The Yuletide Rescue. Margaret Daley

Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу The Yuletide Rescue - Margaret Daley страница 11

The Yuletide Rescue - Margaret Daley Mills & Boon Love Inspired Suspense

Скачать книгу

      “You miss your job?”

      “Yes. It’s been six months, and I don’t know what to do with myself. If I’d had my way, I would still be police chief.”

      David knew the PD had a ceiling on how old a person could be to serve.

      “Just because you retired from one job doesn’t mean you can’t do something else,” he told his father.

      “Nothing else appeals to me.”

      “A security consultant?”

      “I’d rather do something different. That way I won’t yearn for a job I can’t have anymore. There’s nothing in Colorado for me.”

      David had been ready to leave the service after twenty years. Now, at forty-one, he was enjoying what he was doing, and he wasn’t financially dependent on a paycheck because of his pension and some wise investments over the years. He could do what he really wanted. “Is that why you decided to come for the whole month of December?”

      “There’s no one in Colorado, not even your daughter since she started college. I saw Melissa at Thanksgiving when she and some friends came to ski, otherwise she has been a stranger. I miss her. When is she coming for Christmas?”

      “A few days before.” She was only coming because her grandfather would be there. Otherwise David wouldn’t have seen her at all. Ever since his wife had died three years ago, and David had had to go overseas for his last tour of duty, Melissa had lived with his father.

      His father’s dark bushy eyebrows crunched into a single line. “Why not sooner?”

      “You know Melissa and I haven’t been on the best of terms since Trish died. She blames me for her mother’s death.”

      “You weren’t responsible for that, and I’ve made that clear to Melissa.”

      “Dad, I wasn’t there when Trish needed me.”

      “Because you were serving your country.”

      Tension gripped David as he thought back to three years ago when Trish had taken a lethal combination of alcohol and painkillers. He’d been halfway around the world, supporting ground troops as a B-52 pilot. Earlier, when he’d left Trish after her operation to repair her damaged knee and returned to the war zone, she’d been improving—or so she said—and had urged him to leave. If only he’d known then that she’d become dependent on painkillers, maybe she would be alive today.

      “Son, stop blaming yourself. You can’t change the past. Focus on the here and now.”

      “I’m trying.”

      “Is that why you’re working so hard when you’re supposed to be retired? You’ve made some good investments. You don’t even have to work, but then your job at the search and rescue organization is strictly volunteer.”

      “I’m only forty-one. Just because I retired from the service doesn’t mean I’m going to lie around on some beach doing nothing.”

      His father chuckled. “Well, certainly not here in Alaska. But Hawaii is only a plane ride away.”

      Too wired, David prowled around his kitchen, needing to sleep but not sure he could, even after his previous night sleeping restlessly on the couch in his office. “This volunteer job is perfect for me. I’d go crazy without it. You of all people should know what that feels like.”

      His dad held up his hands as if in surrender. “Okay. You’ve made your point. The Stone men aren’t good at relaxation.”

      David started to reply when his cell phone rang, jolting him. As he answered it, he glimpsed Chance’s name on the screen.

      “I hope I didn’t wake you,” his friend said.

      “No, Dad and I were talking. What’s up?”

