MISTLETOE AND MURDER

When Dr. Bree Mathison’s plane plummets into the Alaskan wilderness at Christmastime, she is torn between grief and panic. With the pilot—her dear friend—dead and wolves circling, she struggles to survive. Search and Rescue leader David Stone fights his way through the elements to save her. David suspects the plane crash might not have been an accident, spurring Bree’s sense that she’s being watched. But why is someone after her? Suddenly Bree finds herself caught in the middle of a whirlwind of secrets during the holiday season. With everyone she cares about most in peril, Bree and her promised protector must battle the Alaskan tundra and vengeful criminals to make it to the New Year.

Alaskan Search and Rescue: Risking their lives to save the day

“Stay right next to me and remember have a gun pointed at you,” the man said. “I don’t think you want someone innocent to be hurt because you did something foolish.”

As they walked side by side with Bree slightly in front, she felt the barrel of the weapon pressed into her. She calculated her chances of getting away from the gunman now that they were outside in the parking lot and fewer people were around. But she couldn’t come up with anything that didn’t end with him shooting her in the back.

When Bree was a few feet from the driver’s side of the gunman’s car, she reached to open the door.

“Drop the gun or I’ll shoot you.” David’s voice came from behind them.

The man shoved the gun barrel into her back. “Not if you don’t want me to kill her.” He swung around with Bree plastered against him with one arm across her chest to hold her in place. “I’m leaving with her.”

David lifted his arm and pointed his revolver at the gunman’s head. “You won’t survive.”

“Neither will she,” he retorted.

MARGARET DALEY

feels she has been blessed. She has been married more than thirty years to her husband, Mike, whom she met in college. He is a terrific support and her best friend. They have one son, Shaun. Margaret has been writing for many years and loves to tell a story. When she was a little girl, she would play with her dolls and make up stories about their lives. Now she writes these stories down. She especially enjoys weaving stories about families and how faith in God can sustain a person when things get tough. When she isn’t writing, she is fortunate to be a teacher for students with special needs. Margaret has taught for more than twenty years and loves working with her students. She has also been a Special Olympics coach and has participated in many sports with her students.

The Yuletide Rescue

Margaret Daley

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

—Joshua 1:9

To my friend Helen, who showed me the beauty of Alaska.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

FIVE

SIX

SEVEN

EIGHT

NINE

TEN

ELEVEN

TWELVE

EPILOGUE

Dear Readers

Questions for Discussion

Extract

Copyright

ONE

In the bush plane high above the Alaskan landscape northwest of Anchorage, Dr. Aubrey Mathison swept her gaze over the barren snow-covered terrain below, the endless white broken by evergreens and leafless trees. Even through the headset she wore, she heard the loud droning noise of the engine saturate the cockpit.

She glanced toward the east as the sky grew light. Streaks of purple, rose and orange fanned outward as the sun rose at ten-thirty in the morning. The sight awed her. God’s beauty stretched for miles before her.

“I think these trips to the villages are one of my favorite parts of my job,” Bree said to the pilot sitting next to her in the single-engine aircraft. She’d spent a month in Daring, Alaska, on the Bering Sea. Now it was time to go home to Anchorage for some rest and relaxation.

Jeremiah Elliot slid a glance toward her. “It’s why I love to fly. Nothing beats the view.”

Jeremiah was more than just her neighbor; he was like an uncle to her. He’d been her father’s best friend for years and had watched out for her and her mom after Dad died eight years ago. She’d been thankful for Jeremiah since she’d spent a lot of time away from Alaska not long after her dad died while she’d been attending medical school.

“But I’m glad to be returning home.” Bree glanced toward Jeremiah.

He winced, deep grooves carving lines into his aged, weatherworn face.

Alert, Bree sat up. “Something wrong?”

“Just indigestion. I’ve flown feeling worse than this. No doubt I shouldn’t have eaten that third helping of pancakes before takeoff.”

“Three helpings! You need to watch your weight. Your metabolism is slowing down as you get older.”

“Quit being a doctor,” Jeremiah grumbled and rubbed his arm. “Sixty isn’t that old.”

“Maybe we should land before Anchorage.”

“No way. I’m tough, and a little heartburn isn’t going to get me down.”

She released a long breath. “Uncle Jeremiah—”

“Girl, don’t you call me that. It won’t work. You’re as bad as your mom when she wanted her way.” He looked at her, his mouth set in a frown.

Bree sent Jeremiah a grin. “At least I come by it honestly.” The thought of her recently deceased mother not being with her this Christmas dimmed her smile. She turned to stare out the windshield as Jeremiah flew low over the treetops.

“I have to drop off some Christmas presents at a friend’s cabin, and that’s the only stop we’ll make before reaching Anchorage.”

“Is your friend’s place here?” She pointed to the ground.

“No, just wanted you to see that moose down below. Beautiful animal.”

As Bree admired the moose, Jeremiah pulled the plane up higher. He would often go up and down to show her something interesting. “You know I need to learn to fly. Will you teach me?”

“Sure, when summer comes. Don’t have to deal with snow and ice then.”

“Not to mention subzero temps.”

A half hour later, Jeremiah landed the ski plane on a section of flat snowy ground near a frozen stream not far from a cabin. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He shifted in the seat and grabbed a bag.

Bree glimpsed the brightly wrapped packages before he closed the sack and climbed from the plane. She watched as Jeremiah trudged uphill through the deep snow toward the cabin nestled among the black spruce trees. He disappeared around the side of the cabin and came back into view ten minutes later.

Jeremiah knew people all over Alaska and often helped them out. Although this wasn’t a place she’d seen before, she was acquainted with a lot of his friends. Some of them lived in the outlying villages he took her to for her month’s rotation as the doctor. She scanned the area. Beautiful but isolated. She hadn’t seen much on the approach but wilderness.

Jeremiah opened the door and pulled himself into the plane, his face red from the cold, his breathing hard. Settling behind the controls, he donned his headset and let out a whoosh of breath. Walking in deep snow could exhaust a person quickly, and Jeremiah looked as if he had gained an extra twenty pounds in the past six months.

“Okay?” she asked as the sound of the engine filled the quiet.

He scowled. “I’m fine.” Then, without another word, he took off, using the flat land next to the stream as his runway.

“What plans do you have for the holidays?” Bree asked after ten minutes of silence had passed between them. The silence was so unlike Jeremiah, who usually talked through the whole flight.

When he didn’t answer, she looked at him. Sweat beaded Jeremiah’s face, and his complexion was now a pasty white. Bree’s concern returned tenfold. “Jeremiah, you should see your doc—”

He jerked, but his hands still gripped the controls. The plane dropped altitude quickly.

Was he having a heart attack? Her medical training kicked in immediately, but along with it came panic. She knew nothing about flying a plane. “Jeremiah, what can I do?” she asked as she removed one of her thick gloves and felt for his pulse at the side of his neck. It raced beneath her fingertips.

Pain scored his face. He fumbled with a switch, then said, “Mayday. Mayday.”

As the ground rushed up at them, Bree was unable to do anything but pray. She swiveled her attention between an approaching open space that looked to be a small frozen lake and Jeremiah. From what she could tell, he must be having a heart attack but was hanging on as long as he could to land the plane. If not...

Bree shook that thought from her mind. Lord, help. Please.

Clutching the seat, Bree prepared the best she could for a rough emergency landing. The skis touched down on the frozen terrain, but the plane bounced up, then down again. Finally, the single-engine aircraft slipped and slid over the frozen lake as it plunged toward the huge trees lining part of the shore. Jeremiah wrestled with the steering, trying to control the plane.

