Stephanie. I’m working with her now to become qualified in canine search and rescue.” He seemed to notice Jubal’s dubious expression as he glanced down at Bart.

“Not with Bart,” he explained. “He doesn’t qualify. He’s too timid, although he’s getting better. Stephanie has two trained golden retrievers. I’m the one that needs qualifying, not the dogs. It’s embarrassing.” He paused, put his hand down on Bart’s head. “But Bart’s helped me a lot. More than I have him.” He paused, then added, “I know a great dog if—”

“No,” Jubal said. “I’ve been avoiding attachments all my adult life. They don’t go with what we do.”

The answer was automatic. One he’d given many times to avoid any lasting relationships, especially with women. SEALs worked in small teams and often disappeared with an hour’s notice, leaving whoever loved them not knowing where they were going, or when they might be back—if they came back at all. It was hell on marriages.

He was grateful Clint didn’t remind him he wasn’t a SEAL anymore. Jubal still thought like one. Hell, he’d been one for twenty years. He’d learned to close the door on his emotions.

He just didn’t know how to open it again. Wasn’t sure he wanted to. He took another sip of beer only to find it nearly gone. He unwound his body from the chair. “I’m getting another beer. You want one?”

“Sure. I’m off duty.”

Jubal snorted loud enough for Clint to hear. He went inside, pulled two beers from the fridge, opened them and returned to the lounge chair after handing one to Clint. The setting sun was streaming layers of gold and crimson flames across the sky.

Clint was silent, apparently satisfied that Jubal seemed to appreciate the sunset at least.

“What else is there in Covenant Falls?” Jubal asked after several swallows of beer.

“We have a couple of great bars, including one that’s veteran-owned. We all get discounts and never get kicked out for being rowdy. There’s Monday night poker games. Horseback riding.” He glanced at Jubal. “You ride, don’t you? Didn’t you tell me you did some riding in Afghanistan?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t exactly pleasure riding. Those horses were ornery as hell.” He didn’t want to explain more, though the memory wasn’t all bad. Those horses had been ornery, all right, but he’d relished the challenge of riding over narrow mountain paths in the dark with some of the most ferocious warriors in the Middle East.

Clint stood. “I’ll go and let you get some rest. How about we hit that bar tomorrow night?”

He nodded. “I’ll probably head out the next day.”

Clint looked disappointed but nodded. “In the meantime, the fridge is loaded with food and beer. Help yourself. If you need anything, there’s a general store, grocery store and pharmacy in town. My phone numbers are next to the phone. The middle room is kind of a library. Feel free to take or add any books. Lastly, we do have internet. It’s slow but it usually works.”

Jubal stood, as well. He’d been damned unappreciative. He thrust his hand out and Clint took it in a tight grip. “Good to see you.”

“Likewise. I’d better warn you,” Clint said. “Neighbors might leave tins of cinnamon rolls or brownies on your doorstep.”

“And I have to be polite?”

Clint shrugged. “I was. Josh wasn’t. He scared the hell out of the first person who tried.”

“I think I would like Josh.”

“I know you would,” Clint said. “Get some rest, buddy. Call me if you need anything.”

Jubal watched Clint walk toward the side of the cabin before turning around the corner. He had changed. Become civilized.

Still, he was glad he came. He had done more talking this afternoon than he had since his return. But Clint was an old friend, a warrior, and the fact that he, too, was separated from the service he loved made talking easier. He was one of the few people who understood having a foundation ripped away.

He sank back down in the chair and mulled over the conversation. Three vets had occupied this cabin. All three were married or engaged or close to it. Covenant Falls was beginning to sound like a Venus fly trap. If that was what the town did to a warrior like Clint, then he—Jubal Pierce—didn’t belong there.

CHAPTER THREE

LISA REDDING WAS thinking along the same lines as she listened to Gordon and Kerry complain on the drive through Covenant Falls to their new home.

It had been a whirlwind four weeks. First came the professional problems. She couldn’t practice in Colorado or write prescriptions on her own without a Colorado medical license. She did qualify—she’d passed a nationally recognized exam, had thirty-six months of postgraduate training and numerous reference letters—but it would take the medical board sixty days or more to verify the information and check for malpractice problems.

She’d started the process immediately after returning to Chicago, and Dr. Bradley had assured her he had friends on the board and would do what he could to expedite the licensure. But there would be at least a month when he would have to be available to “supervise” and write prescriptions.

He assured her he could do that from his home, which was close to the clinic.

After that problem was managed, she told Kerry and Gordon they were moving.

“I’m not going,” Gordon announced. “I’ll bunk with someone here.”

“Think again,” she said. “In the first place, we’re moving to keep you out of juvenile detention. If you don’t go, you’ll violate your probation and go back to detention.” It had taken several weeks of heavy-duty bargaining with the juvenile court judge, caseworker and probation officer in cooperation with the Covenant Falls Police Department before Lisa received permission to take Gordon to Colorado.

Still, he would have to adhere to certain restrictions, including a curfew, no alcohol or drugs and regular school attendance. She had the impression that Chicago—and Illinois—was only too happy to shove a problem kid to another state.

“I don’t have to do what you say,” he retorted. “You aren’t even my real sister.” It was the same old comeback he always used.

“Regardless, I am your guardian and we are going,” she said, shutting him down while trying to hide the hurt she felt.

Kerry wasn’t any better. Upon hearing the news, she wailed, “You’re ruining my life. What about my friends? Just because Gordon did something dumb, I’m being punished.”

Kerry’s complaints grew even louder after she checked out Covenant Falls’s website. “It doesn’t even have a movie theater,” she whined, then went in her room and slammed the door. Woe of all woes.

Aunt Kay, though, was relieved. She’d been hoping to move in with her sister, who recently lost her husband. Now that Lisa would have the time to take care of her siblings, she could do so.

With Dr. Rainey’s help, Lisa leased the family home to the doctor who was replacing her at the hospital. He had a wife who also worked at the hospital. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. She would have someone responsible taking care of the house, and the couple had a partially furnished home near the hospital.

