Stranded

By Desiree Scott

It was supposed to be a vacation, a time to save her marriage, but what Joan Clayton hadn't counted on was Murphy's Law of Vail Mountain and the secrets that had damaged her marriage beyond repair. It was over. Depressed and angry, she decided to venture directly into an oncoming snowstorm, one that would

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kingston Publishing Company
• Release date: Apr 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781645334323

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Copyright

Stranded is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

STRANDED: A NOVEL

Copyright © 2021 by Desiree Scott

All rights reserved.

Editing by Kathy Moczerniak

Cover Design by KP Designs

- www.kpdesignshop.com

Published by Kingston Publishing Company, LLC

- www.kingstonpublishing.com

The uploading, scanning, and distribution of this book in any form or by any means—including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions of this work, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Table of Contents

Copyright

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Extras

About the Author

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

Location: Vail Mountain, Colorado

Game Creek Chalet Lodge

His cell rang just as Stephen Brockheart made it through the door, his legs heavy with fatigue.

He closed his eyes wearily, and his shoulders slumped, exhaustion pulling hard. He had already been up a straight twenty-six hours, and his feet felt like lead.

He thought about ignoring the call but shook his head, resigned. Sleep would have to wait. He thought about his large bed and almost groaned as he grabbed his cell out of his pocket and answered it, his voice rough.

This is Stephen, he growled, eyeing his bedroom door. It stood open, and he could see his unmade bed in the center, the thick blankets tossed on the floor at the foot of the bed.

He inched his way closer and started to pray. God, not another one, he thought.

God wasn’t listening. He jerked to a stop listening to his boss’s rushed explanation.

Hey, Stephen, I’m really sorry, man. I know you haven’t had any sleep, but there is a tourist, a woman, lost on Castle Peak. Her party reported her missing two hours ago.

Location?

The south side.

Bobby? Alex? Thomas? Stephen asked, desperately naming off the other rangers in quick order. He already knew the damn answer, but he prayed he was wrong anyway.

No such luck.

On another rescue mission, his boss said. A party of four on the north side of Capitol Peak hasn’t returned either.

What the hell? he muttered.

Stephen headed for the kitchen and coffee. He usually made it sweet with sugar, but fuck it. He was going for broke and black.

I’ll be there in ten minutes, he said as he snapped his phone closed. It was times like this he was grateful he lived so close to the base of the rescue headquarters. It never ceased to amaze him the stupidity of the human race. Seriously? A trek through the mountains right before a damn blizzard hits. When people are checking in, all of the resorts recommend guests listen and pay attention to the weather station, but do they? Doubtful. If they did, he wouldn’t have had to rescue the fools from their own stupidity.

Nine minutes later, he walked into the rescue headquarters, steaming coffee in his hands as he headed for the office. It was a large facility on the edge of the mountain, halfway to the midpoint of the top mountain, between two resorts. Besides the main building, they had four outbuildings containing all of the necessary equipment for the rescues.

Suit up quick, his boss, Rob, said. His face tight with worry, he paced in front of the large window that overlooked the mountain, his brown eyes on the dark clouds rolling in. Snow blew to the right as the wind picked up, howling against the rafters of the building.

There is a major blizzard coming in from the east that could be heading this way within the next few hours. I want you back as soon as possible.

Stephen eyed those same clouds mentally calculating her possible location and the length of time to get there and back. It was going to be a tight timeline, too tight for his comfort.

Stephen nodded his dark head and within twenty minutes pulled away in his ATV heading toward the higher altitude of the mountain and the foolish person who had decided to hike during an impending blizzard.

****

Her body hurt like a bitch.

Joan Clayton groaned from where she had landed. She gingerly moved her upper body to crawl towards the wall and sat back against the icy side of the hole. Touching the side of her head, her fingers came away bloody.

Glancing up, she squinted against the cold flakes of the falling snow and spied the icy wall of the long drop. The world spun. Cursing, the muttered words lost in the howling wind, she concentrated on breathing.

She glanced up cautiously, her gaze traveling up the steep incline again. With slow movements, she looked around, her heart beginning to hammer against her chest as she realized the depth of her situation. It never failed to amaze her how much of an idiot she could be. Having stormed off the resort was idiotic mistake number one. Not hitting the bastard was idiotic mistake number two. And getting lost? That topped it all off, but she hadn’t been thinking beyond getting out of the resort and away from everyone.

Not thinking leads to this, she thought, grimacing.

Joan looked down at her ankle, at the swelling she could already see, and flinched as the pain radiated up every nerve ending. She could still move it, so she guessed it was only a sprain. With the way her luck was going lately, she was thankful she hadn’t broken her damn leg.

Or worse.

Shit, she thought, clenching her fists against her thigh. Her ankle felt like a thousand needles were piercing the flesh in jagged angles, and she gasped heavily, trying to catch her breath.

Closing her eyes, her mind raced thinking and discarding specific scenarios on how she could get out of this, but nothing came to her.

Damn it, she muttered, laying her injured head against the icy wall. She knew she shouldn’t have woken up this morning. After the week she had had, it wasn’t surprising this had topped it off.

This was supposed to be a mini, impulsive vacation for her and her husband. They had been married four years, yet they were almost strangers. As she was a reporter, and he was the CEO of a large bank, they both worked long hours and traveled extensively. He always seemed to be gone on one business trip after another. Joan had figured they would use the time away to reconnect, to show some emotion, damn it. If she were honest with herself, in her heart she knew it was a last ditch effort to save her marriage and future. Something had shifted between her and Michael, something she was afraid to admit, so she had planned the small weekend getaway. After checking in at the resort, Joan had turned around to see her best friend standing in the doorway, her luggage at her feet.

Joan! Her smile big, showing perfect teeth, Stacy Collins rushed over and hugged her tightly, almost knocking her off her feet.

Shocked, Joan pulled back. What are you doing here, Stacy?

"What are the chances we