Beneath a Star-Lit Sky, page 1
BENEATH A STAR-LIT SKY
A HOLCOMB SPRINGS SMALL TOWN ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
JL CROSSWHITE
CONTENTS
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Afterword
Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
About the Author
Sneak Peek of Under an Indigo Moon
Books by JL Crosswhite
Books by Jennifer Crosswhite
PRAISE FOR JL CROSSWHITE
“This is a very suspenseful story and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.”—Ginny, Amazon reviewer
“I was impressed with the suspense in this book as well as the romance. Great storyline. Morality issues were great. An overall great read.”—Kindle customer
“Absolutely loved it. Fast paced and kept me guessing concerning the outcome. I highly recommend it to all who like a good mystery or suspense.”—Linda Reville
“Very well written, with interwoven stories and well developed characters”—Mary L. Sarrault
OTHER BOOKS BY JL CROSSWHITE
Hometown Heroes series
Promise Me, prequel novella
Protective Custody, book 1
Flash Point, book 2
Special Assignment, book 3
In the Shadow series
Off the Map, book 1
Out of Range, book 2
Over Her Head, book 3
The Route Home series, writing as Jennifer Crosswhite
Be Mine, prequel novella
Coming Home, book 1
The Road Home, book 2
Finally Home, book 3
Contemporary romance, writing as Jennifer Crosswhite
The Inn at Cherry Blossom Lane
Eat the Elephant: How to Write (and Finish!) Your Book One Bite at a Time, writing as Jen Crosswhite
Devotional, writing as Jennifer Crosswhite
Worthy to Write: Blank pages tying your stomach in knots? 30 prayers to tackle that fear!
© 2022 by JL Crosswhite
Published by Tandem Services Press
Post Office Box 220
Yucaipa, California
www.TandemServicesInk.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.
Ebook ISBN 978-1-954986-03-9
Print ISBN 978-1-954986-04-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022900153
Scripture quotations are from the New International Version. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/ or events is purely coincidental.
Cover design credit: Alexander von Ness of Nessgraphica
To my readers. Your notes and encouragement keep me going. Thank you for the privilege of sharing my stories with you.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
Psalm 8:3-4 (NIV)
PROLOGUE
Maybe it was just his conscience weighing on him, but Dalton Brandt shrugged the backpack a little higher as he hiked through the San Bernardino National Forest. Who knew a few pot plants could be so heavy? It was a cool February day, snow still on the ground in patches; drifts remained in the shadows of the trees. But he was sweating. Had anyone seen him? He’d tried to be casual as he walked away from the grow house. They had cameras everywhere. But he’d only taken a few plants. They wouldn’t miss them. Their operation was enormous. What was the big deal?
Still, he couldn’t wait to get far enough away and shake the feeling he was being followed. He’d parked where no one would spot his car and hiked in.
The faint sounds of a high-pitched engine reached him. He ducked off the trail and peeked back through the branches. Two guys in a Polaris side-by-side off-road vehicle. This was off-roading country, so it could be someone out for a day of four-wheeling. Though this was a pretty narrow trail, more for hiking. But they also used those all-terrain vehicles to get around the extensive grow operation.
The realization that they could be on to him twisted his gut. The guys he stole from weren’t just some low-life drug dealers. No, it was much bigger than that if the rumors were true that Beckett Lorde was involved. And given some of the phone conversations he’d overheard working at the grow house, he thought those rumors had some truth to them. If those guys on the Polaris caught him, they wouldn’t play. He wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of it.
His mind spun with options. There weren’t many. He couldn’t outrun the Polaris, but if he got off the trail and into the woods, they wouldn’t be able to follow him. He turned and sprinted into the trees, dodging branches, slipping a few times on the pine needles underfoot. The ground slanted upward steeply. He cursed. If he’d been thinking, he’d have jumped off the other side of the trail, the downhill side. But that had been his problem lately. He hadn’t been thinking.
Crashing brush behind him let him know the two goons were off the Polaris and hot on his trail.
He cursed again. If only he’d been in better shape. His lungs burned in the high mountain air. A thinning in the trees gave him hope that the going might get a bit easier. If he could just gain some ground on them, maybe he could find a place to hide. If the snow didn’t give away his footprints.
Yes, another trail appeared running along the top of the ridge. He ignored the burning in his lungs, the sharp pain in his side, and his screaming quads. He’d be in a lot more pain if those guys got ahold of him. With a final burst, he jumped up onto the trail and sprinted down it, the going getting easier on the packed dirt. No snow either. Now for a place to hide.