The drive to Covenant Falls had been a nightmare. She’d rented a U-Haul trailer for what little furniture they were taking. Several of her friends helped load it while Gordon stood by, glaring.

She’d hoped that on the long drive to Covenant Falls, Kerry and Gordon might become interested in the scenery and local history. They weren’t. They ignored her every effort to point out interesting landmarks. Both her siblings were stone-faced in the backseat. Gordon played with his phone, and Kerry’s nose was stuck in a book even though it made her carsick.

At least it was an improvement over Gordon’s bitter threats to run away and stay in Chicago. Only the knowledge that he might be sent to juvenile detention had kept him with her. But his resentment was like a poisonous haze in the car.

They reached Covenant Falls at noon on the second day, after an uncomfortable night at what she considered a “Bates” motel. Lisa drove directly to their house, parking in the driveway. She stepped out of the car and onto the porch. The key was under a flowerpot as promised.

Kerry left the car and joined her, looking around with a curiosity she obviously tried to downplay.

“We have a fenced yard,” Lisa said. “Maybe we can get that dog you’ve been wanting.”

Kerry’s face lit up. “Really?”

Lisa had planned to wait until they were settled to make the peace offering, but Kerry was too far under her brother’s angry influence. “I already asked if it would be okay. I think you’re old enough now to take care of one.”

A smile touched her sister’s blue eyes. “When?”

“In the next few days. I understand there’s a dog rescue group here, and they have adoptable pets.”

“Traitor.” Gordon had left the car and approached from behind. “Bought off by a dumb dog,” he said derisively to his sister.

Lisa spun around. “I’ve had enough, Gordon. We’re here because of you. You either shape up and stop making our lives miserable, or go back to jail in Chicago. Your choice!”

He looked startled, and Kerry looked scared. Lisa immediately regretted the words. She loved Kerry. Loved both of them. They were good kids, but they’d had one blow after another with the death of their parents.

“Come inside,” she told Gordon in a softer tone. “I’m not your enemy. I know I haven’t been around much, but I’m here now and I’m going to do everything I can to help you.”

It was a plea that didn’t change Gordon’s face. He shrugged. “As if I have a choice.”

“After getting your things put away inside, why don’t you take your bike and look around?” she suggested. “There’s a lakeside park, community center and ball fields less than a mile away. There’s also a drive-in in the same area.”

“I don’t have any money,” he complained.

She gave him ten dollars when he finished bringing in his stuff. “Be back at five p.m. for dinner, okay?”

He grunted something that she took as agreement.

It was better than nothing.

She only hoped it was a start. A new beginning in a house where memories and grief weren’t in every corner.

* * *

JUBAL JERKED AWAKE a little after midnight. Plagued by smothering nightmares, he preferred sleeping outside in the comfortable lounge chair to being confined by four walls.

He was stiff, but walked down to the lake. Moonlight painted the surface silver. The water was probably ice cold, but he doubted it was any colder than the frigid Pacific where he had done his SEAL training and where he had continued to swim whenever he returned to base.

He went back to the cabin and changed into his swimming trunks. He grabbed a towel and jogged out to the lake. There was no sign of life anywhere around him, and the lake water was clear and still.

He judged the water to be five feet deep at the end of the dock. He made a shallow dive and started swimming.

The contact was like an electric shock to his body that woke all his senses. His strokes grew stronger, and the chill subsided. He swam to the other side of the lake, relishing every stroke as he skimmed through the water. The exercise stimulated him and chased the ghosts from his head as he concentrated on each stroke.

When he returned to the dock, he easily lifted himself onto the planks. He shivered now he was out of the water, and jogged back to the cabin. After a hot shower, he still felt energized from the swim.

It was time to explore his new location. He planned to stay two or three days at the most, but exploring a new territory was second nature to him. He slipped on running shorts and a T-shirt.

Jubal stepped outside and started running. His vision was not as good as it once was, but there was enough moonlight that he could see as well as most civilians could during daylight.

He ignored the pain that persisted in his joints from months of beatings and near-starvation. He tried not to think about that time. It already haunted his dreams; he wouldn’t allow it to haunt his waking hours.

He started at a slow pace, then increased his speed. He’d studied the town from the mountain and memorized the street patterns. He intended to start making an outside circle of the town, then ever smaller circles until he ended up at the park.

There were several streetlights in that area. He noticed an obvious memorial but decided to check it out later. He ran north of Main Street, past what appeared to be the prestigious area of town. Most of the homes were brick two-story structures with either wraparound or broad front porches.

Then he turned east, ran through another residential neighborhood. Smaller homes, smaller lots, but all neat and well maintained. He continued eastward past larger lots and ranch houses, most with small stables or barns. He remembered Clint telling him the mayor owned horses.

He turned back toward the south. Then saw a police car following him. He stopped. Waited. A man running in the wee hours of the morning would, most likely, raise suspicions.

The car slowed. A young man poked his head out. “Mr. Pierce?”

Jubal nodded.

“Thought so. Just wanted to say welcome. I’m Cody Terrell if you need anything. Have a good run.” Then he sped ahead.

No questions about running half-naked in the middle of the night. News did get around fast. Of course, Clint was chief and probably spread the word. Jubal didn’t know whether he should be irritated or amused. He continued to run and hit the business district—if it could be called that.

He noted the doctor’s and veterinarian’s offices. There was a light on the second floor of the vet’s office. He passed a grocery and hardware store, then headed back toward the cabin. When he was four houses away, he noted movement on his dock. Not his dock, but the dock where he was currently staying. He glanced around. No parked cars. No lights in any of the nearby dwellings.

His training and instinct kept Jubal close to the trees as he approached the dock. He saw a flicker of light. A match. The figure was kneeling, and now he saw whoever it was kneeling over a pile of what looked like broken branches. The intruder was so involved in what he was doing he obviously didn’t see Jubal.

Jubal looked around. He sensed more than saw the slightest movement among the trees behind him. It was a skill that had saved his life more than once. He turned and spotted a second figure who wouldn’t make first grade in surveillance school.

Jubal heard a warning whistle from the lookout behind him before the figure took off down Lake Road.

