Page 8 of One Last Promise

“Why’d you need the extra cash?” Aspen asked. She sat next to Ridge, cross-legged, dressed in a pair of insulated pants, her hair short and tucked into her hat. Her camera had survived the avalanche, and she held it in her lap.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, fisting them against the cold. “This year was a particularly busy year on Denali, and in the area. With the warm weather, we had a lot of tourists—hikers and climbers—who got in over their heads. Which meant we went through our cash reserves. We’re funded by donations, and we were a little short going into this year, so I had this stupid bright idea to let a reality show film us.”

“The Sizeup?” Aspensaid. “That was you?”

“Yep. I suppose you saw the episode where the woman died in a blizzard?”

“Yeah. Rough.”

“Not only are we broke, but her family is suing us for not continuing the rescue efforts and discontinuing the search while she was still alive.”

“There was a blizzard!” Aspen said.

“Yes. But we did shut down the search for a while. And it’s possible she could have been rescued if we’d kept looking.” He couldn’t get that nightmare out of his brain, either. The vision of a woman shot and left for dead. So yeah, even he’d find himself guilty.

And in truth, he’d been trying hard to hold on to his faith, because where he sat, Moose didn’t have a clue how the Almighty might get him out of a lawsuit. Legal fees alone would wipe him out.

“What about the Good Samaritan law?” Aspen said.

“It only protects people who accidentally encounter someone in need, not people involved in an official rescue effort. And it doesn’t cover SAR teams.” This from Ridge, and Moose stared at him.

Ridge smiled. “As fate—or providence—would have it, you’re trapped with a civil lawyer.”

What?He shook his head.

“I’m local. My sisters came out to visit, and this day tour was my bright idea,” Ridge said. “You get us out of here, and I’ll give you my card and see what I can do to help.”

Hello, that was fast.

Rome leaped to his feet, barking, and Moose looked up just as a light broke through the shadows. A headlamp, and on the other end?—

“Bro, you down there?” Axel pushed up his light, his smile showing in the dim light. “Guess you never thought you’d be the one getting rescued, huh?”

“Zip it andget me out of here.”

But see, clearly God was about solving all his problems while he was trapped in a cave.O ye of little faith.

And if he was in here, with Moose, solving his crazy problems, rescuing him, Moose should remember that the Almighty was also out there with Tillie.

Even if Moose wasn’t.

Please. Keep her safe. Bring her help if she needs it.

CHAPTER 2

She’d known that someday her mistakes would catch up to her.

Unfortunately, Tillie had stopped looking in the rearview mirror for a while now, believing that she’d outsmarted the bogeyman.

So, her fault for not paying attention. Her fault, and Hazel would pay the price.

“Mommy, will you come back?”

Hazel stood in her coral-and-green Moana nightgown, the ruffle on the hem torn from where she’d put her toe into it in the night, wearing her favorite pink cowboy boots, holding her ratty stuffed dog. Good news was, they didn’t have to sleep in their car any longer. And they’d both taken long-awaited baths, so at least she was leaving her daughter clean and fed and hopefully, please, safe.

And most important, hidden.

Tillie crouched in the entryway of Rosalind Turner’s small two-bedroom tract home in a cozy, fenced safe lot in an old family neighborhood near Earthquake Park. The placesmelled of pumpkin soup and Roz’s incense candles, and if anyone could keep Hazel safe, it was a former cop.

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