Read Online On Deadly Ground by Lauren Nichols - Free Book Online Page A

really didn’t like where his thoughts were headed. But after seeing a man skulking around her place on Sunday night, what were the odds that Rachel’s fire was a coincidence? A small voice answered,
Low, but keep an open mind.
    Jake rounded the deep curve in the road, saw the sign for her campground in his headlights, then touched a boot to the brake to make the turn. He flew over the uneven lane and skidded to a stop outside her store. She’d told the dispatcher that’s where she was calling from. Already, the smell of smoke permeated the truck’s cab.
    Jake ordered Maggie to stay, then leaped out and quickly ascended the stoop. There was broken glass allover—and no sign of Rachel. He ran down the driveway. He could see flames now, could see smoke billowing from the far side of the house. Jake’s stomach fell to his feet when he spotted her on the deck. She threw an armful of clothes, books and a heavy case over the railing, most of it landing beside her red Explorer with the campground emblem on its side.
    He accelerated, shouted at the top of his lungs. “Rachel! Get out of there!”
    “I’ll be right back!” she cried.
    “No! Get out of there now!” he repeated. “There’s nothing in your house worth dying for!” But she’d already covered her nose and mouth with a cloth and was rushing back inside.
    Jake took the stairs two at a time, his heart pounding triple time. “Rachel!”
    She reappeared, clutching something tightly against her chest.
    Latching on to her wrist, he tugged her down the stairs. The blaze had found its voice now, angry orange flames roaring as they lit the night, devouring siding and igniting roof shingles.
    She pulled away—rushed to the items scattered on the ground. “Help me grab my things! Throw them in my car!”
    Arguing was useless, so he moved swiftly, then hustled her into the passenger seat and jumped behind the wheel. The keys were in the ignition. Hitting the gas, he backed all the way up the drive, then swerved into a parking space outside the camp store.
    He shot her a look of total disbelief, worry making his tone harsher than he intended. “For the love of God, Rachel, what were you thinking, running into a burninghouse? You have a propane tank out back that could blow to kingdom come and take you with it. What was so important that you’d risk—”
    She jerked a look at him. “Don’t yell at me!” Then her face crumbled, and she started to cry. Slowly, she turned the wedding photo she’d held to her chest to face him, and her voice dropped to a sad, teary whisper. “I couldn’t just leave him in there.”
    Her words hit him squarely in the heart. He couldn’t have felt lower if he’d attacked her physically. Sighing, Jake slid over on the seat and reached for her … wrapped her in his arms as tightly as David Patterson’s picture would permit.
    “I’m so sorry,” he murmured. “I know you couldn’t.” But as much as he wanted to keep holding her, with every tick of the clock, the fire crept closer to that propane tank. Easing her away, he spoke softly but seriously. “Rachel, it’s the middle of the night. It’ll take the firemen time to get here. We should try to slow down the fire—keep the propane tank cool.”
    Jake saw her eyes widen as she realized how much worse the situation could become. The woods, her cabins and store—her very livelihood—could go up in a fireball explosion that seared the sky.
    “Your garden hose has a high pressure nozzle,” he said quickly, opening the car door. “It’ll spray a hundred feet.” Whether that would do any good was a mystery, but they had to try.
    He didn’t have to say another word. She was already halfway out of the car.
    Hours later, Rachel stood by Jake’s side, tears streaming again as she watched volunteer firemen trainingtheir hoses on hot spots, and continuing to wet the utility shed where David’s truck, golf cart and lawnmowers were stored—wet down the trees surrounding her