Jubal didn’t wait any longer. The wood on the dock was dry. And as long as he was staying here, he was responsible. He ran toward the dock as the figure stood up. Tall. Slender. Young.

The figure on the dock was silhouetted against the lake like a deer in headlights. There was no place for him to go except the water, and Jubal knew how cold it was.

“Don’t even think about jumping in,” he shouted as he started down the dock. “I can swim better than you. And put out that damn fire. Kick the wood in the water.”

The boy—Jubal was sure he was a boy now—froze.

Jubal moved down the dock until he faced the culprit. “Do it,” he said.

“Do it yourself,” the boy replied heatedly. “No one lives here. None of your damn business.”

“I live here,” Jubal corrected him. “Now put out the fire.”

Defiance and bravado oozed from the boy as he stood his ground. “You gonna make me?”

Jubal noted the boy was probably sixteen or seventeen. And he was really pissing Jubal off now. He knew he probably didn’t look that threatening. He hadn’t regained the weight he once carried.

“You need to cool off, kid.” He flipped him into the water, then kicked the kindling off the other side of the dock, stomping out the few remaining sparks. The flames had never really caught. The kid knew nothing about starting fires. Nor, obviously, when to take a threat seriously.

The water came up to the kid’s nose even as his feet found the bottom. He struggled to breathe, lost his footing and went under. Jubal jumped in, lifted the kid onto his shoulders and carried him out of the water. The kid was shivering when he regained his footing.

“What’s your name?” Jubal demanded.

The kid hesitated and Jubal gave him a look that usually silenced arguments.

“Gordon,” the boy finally said.

“Well, Gordon, we are going to have a little discussion, unless you want me to call the cops right now.”

“No...no.”

Jubal marched the boy to the cabin and forced him inside. Both of them were dripping.

“Let go of me,” Gordon demanded.

“Will you run?”

There was no answer.

“At least you don’t lie,” Jubal said. He steered the kid into the bathroom. “There’s towels in the cabinet. Take a hot shower.”

“Then what?” Gordon asked.

“I’m not sure yet. Depends on whether you do as I tell you.”

“Who the hell are you, anyway? They said nobody lived here.”

“So that makes it okay to burn someone’s property?”

“It’s only a stupid dock.”

“Which cost money to build and maintain. What right do you have to destroy it?”

The kid looked down at the floor. “Whatever,” he mumbled.

“Take a hot shower,” Jubal said.

“You some kind of pervert?”

Jubal gave him a look that had cowed a hell of a lot meaner adversaries. “I’ll lend you some dry clothes. I’ll expect them back. Clean.”

“You aren’t going to call the cops?”

“Did I say I wasn’t?” Jubal closed the door and went to hunt for something the boy could wear. He finally picked a pair of sweatpants with a stretch waist and an old T-shirt. The kid would probably drown in them, but there wasn’t any help for that. Jubal changed into a pair of jeans and a sleeveless sweatshirt.

He would sit the kid down and read him the riot act. Scare the hell out of him. Like someone had scared the hell out of him years ago.

Why would he start a fire on a dock? What in the hell did the dock ever do to him? It might be interesting to find out. Then he would take the kid to his parents.

He planted himself outside the bathroom. He wasn’t going to give the kid a chance to escape. There were consequences to actions.

The sound of running water stopped.

Jubal opened the door and threw in the clothes. “Dress and then we’ll have a little chat about arson.”

He closed the door and took up his post. The door didn’t open. He would give the kid five minutes. No longer.

The door opened after four and a half minutes. Gordon was indeed swallowed in Jubal’s clothes. He was maybe five foot nine to Jubal’s six-three. He was lean, had an athlete’s supple frame but not the muscles. He was holding his wet clothes at arm’s length.

“Into the living room,” Jubal said.

“Why?” Gordon said with attitude. The shower apparently gave him courage.

“Okay,” Jubal said. “If you’re going to play it that way, I’ll call the cops now. Let them sort things out. Your parents know you’re out this late?”

“I don’t have any parents,” Gordon said defiantly.

“You just dropped from above?” Jubal asked.

“They died.”

“Then who looks after you? Or who is supposed to?”

“I’m seventeen. I don’t need anyone to look after me.”

“After seeing you tonight, I’d disagree,” Jubal said calmly. “Where do you live?”

“Where do you think?”

“I’m not fencing with you.” Jubal’s voice hardened. “It’s three in the morning, and you’ve disrupted my peace and tranquility. I didn’t plan on confronting a juvenile punk and taking another swim.”

“I was doing okay. You didn’t have to come in the water.”

“That so?” Jubal said with a raised eyebrow. “In any event, you think I was just going to let you stroll away?”

“Why not? It was just a small fire. No harm done.”

“Only because you obviously don’t know how to build one. I take it you’re not a Boy Scout?”

“That’s for losers.”

“Losers who clearly have more sense in one finger than you have in your entire body.”

Gordon stared at him. Jubal noticed the boy’s gaze seemed more careful now, hesitating when he saw the tattoo on his arm. “What’s that?”

“I thought you were smarter than anyone else,” he said. “You tell me.”

“Military?”

“Yeah.”

“My sister thinks they’re all fascists.”

“So your sister is the source of all your information? You live with her, then?”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me where you live, or I’ll call the police. Maybe those fascists can straighten you out.”

The boy’s face paled. “We just wanted to see if it would burn,” he said. “He said no one lived here.”

Jubal raised an eyebrow. “Who told you that? Your chickenshit buddy who ran out on you? I saw him run.”

Gordon didn’t say anything.

“Okay, have it your way.” Jubal took his cell out of his pocket. “The police chief is a friend of mine and I have his number. I didn’t know I’d need it so soon.”

“Don’t!” Gordon said, adding a belated, “Please.”

“You don’t want him to know a juvenile pyromaniac is running around the community?”

“I’m not... I mean, you can’t call the police.”

“Why not?”

“I’m...” Gordon’s voice trailed off.

“Yes?” Jubal said, and raised his eyebrow.

