About Christmas in Delaney Mountain
Kara Edwards has been
looking over her shoulder for years. After being kidnapped and held hostage by
a man who claimed to be her late husband's friend, she's no longer in the trusting
business. She moves to Delaney Mountain with one expectation: to outrun her
stalker. Never does she expect to meet a man like David Delaney—one who not
only makes her want to trust again, but to love again, too. David Delaney is
drawn to Kara from the first moment he meets her. There's an attractive
strength behind her no-nonsense caution and independence. He knows Kara is
running from something, but nothing prepares him for what she has to say. When
Eli Redford escapes from prison, Kara and David find themselves on one side of
a Christmas Eve showdown that brings everything to a deadly head.
Excerpt
Two months. She’d spent the last two months looking over her
shoulder and yet the expected nightmare hadn’t returned. There’d been no word
from him. No sightings. Only silence.
So why couldn’t
she relax? Begin to enjoy life once more?
Because this
routine was a familiar one. The last time had been four months. The time before
six. The only variable in the equation was that there was no variable. The
routine – his routine -- never faltered.
He always found her.
So, no matter
how tired, or frustrated, or fed up she became, she couldn’t let her guard down
because it had only been two months and she was convinced, even after moving to
a remote village in Colorado, he would find her again.
At times, Kara
felt like a ghost without a past. Transparent. Truth be told, she barely
remembered the woman she’d once been…before him.
Kara glanced out
the window at the gathering darkness. It came quickly at this time of the year
in the shadow of the mountains. The news had been broadcasting a huge winter
storm on the way.
It was almost
six. Amy would start to worry if she didn’t show up soon, yet she couldn’t
afford to upset her boss. She needed this job. She was barely hanging on
financially as it was.
Kara picked up
the phone to call the woman who watched her four-year-old daughter Maya. Before
Amy had a chance to answer the call, Kara's boss stepped out of his office and
into her personal space. Immediately, she dropped the receiver back into its
cradle to the sound of Amy’s "hello".
A familiar
nervousness slithered down into the pit of her stomach. It reared its
unwelcomed head every single time David Delaney came within twenty feet of her.
It didn't help that he handsome as all get out and had bad boy trouble past
written all over him.
Today, his
straight, dirty-blond hair had been hastily pushed back from his face. It stood
out in several places. She noticed that it came close to touching his collar
and he hadn’t shaved in several days. David’s stubble darkened his strong
jawline, drawing her attention to his face. She suspected he'd pulled quite a
few all-nighters lately.
When David had
first hired her, he’d explained that he and his brother were expanding their
ranching business and had bought up several hundred acres of land across
Delaney Mountain from the original ranch. David was charged with getting the
new ranch up and running, which was huge undertaking in of itself, especially
now that his brother had taken a leave of absence to be with his wife who was
on strict bed rest during the final stages of her pregnancy.
While David
seemed to enjoy the challenge, the running of the entire ranch fell squarely on
his shoulders, resulting in many long days….and nights. He’d told her that the
ranch foreman, Noah Henderson, was a tremendous help, but still. the pressures
had to be enormous.
Kara glanced up
and found David watching her and regretting the color creeping up her face.
He had the most
amazing smoky-blue eyes Kara had ever seen. Whenever he came close enough for
her to smell his aftershave it reminded her of how long it'd been since she was
close enough to a man to smell his aftershave. And as always her thoughts
drifted to Bryce. She still missed him terribly. It was hard to believe it had
been almost five years since she'd buried her high-school sweetheart, and the love
of her life.
Lately, it
seemed life was reminding her more and more of the things she'd lost with
Bryce. Yet she just couldn't picture herself going back there with anyone else.
Especially now. After she’d survived him.
Kara squared her
shoulders. She couldn't afford to give in to a little mild attraction. Her life
and Maya’s depended on Kara never losing sight of the past.
About the Author
Mary
Alford was inspired to become a writer after reading romantic suspense greats
Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney. Soon creating characters and throwing them
into dangerous situations that test their faith came naturally for Mary. In
2012 Mary entered the Speed Dating contest hosted by Love Inspired Suspense and
later received “the call”. In addition to writing for Love Inspired Suspense,
Mary also writes Christian romance and sweet romance. Being a published author
has been a dream come true for Mary.
You can learn more
about Mary's work at her website: www.MaryAlford.net, or connect with her
on Facebook.
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