Then, pain contorting his face, he stopped struggling and slumped forward.

Bree’s grip on the seat tightened as the plane plowed into the trees and rocks along the lake’s edge. All she saw was green hurtling toward her, then everything went black...

Seconds, possibly minutes later, pain and a biting cold sliced through the darkness shrouding Bree’s mind. She wanted to burrow back down into unconsciousness, but the sounds of the wind howled through the cockpit. Pellets of ice and snow found her uncovered face, further prodding her to wake up. She inched one eyelid up and glimpsed the jagged edges of the windshield. A branch, several inches thick, lanced through the glass like a spear.

Then realization pierced through the haze of soreness. Jeremiah. She tried to sit up, but a limb off the bigger branch, filled with clusters of short needles, pinned her against her seat.

She brought up one arm next to the door and tugged on the annoying foliage, hoping to break it off. Finally she managed to bend it until it snapped; then she tossed it into the back of the aircraft.

Bree undid her seat belt and turned to find Jeremiah. Her medical bag was in her larger piece of luggage in the belly of the plane, which was now lying on the frozen lake, the skis having been ripped off on impact. But she knew Jeremiah had a first aid kit in the cockpit. First, though, she wanted to check on him. Squatting on her cushion, she leaned over the intruding branch, parting the limbs. Jeremiah wasn’t moving. Her heartbeat pounded in her chest and head. She pulled off her glove and felt for a pulse through the greenery.

Nothing.

Fighting panic, she gathered her strength, gripped the branch and shoved it out the hole it had created in the windshield. The effort caused her head to swim. Plopping back against her seat, she closed her eyes for a few seconds. Something wet trickled down her face, and she wiped at it with her gloveless hand.

Blood covered two of her fingers. Then she glanced at her chest and noticed the red that spattered her tan coat. She probed her forehead and found a cut about an inch long. After wiping her hand against the front of her parka, she slowly sat up and searched for her cell phone in her front pocket. When she turned it on, the screen gave off some much-needed light. She needed to get to her bag and retrieve her flashlight. No bars, but then she hadn’t expected any service in the middle of nowhere.

She drew in a deep breath of frigid air to calm her racing pulse. She knew fear and panic inspired frantic actions that zapped a person’s strength fast. Conserving her energy for the necessary tasks was important.

Using the light from her cell phone, she leaned toward Jeremiah, praying he was alive and she just hadn’t been able to find his pulse a couple of minutes ago.

“Please, God, let him be alive. Please,” she whispered.

When she had determined he was gone, she sank back in her seat. Before she could even react, she was swamped by pain that no doubt had been masked by the rush of adrenaline from the emergency landing. The throbbing in her head increased, making it difficult to think. She was alone, somewhere between Daring and Anchorage. Why hadn’t she paid more attention to where Jeremiah was flying? She usually was alert while traveling to a new village, but on the ride home, weariness would sometimes overtake her and occasionally she’d fall asleep.

Light from the snow surrounding them shadowed Jeremiah’s body as it lay slumped over the steering wheel. To conserve the battery, Bree switched off her phone. She could still make out the trees in front of them and a sloop to the left of the grove of evergreens. From somewhere in her mind came a bizarre thought: if only she had an app for heat.

Staying in the plane wasn’t an option with the wind ripping through it and the possibility of the ice cracking beneath it and the aircraft sinking into the frigid water. She had to find shelter. Shelter near the plane, because of the aircraft’s emergency transmitter. To do that, she needed the emergency supplies that were stored in the rear of the cockpit.

After rummaging through her duffel bag as well as Jeremiah’s—luckily they weren’t in the inaccessible cargo bay—she gathered what she could use to keep warm as well as her flashlight. She lit the cabin and zeroed in on the survival kit. She would stuff each bag with what she needed to make it through the long night ahead. She knew the growing darkness and stormy weather would make it unsafe for rescuers to search for her.

Jeremiah had always stocked a couple of extra provisions not required in the new regulations. She spied the shotgun with a box of ammunition and immediately felt better. Her father and Jeremiah had often taken her hiking in the backcountry and had taught her how to shoot. She knew the dangers a bear could pose.

Before leaving the aircraft, she grabbed the first aid box and tended to the cut on her forehead, scrubbing at the blood that had frozen on her skin. She placed a large bandage over the wound and pulled her hat back down over her head to keep any body heat from escaping.

She peered at Jeremiah in the pilot seat and felt emotion finally break through. Tears stung her eyes. She couldn’t believe he was gone. He always transported her to and from the villages and had been there to help her through her father’s and mother’s deaths. Never again. A tightness in her chest spread upward to jam her throat. Tears rolled down her cheek and froze, pulling her up short, reminding her of the harsh environment she faced until she was rescued. She touched Jeremiah’s shoulder, saying a brief prayer and a heartfelt goodbye. The safest thing was to stay near the plane because of the emergency transmitter’s signal.

After tossing the duffel bags to the ground, followed by the survival kit, she put on the snowshoes, not sure how deep the snow was by the lake, and exited the plane. In the light of day—she prayed it would be early tomorrow—the bright red wings would help searchers in the sky find her. At least that was what she prayed for, but she did have a signaling device in the emergency kit if needed.

“Bree, stop thinking ahead. See to now,” she muttered and trudged a few yards from the wreckage. She could see the plane sat mostly on land; only the tail rested on the frozen lake. She forced herself to plan ahead. Doing so always gave her a sense of security.

Make it back to Anchorage—then figure out your future.

Behind some evergreens, the shore of the lake sloped upward with a denser stand of trees at the top of the rise a couple of feet back. She peeked through the foliage and made a decision. To the left in the middle of the incline was where she would dig her snow cave. Using a collapsible shovel from Jeremiah’s survival provisions, she began digging, keeping her mind focused on the task at hand. Ninety minutes later, with breaks to rest, eat a protein bar and drink some water, she finished the crude shelter she’d learned to make in her survival training class.

She stacked the duffel bags to block the entrance after she crawled inside, taking her shovel with her. After she lay down on the sleeping bag, which was spread out over a tarp, she turned on her flashlight and examined her snow cave. She’d curved the walls and poked some holes in them to allow fresh air to enter.

The small confines triggered a childhood memory. She’d been exploring a tight cave when her light had gone out, leaving her in the darkness with little wiggle room. At the memory, she began panting, her fear returning. Usually closed spaces didn’t bother her, but suddenly she struggled with the image of the cave in her mind. She had to do something to keep herself calm. She began singing her favorite Christmas songs.

By the time she finished “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” she couldn’t shake the question: What if she wasn’t? The cracking of ice mingled with the howling of wolves in the distance.

She pulled up her legs and clasped them. I’m not alone. You’re with me, Lord.

A crashing noise overrode all others. Bree braced herself as though the ground would move beneath her.

* * *

His alarm sounded on his watch, and David Stone punched it off and rose from the black leather couch where he’d been trying to sleep. He looked out the window of the hangar that overlooked the small airport near downtown Anchorage, where the Northern Frontier Search and Rescue Organization was based. The wind and snow that had plagued the area since yesterday had finally lessened. He turned away to check on the weather between here and McGrath. The area two hundred miles away where a Mayday call had been sent from a pilot, Jeremiah Elliot.