      “I did some checking after we talked earlier, and I thought you might like to know Jeremiah’s emergency locator transmitter hasn’t sent a signal since the last pass of the satellite. I know you didn’t turn it off, since you were back in Anchorage by then, so who did?”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4RSGRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgACAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAbgEbAAUAAAABAAAAdgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAfgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAkgE7 AAIAAAAQAAAApodpAAQAAAABAAAAuAAAAOQAAAEsAAAAAQAAASwAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9w IDcuMAAyMDE0OjEwOjExIDA4OjQ4OjMxAERhbGV5LCBNYXJnYXJldAAAAAADoAEAAwAAAAEAAQAA oAIABAAAAAEAAAZUoAMABAAAAAEAAAoAAAAAAAAAAAYBAwADAAAAAQAGAAABGgAFAAAAAQAAATIB GwAFAAAAAQAAAToBKAADAAAAAQACAAACAQAEAAAAAQAAAUICAgAEAAAAAQAAEzwAAAAAAAAASAAA AAEAAABIAAAAAf/Y/+AAEEpGSUYAAQIBAEgASAAA/+0ADEFkb2JlX0NNAAH/7gAOQWRvYmUAZIAA AAAB/9sAhAAMCAgICQgMCQkMEQsKCxEVDwwMDxUYExMVExMYEQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMAQ0LCw0ODRAODhAUDg4OFBQODg4OFBEMDAwMDBERDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwM DAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAz/wAARCACAAFEDASIAAhEBAxEB/90ABAAG/8QBPwAAAQUB AQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAwABAgQFBgcICQoLAQABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAABAAIDBAUGBwgJCgsQAAEE AQMCBAIFBwYIBQMMMwEAAhEDBCESMQVBUWETInGBMgYUkaGxQiMkFVLBYjM0coLRQwclklPw4fFj czUWorKDJkSTVGRFwqN0NhfSVeJl8rOEw9N14/NGJ5SkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2 N0dXZ3eHl6e3x9fn9xEAAgIBAgQEAwQFBgcHBgU1AQACEQMhMRIEQVFhcSITBTKBkRShsUIjwVLR 8DMkYuFygpJDUxVjczTxJQYWorKDByY1wtJEk1SjF2RFVTZ0ZeLys4TD03Xj80aUpIW0lcTU5PSl tcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9ic3R1dnd4eXp7fH/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwChk05Dqaby0sqPtFrHCxpc dtbtzfUsbju9r7fRt9J9l3/Bon2UYjXufY0ZTNzWufv2B4n2bqfUp99P0PtX6O79J9D01TzWZZxg 1wPpNDhVuJLQ3V5NTPov/OTV2Pos3B+wt2lh3NH/AIC7+d97v9Gq9kCg6UMPKzlx3URw3qY4/wBZ 8vHKf/O/ybYLayyqtrnPe+sVNdY6A3HrIfcza1znb77v+o/7sLFvtFuRY8NNTXPLvTBJAn81uq6r DsNL7X47RdlXV+pWGhrC7YYd7XVs9Kn6Gz1f8H6n6P8ARqhb0rAqorNtVgya6SbLHkMaXiyxj7rL K/Wdf+lsrrq9te+nH+h6n82/HLXXeVCIv1efD/gtHIAZS4fks8P939FyGNceCfOZCstrdA1P3o7s XHrr9R2S10lwZtkiwMaHPLXNa70fe+tuyz/z4pOxnV1PeciizY2QGPBJIdtI9238z3/+B/6RWeG6 13NDSQv/AJrHRREFreTPxTCtzjydfNGGO91ddjHEl+0GWaAn6f8AK2Vowp2bXC0gWECvfWAXaSYY Xbv/ACH+ER9o9x+P/eqor4uEXQZn5rSbisY2dCVQx7citgNdoFbpdtNYLxLjUyG/uPcx3v8A8EoZ Wdm0D0/UJJLi7dW0d/Iu938lA4JE1Yv6/wDeoINW3pb4pLJ+0XfvfkSS+7S8EU//0My6511Ioe3a 1rwQ5oc2Ggu3foN/pfnO/wBH/wCCqeJmvwnepQ3c8EbHP5ET9JoGx27cqtNjGg1uuaCJhu3bHLu/ 00Y5GP8As05TcWSLxjl2+zTdT6rbfp+l6vqn1dmz0v8AtP8A8KkcUd9d2QZ5CBhQ4ZCjvrLijP3P 7/pYWZ+UGGtjmB74c87A57yA8NfaXNsfZ6TC5jP66zavWdNTA+y0j2MAEgj3OcIlr/atvK6Qw

Скачать книгу