Through The Fire. Sharon Mignerey

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      “I came over to see how you were after yesterday’s fire, and to show you something. This was in yesterday’s paper.” Colleen handed Lucia a clipping she had pulled from her purse.

      Lucia read the large ad. “‘Let fire come down from Heaven and consume you, for our God is a consuming fire.’”

      “I checked, and nobody knows who paid for this. But I think this is related to the fire at the hospital.” Colleen raised a hand. “And I knew this was a Bible verse even if I couldn’t figure out which one, so I called Pastor Dawson and found out it’s actually two verses. So, whoever bought the ad was sending someone a message, don’t you think?”

      FAITH AT THE CROSSROADS: Can faith and love sustain two families against a diabolical enemy?

      A TIME TO PROTECT–Lois Richer (LIS#13)

       THE DANGER WITHIN–Valerie Hansen (LIS#15)

       THROUGH THE FIRE–Sharon Mignerey (LIS#17)

       IN THE ENEMY’S SIGHTS–Marta Perry (LIS#19)

       STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL–Terri Reed (LIS#21)

       HEARTS ON THE LINE–Margaret Daley (LIS#23)

      SHARON MIGNEREY

      lives in Colorado with her husband, a couple of dogs and a cat. From the time she figured out that spelling words could be turned into stories, she knew being a writer was what she wanted. Her first novel garnered several awards, first as an unpublished manuscript when she won RWA’s Golden Heart Award in 1995, and later as a published work in 1997 when she won the National Reader’s Choice Award and The Heart of Romance Reader’s Choice Award. With each new book out, she’s as thrilled as she was with that first one.

      When she’s not writing, she loves enjoying the Colorado sunshine, whether along the South Platte River near her home or at the family cabin in the Four Corners region. Even more, she loves spending time with her daughters and granddaughter.

      She loves hearing from readers, and you can write to her in care of Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

      Through the Fire

      Sharon Mignerey

      Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Sharon Mignerey for her contribution to the FAITH AT THE CROSSROADS series.

      As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.

      —Matthew 8:13

      To Susan Litman, editor extraordinaire

      My thanks to:

      Carol Steward for answering dozens of questions about Sam Vance (Finding Amy, LI#263 8/04). I hope I did justice to Lucia’s big brother. For those thousand and one things I didn’t know about firefighting and firefighters, Sue Richardson, Fire Fighter Paramedic (Colorado Springs), and Joe Whitensand, Retired Fire Chief, were generous beyond call. The good stuff is all theirs and the mistakes are all mine. Celeste Mignerey and Paul N. Black, Ph.D. filled in all those little details about safety and precautionary systems in large buildings and hospital settings. As always, you two are an awesome resource, and I couldn’t have done this without you. Robin, Steve, Denée, Karen G., Amy, Daniele, Danica—my amazing first readers and critique partners. You guys are the best.

      My fellow authors in this series, Lois Richer, Valerie Hansen, Marta Perry, Terri Reed and Margaret Daley. You each made this wonderful journey one to be remembered. Blessings to each of you.

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

      Rafael “Rafe” Wright—He saved Lucia’s life once by being in the right place at the right time. Was the gorgeous smoke jumper also the “right” man for her?

      Lucia Vance—The female firefighter was tired of being coddled and protected by her family. She felt secure with Rafe, but his nearness also stirred feelings for love she’d thought long buried….

      Neil O’Brien—Was there more to the battalion chief’s animosity toward Lucia beyond his accusations that her father the mayor got her her job?

      El Jéfe/The Chief—His name kept coming up in investigations. Was he somehow connected to Baltasar Escalante, the drug lord whose body was never recovered following his plane crash?

      Dear Reader,

      I suspect I’m not the first author to write to you that writing a novel is easier than writing a letter to you. Letters should be personal, and since we haven’t met, this one cannot be as personal as I would like. Even so, thank you for choosing this book where you’ll spend a few hours escaping into a world where hope prevails.

      That sense of hope…of faith, even…is my favorite thing about romance novels. Whatever challenges characters face within the pages, they move forward in faith, hoping things will work out. That moving forward in faith is the reason why I chose the particular Biblical quote that I did. “As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” Matthew 8:13.

      For any of us embarking on a new endeavor or going through a difficult time, it may be hard to predict a successful outcome. If you’re at all like me, you’d love the certainty of a happy ending. For me, that’s where faith steps in, where I do my best to move forward as though the thing is already done. It’s the same for Lucia Vance and Rafael Wright in Through the Fire. They can’t be certain the challenges they face will be successfully overcome—all they can do is move forward in faith.

      Again, thanks for choosing this book.

      Blessings to you and yours, always,

      CONTENTS

      PROLOGUE

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

      CHAPTER THREE

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CHAPTER SIX

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      CHAPTER NINE

      CHAPTER TEN

      CHAPTER ELEVEN

      CHAPTER TWELVE

      CHAPTER THIRTEEN

      CHAPTER FOURTEEN

      CHAPTER FIFTEEN

      CHAPTER SIXTEEN

      CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

      CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

      CHAPTER NINETEEN

      CHAPTER TWENTY

      CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

      PROLOGUE

      “It’s really quite simple, Neil. I own you.” She held the condemning papers up for him to see as though he somehow wouldn’t have recognized his own signature on copies of the promissory notes. “You borrowed money, and I bought the loan from that rather unscrupulous man you’ve been doing business with in Cripple Creek.” Turning the papers around, she glanced through them, then folded them back into neat thirds. “Such a lot of money.”

      Despite the cold breeze that swept off Pikes Peak on this cold March day, Neil O’Brien felt a bead of sweat slide down his back as he contemplated taking the papers away before choking her to death. Wondering where the originals were, he stared at the woman standing under the pavilion with him, her words echoing through his head.

      When he had agreed to meet her at this remote corner of Bear Creek Park, a well-known lovers’ lane for teenagers, he’d had a visceral sense of anticipation. Foolish thought that she might be interested in a man like him—they didn’t run in the same circles. The extra