After hearing from the weather service that there was a break in the storm, David moved quickly toward his Cessna in the hangar. He’d already stocked it during the night. Two people’s lives were at stake, the pilot and his passenger, Dr. Aubrey Mathison. He knew of her because of her work in the remote villages. He hoped Jeremiah hadn’t crashed and had managed to land somewhere safely. However, all attempts to radio the plane had failed. He hated knowing people were out there in trouble and not being able to rescue them immediately because of severe weather.

David finally took off from the airport and flew northwest. Teams on the ground were headed now in the direction of the emergency signal transmitting from Jeremiah’s plane. By the time he reached the area where the plane had gone down, the sun would have risen and visibility should be good, unless the stalled storm behind the one yesterday began moving again. The window to rescue the doctor and Jeremiah could be a narrow one—only hours.

As the sun painted the sky with brilliant colors, he started his grid search, flying low enough to scan the terrain for a down plane or any signs of people.

David gripped the controls as the wind and air currents created a rough ride. He swung his attention between the gauges and the landscape below. Following a snow-covered stream snaking its way through the rugged land, he came to an open area, most likely a frozen lake. Across it he spied a plane partially submerged. The ice had cracked and the tail had sunk into the water.

He flew toward the wreckage to scout the terrain for the best place to land. Through the trees he saw a pack of wolves circling a section of a hill sloping away from the shoreline. Immediately he recognized the dire circumstances the survivors were in—if either of them were still alive.

David flew back around to assess the risk in landing. From the evergreen trees, he could tell the wind blew at least twenty miles an hour. With the threat of crosswinds, he had to choose his approach carefully.

He checked the activity of the wolves. So far they were keeping back from the hole in the hillside where he hoped the survivors had taken refuge, but that could change quickly. David reconnoitered the countryside around the lake for a safe place to land rather than touch down on the snow-covered ice. Generally, the middle of a lake was the strongest, but there could be exceptions, and he wasn’t sure the ice would hold.

He found a narrow patch of land maybe a mile away that he could use. Trees surrounded the area, and there were only two directions he could land—northwest to southeast or the reverse. The limbs swayed in the wind, and if the crosswinds were too much, he wouldn’t be able to.

He hoped this worked because if it didn’t, and he was forced to land in the middle of the lake, he didn’t know how he would be able to get to the people who needed to be rescued. The shoreline wasn’t thick enough to hold Jeremiah’s plane. Would it hold a person?

David lined his Cessna up to go in, panning the sky around him. To the west clouds grew dark, indicating the storm was coming in faster than he hoped. His window of opportunity to rescue Jeremiah and Dr. Mathison was narrowing even more. As he headed down toward the ground, he clutched the controls, fighting the crosswinds threatening to flip him over or drive him into the frozen earth.

About ten yards off the ground, he couldn’t hold his course and pulled the nose of his plane up. The bottom of his wheels barely missed scraping the tops of the trees.

One more pass. If that didn’t work, he’d have to check on the weather movement and decide whether to land on the precarious lake or return to base and hope the teams on the ground would reach the survivors soon.

* * *

Fear held Bree immobile as she listened to the growls outside her snow cave. Her back plastered against the duffel bags in the opening, she gripped the loaded shotgun. She had extra ammunition in her front pocket and a knife in the other one. If the wolves managed to break through her barrier, she would defend herself as best she could.

“Get back,” she yelled, swiveling around to point the weapon out a small hole. “If you don’t, I’ll shoot.”

The wolves continued to yap and growl. A brave one came into the hole leading to her opening, blocking most of the light. Aiming down into the snow to avoid killing the animal if possible, she squeezed the trigger and the blast exploded from her gun. The wolf yelped; then silence followed. She peeked through the gap no bigger than a half-dollar and saw the animal backing out.

Shaking, she eased her grip on the shotgun, her hands aching. Her heartbeat thundered a fast staccato rhythm in her ears, almost drowning out another sound—the welcomed sound of a plane flying overhead. She prayed the pilot could make out the wreckage despite the fresh snow that had fallen overnight. What if the aircraft had sunk totally into the water, taking with it Jeremiah’s body? She’d wanted to check this morning because all night long she’d heard the creaking of the ice. But then the wolves had arrived.

And the pack was getting braver as the minutes ticked away.

Bree listened for more sounds of the plane overhead. Nothing. And the wolves were still outside her snow cave. The sun no longer shone. Although darkness wouldn’t fall for another few hours, the light had dimmed. Was more bad weather moving in? If so, her rescue would be delayed further.

But someone knew where she was—at least she thought so. She clung to that hope even when another wolf returned to the opening, its low growls sending shivers down her spine.

A gunshot cracked the air. She peered through a gap in the bags. The wolf was gone.

The person in the plane? Had he found her after all?

Another blast pierced the cold air, accompanied by a yelp.

Then more silence.

“Help! I’m in here,” Bree shouted. She slowly removed the bags from the entrance and crawled from her haven.

When she emerged from the snow cave, the wind whipped against her and her gaze latched on to white bunny boots. Lifting her head, she trekked upward past black extreme-cold pants and parka to a face covered by a balaclava and a pair of dark goggles. The lone man must be six-three or six-four, with a muscular physique. Her attention fixed upon the revolver in his gloved hand.

Friend or foe? Her heart seemed to stop beating for a couple of seconds, then it raced.

TWO

David stared down at Dr. Aubrey Mathison, and she peered up at him with huge brown eyes widened by fear. He’d seen that look many times over his twenty years in the military. Removing his goggles, he smiled. “I’m here to take you and Jeremiah back to Anchorage, Dr. Mathison.”

She blinked, transfixed for a long moment.

“The wolves are gone. They won’t be back.” I hope.

She fit her hand in his outstretched one. When he tugged her up, she scanned the area. Through the dense evergreens, her attention fixed on the aircraft, partially submerged in the water, the front end clinging to the shore as though glued to the ground. “Jeremiah’s dead,” she murmured in a thick voice.

“In the crash?”

“No, I believe he had a heart attack.” She swung her gaze to his; pain reflected in her eyes’ expressive depths.

“I’m sorry. Jeremiah was a good man. He’d assist occasionally with air searches when we needed extra help.”

“We?”

“The Northern Frontier Search and Rescue. I’m part of that organization.” David glanced to the west and frowned. “We’d better get out of here. A storm is moving in. My plane is about a mile from here. I didn’t think it was safe to land on the lake.”

She stared at Jeremiah’s aircraft. “He saved my life. He managed to land even when he was in pain. The ice didn’t crack until last night. I heard it from my snow cave.”

“Good thing you didn’t stay in the plane and you made yourself a shelter.”

“God was looking out for me. Let me get my duffel bags.”

While she crawled back into her snow cave, David traipsed a few feet closer to the plane at an angle to the left and looked through the stand of trees between him and the lake. All evidence of Aubrey’s footprints yesterday along the shore was gone. Inches of new snow blanketed the landscape.

He’d need to let the authorities know about the conditions for when they retrieved Jeremiah’s body. Through the broken windshield of the plane, he saw the older man slouched over the steering wheel. He’d seen his share of death while serving in the Middle East, but it was always hard, especially when he knew the person. A memory threatened to worm its way into his thoughts. He slammed it back into the past.

“I wish there was a way to take him back with us.”

At the sound of the doctor’s voice, he turned. “Me, too, but we need to leave now.” He closed the short distance between them and handed her a thermos of water. “Drink this. I don’t want you to get dehydrated.”

“Thanks. What water I had I finished last night. The wolves came before I built a fire to melt some snow.”

After she returned the jug, David took both of her bags. “Let’s go.”

“I can at least carry one.” She tried to take the nearest duffel, but he declined.

