Love Inspired Suspense March 2025 Box Set 2 of 2 by Terri Reed Kellie VanHorn and Susan Gee Heino

Author:Terri Reed, Kellie VanHorn and Susan Gee Heino
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Published: 2025-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

SEVEN

Sadie clapped her hand over her mouth to keep quiet as the massive bear came closer, nosing at the ground. It paused, lifting its head and swiveling beady, dark eyes around the forest as it sniffed the air. When it picked up their scent, it froze, staring in their direction.

Instinct told her to run, but after living her entire life near the mountains, she knew better. Running might trigger a chase response.

Jesse’s firm hand on her arm said the same thing.

“Stand up, nice and slow,” he whispered, then helped her to her feet. Her legs felt unnaturally wobbly, like spaghetti noodles instead of solid bone and muscle. His other hand reached down to his utility belt and came away with a canister of bear spray. He had a gun, too—they weren’t defenseless—but her fight-or-flight system hadn’t gotten the message.

The bear’s ears lay back flat against its head. It made a short huffing, blowing sound that echoed through the quiet forest and made Sadie’s knees shake. She’d faced wild animals before on the ranch, but usually it was wolves or coyotes from behind the barrel of a rifle and twenty yards’ distance. Not a six-hundred-pound grizzly at twenty feet.

“We need to back away,” Jesse said softly.

“Where?” Their backs were literally against trees. Bark dug into her spine.

He pointed to a narrow gap between a trunk and some undergrowth on his left, heading uphill. “That way. Go behind me. Backward, so you’re still facing the bear.”

Jesse shuffled forward, creating a gap between him and the tree and raising his arms at his sides in a protective shield.

Her feet didn’t want to cooperate, but somehow she forced one boot sideways, then the other.

The bear stared at them, its head swaying back and forth.

She backed up slowly toward the gap, resting a hand on the nearest trunk to keep from tripping on exposed roots. Branches tugged at her shirt and scraped against her jeans as she kept backing away. Soon she’d cleared the patch of undergrowth and stood once more on the open forest floor. The bear was still visible as fuzzy glimpses of brown between the trees, but she couldn’t see its face anymore.

“Keep going, still backward,” Jesse said, “until it’s out of sight.”

It hadn’t moved. That was good—it wasn’t following them. She kept sliding her boots backward up the hillside, shuffling through pine needles and dead leaves, feeling gingerly for exposed rocks or roots that might take her down and draw the grizzly’s attention.

After what felt like an eternity, Jesse stopped. He stood still for a long moment, listening, then turned to her. The worry lines relaxed around his eyes. “I think we’re clear now. Good job.”

She let out a long, slow breath. “Thanks, you, too. I’m glad you had the spray.”

“I’m glad we didn’t have to use it.” He tucked it back into his belt.

Suddenly she pointed at his head. “Your hat, did you leave it?”

He reached for the top of his head, fingers running over his hair. “Looks like the bear gets it.

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