“I’m...on probation,” Gordon admitted with obvious reluctance.

“Burn someone else’s house down?”

“No!”

“Anyone missing you right now?”

“No.”

“Why don’t I believe that?” Jubal said.

“My sister doesn’t give a shit what I do. She’s too busy...”

“Too busy doing what?”

The boy’s lips closed.

“You’re not getting out of here until you tell me where you live.”

The defiance in Gordon’s eyes faded away. “She’s the new doctor.”

Jubal studied him for a moment. “I’ll make a deal with you.”

“What?” Gordon said cautiously.

“Give me her address. I’ll drive you there, watch you go inside whichever way you got out. In return, you’ll give me ten hours of work. Productive work, and I decide what counts as productive.”

The kid looked disbelieving. “Ten hours?”

“You think it should be longer? Maybe you’re right.”

The kid looked trapped.

“You have a choice,” Jubal said. “I can call the police chief. I imagine you’ll be charged with arson. That won’t be the least of your problems if, as you say, you’re on probation.”

The last remnant of defiance drained from the kid’s face. “What’d you want me to do?”

“I’ll think of something. Yard work. Painting the dock. You start tomorrow. Be here at two p.m.”

Jubal watched the calculating look on the boy’s face. Despite his abject firebug skills, the kid wasn’t dumb. All he had to do was point out a house, then make a dash for an alley and disappear.

“I’m a hell of a lot faster than you,” Jubal said, checkmating that particular scheme. He kinda liked the kid. He didn’t give up. And he wasn’t afraid of former SEAL Jubal Pierce. Damn, had he changed that much?

“Who are you?” the kid asked.

“Name’s Jubal. Jubal Pierce.”

“That’s a dumb name.”

Jubal shrugged. “My dad was a rodeo rider. Jubal wasn’t all that unusual among that set.” He had no idea why he explained that, except maybe it would make an impact on a kid.

Gordon’s face showed more interest. “You ever ride in a rodeo?”

“Nope. And no more diversions. Deal or no deal?”

The kid nodded sullenly.

“A deal’s a deal,” Jubal said. “You break it, there will be consequences.”

“Why do you give a shit about a tiny fire?” The kid tried one last tact.

“Because I live here, and while I live here, I respect the property and the man who loaned it to me. It’s a matter of, shall we say, honor.”

“You come from the dark ages, man,” Gordon retorted.

Jubal shrugged. “Come on, let’s go. And take your wet clothes with you.”

The kid almost tripped over the dragging legs of Jubal’s sweatpants, but he followed Jubal to his Mazda. At least he couldn’t run, not without tripping.

He asked the kid for directions and retraced one of the routes he ran earlier. Gordon slouched in the corner of the car, his sullen voice barely audible.

“That’s it,” the kid said, pointing at a neat two story house. When Jubal stopped, Gordon opened the door.

“I want my clothes back,” Jubal warned. “Washed.”

“Whatever,” the kid said.

“Don’t use that word with me again,” Jubal warned. “It’s offensive and stupid.”

The kid’s lips clamped shut, then, carrying his wet clothes, he walked to the side of the house and disappeared in the back.

Jubal waited several minutes, saw a light go on upstairs, then decided the kid really did live there. He said his sister was the doctor, and he believed that. It would be too easy for him to check it out, and Covenant Falls was not big enough to hide in. He did wonder, though, if the kid would show up tomorrow, or was it today now?

Jubal also wondered what in the hell he was doing. He’d planned to leave in the next day or two. He was starting something he couldn’t finish unless he hung around longer than he intended.

He always finished what he started if humanly possible. It was in his DNA.

So why had he started something that might keep him here longer than planned?

The answer came too quickly.

He recognized that kid. It was him twenty years ago.

CHAPTER FOUR

LISA WOKE TO SILENCE. No sound of heavy trucks passing or the blaring of a horn. It took her a moment to realize where she was.

The flower print on the wallpaper was not the comforting light blue of her former bedroom. New house. New town. New job. She should be excited. She wasn’t. She was too worried about Gordon.

She looked at the clock. A little after seven a.m. That was late for her. She thought about the day ahead, mostly about Gordon.

Gordon had appeared at dinner yesterday and shoveled down his share of a casserole Lisa had found in the fridge along with eggs, milk, cheese, bacon and other basic items.

Although he ate well, he did it with a scowl and grunts when she’d asked him whether he’d met anyone his age yesterday afternoon. Then, completely ignoring both his sisters, he disappeared into the bedroom with his phone and tablet.

She’d checked on him at ten before she went to her own bedroom. His light was off.

She’d gone to sleep then. She was exhausted from the long drive yesterday, then unpacking most of what they’d brought with them. Some items still remained in the trailer.

So much to do today. First on the schedule was a meeting with Dr. Bradley, who was back home in Covenant Falls. Then she intended to drop by the clinic to look over scheduled appointments for the next several days and familiarize herself with the office.

Also on the “to do” list was a visit to the veterinarian’s office to look at adoptable dogs. Kerry, along with Gordon, had gone through two terrible years. They both deserved more than she’d given them. She was intent on remedying that.

Kerry, she knew, would be easier than Gordon. Her sister loved animals and reading. She was a good student, though her grades had also fallen in the past year.

Gordon was more difficult. He had been a strong student until their mother became so ill. He was good with his hands and had built a fort in their backyard when he was twelve. It was still sound. He could also look at any puzzle and solve it in half the time it took someone else. But since their mother died, everything had been different.

Lisa rose, put a robe over her nightshirt and headed toward the kitchen. To her amazement, she smelled the aroma of coffee and was even more surprised to see Kerry at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal.

Kerry turned around, sensing her presence. “I made coffee,” Kerry said.

“I smelled it. Thank you.” Lisa made a beeline for the pot on the counter. Coffee was her lifeblood.

“Can we go over to the veterinarian clinic and see if they have dogs for adoption?” Kerry asked after Lisa dropped two slices of bread in the toaster.

“Maybe this afternoon if she’s there. I have to meet with Dr. Bradley this morning and go over records.”

“What will I do this morning?” Her voice was plaintive.