He started up the incline, his grip firmly in place on both handles. “I doubt you slept much if any last night. I’m rested, hydrated and well fed.”

She slogged behind him. “I had several protein bars with the last of my water. I was conserving the rest in case I wasn’t rescued right away, especially when the storm continued through last night. I had to clear my entrance every hour.”

“And never warmed up?”

“I spent ten minutes shoveling drifts away from the snow cave, then fifty minutes huddling in the sleeping bag with all the clothes and blankets I could pile on me.”

“A long night,” David said as he crested the rise circling the lake and started for the thicker wooded area a couple of yards away.

The repetitive sound of a helicopter’s rotary blades caused David to stop and turn at the edge of the snow-caked grove of evergreens. No one he’d contacted while organizing the search was in a helicopter. Maybe they were fleeing the winter storm, then had spotted the down plane and were coming to help.

Something instinctively prompted him to step back in the shadows of the trees, pulling the doctor with him. Then he waited for the chopper to come closer. It slowed and hovered over the wrecked aircraft. The chopper was all white with no visible markings on it. He thought instantly of a covert mission. But here? Why Jeremiah’s plane?

“Shouldn’t we let them know I’m okay?” she asked, taking a step forward.

He urged her back. “No. I’ll radio in when we get back to the plane that you’re safe. The people searching by air are using planes, but with this storm they should be returning to their base, as we should be.”

Suddenly two men, dressed totally in white, lowered themselves to the ground using ropes. Rifles were strapped across their backs and each one also had a sidearm. The hairs on David’s nape stood up, and his gut roiled.

Although he and Aubrey were a distance away with a stand of trees between them and the other men, she opened her mouth as if to yell something to the two guys. David dropped one duffel bag, clapped his gloved hand over her lips and hauled her back against his chest, moving deeper into the woods so the slope partially hid them, too. He leaned down and whispered, “Don’t say anything. This doesn’t look right.”

A faint spicy scent wafted to him and for a second riveted his attention. But then he caught sight of one of the men wrenching the pilot’s door open and yanking Jeremiah out of the cockpit, then passing him to the other guy on the ground. David stiffened. The way they tossed Jeremiah about wasn’t how a rescue team would treat a body.

Snow started falling from the dark clouds overhead, but not quickly enough to erase Aubrey’s and his footsteps from the incline behind the trees along the shore. He prayed the men focused on the wreck and nothing else. At least the one in the chopper holding the gun kept his gaze trained on what was going on down at the aircraft.

She wiggled in his embrace, her mumbles muffled by his glove. He dragged her even farther into the trees until he could only see the guy in the helicopter perched in its opening.

With instincts born from many years in a combat zone, David knew they’d left without being seen. Had the people in the chopper heard of the downed plane and decided to plunder it? Whatever their purpose for being here, it wasn’t a good one. At any moment they could spot the footprints heading away from the snow cave and come after them, especially if they decided to search the area. He prayed the men would see the urgency in fleeing the storm, which was predicted to be worse than the small one that had come through yesterday.

The farther away from the lake he hauled Aubrey Mathison, the harder she fought him. He was barely able to clutch one of her duffel bags. When they were far enough away from the unknown men, where they couldn’t hear Aubrey and him talking, he released her, but he was ready to stop her if she started back the way they’d come.

She yanked away and swung around, fury darkening her beautiful face. The last time he’d seen her at the rescue of a young child, it had been summer and her blond hair had been pulled back in a ponytail. He’d admired her then, and he did again now with fire shooting from her eyes.

“Did you see how they manhandled Jeremiah like he was a slab of meat?”

“Yes, and that’s why we aren’t throwing a welcoming party for them.” He glanced over his shoulder and lowered his voice, although the wind would carry the sound of their voices away from the men by the lake. “We need to get to the plane and get out of here. Something isn’t right. I’ll tell the authorities what happened and let them sort it out.”

She peered down at the one duffel bag. “You left one back there? It had some of Jeremiah’s possessions that I—”

“Yes. I’m sorry about that, but I had more important things on my mind.” He hoped the chopper didn’t fly over that area and see the snow cave or the duffel bag.

The red in her cheeks from the cold deepened.

“I’ll make sure the people who come back later search for it and give it to you. Okay?” He swept his arm wide, indicating the direction she should go.

With a huff, she spun around and charged forward angrily. Whether at him or the two men, David couldn’t tell. Amid the snow still coming down, he quickly caught up to her and walked in the same path he’d used to come to the lake. It made his trek a little easier, and he noticed Aubrey did the same thing.

Other than the howl of the wind, silence reigned between them as they plowed through shin-deep snow. The effort slowed Aubrey’s pace.

“Is it much farther?” she finally asked, weariness weaving its way through her voice.

“Through those trees about a hundred yards. There’s a small clearing where I managed to land my plane.”

The sound of the helicopter lifting up above the lake propelled David into action. He grabbed her hand and half ran, half dragged Aubrey to the trees as the chopper appeared in the darkening sky. It headed toward Anchorage, in the opposite direction from them.

David held his breath, waiting to see if the helicopter’s flight pattern would continue southeast, away from where his plane was parked north of the lake. When it stayed its course, he hurried Aubrey along as quickly as possible. His revolver and her shotgun were no match for the heavily armed men. What concerned him the most was the increased velocity of the wind, the dropping temperature indicated on his watch and that they had probably half an hour of remaining daylight.

Aubrey stumbled and went down in the snow on the edge of the clearing where his Cessna was. He turned to her and lifted her up, snow all over her parka, face and head covering. Drawing her toward him, David brushed his gloved hand across her cheeks and forehead. The urgency of their situation heightened a connection with her. Any earlier anger was gone, replaced with worry on her face.

She attempted a smile that faded almost instantly. “Sorry. My legs feel like two pieces of lead.”

“I know.” He wished he could do more to reassure her they would be all right. At the moment he wasn’t sure. He held her for a few seconds while she regained her balance. “Okay?”

She nodded, and her gaze bound to his. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll make it to your plane.”

David grinned, determined to make it back to Anchorage with her. “Good. Make sure you follow exactly behind me.” He emerged first into the clearing and headed for his plane at the other end.

Halfway there, he glanced over his shoulder to check on Aubrey. Her resolve battled deepening lines of exhaustion. But she kept going, and his admiration of her rose with each step.

The falling snow increased. What light they had was dimming quickly.

“I’m going to hurry ahead and ready the plane for takeoff so when you arrive we can go,” David said, then quickened his pace.

David walked around the Cessna and checked what he needed, then climbed into the cockpit as Aubrey reached the plane. She hoisted herself into the passenger seat in front and shivered as she shut the door.

The storm clouds released even more snow as the minutes ticked away and he prepared for takeoff. After starting the engine, David threw her a look. “This may be a bumpy ride and a steep ascent, but we have enough room to make it over the trees.”

“I won’t be sorry to leave this place.” She laid her head against the seat and closed her eyes.

David took off and skated just above the treetops at the end of the clearing. He blew out a long breath, wishing he could relax. It was impossible with the wind battering the plane. His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he flew toward Anchorage, ahead of the storm, he hoped.

Before radioing the airport in Anchorage, he slid a glance toward Aubrey. Her head slumped to the side; exhaustion must have taken over. Good. After what she’d gone through the past twenty-four hours, he didn’t want her to see his worry about this leg of their journey.

* * *

The line of trees on the shoreline rushed toward Bree as the plane slid across the ice-covered lake. She squeezed her eyes closed and braced for the impact, unable to do anything but pray.

