The Replacement

The Replacement
Anne Marie Duquette

Can the past be undone?Twins like Eric Kincaide and his sister, Naomi, know each other's every thought. But that closeness came between him and Lindsey Nelson, the woman he'd planned to marry, four years ago. When their wedding plans fell through, Lindsey ran as far and fast as she could.Now Eric heads a small team of winter rangers in Yosemite, a team that includes his twin sister. They're looking for a kidnapped child hidden somewhere in these snowy mountains. When one of his rangers dies in an avalanche, he needs a replacement, someone who specializes in handling search-and-rescue dogs. That someone is Lindsey Nelson.The hunt for a missing child brings her back to snowbound Yosemite, back to a place she wanted to forget. Back to a man she can't forget–and the twin she can't forgive.

“Did you two kiss and make up?” Naomi asked

“No.”

“Why not?”

Lindsey exhaled with annoyance. “I know you’re under a lot of stress, Naomi, so I’m making allowances. But do me a favor, would you? Back off.”

Naomi’s brows rushed together just as her twin brother’s did when he was upset. “Someone’s got to make you see sense!”

“Your timing’s lousy. I have to go out into that blizzard—with a crazy gunman somewhere nearby. Excuse me if my mind’s on my job right now.”

“Spare me the dedicated ranger act, Lindsey. I know you better than that.” Naomi paused. “I thought we were friends.”

Lindsey straightened, her eyes narrowed. “We were never friends.”

The other woman’s flushed cheeks acknowledged the truth of Lindsey’s words. “No, but later on, I wanted to be. I know I went about things wrong, but I needed my twin! I swear, Lindsey, I never meant for my relationship with Eric to damage yours. Or to cause bad blood between the two of us.”

Lindsey held up a restraining hand. “Naomi, I didn’t come back here to assign blame. Eric didn’t trust me. Whatever you said to him made no difference in that department.”

Dear Reader,

Many of you know that I love to write about my country’s national parks. Each park has its own traits—its own character. While some places are definitely “user-friendly,” others are not. The setting of this story, Yosemite Park in the dead of winter, can be formidable.

Yosemite is located in the four-hundred-mile-long Sierra Nevada. This is the main freshwater source for San Francisco and the Central Valley. But the huge volume of snow that ultimately provides water for California’s coastal population is also the scene of deadly winters. California isn’t all beaches and sunshine.

Only two parks in the United States have rangers who live in total isolation due to winter weather conditions. Yosemite is one; Alaska is the other. The heavy loss of life sustained by the Donner Party members is only one of many tragedies to occur in this snow-locked area. During the winter, these mountains are just as inaccessible today as they were in the 1840s, the time of the Donners.

I have taken some liberties by making the existing town of Lee Vining larger than it is and setting a fictional hospital, municipal airport and ranger office there. And in reality, Yosemite has only two rangers on duty in the winter, not four.

Today’s rangers must be mentally and physically self-sufficient to survive in a winter climate so harsh that—as in the Antarctic—even snowmobiles and helicopters can’t be relied upon. Rangers must also be able to protect and, if needed, rescue any visitors to the parks. Rangers who hold these jobs are very special people.

I hope you enjoy my story about Lindsey Nelson and Eric Kincaide. Welcome to winter in Yosemite! (And please visit my Web site at www.annemarieduq.com.)

Anne Marie

The Replacement

Anne Marie Duquette

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

This book is dedicated to my fraternal-twin nephews, Richard and Patrick Ferraro. And to all cancer survivors, especially those in my own family.

Although this is a work of fiction, any resemblance to my old dog Ginger and my sister’s dog Rocky is purely intentional!

CONTENTS

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

CHAPTER ONE

Yosemite National Park, California

WINTER SNOW…FEBRUARY SNOW…killing snow continued to fall throughout the High Sierra as the rescue party advanced. Aluminum poles in hand, the three rangers probed the white depths in a straight grid pattern, searching for their missing fourth. Seconds ticked mercilessly away, even as the lead ranger, Eric Kincaide, listened to his homing beacon, trying to zero in on the battery-powered locating device all rangers were required to wear.