Gathering Shadows (Finding Sanctuary Book #1) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Nancy Mehl

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152 pages

English

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Extrait

Description

Wynter Evans is a promising young reporter for a television station in St. Louis, but even a bright future doesn't take away her pain over the disappearance of her brother nine years ago. So when she stumbles across a photograph of a boy with an eerie resemblance to him, she can't pass up the chance to track him down. With research for work as her cover, she sets out with one of the station's photogs for the place where the picture was taken: the town of Sanctuary. Almost as soon as she arrives, she meets the town's handsome young mayor, Rueben King, and together they begin to uncover long held secrets that could tear the small town apart and change everything Wynter thought she knew about her life. As the truth of her family's past hides in the shadows, it's clear someone will stop at nothing to keep the answers she's searching for hidden forever--even if the cost is Wynter's very life.

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	29 avril 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441264190
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0173€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2014 by Nancy Mehl
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www . bakerpublishinggroup . com
Ebook edition created 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-6419-0
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Dan Pitts
Author represented by The Steve Laube Agency
To my friend Darlene Papke:
She is clothed with strength and dignity. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Her family and her friends arise and call her blessed. Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all. A woman who fears the L ORD is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Proverbs 31:25–31 NIV Paraphrased
These scriptures say it better than I ever could. You’ve touched many, many hearts with your life. I’m so thankful to be one of them. I love you.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
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
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Books by Nancy Mehl
Back Ads
Back Cover
Prologue
He observed the youngster ride his bike to the end of the block where the street dead-ended. Then, after looking around carefully, the man slowly drove his car over to where the boy stood staring at something on the ground. He parked a few yards away and watched as the boy wiped tears off his face.
The man rolled down his window.
“Excuse me,” he said. “You’re Ryan Erwin, aren’t you?”
The boy stood up straight and stared wide-eyed at the man, his expression guarded. He blinked furiously, obviously not wanting the man to know he’d been crying.
“Yeah, I’m Ryan.”
The man smiled. “I’m Bill Martin. I live on the next block. You’ve seen me before, right?”
Ryan frowned, his forehead wrinkled in thought. “I . . . I don’t know . . .”
“Sure you have. I own the big black Lab.”
The boy’s expression brightened. “Oh yeah. I know that dog. You own it?”
The man nodded. “That’s Sadie. She recently had puppies, and one of them is missing. I wonder if you’ve seen it?” The man reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed a photo. “Here’s a picture of Waggles. He got out this morning. I’d sure hate for him to get run over. He’s just a little thing.” He held the picture out.
Ryan nudged the kickstand on his bike down and approached the car.
“He’s cute, isn’t he?” the man said, his smile pasted firmly in place. “My kids are heartbroken.” He pulled the photo a little closer to him. “You have a dog, don’t you?”
The boy nodded. “Yeah, a golden retriever.”
“What’s his name?”
“We named him Ollie, after Laurel and Hardy. My dad . . .” Ryan took a deep breath. “My dad thinks they’re funny.”
“I like that name.”
The boy came up even nearer to the car.
“Ryan, do you think you could do me a favor and help me look for my puppy? I’d hate to go home and tell my kids something happened to him.”
The boy studied the man’s face once again, then stared down at the photo of the small black Lab puppy. Finally, he nodded. “My teacher told me not to talk to strangers, but I guess since I know you, it would be all right.”
“I’m glad you know about stranger danger. It’s very important to be careful.” The man’s smile widened. “Why don’t you leave your bike here? We’ll look for Waggles, and after we find him, I’ll bring you right back.”
“Sure,” Ryan said. He glanced back once at his new blue racing bike as he ran around the car and got into the passenger seat.
An hour later, Ryan’s father found the bike.
But Ryan was gone.
Chapter One