A bump jolted Bree awake, and her eyes flew open. Darkness surrounded her, and for a few seconds, she didn’t know where she was. She sat up straight, her muscles locked into place, and blinked at the lit-up controls in front of her. She was safe. It had been a dream. A flashback, she corrected.

Then the plane hit another rough patch, bouncing her up and into the door.

“Sorry about that. The storm is on our tail, but we’re almost to Anchorage. We’ll be fine.”

David Stone’s deep voice, full of assurance, came to her, calming her racing heartbeat. She peered at him, his strong profile thrown into the shadows caused by the darkness and the illuminated control panel. She couldn’t forget his eyes—like slate-gray storm clouds—that had locked on her face when he’d removed his goggles at the snow cave. One look and she’d known she would be all right.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“About an hour.”

As snow and ice pelted the glass, she twisted around and stared out the window at the sky behind them. When she turned back, she saw some ground lights up ahead. “Anchorage?”

“Yes. The airport is closed to outgoing traffic but not to incoming. They have one runway they’re keeping clear as much as possible. But the front end of the storm has already dumped a few inches on the area, with more to come.”

A shudder rippled down Bree’s body. “I hate to think how long I would have been at the wreck if you hadn’t come to get me when you did.” Then she remembered the men from the helicopter. “For some reason I don’t think those guys who came when we left were there to rescue me or Jeremiah.” She turned her full attention on David, whose square jaw was set in a firm line. “So why did they come?”

“I suppose they could have thought Jeremiah was carrying a cargo and intended to rob him.”

“He brought some winter supplies to the village, but all he had in the cargo hold on the way back to Anchorage were two seals the Alaskan natives are allowed to hunt.”

“And you.”

“Yes. Jeremiah has flown me for the past—” A knot lodged in her throat making her voice raspy. She cleared it. “For the past couple of years since I became what I call an itinerant doctor. He told me when he started he did it because my dad would have wanted him looking out for me.” Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked. A couple rolled down her cheeks. “I’m going to miss him. He lived next door to me, so we saw each other every day when we both were in town.”

“Does he have any family? I’ve never heard him mention anyone but you. He was glad you were here in Alaska.”

“No, my family was all he had.” She barely choked out the last part as she thought of Christmas at the end of the month without Jeremiah. Without her parents, she realized she didn’t have any immediate family close by anymore. “He and Dad were best friends from childhood. They both grew up here.”

“So you’ve been living here all your life?” He looked toward her, and their gazes linked for a few seconds.

Bree stared into his gray eyes. In stark contrast to his black hair, eyebrows and lashes, their light color pulled her in and held her captive. Her mouth went dry, and her pulse rate spiked.

Finally he dragged his attention back to flying the plane, and she answered, “Except when I went to medical school. I returned to do my internship and residency here, though. Alaska is my home. I went to school in Oklahoma, where my mother’s family lives. It sure was hot there. That’s not for me. Even after four years I couldn’t get used to the heat.”

“Try the desert. I had several tours in places where temps rose to a hundred and twenty. That made me long for the time I spent stationed in Alaska. When I retired, I decided to come back and haven’t regretted the decision.”

“How long have you been here?”

“I was a pilot in the air force, and when I retired last year, I came back to Alaska. A good friend started Northern Frontier Search and Rescue and had to step down because of family obligations in the lower forty-eight. He asked me if I was interested in taking over. I wasn’t sure, but after a few months shadowing him, I knew this was what I wanted to do.”

She tried to remember what little she had heard about him from Jeremiah. At the moment all she could recall was the respect that Jeremiah had for David Stone. “Do you have family here?”

“No. My wife died and my daughter goes to college in California.” He glanced at her. “Although my dad is here for Christmas. He decided to come for the whole month.”

David turned his concentration to landing the plane in the increasingly heavy winter storm. While he communicated with airport personnel, Bree tried to relax her body and not think of the last landing she’d experienced. But as the lights of the runway glowed through the falling snow, she couldn’t stop thinking of Jeremiah and the change that had happened in a blink of an eye.

They’d been flying and then suddenly Jeremiah was in pain, barely able to hang on and land the plane. She needed to learn to fly, especially if she was going to continue to visit the villages.

After a bumpy descent, the Cessna touched down on the runway, and Bree held her breath as the plane slid and fishtailed. Tension whipped through her as the wind buffeted against the aircraft. David fought to keep it from going into the deeper snow on the side. She grasped the edge of the seat and prayed. She’d been doing a lot of that lately, but she knew God was the only one who could do anything when things went out of control.

David managed to avoid the snowdrift to the right and keep the plane on the runway. As he taxied toward a hangar at the small airport, he asked, “Are you okay?”

“Now I am. But I’m not eager to go for a flight anytime soon after the past few days.”

“With everything in life there can be risk, but this was worth it. You’re home safe now.”

“Not quite, unless I can bum a ride with you or get a taxi. Jeremiah took me to the airport.”

“Where do you live?”

She gave him the address. “It’s on the outskirts of town. If that’s too far—”

“Stop right there. I didn’t fly out to rescue you only to leave you stranded at the airport. I live in that direction, only a few miles away from you. It’s not out of the way.”

When the Cessna was parked in the hangar, Bree finally felt safe. It had been a harrowing twenty-four hours she never wanted to repeat. Her body and mind screamed exhaustion, but she still had to get through the snow to her house before the street crews had a chance to clear the roads.

While David exited the plane, Bree did the same on her side, so glad to be standing on solid, dry land in the hangar. Thank You, Lord. Now I hope You can bring Jeremiah home so I can lay him to rest.

She knew that Jeremiah had made her executor of his estate, which as far as she knew was only his small house next to hers and the aircraft, but that was probably beyond repair. Her main concern was recovering his body and having a memorial service for his flying buddies. A lot of people would miss Jeremiah, especially her.

David rounded his Cessna with her duffel bag. “I need to make a couple of calls to the authorities and to my team to make sure everyone got word you’re safe and they’re all home safe, too.”

“What about Jeremiah?” She wasn’t even sure where to begin with making arrangements to recover his body.

As if he’d read her thoughts, he said, “I can help you make arrangements as soon as it’s okay to return to the lake.”

Relief trembled through her. “Thanks. I’d appreciate any help you can give me. I never thought I would have to do something like that. Since Jeremiah doesn’t have any family, I’m it.”

“Come sit in my office while I make the calls.” He led her toward the hangar. “I’ve found that having the home base for the Northern Frontier Search and Rescue Organization is better near the airport. Saves time usually.”

Inside there was a couch and a couple of comfortable chairs clustered together at the far end. A desk was situated near the door where they entered.

“Make yourself comfortable while I make those calls.” David gestured toward the black leather sofa.

“Is that where you work?” Bree pointed at the desk with a computer and printer on it as well as a stack of folders next to the phone. A filing cabinet sat under a large, very detailed map of Alaska showing the rivers, lakes, mountains and highway system.

“No, my assistant does. My office is through that door. Ella Jackson is the paid staff for the organization and has regular hours. She makes everything run smoothly. I’m glad, though, Ella did as I asked. She hates leaving when a search is going on, but I wanted her home before the storm moved through.”

“You volunteer your time?” The more she was around David Stone, the more she wanted to learn about him. That thought surprised her because since her fiancé had died in a skiing accident six years ago she’d put her job first in her life. There were many people who needed a doctor, especially in certain parts of Alaska that were hard to access.

“Yes, except for Ella everyone is a volunteer. Maybe I can recruit you. We can always use medical personnel, especially with a big search.”

She smiled. “I’m not above being persuaded.”