“What about going to the library? You can ride your bike. Maybe you’ll meet some kids there.”

Kerry shrugged. “Gordon says they’re all weirdos.”

“And what, pray tell, qualifies someone as a weirdo?”

Kerry nibbled on her cereal and shrugged, ignoring a question she probably couldn’t answer. “Will you call the vet this morning and see if we can come this afternoon?” she persisted.

The eagerness in Kerry’s face warmed Lisa. She hadn’t seen it in far too long. She located the list of phone numbers Eve provided and found Dr. Stephanie Morgan’s number.

Lisa looked at her watch. It was eight a.m. “She might be in now. Maybe Gordon will come with us and help pick one out.”

“He probably won’t even be around,” Kerry said dismissively. “And it’ll be my dog, anyway. Will you call now, Lisa?” she begged.

To Lisa’s surprise, Stephanie answered on the second ring and must have recognized her name on phone ID. “Hi,” she said. “Dr. Redding? Eve said you might call. What can I do for you?”

“Eve said you might have some dogs available for adoption.”

“Music to my ears,” Stephanie said. “I have a couple of really good rescues. Would you like to come over today?”

“That would be great. My sister’s very excited.”

“What about noon?” Stephanie said. “I have a break between appointments then.”

“I’m meeting with Dr. Bradley at nine but lunchtime should be fine.”

“I’m really glad Doc found someone to fill in for him. His doctors told him he shouldn’t be working at all, but he’s insisted on seeing patients since there’s been no one else.”

“I’ll try to make sure he doesn’t need to see them now,” Lisa said.

“Good. I’ll expect you and your sister at noon.” The phone clicked off.

Lisa looked at her watch. Nearly eight. She needed to take a shower and dress. She had no idea what to wear in town. Black pants and a short-sleeved fitted blouse would probably do. She would take one of her white coats and drop it off at the clinic.

She went upstairs and knocked on Gordon’s door. He’d been far too quiet since he went to his room last night. He had a backlog of movies on his tablet along with games but...

No sound inside.

She opened the door. He was still sleeping. She looked around. To her surprise there were no clothes on the floor. She closed the door, then knocked. Hard.

Mumbling came from inside. “Just a minute.” Finally, Gordon appeared. His long hair was a mess. He was blurry-eyed as if he hadn’t had any sleep. “Wh-what do you want?” he asked rudely.

“I have to leave to meet with Dr. Bradley,” she said. “I may not be back until noon, and then I’m taking Kerry to look at some dogs. Want to go with us? Maybe help Kerry pick one?”

“You gotta be kidding. We’d never agree. She’ll want some little prissy thing. Besides, I have things to do. Going on a hike with a kid I met.”

“Where to?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t live here. Just going to show me around.”

Lisa swallowed hard. Nothing had changed. “You’re supposed to check in with the police department.”

“Tomorrow,” he said.

“I’ll make an appointment for you.”

“Whatever,” he said, and closed the door.

She wondered if he’d ever forgive her for bringing him here. It didn’t matter that she was trying to help him—help both of them. She’d hated to take them from the house they’d lived in all their lives, but it had become a house of ghosts.

She went back downstairs and took a hot shower, trying to erase all the doubts she had, the failure she felt. She washed and dried her hair and pulled it back, fastening it with a clasp. Not very fashionable or stylish but fast and practical.

She checked her watch again. Seven minutes until nine. The doctor’s office was just six blocks away but she was running late. She grabbed her white coat, the car keys, her laptop and stopped by the living room where Kerry was watching a talk show. “I’m not sure when I’ll be back but I promise it will be before noon. Try the library or maybe just explore this morning, okay?”

She gave Kerry her allowance in case she wanted to go into town. She knew from her own teenage years how important it was to have at least a few dollars for a soft drink or emergencies. She hoped Gordon would find a part-time job as she had as a teenager.

* * *

JUBAL TRIED SLEEPING inside the cabin but woke up drenched in sweat. He’d been in the hut again. No light. No air. Only half a cup of filthy water to drink. His wrists were bound with rusty chain that tore into the skin, and he bled from several gashes inflicted by one of his captors.

Forcing the images from his head, he glanced at the clock. A little after four a.m. He knew he wouldn’t go back to sleep. He stood and walked to the bathroom, turning on the light. He looked at himself in the mirror with disgust. Why in the hell had he bargained with that kid last night? Maybe he wouldn’t show up.

Or, Jubal thought, he could forget about it and leave now. He hadn’t promised Clint anything but a quick visit, and he certainly didn’t owe the juvenile delinquent anything.

He swore as he took a shower, washing away the sweat. He couldn’t take enough showers these days after two years without. When he’d reached civilization six months ago, he had a beard halfway to his chest and layers of dirt.

Jubal was too awake now to try to sleep. He always thought better when running or swimming, and the shock of cold water should clear his mind. He considered skinny-dipping since he doubted anyone was awake. But then Clint was his host; it probably wouldn’t help his job as police chief if his guest was reported for indecent exposure.

He resisted the urge and pulled on his swimming trunks before jogging out to the dock. He plunged into the cold water and his thoughts strayed back to the kid. Even if he did show up, what would he find for him to do?

Hell, he kept questioning himself. Why did he let himself get involved? The kid had a nice house from the look of it. Yet Jubal couldn’t escape seeing himself years ago. He’d lived in a nice house, too, but he’d been filled with resentment and bitterness. His mother had taken him away from the father he adored, the father who died a year later with no one to mourn him but a son who lived two thousand miles away.

Maybe that was why he inserted himself in someone else’s life, something he’d never done before. He remembered his own pain when his father died, the rebellion he felt against his mother whom he’d blamed for his father’s death. Wouldn’t have happened if he had been there, if his father knew he was looking on. This kid had not only lost a father but a mother as well. He didn’t know the whys or hows, but he recognized the hurt and loss inside and the urge to strike out.

It was obvious the boy was headed for trouble.

After returning to the cabin, he did his usual quota of push-ups, showered again, and at eight decided the hour reasonable enough to call Clint.

