Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Dana Mentink (good fiction books to read .txt) 📕

He took it out and relayed to whomever was on the other end of the line that they’d found a suicide note. Henry strained to hear what sounded like talk about a gun. Zach answered in the affirmative and signed off. “Carl said the manager of Sauvage Outdoor finally answered his call. He says Dexter came in a few days ago to buy a gun. My guess is Perry will have what he needs to close the case now.”

Nora spun on her heel and stormed out of the office. Henry rushed after her. “Nora, stop. Please.”

She turned toward him, the wind blowing back her hair. Judging by the storm in her eyes, he knew they couldn’t face the present before they confronted the past. Again.

CHAPTER FOUR

Nora breathed deeply in and out, trying to slow her heart rate. She steeled herself as best she could against what Henry might say.

“I believe you,” he said softly. “One hundred percent.” He stepped closer. “But I’m only on this case because I’m invited to do so. I need to be strategic.”

Her forehead tightened. Words. They were just words. She’d thought before that he’d had her back only to be proven wrong in the most humiliating way. “I still have a business to run.” And save, hopefully, but she didn’t need Henry’s pity. “I’m going to get ready and prep the other rafting sites.” She held up a hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll avoid the crime scene.”

“I was actually hoping you’d be willing to take me to the crime scene.”

“Why?”

“Perry indicated last night that he would be willing to take a second look once I explained that our witness had been shot at. I don’t think Zach knows what he’s talking about back there, but I would like to find evidence to back up your testimony.” His eyebrows jumped and he held out an open hand. “I have other options, but as you know, you’re the best and this would get you back on the river faster.”

She should be grateful, but for reasons she didn’t fully understand herself, her blood only pumped hotter. “Fine, but you’re going to have to come along to at least another site or two before I’m done for the day. I need to keep site preps moving before early season starts. Be at the dock in thirty minutes.” She spun on her heel and strode back to her room.

She yanked open the top dresser drawer to grab her clothes and her fingers caught on the familiar outline of the silver frame. The photo had been there for so long, she’d ignored its existence as if it were part of the drawer itself. Her fingers wrapped around the frame and slowly slid it out from under the extensive collection of wool socks.

Henry’s smiling face beamed up through the frame’s glass. His arm was wrapped around Nora’s shoulders as they sat side by side in a camp chair made for two, in front of a roaring campfire. They’d both changed so much since then, but something about the photo—maybe the reminder of happier times—had kept her from ever getting rid of it. And now she was about to spend time with him again. She glanced up at the only other framed photo still on the dresser. The one of her mother, her sister and her, right before Mom had passed away the day after Nora’s fifteenth birthday.

Family always came first, and while Henry had nothing to do with her mom’s passing, he had everything to do with her sister’s disappearance from her life. She still had no idea where Maya was now. It’d been six months since a postcard, the last one coming from Seattle with a bogus return address.

Nora shoved the framed photo back underneath the socks. No time for a memory show. She prepped for a day on the river and, true to her word, found Henry on the dock thirty minutes later.

“Perry said he’s about to drop in the water at the Savage bridge.”

She nodded. Locals often used the “Savage” nickname for all things Sauvage. Perhaps to make it sound more American. In the same way Boise had been named, French fur trappers had named the Sauvage River, meaning “wild.” Now the nickname seemed more a reminder of Tommy’s and Dexter’s murders.

She handed Henry a microwaved burrito. “You might want some breakfast before we hit the rapids.”

His eyes widened. “That was thoughtful. Thank you.”

“You might not be thanking me later. I’m taking the fastest currents all the way there. You shouldn’t need to paddle, though.” She might’ve imagined it, but he seemed to have paled. She remembered the long months he’d spent in a cast after his rafting accident, but he’d never talked about it.

“Of course,” he said with a nod. “Fastest is best.” They hit the water a few minutes later.

Trying to keep Henry from needing to paddle, she was able to block out her emotions and focus on the currents. The sounds of cheerful birds and leaves rustling against each other almost made her forget why they were on the water in the first place.

She missed interacting with guests on the water, observing the way families bonded, and the wide-eyed wonder and gasps from children. Once the rafting season began, she was responsible for managing the business from the office and would only have time to get back on the river if there was a problem. Problems always meant someone was hurt, missing, or worse. She fervently prayed every night that there would be no problems.

They rounded the bend and she guided the raft toward the beach. Perry, already standing on the sand, helped to drag the raft farther up on land before they stepped out. The dark circles under his eyes seemed to age the man ten years, but Nora found it hard to feel sorry for him when he’d challenged what she’d seen yesterday. “I have bad news,” he said. He hitched a thumb over his shoulder.

The picnic area looked trashed. Smoke tendrils drifted in