“Good.” His whole face lit up, his gray eyes glittering. “My friends have learned to run the other way when they see me coming.”

“Really?”

He laughed. “No. In fact, I’ve come to depend on them when I need people to help in a difficult search and rescue. They’re so willing to give of their time. It makes me humble.” He started for the closed door to his office. “Sit—put your feet up.”

The soft black leather beckoned her, and Bree sank onto the couch. She spied the throw pillow at one end and pulled it to her. Laying her head on it, she stretched out and thought she would close her eyes for a few minutes until David was ready. She heard the murmur of his deep baritone voice coming from the office and settled farther into the cushion. His voice comforted her and gave her a feeling of safety. Sleep overtook her almost instantly.

* * *

“Thanks, Chance, for looking into this. Something went down at the rescue site after we left. Good thing we moved out when we did. I don’t think those men were friendlies.” As David talked to his friend, his hand clutched the phone tighter than he intended. He had to relax his grip before his fingers locked around the cold piece of plastic. “I’ve decided to go back in when it’s clear to pick up Jeremiah’s body.”

“If I can, I’d like to go with you. In case there’s trouble.”

“I was hoping you’d volunteer.”

Chance O’Malley, an Alaskan state trooper, chuckled. “Every time you call I seem to volunteer.”

“I’m surprised I caught you at home. I thought you’d be out in this storm.”

“I’m on duty in a couple of hours. Going in early. Lots of wrecks. Some people think just because they have a four-wheel-drive vehicle with snow tires, they can do anything.”

David laughed. “You mean we can’t?”

“I’d better not be pulling you out of a ditch. Get home. It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”

“Bye and thanks.” David replaced the receiver and snatched up the keys to his Jeep.

When he stood, he stretched and rolled his head in a circle. Bree was probably pacing by now. His calls had taken longer than he’d anticipated, but everyone was back safely at their homes. He always liked to know that after a successful rescue. He never wanted to have to search for a searcher.

He entered the reception area and found Aubrey stretched out on his sofa asleep. Her long blond hair spilled over her shoulders like a waterfall caught in the golden rays of the sun. His gaze traveled down her petite body, then returned to her face. Her expression was peaceful, as though she hadn’t nearly died the day before.

She saved lives, whereas he’d taken more than he wanted to count. For a few seconds, his final mission before he’d returned stateside and retired, wheedled its way into his thoughts. Faces of the men who had died under his command haunted his dreams, especially Lieutenant Adams. He squeezed his eyes closed, as though that would stop the images. His last tour in the Middle East had been one too many, leaving its mark on him more than all the others before it.

Bree stirred, her eyes slowly opening. They captured his and held him prisoner for a long moment before she averted her gaze and swung her legs to the floor to stand. “It’s my turn to ask. Are you all right? Did you get some bad news?”

Only my memories. If only I could forget... “No. When the storm clears, I’m going to recover Jeremiah’s body. I talked with my friend—Chance O’Malley—who will help me. He’s a state trooper.”

“I’m also going.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do. I owe Jeremiah my life.”

“I understand, but—”

“Please. It’s important. If I’m going to volunteer for Northern Frontier, then this should be no different.” Although weary from her ordeal, she tilted up her chin and met his look with determination.

He shook his head, chuckling. “You’re one tough lady. It’s okay if you come. I thought it would be difficult for you to return to the scene of the wreck.”

“I didn’t say it wouldn’t be, but I have to see this to the end. I want to know what those men were there for if they weren’t part of the search and rescue.”

“Me, too. When I talked with Chance, he said there haven’t been any reports recently of people going to downed planes and robbing them before rescuers can reach them. But there were a few a couple of years ago.”

“Like modern-day pirates? If that’s what those guys were doing, they didn’t get anything worth their time and trouble.”

“Good thing I started out before dawn, or we might have met in the air.”

Bree rubbed her hands up and down her sweater-clad arms. “Not a pretty thought, especially with the weapons they were carrying. God was looking out for us.”

David picked up Aubrey’s coat from the back of one of the chairs and handed it to her. “Let’s go before we won’t be able to leave here.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“That red Jeep in the hangar is mine.” David followed her to his vehicle.

He started the engine and warmed the car up. After pushing the remote door opener, he slowly made his way into the heavy blowing snow to the road, and then drove toward Aubrey’s house. With his full attention focused on the few feet in front of his SUV, the long ride was completed in silence.

When he turned onto her street, he glanced over at her. Her eyes were closed, her head resting on the window next to her. He smiled, glad his home wasn’t far from hers. It had been a long day, and sleep lured him, as well.

He pulled into her driveway close to her front entrance, switched off his car and shifted toward her. “Aubrey, we’re at your house.”

Her eyes opened, and, as before in his office, they connected with his. Again he felt a bond with her, more than anyone else he’d ever rescued. The sensation surprised him, causing him to break their visual link. Keeping his emotions checked while rescuing a person always helped him do what needed to be done. But the second he’d seen Aubrey’s brown eyes at the wreck site, something had changed. He must be more exhausted than he realized.

“Call me Bree. All my friends do.”

Her soft voice floated to him, pulling him back to her. “Ready?”

“Yes, but you don’t have to go with me. I can carry my duffel bag. No sense in you getting cold and wet. It’s not like this is a date or anything.” She reached behind her and pulled her bag over the seat. “Thank you. Please let me know when you’ll be recovering Jeremiah’s body. I have some downtime between assignments. I volunteer at a free clinic in Anchorage, but I can change my hours if need be.”

He removed his wallet and withdrew a business card, then gave it to her. “Call if you need anything. My cell phone number is on there.”

“Thank you. I hope in a few days I can repay you with dinner. I love to cook.”

“Sure. Let me know when.”

A blast of cold air and some snow swept inside when she opened the door and slid out of the SUV. He waited for her to round its front and make her way to her house. He might not walk her to her door, but he would at least stay until she was inside. When he looked out the side window, she still stood by the door, facing the house next door.

Is something wrong?

He climbed from his Jeep. “Bree?”

She peered back at him. “There’s a light on in Jeremiah’s house. I think someone is inside.”

THREE

In the driving snow, David rounded the hood of his Jeep and stopped next to Bree. “He probably just left a light on.”

Her teeth digging into her lower lip, Bree didn’t have a good feeling about this. “No, Jeremiah never does. He doesn’t like to waste electricity. There’s a switch right by the door, so it’s easy for him to come in and flip it on.” She pointed toward the back of the house. “I think there’s one on in the kitchen. I want to check to see. What if someone heard he was dead and came to rob him?”

“I know the news can spread fast when one of the bush pilots dies in a wreck, but someone would have to be crazy to do something like that, especially in a storm. There’s no vehicle around, and I can’t see the intruder escaping far on foot.” He waved his hand toward the front. “And there are no footprints leading to the porch.”

“How about around back?”

“What’s behind your houses?”

“Woods.”

“Which would make it hard to remove his valuable possessions that way and carry them through the trees to where they parked their car.”

Maybe she was overreacting, but ever since those guys showed up at the wreck site, she’d been unsettled. “Okay, chalk it up to a curious, tired woman, but I’m still going to check. What if they came earlier and the new snow covered their tire tracks and footprints? It won’t take much in this storm. Besides, he has a cat I need to bring over to my house. I know Ringo is used to being alone, but I still don’t want to leave him by himself any longer.”

“If you think there’s someone in the house, then we should call the police.”