A giant granite boulder poked out of the hillside just before the trail disappeared around a curve. He dove behind it just as the sounds of crashing brush and curses let him know his pursuers had gained the trail. Hopefully they’d think he’d kept on going. Maybe they’d even pick the wrong direction to chase him.
The footsteps stopped, and their voices floated to him but no clear words. His own breathing sounded loud, drowning them out. He was afraid they’d hear him if they came close. He worked on slowing his breath and listening.
The footsteps grew nearer, sounding like his pursuers were jogging down the trail toward the rock that hid him.
He tried to squeeze even tighter into the crack in the rock, hoping it wasn’t home to some creature who’d resent his invasion. Though he’d take any animal over these guys right now.
The footsteps ran past and then got fainter as his pursuers must have gone around the corner of the trail. He had no idea how much the trail twisted and turned. He hoped it curved again to buy him time before they could look down the trail and realize he hadn’t gone that way.
He jumped out from behind the rock and sprinted back the way he came. He’d take the trail as far and as fast as he could before jumping off, downhill this time, into the trees. Far enough where they wouldn’t hear him crashing through the forest. Then he could figure out how to get back to his car.
Something jerked his arm. He stumbled. Had he snagged his sleeve or backpack on a tree branch? He turned his head and gazed into the grinning face of Goon Number One. He must’ve been waiting on the side of the trail while the other guy ran the other way. They were smarter than he gave them credit for. The guy’s bulk let Dalton know he didn’t have a chance to out-fight this guy. His only chance was to outrun him.
But the gun pointed at his stomach made that idea shrivel up and die. Maybe he could reason with him. He raised his hands and shrugged off the backpack. “Here. You can have them back. It’s just a few plants.” He lifted his hands. “Sorry. I know I shouldn’t have taken them, but I didn’t think anyone would miss them. You guys have so much.”
Goon One gave a grin that showed a gold lower tooth. “You think we’re chasing you over some weed?”
Goon Two showed up down the trail, huffing. “Should shoot him right now for making us run so much.”
“Boss’ll want to see him. Find out what he knows, who he’s told.”
“Hey, I don’t know anything. I haven’t said a word to anyone.”
Goon One shoved him off the trail on to the downslope, back in the direction they’d come from.
Dalton scanned the area, looking for any opportunity. If he’d known it’d come to this, he never would have taken the stupid pot plants. He never should have taken the job Cory offered him. The cost was too hig
CHAPTER ONE
Leading inexperienced people in the wilderness, even by someone with the skills Reese Vega had, was a recipe for disaster. The only person he would do this gig for was his brother. Even then, he was starting to regret it.
Reese stood to the side of the trail, the vanilla scent of ponderosa pines wafting around him, and wished he was hiking alone. The trip had originally been booked by Holcomb Springs Outfitters as a snowshoe tour, but the snow had melted to slushy piles on the trail and only remained in the shadows of the trees. Still, it was a beautiful day, if only he could enjoy it. Alone.
As the group of several girlfriends who had come up for a weekend away passed him, one of the women screamed and jumped, grabbing her friend’s arm. “What was that? I heard something in the bushes. Is it a bear? Or a mountain lion?” She shot Reese a wide-eyed look.
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Probably just a squirrel.”
With all the noise they’d made, most wildlife was long gone. Even the chattering blue jays had left the area. The squirrel was probably hoping for a handout. Reese craved the quiet of the outdoors. It soothed him in a way nothing else could, especially after his injury. But this… this was not the kind of outdoors he liked.
But it was a peace offering for his brother who ran Holcomb Springs Outfitters. Maybe it would help mend the fences Reese’s enlisting in the military had broken in his pacifist family. He could only hope. They had wanted him to be someone different than who he was. They hadn’t exactly been in his corner.
He pointed for the group to continue on the trail while he remained behind to check on the stragglers. There were always stragglers. It gave him a chance to grab a minute of quiet. His headache had worsened from the chatter of the women. That and their endless flirting. He’d almost take another tour of duty compared to more tourists.
But due to his traumatic brain injury, that was no longer an option. And he’d told his brother, Raul, that he’d help run his outfitters shop until Raul got back on his feet. Literally. He’d had knee surgery and couldn’t lead the hikes and camping trips. And being as the outfitter shop was the family’s main source of income, Reese couldn’t say no.
