A Trace Of Memory. Valerie Hansen

      

      IN SEARCH OF HER PAST

      Emma Landers has amnesia. Problem is, she can’t remember how she got it, why she’s injured or why someone wants to hurt her. When she lands on the doorstep of former love Travis Wright, she can barely remember their past history. But she knows she can trust him to protect her. The handsome farmer was heartbroken when Emma left him for the big city. But there’s no way he can send her away when gunshots start flying. Now Travis must keep Emma safe while helping her piece together her memories—before it’s too late.

      The Defenders: Protecting children in need

      Why was Emma hiding her face? Travis wondered.

      He ran his right arm along the back of the seat until he was close enough to grab the fabric at the back of her hood.

      One quick yank was all it took to uncover her head.

      She was startled, of course, but that was not what caught and held his attention.

      Her hair was wild and tangled, as if she hadn’t brushed it in days. Her blue eyes were swimming. Worst of all, there was an angry-looking black-and-blue mark on her cheek. It was strong and dark, fresh rather than fading, and the sight of it tied his gut in a knot.

      “Emma! Who did that to you?”

      As she turned toward him more fully, tears tipped over her lower lashes and began to slide silently down her chapped, bruised cheeks.

      He could tell she was struggling to speak. Lifting his hand slowly, deliberately, he reached toward her and wiped away a tear with one finger, barely touching her as he did so.

      Who had hurt her? And why?

      VALERIE HANSEN

      was thirty when she awoke to the presence of the Lord in her life and turned to Jesus. In the years that followed, she worked with young children, both in church and secular environments. She also raised a family of her own and played foster mother to a wide assortment of furred and feathered critters.

      She loves to hike the wooded hills behind her house and reflect on the marvelous turn her life has taken. Not only is she privileged to reside among the loving, accepting folks in the breathtakingly beautiful Ozark mountains of Arkansas, she also gets to share her personal faith by telling the stories of her heart in Love Inspired Books.

      Life doesn’t get much better than that!

      A Trace of Memory

      Valerie Hansen

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      The Lord hears good people when they cry out to Him, and He saves them from all their troubles.

      —Psalms 34:17

      To my Joe, who will always be looking over my shoulder as I write. He was an extraordinary gift from God.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       About the Author

       Title Page

       Bible Verse

       Dedication

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOUR

       FIVE

       SIX

       SEVEN

       EIGHT

       NINE

       TEN

       ELEVEN

       TWELVE

       THIRTEEN

       FOURTEEN

       FIFTEEN

       SIXTEEN

       SEVENTEEN

       EIGHTEEN

       NINETEEN

       EPILOGUE

       Dear Reader

       Questions for Discussion

       Copyright

ONE

      Run! Run! He’s coming!

      Emma Landers heard her own frantic, breathless screams echoing in the dark hallway. Clawing her way around a corner, hands palming the bare walls, she saw a dim outline to her left. A door? Had her prayers been answered?

      She flew against it, her fingers raking the cold, metal surface like the talons of a trapped bird of prey.

      Quick, heavy footfalls echoed behind her. It didn’t matter who her pursuer was, she somehow knew she must elude him. At all costs.

      Her trembling fingers closed around the doorknob. Tried to twist it and failed. Slipped. Hurt.

      “No, no, no,” Emma rasped. “It can’t be locked.” Tendrils of her sandy-blond hair clung to the perspiration dotting her forehead and she felt droplets slithering down her spine.

      Someone began shouting in the distance. Who? Why? And why was she so frightened she could hardly breathe let alone function capably?

      Unfortunately, she didn’t remember