White Dove's Promise Read Free Page B

hose were lined with runners from searching through a clump of blackberry vines. Coppery-colored stains smeared the front of her shirt and skirt from leaning over the rusty pieces of an old car that had been junked not far from here. But what she looked like to this man or anyone else didn’t matter one iota. Getting her daughter back safely in her arms was all she cared about. And she had to believe that was going to happen. She had to. Otherwise, she would simply break apart.
    â€œHow long has it been since you found the dog and the tracks, Jared?” Bram asked.
    â€œNot long. Ten minutes, maybe. Couldn’t be much more than that.”
    The three of them had reached the point where the footsteps had finally disappeared. Fred was still there in the bottom of the ditch. Apparently the pup had wornhimself out and was now stretched out on his belly, his muzzle resting on his paws as he diligently watched the small crevice for a sign of Peggy.
    The moment Kerry spotted the dog, her composure cracked. Her hand flew to her mouth to stifle the sob that was burning her throat.
    â€œOh God—is she—is she down there? In that?”
    The agony in her voice tore a hole right through Jared. The need to comfort her crowded everything else from his mind, making him instinctively reach for her shoulders and pull her lightly against his chest. “She’ll be all right, Kerry. We’ll get her out. I’ll get her out. I promise.”
    Above her head, Jared met Bram’s bleak gaze and he knew they were both thinking he’d just made a promise he might not be able to keep.
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    More than an hour later, the excavation site was littered with fire trucks, emergency vehicles, rescue crews and paramedics. Generators and bright outdoor lights had been set up in preparation for the night to come. The fact that the emergency people anticipated it might take that long to recover Peggy from the pipe tunnel only added to Kerry’s worry.
    For the umpteenth time, Enola turned a helpless look of frustration on her daughter. “They’re wasting time! There’s a backhoe sitting right over there. Why don’t they start digging her out?”
    The two women were standing about thirty feet away from the ditch where Peggy had disappeared. Around them, firemen and other rescue people were discussing ways to bring her daughter out to safety. But Kerry’s attention was focused on one lone man rather than thegroup of professionals. And that one man was Jared Colton.
    If anyone could find her daughter and bring her safely out of that mess, it was Jared. She wasn’t sure why she’d placed her confidence in him, of all people. She’d never really liked the man. He’d always been a playboy and considered himself God’s gift to women. Especially all the sexy sirens around Black Arrow.
    It had surprised her enormously to learn he was the man who’d discovered Peggy’s whereabouts. She hadn’t even known he was still living in Black Arrow. She’d thought he’d moved out years ago and was now making a fortune for some large petroleum company down in Houston.
    With unshed tears stinging the back of her eyes, she said quietly, “They have to locate exactly where she is first, Mom. Then maybe they can do something about getting her out.”
    â€œWell, I don’t know why that Colton boy had to be the one who crawled into the pipe to go searching for her,” Enola commented. “He’s not a rescue person. He should have let one of the firemen go. Like Tommy Grimes. You remember, he’s the one that saved the Wilsons from being blown to smithereens.”
    Kerry groaned inwardly. Ever since she’d returned to Black Arrow, Tommy had pestered her for a date and she knew her mother had encouraged him simply because he was divorced with a small daughter around Peggy’s age.
    â€œIf I remember right, the Wilsons’ neighbor is the one who