“Who won’t be able to come anytime soon. They have their hands full right now dealing with this storm. Maybe an intruder came the day before yesterday. Jeremiah flew to Daring then and stayed overnight before bringing me back. Like you pointed out, there isn’t a vehicle around, so the person is probably gone, but what if they let Ringo out?”

“Then I’ll go with you. Do you have a key?”

“Yes, in my house.” Cold shivered down her length, and she clasped her arms across her chest.

“In case something is going on at Jeremiah’s, I’ll stay out here and wait for you to get it. And if I see a cat, I’ll grab it.”

“You might not see Ringo. He’s totally white and deaf so calling his name isn’t useful. I’ll be right back.” Bree trudged toward her house, digging her key out of the front zipped pocket in her parka. Inside her place, she quickly went to the drawer in her desk and grabbed Jeremiah’s key.

The warmth tempted her to stay, but she wouldn’t. She needed to make sure Ringo was all right and bring him over. If she couldn’t take care of Ringo because of her crazy schedule as an itinerant doctor, she’d make sure he had a home with a friend.

She joined David outside, and they plowed through the newly fallen snow to Jeremiah’s porch, where the overhang and alcove protected them from the wind and storm. When David withdrew the handgun he’d had with him at the wreck site, the action hammered home the seriousness of what they were doing. She was glad he was there. After she unlocked the front door, he took the lead and entered Jeremiah’s house.

She trailed behind him, hoping to see Ringo, who would greet her if he saw her. A few steps inside, she glimpsed the chaos in the living area off the entrance. Cushions from the couch and two chairs, as well as items from the drawers, littered the floor. She started to enter the room, but David put an arm up to stop her.

He mouthed the words, “Let me go first.”

She nodded.

He went into the living room and searched any places a person could hide while Bree swung her attention between him and the hallway that led to the back of the house.

David returned to her side and whispered close to her ear, “It’s clear and I can’t tell if anything is taken, but definitely a person was looking for something. Which way is the kitchen?”

Looking for something? What? She waved her hand toward the dining room on the other side of the entry hall. “It leads to the kitchen, but so does this hallway.”

“Stay here while I check the rest of the house. How many bedrooms?”

“Two and one bathroom. Look for Ringo.” Worry nibbled at the edges of her mind. What was going on here? Jeremiah didn’t have a lot. Most of his money had gone into his plane and the occasional vacation to Hawaii.

As David moved down the hallway and disappeared into the kitchen, Bree sidled into the living room and took in all the mess. It appeared as though the intruder had left nothing untouched. She didn’t know everything that Jeremiah had, and it would take a while to go through the mess to see if she could tell if anything was missing. But what concerned her the most at the moment was Ringo. Jeremiah loved that cat.

She checked a couple of the feline’s favorite spots in the living room. They were empty. What if he’d followed the intruder outside and was hunkered down somewhere trying to stay warm in the storm? What if the intruder took the cat or did something to Ringo?

Lord, please help me find Ringo. I don’t—

A loud cry wafted to her from the hallway. Ringo. He was in the house. She knew that sound like a baby’s whine. Hurrying into the small foyer, she hoped he would let out another belt. As David walked from the dining room, the cat protested and his paw appeared from beneath the coat closet door. She rushed to it and thrust it open. Ringo flew out of his prison, stopped halfway to the kitchen and noticed David, a stranger. The tomcat made a beeline to sniff him.

As Ringo rubbed himself against David’s leg, putting his scent on him, he said, “It’s all clear, but the rest of the house is like the living room—trashed. I called the police and reported the break-in. Since no one is in danger, they’ll get to it tomorrow hopefully. Right now all officers are dealing with emergencies and the effects of the storm. I have a buddy who is a detective. I’ll let him know what’s going on, see if this is happening with other houses, especially in this area. I told them they would need to contact you. That you’ll have a key to the place.”

“Good. When I’m not so tired, I want to go through Jeremiah’s house and see if I can tell if anything is missing. His big-screen TV is still here.”

David’s forehead scrunched as he frowned. “Too large to steal while a storm is dumping tons of snow on Anchorage?”

Bree shrugged. “You’d think a burglar would want it. It’s only a couple of months old. Did you see how they got in?”

“Back door was jimmied.”

“Is the lock broken?”

“Yes. I stepped out on the deck and noticed footprints leading away from the house, but the snow will fill them soon, even the ones on the covered stoop. Didn’t see any coming to the house. They looked about the size of my boots. Twelve. I took a picture of them on my cell phone, although I don’t know if that will help much.”

“Only one set of footprints?”

“Yes, but like us earlier at the wreck site, one person could be using the other’s footsteps. They weren’t neat impressions. I’d usually say no one would be crazy enough to be out in this snowstorm, robbing people, but after what’s happened here, anything is possible. There are some loose two-by-fours and a toolbox in the utility room. I could put them up across the door.”

“I’d appreciate it if you would. I don’t know when I can get a locksmith out here to change the lock.”

David headed toward the kitchen with Ringo following. “I can do that for you. One of my hobbies is carpentry. When I’m not running Northern Frontier, I like to make pieces of furniture.”

“You’re a man of many talents.”

When Bree came into the kitchen, the disarray, worse than the living room, stunned her. Torn boxes of food were emptied on the floor and counters. The refrigerator and freezer remained open; the contents had been gone through. Anger festered in the pit of her stomach. She curled and uncurled her hands.

David disappeared into the utility room. When he emerged with the boards and hammer, he stopped near her. “I haven’t disturbed anything, but I think it’s okay if you shut the freezer and refrigerator. The rest I think the police should see.”

She turned toward him. His image blurred as tears flooded her eyes. She’d been trying not to think of what had happened over the past twenty-four hours, but suddenly it all crashed down on her.

David leaned the wood against the table and put the hammer and nails on it, and then he enveloped her in an embrace. “I’m sorry this happened on top of everything else. It’s hard to take in.”

“He was family to me. He was always here if I needed something. I...” Her mind went blank with grief. Numb, she couldn’t even express how she was feeling.

His arms tightened about her as she cried against him. For a few moments, she didn’t feel so alone. Jeremiah was her last tie to her parents. In the past years she’d gone through three losses: first her dad, then her fiancé and finally her mom. And now Jeremiah. Death surrounded her, even in her job. Everyone she loved died. Suddenly it seemed too much to bear. Tears continued to flow from the depth of her soul, and the whole time David sheltered her, his hand stroking her back.

Slowly she pulled herself together. She never fell apart in front of people, especially someone she’d just met. She stepped away, swiping her fingers across her face. “I don’t usually do that. As a doctor, I’ve seen my share of death.”

“Having served in several war zones, so have I, but you never get used to it. With my last tour of duty, all that death started really getting to me that I couldn’t do my job the way I should. I knew then I had to retire.”

“And now you’re heading a search and rescue organization. That doesn’t seem like you’re getting away from death.”

“A lot of the times we find people alive. That makes up for the ones we can’t reach in time. I feel like I’m making a difference, doing something positive.”

“But you didn’t while serving?” Although she’d seen death as a doctor, more often she was able to help someone heal.

“There’s little positive about war. I saw a lot of destruction. A man can only see so much before it starts changing him.”

Bree swallowed at the pain echoing in his voice. A shutter fell over his features. Did something happen to him during that last tour of duty? She knew some veterans who had served in war zones and most were silent about their experiences.

The urge to comfort him, as he did her, compelled her forward. She reached out, clasping his hand. “When I can’t help a patient anymore and have to stand back and watch them die, I put them in God’s hands. There comes a time when only He can do anything. Jeremiah is with Him now, and that does console me.”