It was only temporary. He’d do his family duty and make an attempt to improve relations. And then he could figure out what he was going to do next. And it wouldn’t be escorting tourists through the wilderness.
Reese stepped toward the guest who had fallen behind. The man wasn’t wearing proper hiking boots. His tennis shoes were soaked from the slush, and he was breathing hard, his face red. Many people had no idea how the seven-thousand-foot altitude could affect them.
“Not too much farther. The lookout point is just ahead. Great view of the lake. It’ll be worth it.” Reese tried to infuse his voice with an enthusiasm he didn’t feel but Raul would expect. Raul was so much better with people than he was.
The man glanced up, nodded, and then went back to staring at the trail. Not enjoying the beauty around him, missing the whole point of a hike in the woods.
Reese shrugged as the man plodded past him. Not his problem. He rubbed his temples, hoping to ease the pain. Reaching into his pack, he grabbed a bottle of Aleve and popped a couple into his mouth, washing them down with water from his bottle.
A yelp went up from the area of the lookout, and Reese sprinted up the trail. One of the women on the girlfriends’ trip was sitting on her bottom a little way down the slope of the lookout, just before the sharp drop-off.
Her friend rushed over to him. “We were trying to take a selfie with the lake in the background. I think she stepped off, and then she just fell.”
He nodded and knelt beside the woman. Another two steps, and she would have been over the drop-off. People didn’t have common sense. He should have been up here to keep an eye on them. But then what about the straggler? He didn’t know how Raul did it.
“Are you hurt anywhere?” He scanned the woman, looking for any obvious sign of injury.
“My ankle. I think I twisted it when I stepped back and tried to catch my balance.” She glanced up at him and gave him a small smile.
He tugged her jeans up above her ankle. At least she had boots on. He palpated the area. “Does that hurt?”
She winced. “A little.”
It wasn’t swollen, but that could change quickly. “What’s your name?”
“Andrea.” She looked up at him and bit her lip.
He should have remembered. Raul would have remembered. He never did live up to his family’s expectations. He reached in his pack for an Ace elastic wrap from the first aid kit. He eased off her boot, wrapped her ankle, then slipped the boot back on with the laces loosened. “That should stabilize it to get you down the hill. Do you think you can put any weight on it?”
“Maybe. If you help me.”
A glance shot among her friends, smiles they didn’t try to hide.
Great. Was this a set up? “Okay, everyone get your final pictures, and we’ll head back.” He slipped his arm under the woman’s shoulders. “On three, we’re going to stand together. Just put your weight on your good foot and lean on me.”
Her “okay” came out breathy.
“One, two, three.” He pushed to his feet and pulled the woman up with him.
She gingerly put weight on her foot then immediately retracted it. “It hurts to stand on it.”
He should have her friends help her back down the trail. “Let’s get one of your friends on the other side.”
Another woman stepped to the side of Andrea, and between the two of them, she hobbled down the trail.
“It’s a good thing we have a strong guy like you to help us out of trouble,” the friend said, someone else whose name he couldn’t remember.
And there it was. Raul was married, so maybe he didn’t have women hitting on him all the time, but there was almost always one on every tour he’d done so far. “Best not to get into trouble in the first place.”
He got them back down to the van and loaded up. “Do you want me to take you to the urgent care clinic? It’s not big, but we have a doc who can check out your ankle.”
Andrea shook her head. “No, it’s not as sore as it was at first.”
Her cheeks tinged pink, and he wondered if it hurt at all.
“Besides,” she quickly added, “my friends can take me later if I need to go. I’ll just put some ice on it back in our room.”
They pulled into Holcomb Springs Outfitters parking lot. Raul came out in his knee brace to help the guests with their gear and thank them for coming.
Reese closed the van door as the last guest left.
Raul laid a hand on his shoulder. “You should thank the guests and ask them to come back. Let them know we enjoy serving them.”
“Even if we don’t?” Reese brushed past him and carried the gear into the back of the shop. He’d have to repack the first-aid kit. “I don’t lie.” He opened the kit and rummaged through the supplies.
“It’s not lying. It’s good business.”
Reese grunted. He never was going to see eye to eye with his family on things. Important things.
“How’d it go?”
“Fine.” He told Raul about Andrea’s injury. “I’m not convinced it wasn’t an elaborate setup by her and her friends to flirt with me.”
Raul grinned. “It’s all part of the game. I should keep you around, put your face on the brochures and ads. It’d be good for business.”
“I’m only here until you are well enough to lead the tours again.”
