Rescue Me(26)

“How are Ben and Kacey’s wedding plans?” Rachel asked.

“Kacey’s fully recovered from her injuries, so I think they’re planning a wedding sometime this spring.”

Sam well remembered Ben’s panic when Sierra’s rickety old house collapsed after a flood, trapping Kacey and their daughter, Audrey, in the basement.

“I love happy endings,” his mother said. She looked at Sam. “Speaking of, did the forest service track down that bear?” She kept her smile, not mentioning how close she’d come to losing both her sons.

“No. I went out with some forest service trackers. Usually bears stay in one area, but they must have wandered back into the park.” Sam loaded his burger up with onions, lettuce, mayo. “Those kids were lucky. They shouldn’t have been out there in the woods alone.”

“Oh, that reminds me, Sam,” Sierra said, reaching for her burger. “Willow is taking her youth group on a hike tomorrow and she needs adults to go with her. I told her I’d go, and . . .” She made a face, looking up at him as she cut her burger in two. “I volunteered you.”

He kept his smile.

Perfect. He would have been content never seeing Willow again.

Yes, never. Because he still couldn’t purge from his mind the way that, for the briefest of seconds, Willow had awakened in him exactly the sparks he’d hoped to share with her sister. Worse, she’d left a residual strum inside him that was only just starting to subside.

Oh boy.

“It’s just a day hike up to Huckleberry Mountain Lookout,” Sierra said.

“I heard we have a new youth pastor at the church. What happened to Jared?” his mom asked.

“He left for a year of missions in Scotland. Apparently this new guy—Josh Blessing and his wife, Ava—are fresh out of Bible school and full of ideas. Willow was hoping they’d hire her, but she isn’t exactly qualified, so . . .”

“Why not?” Sam didn’t know what made him ask.

“Well, for one, she never graduated from high school.”

Really? “She didn’t?”

Sierra took a bite of her burger, washed it down with iced tea. “It’s my mom’s fault. She didn’t believe in formal education—preferred the unschooling approach. Took Willow out of school right after I graduated, kept her at the commune, insisting she’d learn more there.”

“Your mother is so interesting.” Mom, the polite one.

“She sings her own tune, that’s for sure. She and Willow are actually a lot alike. They both sort of live by their passions. Except Willow’s is Jesus and the youth group. She loves these kids—understands what it feels like to be forgotten, I think. She has a real heart of compassion.”

That made Sam temper his judgment, just a little.

Whatever offense he’d taken to her impulsive kiss, probably it had something to do with the way he’d unloaded his fear, his frustration, even his hurt, on her.

So maybe he’d forgive her. And himself. Because it meant nothing—he loved Sierra.

Okay, love might be too strong, but he wanted to love Sierra.

“I know it’s an imposition, Sam, but would you come with me on the hike?”

Sierra looked at him, her hazel-green eyes in his, her dark hair in soft, touchable waves around her face, her smile whispering up on one side . . .

“Yeah. Sure. I could use a hike in the park.”

Her smile widened, and with it came the slightest simmer he’d been hoping for. Yeah, this night had the makings of romance.



Pickups, 4Runners, and SUV hybrids jammed the parking lot of the Gray Pony Saloon and Grill, just outside Mercy Falls. The sultry country tones of some warm-up artist spilled out of the doors into the star-sprinkled night as Sam went around to help Sierra out of his truck. They headed inside, his hand tucked into hers.

Ben had rented out the saloon for his release party, and Sam handed over his tickets to the bouncer at the door. The Pony hummed with conversation, the air smelled of beer, onion rings, burgers, and Roy’s famous tangy-sweet barbecue sauce. Sam searched for—and found—the PEAK team, or at least a few of them, in their familiar alcove near the front. Kacey sat next to her daughter, fourteen-year-old Audrey, who was wearing a cowboy hat and a plaid snap-button shirt, her dark blonde hair in braids. Like father, like daughter. Audrey had made her debut only last month, recording a duet with her country star dad.

Ty, the team’s bona fide cowboy, was shooting darts with Gage. Ty’s family owned a cattle ranch south of Mercy Falls. Clean-cut in a dress shirt and jeans, Ty still hadn’t shaken off the accident that had nearly cost Chet his life.