David’s chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “I’d better get this door fixed so you can go to sleep and I can go home.”

Bree watched David nail the two-by-fours across the door frame. With his coat off, she admired his well-proportioned build. She could see him working with wood to create a piece of furniture. He’d said he’d served twenty years in the air force, so she guessed he might be around forty. He was attractive with strong features, a small cleft in his chin and short black hair. But what really caught her attention were his smoky-gray eyes, like the clouds as a storm moved in.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and gave her a lopsided smile. Caught staring at him, she looked away. Her gaze fixed on the mess.

She hated standing in the middle of the chaos; she wanted to clean up. She hoped the police found some evidence pointing to who had done this. Coupled with the guys at the lake, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something nefarious was going on. Jeremiah lived a quiet life, spending time with her when she was in town or with his small group of friends, mostly pilots and outdoorsmen.

“I’m through. If someone really wants to, he could get in, but that’s true of most places unless there’s high security.” David walked into the utility room and put up the hammer.

Bree looked again at what some determined person had done to Jeremiah’s house, as though he was searching for something. But what? The most expensive item Jeremiah had in his home was the TV. A shudder rippled down her spine. “What’s going on here?”

“I suppose it could have been teens trashing a place for fun. Did Jeremiah have a run-in with a teen lately?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been gone for a month. When I talked with him, he didn’t mention any problems. In fact, he was upbeat as if everything was going great. He didn’t say anything about feeling bad, either. I know heart attacks can strike suddenly, but sometimes there are signs.” She remembered her conversation with Jeremiah right before he had his heart attack. “Of course, I might be the last person he would say anything to. He thought I was a mother hen when it came to his health.”

“You see what happens when people don’t take care of themselves. Ready to go?”

“Just a moment. I need to get the cat food, litter box and Ringo. He’s going home with me.” Bree found the carrier in the utility room as well as the food. “The litter box is in the bathroom.”

“Yeah, all over the place like everything else.”

Bree checked the floor by the washing machine and spied a twenty-pound bag of litter. While she grabbed a liner, she asked, “Can you get the empty box? I’ll fix up a fresh one at my place.”

After gathering the items she needed and Ringo, she left a couple of lights on to give the illusion someone was at home. When she stepped out into the driving snow, she tramped toward her house with David right behind her, carrying the box with the litter and food bags in it.

Inside the warmth of her place, she released Ringo, who shot out of the carrier and raced up the staircase. “He likes to lie on my coverlet.”

“Can I help you with any of this?”

She swept around and took his load from his arms. “You need to go home. The roads are getting worse by the minute.”

“Yes, ma’am. I can tell you’re used to giving orders.” He winked and strolled to the front door. “I’ll call you tomorrow, but feel free to call me if you need something.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said with more bravado than she felt. “Thanks for all you did for me. I could have died today.”

A smile spread across his face. “Anytime. Today is the good part of my job.”

After he left, Bree turned the lock. Its clicking sound shouted to her that she was alone with a deaf cat as a companion, and there was a burglar out there who had ransacked her neighbor’s home.

* * *

David arrived home thirty minutes later after creeping through the streets. The only good thing was that he hadn’t encountered a lot of traffic because of the storm and late hour. He parked in his garage, hooked up his battery to keep it charged and then made his way into his kitchen.

His dad came into the room from the hallway. “I heard the garage door. How did it go? Any problems taking the doctor home?”

“Other than a nasty night out there, no. But there was a problem when we arrived at her house. Jeremiah Elliot’s house was broken into. He lived next door to her. She saw a light on and insisted on investigating it. The place was completely trashed but nothing obvious was taken.” David went on to mention some of the more valuable items of Jeremiah’s that were still there.

His father’s eyes sparked with interest. “How did they get in?”

“They?”

“That much damage often implies more than one person.”

Since his dad had recently retired as a police chief of a medium-size town in Colorado, he would know. “Through the back door. Jeremiah’s house was not a fortress. The lock wasn’t a good one.”

“Most burglars want to hit a place fast and get out quick. It sounds like they were looking for something in particular, or it may have been mischief-making teens.”

“Jeremiah’s death wasn’t common knowledge. I reported it to the authorities, but until they checked for next of kin, they were going to keep his death quiet.” Although Bree had said Jeremiah didn’t have any next of kin, there was a possibility she wasn’t aware of a long-lost relative.

“Then something else might be going on here.” His dad ambled to the sink, filled a glass with water and took his nightly pills. “Growing old isn’t for the faint of heart.”

“You miss your job?”

“Yes. It’s been six months, and I don’t know what to do with myself. If I’d had my way, I would still be police chief.”

David knew the PD had a ceiling on how old a person could be to serve.

“Just because you retired from one job doesn’t mean you can’t do something else,” he told his father.

“Nothing else appeals to me.”

“A security consultant?”

“I’d rather do something different. That way I won’t yearn for a job I can’t have anymore. There’s nothing in Colorado for me.”

David had been ready to leave the service after twenty years. Now, at forty-one, he was enjoying what he was doing, and he wasn’t financially dependent on a paycheck because of his pension and some wise investments over the years. He could do what he really wanted. “Is that why you decided to come for the whole month of December?”

“There’s no one in Colorado, not even your daughter since she started college. I saw Melissa at Thanksgiving when she and some friends came to ski, otherwise she has been a stranger. I miss her. When is she coming for Christmas?”

“A few days before.” She was only coming because her grandfather would be there. Otherwise David wouldn’t have seen her at all. Ever since his wife had died three years ago, and David had had to go overseas for his last tour of duty, Melissa had lived with his father.

His father’s dark bushy eyebrows crunched into a single line. “Why not sooner?”

“You know Melissa and I haven’t been on the best of terms since Trish died. She blames me for her mother’s death.”

“You weren’t responsible for that, and I’ve made that clear to Melissa.”

“Dad, I wasn’t there when Trish needed me.”

“Because you were serving your country.”

Tension gripped David as he thought back to three years ago when Trish had taken a lethal combination of alcohol and painkillers. He’d been halfway around the world, supporting ground troops as a B-52 pilot. Earlier, when he’d left Trish after her operation to repair her damaged knee and returned to the war zone, she’d been improving—or so she said—and had urged him to leave. If only he’d known then that she’d become dependent on painkillers, maybe she would be alive today.

“Son, stop blaming yourself. You can’t change the past. Focus on the here and now.”

“I’m trying.”

“Is that why you’re working so hard when you’re supposed to be retired? You’ve made some good investments. You don’t even have to work, but then your job at the search and rescue organization is strictly volunteer.”

“I’m only forty-one. Just because I retired from the service doesn’t mean I’m going to lie around on some beach doing nothing.”

His father chuckled. “Well, certainly not here in Alaska. But Hawaii is only a plane ride away.”

Too wired, David prowled around his kitchen, needing to sleep but not sure he could, even after his previous night sleeping restlessly on the couch in his office. “This volunteer job is perfect for me. I’d go crazy without it. You of all people should know what that feels like.”

His dad held up his hands as if in surrender. “Okay. You’ve made your point. The Stone men aren’t good at relaxation.”

David started to reply when his cell phone rang, jolting him. As he answered it, he glimpsed Chance’s name on the screen.

“I hope I didn’t wake you,” his friend said.

“No, Dad and I were talking. What’s up?”

“I did some checking after we talked earlier, and I thought you might like to know Jeremiah’s emergency locator transmitter hasn’t sent a signal since the last pass of the satellite. I know you didn’t turn it off, since you were back in Anchorage by then, so who did?”

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