Read Online Ever Present Danger by Kathy Herman - Free Book Online

the window of the Three Peaks dining hall and saw Elam Griffith getting into his Suburban.

    “That was a bummer of an update,” Jake Compton said.

    “Well, at least we know what we need to be praying about,” Brandon said. “I can’t imagine the pressure of adding a dying woman to the mix. It was already hard enough for them to deal with Ivy coming home—and a surprise grandson.”

    “Elam and Carolyn are strong in their faith. We just need to pray they have wisdom.”

    Brandon pinched off a piece of a glazed doughnut and popped it into his mouth. “Jake, have you and Suzanne met Ivy yet?”

    “No, I thought we might drop by the Griffiths’ late this afternoon after Ivy gets home from work. What’d you and Kelsey think of her?”

    “She was nice. Her son Montana is a kick in the pants.” Brandon smiled. “I had a blast playing in the snow with him and Sasha. I told Elam I’d get him on a snowmobile this week. This might be his last chance now that April’s got her foot in the door.”

    “You’re really just a kid trapped in a thirty-one-year-old body,you know that? You gonna work on the website today?”

    “Yeah, till three. I told Buzz Easton I’d ride down to Durango with him.”

    “I didn’t realize you were hanging out with Buzz.”

    “He wanted to show me the ticket office and gift shop he’s building for his rafting operation. Is that a problem?”

    Jake scratched his ear. “Just be careful, okay?”

    “What does that mean?”

    “Just don’t let him rub off on you.”

    Brandon took a sip of coffee. “Could you be a little more specific, Jake?”

    “I don’t like bad-mouthing people. Just don’t lose sight of the fact that your values and his are at odds.”

    Brandon grinned. “What—you think I’m going to start swearing, telling locker-room jokes, and drinking tequila?”

    “I hope not.”

    “Don’t worry. I blow off two-thirds of what Buzz says and does. But I really want to get on the white water, and he’s the man. Besides, how is he going to get saved if he’s never exposed to the Word?”

    “So you’re sharing your faith?”

    “I will one of these days. But first I think it’s important to build a relationship. He’s not going to listen to me unless he knows I care about him. You know that.”

    Jake held up his palms. “Hey, you’re a big boy. Just be sure you’re praying about it and not jumping in blindly, thinking you can handle whatever Buzz throws your way.”

    “Why do I get the feeling this is personal?”

    Jake pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose. “It’s really not. Forget I said anything.”

    Ivy walked in the front door of her parents’ home and found her son sitting in a chair, staring out the window, his arms folded across his chest.

    “Hi, sweetie.” Ivy went over and sat on the arm of the chairand kissed the top of his head. “What’d you do today?”

    “Nothing,” Montana Griffith said.

    “Didn’t you go sledding?”

    “No.”

    Ivy put her arm around him. “Are you mad at me for going to work and leaving you here?”

    “No.”

    “Where’s your grandmother?”

    Montana shrugged.

    Carolyn Griffith came out of the kitchen and shot Ivy a knowing look. “Well, as you can tell, it’s been a quiet day around here. How was your first day at Jewel’s?”

    “Good. Montana, would you believe my very first customer was Sheriff Carter? That’s Ian’s father.”

    “Duh.”

    Ivy had never seen her son act this way and decided to ignore his behavior. “We had a busy couple hours right off the bat, and then again from eleven to one. I think I did really well. I was surprised how many people I knew. Of course, none of them recognized me till I told them who I was—except for Deke and Roscoe. I can’t believe they’re still around.”

    Carolyn smiled. “Roscoe supposedly can’t hear worth a hoot, but he somehow manages to hear everything in the gossip mill. So it was somewhat enjoyable as first