“Hey,” he said. “I’d like to meet the owner of the cabin.”

“Josh? Sure. He’d like that, too.”

“Can we make it just him and me?” Jubal asked.

“Sure. Either Josh or I will call you back.”

That was one of the reasons Jubal had always liked Clint. No questions. No explanations needed.

The phone rang within minutes. “Jubal? Josh Manning here.”

Short. Jubal liked that. “Thanks for the use of the cabin.”

“Happy to have you there. Clint suggested it was time to meet. How about lunch?”

“I don’t want to interrupt anything.”

“You won’t,” Josh said. “Eleven okay? I’d like you to see the town’s main attraction, then we’ll go to Maude’s. Great diner.”

Jubal had planned to stay around the cabin to see whether the kid turned up early, but hell, it was the kid he wanted to discuss with Josh. “Sure.”

“Good. I’ll pick you up.”

“Thanks,” Jubal said.

Jubal made coffee and toasted several pieces of bread from the full larder. He had more than a few thanks to give Josh Manning in addition to his questions.

With another three hours to kill, he checked his laptop for recent news, particularly about the Middle East. Friends were there. He wished he were there, as well. He felt like a fish flopping on land in this peaceful town in the middle of nowhere.

One website led to another until he heard an approaching vehicle. He closed the laptop and went to meet his temporary host.

The top was down on a Jeep and his visitor was accompanied by a Belgian Malinois. Jubal recognized the breed from his SEAL days. It was the service’s dog of choice because of intelligence and size.

Even if he hadn’t known Josh Manning had been a soldier, he would have instantly recognized him as one. Although there was a slight limp, Manning walked with an assurance that came with being a career warrior.

They shook hands, each sizing up the other.

“This is Amos,” Josh said. “He’s also a veteran.”

The dog lifted his paw politely and Jubal leaned over and shook it. Jubal knew instantly he was going to like both his host and the dog. “Thanks again for the use of the cabin,” he said.

“Glad to have someone here to take care of it.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Jubal replied.

Josh raised an eyebrow. “Okay. Let’s talk while I show you around. Maude’s a great diner but it’s not a good place for private conversation. News and rumors travel with the speed of light.”

“I discovered that when one of your officers stopped while I was running and knew me by name.”

“Drove me crazy when I first came here,” Josh said. “Now I just accept it. People here are interested in what’s happening in their universe, and Covenant Falls is their universe. But there’s no malice about it.” He paused, then asked, “You walk up the mountain yet?”

“Yeah. Right after I arrived.”

“Me, too.” He turned a corner. “I thought I would show you the falls. It’s our main attraction. It’ll take a little more than an hour going and coming. We can talk, then stop at Maude’s for lunch. I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t take you there.”

Jubal mostly listened as Josh drove through town. They passed what looked like an old, rustic saloon with a dozen cars in the parking lot. “That’s the Rusty Nail,” Josh said. “It’s our watering hole. The owner is a vet and makes sure we feel welcome. He’s also a member of our Monday night vet poker game.”

They passed an inn with a sign portraying a whimsical camel that looked toward the mountains. “The Camel Trail Inn?” Jubal asked.

“My pride and joy,” Josh said. “My partner—another vet—and I finished rehabbing the inn two months ago. We’re getting tourists, but unfortunately we don’t have enough activities to keep them here more than a day or two. We want to start a wilderness adventure business but we have to have the right person.” He glanced at Jubal. “Would you be interested?”

“Thanks, but I don’t plan to stay more than a few days.”

“Heard and understood,” Josh said. “I’ll say no more.”

After a few more miles, Josh saw a large sign: The Falls of Covenant Falls. Josh turned left and followed a winding road through a virgin forest. Then he stopped in a parking area. “The falls are just beyond the bend.”

Jubal heard the roar ahead and walked with Josh around the corner to a picnic area. It was empty. The falls were grander than Jubal had imagined. Torrents of white frothy water cascaded over rocky outcrops into a gorge below. Water vapor hung in the air forming a rainbow.

“Impressive,” he said. He’d seen a lot of waterfalls, but there was a pristine beauty about this one that touched something inside him. He understood now why Josh wanted him to see it. “I would think there would be more visitors.”

“The locals come here on the weekend and special events,” Josh said, “but we’re trying to attract more out-of-town visitors and new residents. For a long time the majority of the town leaders didn’t want change or growth, but that policy resulted in a town that was dying off. My wife and others are trying to reverse that.”

“A new mission for you?” Jubal heard the longing in his own voice.

“Something like that. I didn’t know how much I needed one until I came here. But that’s not why you wanted to see me. I gathered from Clint that you have something on your mind.”

In the short time they’d been together, Jubal sensed he could trust Josh’s discretion. He told him about the kid.

Josh listened without commenting until Jubal finished. “He’s probably the brother of Lisa Redding, the new doctor in town,” Josh said. “I understand he got into some trouble back in Chicago.”

“It’s your property,” Jubal said. “I thought you should know.”

“And you want my input?”

“It’s your town. Your cabin. Your dock. I don’t want to do anything that would put you in a bad spot.”

“Can’t see how unless you intend bodily harm.”

“Other than throwing him into the lake?”

Josh chuckled. “Haven’t heard anything about it this morning so I think your kid is keeping silent.”

“He’s not ‘my’ kid.”

Josh met his gaze. “I would have done the same thing—except maybe throwing him in the lake. I don’t like cold water.”

“Yeah, but he’s the brother of your new doctor, who, I’d imagine, is important to the town.”

“She is. We’ve been looking for a doctor for months and Dr. Redding is said to be a very good one.”

“And,” Jubal continued, “according to the kid, she considers the military ‘fascists.’” He paused. “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for her leaving because of this.”

“Well, I get the impression she’s made of stronger stuff than to turn and run. She also has a contract. As for the ‘fascist’ comment, I met her several weeks ago and she seemed perfectly fine with me, and I’m pretty sure she knows I’m ex-military. Eve did say Lisa was concerned about Gordon and it was the main reason she moved here.

