Lightning Strikes

Lightning Strikes
Mary Lynn Baxter

36 hours: a town is plunged into darkness.. the mayor is missing..two doctors race the clock to save lives.. as a blackout paralyzed Grand Springs, Colorado, Dr. Noah Howell was back on the job in Vanderbilt Memorial's ER, thrown together with Dr. Amanda Jennings, the woman he'd never forgotten,,, the woman he's walked away from one long year ago; in the desperate hours of the night, tension turned to passion, and fate brought Noah one last chance to reveal the truth behind his betrayal, but some secrets were better left untold.

36 hours that changed everything…

As a devastating summer storm rages in Grand Springs, Colorado, the mayor’s life hangs in the balance. A bride flees her own wedding, pursued by mysterious gunmen. A mudslide traps a girl in a cave. And a stranger walks into town with no memory of his name or his past.

In the hospital’s E.R., Doctor Noah Howell has always put others first. But now, in the midst of the chaos, he decides to go for what he’s always wanted—Amanda Jennings.

Book 1 of the 36 Hours series. Don’t miss Book 2: Opposites attract when a mudslide traps Sean and Cassandra in her car in Strange Bedfellows by Kasey Michaels.

Lightning Strikes

Mary Lynn Baxter

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

Contents

Chapter One (#u5a270411-8013-5187-9975-3e4f82f0923e)

Chapter Two (#u8c765a23-d179-5926-bbe4-8a08eb92f51b)

Chapter Three (#u99f7f104-bb26-5392-af12-47fd3e7ff2c5)

Chapter Four (#u9fe6c51b-c848-5934-9d6b-481cc98c8bb2)

Chapter Five (#u839e63d5-4212-59eb-9cab-858285c899a2)

Chapter Six (#uaa4656fa-cb12-581b-856b-fa14d932463a)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Prologue

The man behind the wheel muttered an expletive. He couldn’t see a damn thing. He’d never in his life seen rain like this, and he wasn’t all that young. More to the point, he’d sure never tried to drive through it. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it was the end of the world. A smirk twisted his lips in his lean face. Hell, for all he knew, maybe it was.

He took in a deep breath, trying to settle his growing apprehension. His plight wouldn’t be so bad if he weren’t on a mountain road. But he was. The sensible thing would be to pull over and wait out the torrential downpour. If he knew it would stop soon, he wouldn’t hesitate to do that.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have that guarantee, and even if he did, he doubted he’d actually stop. He had to reach Grand Springs. In fact, he felt a driving urgency he hadn’t experienced in a long time. It had been that phone call he’d received. What could “Her Honor,” the mayor of Grand Springs, Colorado, want? He had no idea, but the frantic note in her voice had gotten to him. Without wasting any time, he’d jumped into his car.

He paused in his thoughts and gripped the steering wheel harder. His worst fear was that he’d hit a puddle of water just right and hydroplane into another car. He glanced in his rearview mirror and both side mirrors. For the moment, it appeared he was the only vehicle on this road high in the Colorado mountains.

Fool or idiot.

He didn’t know which word most aptly described him. It didn’t matter. He was on the road, and he had to deal with the situation as best he could.

At least he had his radio and could keep abreast of the worsening weather, he assured himself. Reaching for the knob, he turned up the volume, only to jump when a mass of static blared back at him. He cursed again, just as the sound came through the speakers clearly.

He listened to the newscaster’s deep voice warn that if this heavy rain continued, a new rainfall record would be set.

“Really…” he muttered, dodging as lightning came at him from every side, convinced it could reach through the glass and wreak a personal vengeance on him.

Frustration gnawed at him as he was forced to slow his car even more. Hell, he was already crawling at a snail’s pace. Surely the rain had to let up. Fate cut him no slack—lightning continued to crackle nearby, followed by the loudest booms of thunder he’d ever heard.