The Aspens Fall: The Aspen Series, #2

By Elizabeth Sherry

Revised and re-edied 8/26/2014

This is a continuation of "Under the Aspens (Book 1 in the Aspen Series)"

Brad wakes up in the cabin of a beautiful nurse named Hannah. He has been hit on the head and doesn't know the who or why behind it.

As Hannah tries helping him, they run into danger everywhere they go.

Brad tries to keep Hannah and her two border collies safe. While Hannah helps get Brad back on his feet, she finds herself not only in
danger, but quickly falling in love with Brad.

With bullets flying at every turn, Brad wonders if he and Hannah will live to cherish the new love they found in each other.

This book is a novella...with mystery and intrigue around every corner.

Other Books by Elizabeth Sherry:

Under the Aspens (The Aspen Series #1)
The Aspens Fall (The Aspen Series #2)
Remember the Aspens (The Aspen Series #3)
The Aspens End (The Aspen Series #4)
The Aspens Collection (The Aspen Series Box Set)
Crime at Cripple Creek (The Sisters Week Series #1)
Murder at Myrtle Beach (The Sisters Week Series #2)
Trapped In Tunica (The Sisters Week Series #3)
The Sister’s Week Series: Volumes 1-3 (Box Set)
Alone and Afraid (Rocky Mountain Series #1)
On the Run (Rocky Mountain Series #2)
Not Her Baby (rocky Mountain series #3)
Deadly White Christmas

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scarecrow Books
• Release date: May 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9781497761322

Book preview

Books by Elizabeth Sherry:

Under the Aspens (The Aspen Series #1)

The Aspens Fall (The Aspen Series #2)

Remember the Aspens (The Aspen Series #3)

The Aspens End (The Aspen Series #4)

The Aspens Collection (The Aspen Series Box Set)

Crime at Cripple Creek (The Sisters Week Series #1)

Murder at Myrtle Beach (The Sisters Week Series #2)

Trapped In Tunica (The Sisters Week Series #3)

The Sister’s Week Series: Volumes 1-3 (Box Set)

Alone and Afraid (Rocky Mountain Home Series #1)

On the Run (Rocky Mountain Home Series #2)

Not Her Baby (rocky Mountain Home Series #3)

Rocky Mountain Home Series Collection (Vol 1-3)

Deadly White Christmas (Angel Mountain scents Series #1)

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The Aspens Fall

Elizabeth Sherry

Chapter 1

Brad awakened slowly, seeing stars. His eyes couldn’t adjust at first. He saw double of everything and his head hurt like nothing he had ever felt before. When he tried to move, he felt close to vomiting. Everything around him started going in circles, so he focused on one object...a tree directly across from him. He lay there for a long time, until everything stopped spinning. Slowly, he rolled onto his side. Again, things went into a spinning frenzy. Waiting until it subsided, he then sat up cautiously. He didn’t recognize where he was. The last thing he remembered was bending down to look at his flat tires. He remembered hearing someone come up behind him and felt something hit his head...but, that was the last thing he remembered. How did he get here? He didn’t recognize this area. He and his partner, Todd, had camped outside of Estes Park every year for the past nine years. They would walk all over the place, but this area didn’t look like any place he’d ever been to before. Todd was supposed to have joined him on this trip, but his wife went into labor with their first child, so Brad had to enjoy the adventure alone. Now this.

Boy, his head hurt. He reached up and touched the back of his head and felt something sticky. Dropping his hand back down, he saw blood and wondered how much he’d lost.

He carefully stood up and immediately felt nauseous again, to the point of vomiting. He’d have to take it slowly, but he knew he needed to find help quickly. He took a couple of steps and, just before he passed out, he sat down to shorten the fall. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been unconsciousness...he never wore a watch nor did he have any firm concept of time at the moment. He checked his pockets, but did not find his cell phone. He remembered that he’d been talking on the phone just before he was attacked. Yes, he’d been talking to Sher, his sister. No, that’s not right. He wasn’t talking to her; he was talking to her voicemail.

He stood up again. This time he was able to manage a few shaky steps. It was getting dark, and he could barely make out some lights to the left. He headed in that direction. The lights got closer, so he walked faster. His last conscious thought was that he was going to black out again.

Chapter 2

Hannah loved this time of year. The aspens were changing colors; the weather was cool, but not too cold. She was starting her two-week vacation from work and, although she loved her job at the Cheley Camp, she needed this down time.

Hannah worked as a nurse at the Cheley Camp for seriously burned children. The camp allowed whole families to get away from the stress of their everyday lives and spend quality time together. There were no cell phones, cooking, or cleaning...just a lot of outdoor activities and time with family.

The Cheley Camp was founded by Hannah’s great grandfather, Frank Cheley. Although he passed away in 1941, the family had run the camp for four generations since then. Part of this inheritance involved a cabin in the woods, which Hannah now owned. While some people might not enjoy the solitude of living in the woods, Hannah saw it as something close to heaven. She didn’t feel alone either, with Jonas and Jack for company—two border collies that she rescued two years ago.

As Hannah enjoyed a meal in her rustic kitchen, the dogs paced, waiting to be let out. Just let me finish my breakfast and then we’ll go for a long walk, she told them.

They loved to chase the squirrels, rabbits, and an occasional deer. They wouldn’t hurt any of the animals around the cabin, but they loved to play hide-and-seek with them. Hannah enjoyed just sitting on the porch and watching their antics.

Okay, let’s go, she said as she puts her dirty dishes in the sink, to be washed after their outdoor break. Grabbing a light jacket from the rack by the front door, she opened the door and the dogs took off down the trail. Putting on her jacket, she laughed as they eagerly sniffed this bush and that tree. They usually waited on the porch for her to join them, but today they’d apparently decided she was on her own. She followed her dogs, taking in the clean air and the quietness of the mountains around her. Suddenly, she heard the dogs start to bark. She frowned. They only barked when an occasional tourist got lost and ended up on the dirt road to her cabin.

She picked up her pace and hurried toward their barking, wondering what all of the fuss was about.

She came to a clearing in the woods and stopped. There in front of her, with both dogs circling was a person lying on the ground. The person wasn’t moving and the dogs weren’t in attack mode...so she stepped closer.

Heel, boys.

Jonas and Jack sat next to her as she examined the prone figure, a male. . He was approximately six feet tall and maybe one hundred seventy-five pounds, she estimated. At least he’s dressed for the cold, she mumbled to herself.

So many times, inexperienced people came to these public campsites with no knowledge of how treacherous the mountains could be.

She saw that he was clean shaven...and quite handsome, but she didn’t dwell on that because she also saw that he was injured. There was blood in his hair. Since his face was turned away from her, she could see a large gash on the back of his head. He must have fallen, she thought, hit his head on some rocks, got turned around, and ended up here.

He needed immediate medical attention, but for now she wanted to get him to the cabin. How? She couldn’t carry him—her petite frame at one hundred ten pounds wouldn’t allow for that. But she couldn’t leave him out here either.

She tried to think of some options. She still had the makeshift gurney she’d made to transport Jack when he broke his leg last year. But pulling Jack was a lot easier than trying to pull a man three times her dog’s weight. Maybe I can attach the gurney to my four-wheeler