Before I go any further, I want to tell you about the release party I'm co-sharing with a great author named J.J. Devine who also has a new release today called Into the Darkness. It's a spicy paranormal that you'll want to sink your teeth into.
Be sure to join the party at
https://www.facebook.com/events/759765057377951/?ref_newsfeed_story_
for chances to win gifts and prizes. If you're really good at scavenger hunts you might walk away with TWO prizes.
Check out these awesome covers, huh?
Easy, peasy!
I'll be giving away three (3) copies of Love Over Troubled Waters-Book One in the Emergency Calls series for anyone who might like to get in on the beginning. I will also be giving away three (3) copies of The Unknown Son-Book Two in the Emergency Calls.
Mark your calendars tonight to hang out with J.J Devine and I, along with a few hundred of our friends, from 7-9 pm. We'll be on hand to answer any questions you have and we promise to make it fun!
Chapter 1
In Scotty’s mind, the move was straight out of a Die Hard movie scene where the lead guy risked his own life to save the woman he loved from drowning in the river below. Except, it wasn’t a movie and Jake wasn’t in love. In fact, he didn’t even know the woman who he was risking his life for. But that was Jake to a “T”.
Scotty Hartford glanced across the helicopter’s pit at his brother, who had been giving him a warning glare as if Cal Hartford could read his mind. Scotty got the message loud and clear. No heroics!
“You’re up next, Scotty.” Ben’s voice sounded in Scotty’s helmet, and he rechecked his harness and extra harness attached to him.
“Roger that.” Scotty spoke into his mic and caught Cal giving his harness a very thorough once-over to make sure it was safe. Once a big brother, always a big brother.
Scotty’s orders were similar to Jake’s. Two people were stuck in a tree. Scotty had to rappel down and get them out. Under normal circumstances, piece of cake. The team trained and performed this maneuver hundreds of times over the past years, but the weather was angry. There would be nothing easy about this one.
“Same thing I told Jake goes for you, too, Scotty. Make it fast,” the pilot instructed.
“Got it,” Scotty responded.
Cal clicked off his mic and Scott did the same when they both stood a foot apart. “I mean it, Scotty. No heroics on this one.”
“Really? You still feel the need to tell me this bro?”
“Yeah.” Cal didn’t apologize. “I saw the way your eyes lit when Jake cut himself loose, and in case you hadn’t realized, there’s no water to cushion your fall where we’re going.”
“Give me a break, Cal. As cool as that seemed, I’m not suicidal.”
Cal glanced out of the doorway, “I know. But like Jake, you’ve been known to do whatever it takes to save someone and I just can’t lose someone important to me again.”
Scotty felt his gaze soften as he watched his brother. “I’ve got lots to do still in this liftime. You can plan on me sticking around.”
“We’ve got a visual.” Mark, the co-pilot,’ sounded over the earpiece, and both brothers clicked their mics back on.
“Young boy wearing dark blue jacket and a woman in a red coat,” Mark continued.
“I see them,” Scotty confirmed.
“Let me make a quick pass in front of them first,” Ben said.
While Scotty checked out the tree position and searched out any wires that he might get tangled in, he heard Cal begin the winch process.
“The tree seems steady enough. I’ll hover over the tallest tree but I can’t go any lower than that. A gust of wind can push us into the other trees if I do,” Ben instructed in his trademark calm voice.
“Roger that,” Scotty and Cal said simultaneously.
Scotty positioned his rappelling stance at the back opening with his butt hanging low. He gripped the line with his left hand and secured the tandem harness to his right hip.” Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself backward and out
~Exerpt #2~
As he eased closer to the kid, he smiled for reassurance. The kid was young, maybe eight, maybe nine. “Hey there, buddy. I’m gonna get you out of this tree, okay?”
The kid nodded and gestured about 50 feet across the tree. “My mom is over there. I think she’s hurt.”
Without turning back to the woman, Scott focused on securing the child into his second harness. He instinctively knew that if she was, in fact, hurt, she would want her child taken to safety before helping her. “I’ll come back for your mom, I promise. Okay?” Scotty looked the kid in the eye needing him to trust him.
“O-Okay.” The kid’s lips were a pale blue and he was soaked to the bone. He had to be freezing by the heavy pelt of rain and the ferocious winds.
“Ready, buddy?” Scott grabbed the kid and held him close while using the thumbs up signal to begin hoisting them up. Scotty held on tight to the young boy who did everything he was asked but he didn’t want to take a chance that the kid would freak out once they got higher toward the helicopter and start thrashing around. Luckily the kid never did. He just looked downward toward his mother and then back up at the approaching helicopter. When they reached the opening, Cal and Mark worked quickly to pull the boy inside and remove him from the harness.
Scotty knew the kid would get the immediate medical attention he needed from Cal and that Mark would switch over to winch operator. While Cal worked on warming the kid, Scotty spoke to Ben. “Can you get me closer to the outer edge? The boy says that his mother could be hurt. I’m taking the cart down in case that’s true.”
“I’ll do my best. Watch the updraft.”
“Got it.”
As quickly as safe to do so, Scotty was lowered again, but this time holding onto the rappelling cart as the wind threatened to blow him right out of the thing. While the cart was tethered to his harness, it wouldn’t fly away if the wind did whip it out of his hands but it would slow down the rescue if he had to rein it back to him.
When he approached the woman, he could hear her yelling over the rushing sound of winds. “Is Tommy all right? Is he hurt?”
“He’s fine, ma’am. We’re going to work on getting you out of this fine mess next.” He flicked one of the levers, which halted him and the cage. Securing the contraption on a sturdy branch, he turned to face the woman and froze in mid-motion.
“Aly?”