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Megan’s voice made me jump. I looked up to see her standing beside me. I hadn’t heard her come in. “Sorry. Guess I drifted away for a minute.”
She stared back at me with a strange look on her face. “You’re about the whitest person I’ve ever known, Wynter. When you get pale, it’s scary. Something about those pictures upset you?”
I shook my head. “No. Just looking them over.” I cleared my throat and turned back to the photographs that lay scattered on the large mahogany conference table. “Where did you say you got these?”
“From my mom. She took them about six years ago.” Megan plopped down in the chair next to me. Her brown eyes sparkled. “She lives in Madison County.” She pointed at the photos. “This town is about ten miles from her. The people shop in Fredericktown, where she lives, so she sees them quite a bit. They don’t like people taking their pictures, but Mom snapped these from her car as she drove past them. I doubt they were happy about it.”
“They’re Amish?”
She frowned. “No. Mom said they’re Mennonite. Not as strict as the Amish, but I think they share some of the same beliefs. Don’t know if this place would fit into your report, but since you’re putting together a list of unique Missouri towns, I thought you might find the pictures interesting.” She pulled one of the photos closer and peered carefully at it. “My mom says the whole town isn’t religious, but most of them live very simply. You know, horses and buggies, stuff like that. Mom has a friend who moved there just because she wanted a more uncomplicated life. She’s not Mennonite though.” Megan shrugged her thin shoulders. “I don’t know much else.”
I fingered through the photos once again. They showed people riding in buggies. Most of the men wore hats, while the older women had some kind of head covering. I couldn’t stop my fingers from trembling.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Megan asked again, her voice tinged with worry. Her dark eyes sought mine. “The flu’s going around. Maybe you’ve got it.” She pushed her chair back a bit, causing me to smile.
“No, I’m fine. Too much coffee this morning, I guess.”
“You do drink more coffee than anyone I’ve ever known.”
I nodded. “What’s the name of this town?”
“Sanctuary. Cool name, huh? But I doubt it’s on any map.” She flipped over one of the pictures. “I wrote down some directions so you’d know how to find it.” She shook her head. “I haven’t had time to do any other research. Sorry. Ed’s got us jumping. The new owners are due in at the end of the week. No one knows what will happen after that.”
I didn’t respond because there really wasn’t anything to say. According to a friend at another station in town, new owners could be a blessing—or a curse. Usually the latter turned out to be true. Corporate hotshots, convinced they knew more than anyone else, loved to clear the deck and “bring new excitement” to existing television stations. Often the best people were lost in the shuffle, while new, inexperienced reporters and on-air personalities drove loyal viewers to a competing station. It had already happened twice at KDSM before I was hired. I was hopeful this transition would be smooth.
“If you look online, it’s possible you might find a phone number for someone who actually lives in Sanctuary,” Megan said, going back to our previous discussion. “You could stumble across a resident who could help you.” A smile lit up her ebony features. “Who knows? Maybe this will turn out to be an adventure.”
“Maybe.” I returned her smile. “I’m hoping this idea will turn out to be interesting enough for Ed to sign off on. With a little luck it could end up being a franchise. You know, like John Lewis’s People of Missouri .” John Lewis, a reporter at KJML, another station in St. Louis, had vaulted himself into an anchor position after putting together a weekly piece about unique people who lived in our state. Although I enjoyed my job as a reporter, I secretly hoped this story would move me up too. Like John, more than anything, I wanted to sit in the anchor chair.
“Missy is so jealous,” Megan replied, grinning. “She really wanted the next assignment. When Ed agreed to let you put this concept together and present it, she turned three different shades of green.” She laughed. “Even her carefully applied makeup couldn’t hide her jealousy.”
“She’s been gunning for me ever since she started. I’d hate to know what she’s really thinking behind that fake smile.”
“I’m sure it’s not suitable for prime time,” Megan quipped.
“I agree.” I reached out and touched her arm. “Thanks, Megan. You’ve been so supportive. I really appreciate it.”
“That’s what friends are for.” She got up and left the conference room, slowly closing the door behind her.
Her words echoed in my mind. Were we really friends? I guess she was closer to me than most of the people in my life. I tried hard to keep a distance between me and my co-workers. Working at a television station was a competitive situation at best. Everyone fought for their spot, and no one, including