“As for the kid himself,” Josh said, “he may not show up. If he doesn’t, I would forget about it. You probably scared the hell out of him. And if you didn’t, the lake probably did.”

“And if he does?”

“It would be a step in the right direction.”

“What could he do around the cabin?”

“Maybe build a bench on the deck?” Josh suggested. “I’ve always kinda wanted one.”

“And say nothing to the sister?”

“We probably should,” Josh said with a wry smile. “But then he might get defensive and act out more.”

“I know,” Jubal said. “Been there. Done that.”

Josh chuckled. “Me, too.”

“What will your wife think about this? I hear she’s the mayor.”

“Truth be told, I’m not sure. She keeps surprising me. She has a devious soul underneath an innocent facade. She can be more concerned about the end rather than the means. I think she would approve, unless we lose the doctor. Then there will be hell to pay.”

Jubal didn’t answer. He felt trapped in a spiderweb but then he was the one who decided to reform the kid on his own. He just damn well couldn’t figure out why he cared as much as he did.

Josh looked at him sympathetically. “Just don’t become a cause with my wife. You’ll never know what hit you. When I came here, I was a confirmed loner, mad at the world. Now I have a ranch, a wife, a son, five dogs, two horses and a crazy cat. And, God help me, I’m a businessman with a huge bank loan.”

Jubal had no idea what Josh had been like before, but now his eyes were alive with humor and, obviously, love. For the slightest sliver of time, he felt envy.

Josh interrupted the thought. “Now it’s time to introduce you to Maude’s steaks.”

* * *

LISA KNOCKED ON Dr. Bradley’s door. A kind-looking woman who appeared to be in her seventies opened the door.

“You must be Dr. Redding,” the woman said. “I’m Gloria Bradley and I’m so pleased you’re here. A physician who has been filling in for him had to leave three weeks ago. Janie can handle a lot of the problems, but my husband took several calls. It worried me to death.”

She led the way into a comfortable-looking living room. Dr. Bradley sat in a wheelchair next to a table piled high with folders.

“’Bout time,” Dr. Bradley groused as she was shown a chair next to him. “Thought you were going to be here three days ago.”

She would have been had there not been complications in Gordon’s court case. There was no qualified probation officer in Covenant Falls. An arrangement was worked out with the office in Pueblo whereby the local police in Covenant Falls would keep in contact with Gordon and report any probation violations. But she didn’t want to go into all that with Dr. Bradley. “I’m sorry,” she said. “We had last-minute complications.”

He turned then to the stack of folders on the table. “These are the records of our chronically ill patients. Heart disease, diabetes, cancer.” He discussed each case, often adding a wry comment about personal quirks of the patient.

She took notes on everything and silently vowed to do more research on ailments specific to the community. “I was thinking about holding an open house,” she ventured.

He raised a bushy white eyebrow. “Don’t know if that would be a good idea,” he warned. “The entire town would come to meet the new doctor. And if you had a series of them, you would have to figure out a way to string out the invitations as to not offend anyone. And they would expect to be fed.”

“Maybe not such a good idea?” Lisa winced.

“Don’t think so. If you want to get to know people, go to the churches. You’ll meet a lot of our patients there. You’ll be invited to a lot of homes, but again, people will be unhappy if you go to Mrs. Smith’s house and not theirs.”

She was getting a headache. This country doctor thing was more complicated than she’d thought.

“One more thing,” he said. “A lot of people here don’t have much money, but they have a lot of pride, so my billing system might seem a bit peculiar to someone who hasn’t been in private practice. Janie can fill you in on that.”

She nodded. They had already worked out the terms. She was to receive a salary, not rely on income. The salary wasn’t high but it was better than a resident’s salary and even the fellowship’s. And she had free rent and what looked like a very low cost of living compared to Chicago.

Dr. Bradley looked tired, too tired.

“I’d better go,” she said. “I promised my sister a dog today.”

“Great idea,” Dr. Bradley said. “It’s amazing what they can do in reducing stress.”

Maybe she needed two—or more—dogs. She nodded, even as she wondered whether he meant more than the words indicated. “Thank you for giving me this chance. I’ll keep in close touch.”

“Good. Don’t hesitate to call me if you have a question.”

But she would hesitate. He didn’t look well at all. He skin looked pasty and pale, and his breathing was labored. She’d already stayed too long.

She said goodbye and left.

Kerry was waiting for her when she arrived back at the house.

“Where’s your brother?” Lisa asked.

“He didn’t say.”

Lisa didn’t press her. She didn’t want them tattling on each other. That, she knew, was no way to build trust, which was already sorely lacking.

“Did he eat anything?”

“Some toast, then took off.”

Lisa closed her eyes. Secrecy had become a way of life with him.

At least he couldn’t get in trouble in a town this small. She suspected she would hear about it instantly. She comforted herself with the thought that he was exploring the town, not huddled in his bedroom with his cell phone.

Still, she called him. To her surprise, he answered almost immediately.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“Just hanging around.”

“Meet some kids?”

Silence.

“When will you be back?” she tried again.

“Don’t know exactly.”

“What about lunch?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You’re always hungry.”

“Not since you made me leave Chicago.” Bitterness was thick in his voice.

She ignored the dig. “I’ll be at the clinic this afternoon,” she said. “And home by five. I want you there for dinner.”

“All right. Gotta go.” He hung up.

He gave up too easily. It worried her.

Lisa looked at her watch, noted the time. She ran a brush through her hair and added a touch of lipstick. Then she went into the kitchen. “Let’s go see about that dog, kiddo,” she said.

The delighted look on her sister’s face lightened her heart. She hoped they could find a suitable dog. At least her sister would have some happiness and maybe her brother would, as well.

CHAPTER FIVE

IT WAS TWELVE on the dot when Lisa and Kerry arrived at the veterinarian’s office. Punctuality had been drilled into Lisa’s head as a child and fortified by college, medical school and residency.

They were greeted by a young woman behind a counter. “Hi,” she said. “You must be the new doctor. Stephanie’s expecting you. I’m Beth Malloy, her vet tech. I’ll tell her you’re here.”

