Her Secret Alaskan Family. Belle Calhoune

healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their name.

      —Psalm 147:3–4

      For my parents, Anne and Fred Bell.

      For everything. For always.

       Acknowledgments

      For my husband, Randy, and my daughters, Sierra and Amber. For always cheering me on and understanding that writing is an important part of me.

      To my editor, Emily Rodmell, for being so receptive to this story and allowing me to write it.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       About the Author

       Booklist

       Title Page

       Copyright

      Note to Readers

       Introduction

       Dear Reader

       Bible Verse

       Dedication

       Acknowledgments

       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

       Epilogue

       Extract

       About the Publisher

       Chapter One

      “Welcome to the last frontier,” Sage Duncan murmured as she walked to the bow of the ferry and looked out across the breathtaking waters of Kachemak Bay.

      Despite her frayed nerves, Sage was able to appreciate the raw beauty of her surroundings. She took a deep breath and inhaled the crisp Alaskan air. Snow-covered mountains rose up to greet her. A bird swooped down toward the water, then emerged a few seconds later with a fish in its mouth. Sage shook her head at the stunning sights unfolding before her eyes. The vista was spectacular. It was like nothing she had ever seen before in her life.

      In her wildest dreams she had never envisioned herself traveling to this magnificent land. It had always seemed so out of reach, like a faraway constellation in the heavens.

      She shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle. This Alaskan climate was a far cry from back home in Florida where heat and humidity reigned. Sage couldn’t remember the last time she had seen snow, but as a little girl she had fantasized about catching snowflakes on her tongue and sledding down snowy mountains in the wintertime.

      Sage shook off those long-ago memories. She hadn’t traveled all this way to Owl Creek, Alaska, in order to live out her childhood dreams. Her reasons for coming here were complicated, and hurt bubbled up inside her as the reality of her situation kicked her in the gut.

      Her mother’s death two months ago had changed her life in so many ways. With her dying breath, Jane Duncan had made a startling confession to Sage. Months later and she was still processing the revelation. According to her mother, Sage had been stolen as a baby from her birth family. Right after Jane had uttered those shocking words she had died, leaving Sage with a hundred burning questions. Who was she? Who were her real family? Why had Jane Duncan committed such a horrific act as kidnapping somebody else’s child?

      Digging through her mother’s belongings had turned up old newspaper clippings about a three-month-old baby who had been taken from her crib in the middle of the night, never to be seen again. Goose bumps had popped up on her arms when she’d come across a photo with the word MISSING written in bold black print on the flyer. There were two pictures side by side—one of a baby girl and the other a pretty teenager. The words age enhanced were written beneath the image. The girl had looked a little bit like her. Similar features. Same age. Even the same birth month.

      A search on the internet had turned up even more information. If what she suspected turned out to be true, her real name was Lily North. Her family—the Norths—were the owners of the North Star Chocolate Company. Her parents still lived in Owl Creek and they had never stopped looking for her or praying for her return. Her image had even been plastered on milk cartons back when she was an infant.

      Which was why, in order to seek out those answers, she had traveled to this southern portion of Alaska and booked herself into a cozy bed-and-breakfast in Owl Creek for a period of six weeks.

      Sage felt a solid presence next to her as she looked out toward land. She turned to her right. The man standing a few feet away from her was handsome. He was looking in her direction, his eyes focused on her like laser beams. With sandy-colored hair and turquoise blue eyes, he had a rugged appearance. A shiny gold badge sat on his chest.

      He quirked his mouth. “Let me guess. You’re Lily North, aren’t you?”

      Sage’s knees threatened to give