Reunited By A Secret Child. Leigh Bale

Чтение книги онлайн.

       Chapter One

      Wide, yellow ribbons fluttered among the cottonwoods bordering the north perimeter of the tarmac. The low hum of the prop plane’s engine escalated Reese Hartnett’s tension. Gazing out the small, oval window inside the plane, he gripped the armrests with tensed fingers. He’d been raised here, in the sleepy little town of Minoa, Nevada, but it wasn’t his home anymore. He had no family here now. No friends, either. But he didn’t know where else to go.

      And honestly, he’d felt compelled to return. After what he’d been through, he longed to see his mom. If only she were still alive. Coming home was the best way to be close to her again. To go to the cemetery to pay his respects and apologize for hurting her when he’d left so unexpectedly.

      He squinted as a spray of morning sunlight glinted against the metal siding of the hangar. Someone had tied a large hand-painted sign across the front of the building. He could easily make out the words: Welcome home. Our hero.

      Reese knew the sign was for him. No doubt the media had put it up, staging a warm greeting in hopes of getting his story. He sure didn’t believe the people of this town had put up the sign. Not when they remembered his past history as a juvenile delinquent. Nor did he feel like a hero. Not when his entire hotshot crew had died two weeks earlier, fighting a wildfire in Colorado. Nineteen members of the Garlock Hotshot Crew should still be here with him. His buddies. Laughing and joking. Inseparable.

      Because Reese had been the lone survivor, everyone considered him brave. But he wasn’t. He was just an ordinary man who happened to survive. Even now, he could see no logical reason why he had lived when all his friends had died. And every night, he hoped he’d awaken and it would all be a bad nightmare.

      The СКАЧАТЬ