“Thank you,” Lisa said, and looked around the office. It was a pleasant setting with comfortable chairs and light blue walls. She looked at a large bulletin board. There were “lost and found” flyers on dogs and cats and “for sale” flyers for horses. Toward the bottom were photos of dogs with For Adoption headings.

“Hi,” came a voice from behind her. She turned around and saw a tall, lithe redhead.

“I’m Stephanie,” she said. “Welcome to Covenant Falls, Dr. Redding.” Without waiting for an answer, the veterinarian turned to Kerry. “And you must be Kerry. I’m sorry I missed you yesterday. I hear you like animals and might be interested in one of my rescues.”

“Yes...ma’am.” It was obvious, at least to Lisa, that Kerry was nervous.

“Have you had a dog before?” Stephanie asked.

“No.”

“But you know an animal is a lot of responsibility?” Stephanie studied Kerry’s face.

Kerry nodded.

“I have several dogs here in need of a family,” Stephanie said. “Two are puppies, but that takes even more care and time.” She looked at Lisa for guidance.

“Oh, can we have a puppy?” Kerry said just as Lisa was about to announce her preference for an older, well-trained addition to her family.

“Let’s take a look at them,” Stephanie said. She opened the door between the waiting and office areas and led the way to the back. She opened another door and they walked into a large room. Two golden retrievers stood and frantically wagged their tails. “These two are mine,” Stephanie said. “Sherry and Stryker. They’re search and rescue dogs.”

“Can I pet them?” Kerry asked.

“They would be offended if you didn’t,” Stephanie replied with an infectious grin. “Sherry is the one on the right.”

Lisa noticed that Stephanie watched carefully as Kerry knelt and rubbed her hands through the thick fur of each dog. They responded with thumping tails and happy wriggles.

Stephanie nodded with approval. “They’re good judges,” she said. She went over to one of the kennels and opened it. “Now this little girl,” Stephanie said as she brought out a blond bundle of fur, “was found in a hoarding situation where there wasn’t enough care. She’s about six months old. She’s very sweet and smart, but she’s been neglected and needs a lot of attention. I’ve been looking for just the right person to take care of her,” Stephanie said.

“I can do that,” Kerry said as she took the small dog in her arms. The dog promptly licked her face.

Lisa-the-doctor inwardly flinched, but Lisa-the-sister didn’t have the heart to say no. Kerry hadn’t looked so happy since months before their mother died.

Stephanie looked at Lisa with a question in her eyes.

Lisa hesitated, then nodded.

“What’s her name?” Kerry asked.

“I’ve been calling her Susie, but if you take her, you can rename her,” Stephanie said.

“I like the name,” Kerry said. She looked at Lisa, her heart bursting with affection. “Can I have her, Lisa?”

“You’ll have to feed her, keep her dishes clean and walk her often,” Lisa said. “She’ll be your responsibility.”

“I’ve started her house training,” Stephanie said, “and she’s doing very well, but you have to take her out often and clean up if she makes a mistake. You might want a crate for when you’re gone.”

Kerry nodded rapidly. “I will.”

“She’s not like a toy or a game that you can put aside when you’re tired or busy,” Stephanie continued. “It’s a real commitment. Your commitment. Not your sister’s.”

“I know,” Kerry said. She looked at Lisa. “I’ll take care of her. I promise.”

“She’s had all her shots and has been spayed. She’s already been chipped in case she ever gets lost,” Stephanie continued. “She’s in good health now, but she’s gone through some tough times, and she needs security and affection. I have to warn you,” Stephanie added, “she’s still in the chewing stage. You don’t want to leave your shoes where she can get them. Chew sticks are advised.”

Lisa started having doubts after the last comment but by then Susie’s head was resting on Kerry’s shoulder and the dog looked like she’d reached heaven.

“What is the fee?” Lisa asked.

Stephanie smiled. “We don’t charge anything if we find the right home, but I belong to a rescue group that accepts donations to help cover their costs. The name and address of the group will be on Susie’s paperwork and it’s completely voluntary. I’ll never know whether you contribute or not.”

Lisa looked down at Kerry. “What do you think, sis?” she asked, even though the answer was obvious.

“I want her. Please. Can I take her now?”

Lisa looked at Stephanie, who hesitated. “You’ll need a collar and leash. Dog dishes. One for water, one for food. Dog food, of course. You can get that at the grocery store here in town. They have several good brands. You might want a dog bed. The general store has those, along with dog toys.”

Lisa nodded, her mind a cash register as it started adding costs.

“Why don’t we have lunch at Maude’s?” Stephanie suggested. “We can talk about training Susie. Then you can pick up what you need before taking her home.”

Lisa hadn’t expected a new member of the family this fast. She’d intended to discuss the possibility first. She’d always been a planner, someone who looked at all aspects of an action before making a decision. But lately it seemed decisions were being made for her.

Then she saw the broad smile on Kerry’s face and nodded. Her sister obviously didn’t want to leave the dog, and apparently Susie didn’t want her to leave either as she pressed her body against Kerry’s. She was claiming Kerry as much as Kerry was claiming the dog.

They walked several doors down to Maude’s and went inside. Maude greeted Lisa like an old friend even though it was only the second time they’d met. She walked them to one of the few remaining booths and gave them menus.

Stephanie talked about Susie and what she’d observed since the dog had been with her, then asked Kerry about herself. “I heard you like horses, too.”

“Oh, yes,” Kerry said. “Mrs. Manning told Lisa she’d teach me to ride.”

“What else do you like? In school, for instance, what’s your favorite subject?”

“English and history.”

“You’ll have to go to our pageant Saturday night,” Stephanie said. “It’s all about the history here and the gold rush.”

Kerry looked at Lisa. “Can we?

“Sure,” Lisa said. “I’d like to see it, too.”

Lisa listened to Stephanie and Kerry talk about Susie and the dos and don’ts of raising a puppy. She reminded herself that she needed to get home, check on her brother and read the files Dr. Bradley had given her. She planned to spend the entire day at the clinic tomorrow. There were a number of shots to administer to incoming first graders along with three scheduled annual physicals.

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