LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter 1

      When it was raging at its worst, Hurricane Brooke was gauged at having winds that were blowing through Whisperwood and its surrounding area at over 125 miles an hour, making it almost a category four hurricane. Taking the Texas town totally by surprise, the death toll quickly mounted and was currently up to thirty-eight and rising with dozens more still missing and unaccounted for.

      A lot of Whisperwood’s residents sought refuge in their basements, but others weren’t so lucky. They were out in the open when the storm struck and scrambled for shelter anywhere they could, praying that shelter would hold.

      Jonah Colton and three of his brothers had returned to the town where they were born a few days before the hurricane struck. At the time, they were all looking forward to seeing their brother Donovan become the first of their family to get married. As it turned out, three of the brothers belonged to Cowboy Heroes, a search and rescue team that scoured the countryside on horseback, rescuing people. They never dreamed they would have to put their skills to use in their own hometown, but things didn’t always go according to plan.

      And this was one of those times.

      The moment the winds died down, before the hurricane was even officially declared to be over, Jonah, Dallas, Nolan and Forrest, a former police detective forced into retirement after sustaining a leg injury, were out, putting their acquired skills to good use, searching for and rescuing survivors.

      Some of the houses in the area lucked out and were barely touched, but they quickly saw that others had been completely demolished. In some cases, the people who had lived in those houses were now buried beneath them in the rubble. Those were the people that Jonah and his brothers focused on helping first, bringing them to the church’s recreational center, where survivors were being temporarily housed.

      “You do a head count?” Jonah asked Forrest.

      The latter, eight years Jonah’s junior, had recently been forced to resign from the Austin Police Department when a bullet to his leg had left him incapacitated. Thanks to adhering to a diligent regiment of physical therapy, Forrest was now able to get around again, although he did have a pronounced limp. Unable to just do nothing, he had joined the volunteer search and rescue teams in order to feel useful. When the hurricane struck, he immediately volunteered to help find victims of the storm.

      Jonah knew better than to insult his younger brother by treating him any differently than he would the other members of the team.

      They had been at this now for over twelve hours without a break. Most of the people they had helped dig out had just sustained injuries, some more serious than others. But some of those they dug out would not be recovering. Those bodies were wrapped up as carefully as possible and placed out of sight until they could be taken to the morgue. Ironically, the morgue had been untouched by the hurricane.

      Inside the rec center when Jonah had asked him the question about a head count, Forrest knew that his brother was referring to the members of their family. He was relieved to answer in the affirmative.

      “Dallas found Mom and Dad. They’re okay,” he said, realizing that was the first thing that any of them would have asked. “So are Donovan and Bellamy,” he told Jonah. “Nolan’s supposed to be bringing them here,” he added, looking around the rec center.

      The recreation center was quickly filling up with people and cots at this point, but it was the largest common area available in Whisperwood. This was where town meetings were held, although the meetings had never drawn half this many people.

      “There’s no way we are going to be able to put up even half the town in here. There’s got to be at least 5,500 people living in and around Whisperwood,” Dallas Colton guessed as he walked into the center.

      “We’re sending the overflow to Kain’s Garage and the General Store. They’ve got large storm cellars,” Jonah told the others. “Hopefully, the storm’s not going to be doubling back. Otherwise,” he speculated as he looked from one brother to another, “the damage is going to be even worse than it is now.”

      “This really isn’t so bad,” Dallas commented, reviewing what he had seen in the last twelve hours. “Compared to other hurricanes.”

      Forrest frowned. “Try telling that to the families of the people who lost their lives in this,” he said grimly.

      Rehashing the situation served no purpose now. “You’re right,” Jonah agreed. “Help now, talk later,” he told his brothers.

      At that moment, Jonah spotted Donovan heading toward them, his hand firmly holding on to his fiancée’s. Donovan appeared exhausted and he looked as if he could definitely use a change of clothes. His were wet and streaked with mud. Beside him, Bellamy appeared almost numb.

      “Are you two all right?” Jonah asked, concerned that the woman next to his brother looked as if she was about to have a complete breakdown.

      “I am, but—” Donovan began, but he never got a chance to finish.

      Because at that moment, Bellamy grabbed Jonah’s arm, clutching it as if she was holding on to a lifeline. The zombie look on her face vanished, replaced by an animated expression that looked as if it was actually bordering on hysteria.

      “You’ve got to find her,” Bellamy begged him with feeling.

      “Her?” Jonah repeated, unsure of who the woman was referring to.

      “Magnolia—Maggie—my sister,” Bellamy almost shouted before she was able to get herself under control. “Please,” she pleaded, still clutching his hand and squeezing it hard for emphasis. “She’s out there somewhere, maybe hurt, or—”

      Bellamy couldn’t bring herself to utter the condemning word. It was just too frightening to give voice to. Instead, she repeated herself. “You have to find her and bring her back.”

      After years of being estranged, Bellamy and her younger sister, Maggie, had finally cleared up the misunderstanding, centered around their parents, that had kept them apart all this time. Bellamy had thought that Maggie had turned her back on the family to marry well and run off, when the exact opposite turned out to be true. When they finally sat down to talk, the truth came out. Issues had been resolved to the point that Bellamy had asked Maggie to be her co–maid of honor, along with her best friend Rae Lemmon. Maggie had happily agreed.

      And now this happened.

      “You have to bring her back,” Bellamy insisted. “I can’t lose her!”

      “Where did you last see her?” Jonah asked, trying to retrace Maggie’s steps.

      Bellamy closed her eyes, trying to clear her head and summon the memory. It didn’t come at first.

      “At the house.” Her eyes flew open. “The last time I saw her was at the house,” she exclaimed.

      “But she’s not there.” Donovan spoke up. “We went there are soon as we could,” he explained to his brothers.

      “Something awful’s happened to her, I just know it,” Bellamy declared, struggling to keep her tears back. “You have to—”

      Still clutching his arm tightly, Bellamy was beginning to make his hand seriously numb. Even so, Jonah smiled reassuringly at his future sister-in-law.

      “We will. We’ll find her, Bellamy. I promise,” he added. “But if I’m going to do that, I’m going to need the use of my arm,” he told her,

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