One More Day Read online

  Other Books by Shirleen Davies

  Historical Western Romance Series

  MacLarens of Fire Mountain

  Tougher than the Rest, Book One

  Faster than the Rest, Book Two

  Harder than the Rest, Book Three

  Stronger than the Rest, Book Four

  Deadlier than the Rest, Book Five

  Wilder than the Rest, Book Six

  Redemption Mountain

  Redemption’s Edge, Book One

  Coming fall of 2014

  MacLarens of Boundary Mountain

  Colin’s Quest, Book One

  Coming in 2015

  Contemporary Romance Series

  MacLarens of Fire Mountain

  Second Summer, Book One

  Hard Landing, Book Two

  One More Day, Book Three

  All Your Nights, Book Four, Releasing November 2014

  For more information about Shirleen Davies and her books visit:

  www.shirleendavies.com

  One More Day

  MacLarens of Fire Mountain

  Contemporary

  SHIRLEEN DAVIES

  Book Three in the MacLarens of Fire Mountain

  Contemporary Series

  Copyright © 2014 by Shirleen Davies

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  For permission requests, contact the publisher.

  Avalanche Ranch Press, LLC

  PO Box 12618

  Prescott, AZ 86304

  One More Day is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used facetiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is wholly coincidental.

  Book design and conversions by Joseph Murray at 3rdplanetpublishing.com

  Description

  One More Day – Book Three

  MacLarens of Fire Mountain Contemporary Romance Series

  Cameron “Cam” Sinclair is smart, driven, and dedicated, with an easygoing temperament that belies his strong will and the personal ambitions he holds close. Besides his family, his job as head of IT at the MacLaren Cattle Company and his position as a Search and Rescue volunteer are all he needs to make him happy. At least that’s what he thinks until he meets, and is instantly drawn to, fellow SAR volunteer, Lainey Devlin.

  Lainey is compassionate, independent, and ready to break away from her manipulative and controlling fiancé. Just as her decision is made, she’s called into a major search and rescue effort, where once again, her path crosses with the intriguing, and much too handsome, Cam Sinclair. But Lainey’s plans are set. An opportunity to buy a flourishing preschool in northern Arizona is her chance to make a fresh start, and nothing, not even her fierce attraction to Cam Sinclair, will impede her plans.

  As Lainey begins to settle into her new life, an unexpected danger arises —threats from an unknown assailant—someone who doesn’t believe she belongs in Fire Mountain. The more Lainey begins to love her new home, the greater the danger becomes. Can she accept the help and protection Cam offers while ignoring her consuming desire for him?

  Even if Lainey accepts her attraction to Cam, will he ever be able to come to terms with his own driving ambition and allow himself to consider a different life than the one he’s always pictured? A life with the one woman who offers more than he’d ever hoped to find?

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my fabulous readers, who continue to encourage my writing efforts. Thanks!

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks also to my editor, Deborah Gunn, proofreader, Sue Hutchens, and all of my beta readers. Their insights and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

  As always, many thanks to my wonderful resources, including Diane Lebow, who has been a whiz at guiding my social media endeavors, my cover designer, Elle Designs, and Joseph Murray who is a whiz at formatting my books for both print and electronic versions.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other Books by Shirleen Davies

  One More Day

  Prologue

  “Cam! We’ve got to move lower. Now!”

  Cam Sinclair lifted his head from the unconscious man on the ground who’d been blindsided by a falling limb. The intense heat scorched Cam’s face as he tried to clear his mind and concentrate. Jake Renner, the team leader, stood twenty feet up the mountain from Cam’s location. He was motioning with both hands, waving toward the summit, while starting his descent.

  “Wind’s shifted. We have to move!” Jake watched as Cam continued to work alongside the hiker who’d been overcome with smoke while hiding in a small cave. They’d been lucky to find the man who appeared to be uninjured except for some scrapes and scratches on his arms and legs.

  The hiker began to stir, choking as his eyes opened to mere slits to take in his surroundings and the two Search and Rescue workers who hovered over him.

  “What the hell happened?” His voice was rough as he brought a hand up to cover his mouth for another round of deep, course choking. His other hand instinctively moved to his chest. “Damn, that hurts.”

  “We found you in a cave.” Cam looked up to see the concern etched on Jake’s face. Time was growing short.

  The man choked again and tried to sit up. “I was with a group. Have you found the others?”

  “Just you, so far. Can you walk?” Cam assisted the man into a sitting position and checked him once more before helping him to stand.

  “Yeah, I’m good. Let’s go.”

  Cam nodded to Jake, who began to lead the way down a narrow brush-lined trail, looking back over his shoulder every few feet.

  The hiker took a step, stumbled as coughs racked his body, then tried again. Cam didn’t wait any longer. He wrapped the man’s arm around his shoulders, gripped him around the waist, and followed Jake.

  “I’m fine,” the hiker grumbled as his legs moved alongside Cam’s and his grip tightened around his rescuer’s shoulders.

  Cam didn’t respond. He was tall, over six feet, and was grateful the hiker was a slim, wiry man of average height. Cam could feel the heat at their backs and turned as flames moved down the hill toward them and their base camp. The winds had definitely shifted. He looked ahead to see Jake stopped, looking around, as if trying to find something or someone.

  “What is it?”

  “Thought I heard something.” Jake shielded his eyes and took one more turn around before reaching for the hiker. “I’ll take him. I need you to call base to let them know what’s going on and that we have an injured man. My radio’s dead.”

  Cam pulled out his radio and punched the button. “Cam to base. Cam to base.”

  “Go ahead Cam.”

  “Wind shifting toward base. Coming in with Jake and an injured hiker. Out.”

  “Got it. We’ll be watching. Out.”

  Cam had stuffed the radi
o back into a pocket and was turning toward the trail when he heard it.

  “Up here!” The voice was strained, frantic.

  “You hear that?” Jake asked as he came to a stop.

  Cam turned to see a slight figure in fire gear up the hill to their left, dragging someone by the collar.

  “Go on ahead, Jake. I’ll catch up.” Cam didn’t wait for a response before taking off at a sprint up the hill toward the two figures.

  He came to a stop and dropped to his knees beside an injured woman. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I literally stumbled over her as I was coming down the mountain. She has a good-sized lump on the back of her head. I haven’t had much chance to look at it.”

  Cam checked her vital signs—all seemed good. “She must have gotten pegged by a falling limb. She’s not bleeding. We need to get her to base.” He bent and lifted the woman into his arms before starting down the grade at a fast clip.

  He’d traveled about a hundred yards when the rescuer behind him gasped then let out a shriek before falling and rolling toward him. Cam stood his ground, stopping the momentum with his legs.

  “You all right?” That’s when Cam got a good look at the other person—a woman.

  “I think so. Pretty clumsy, huh?” She stood, stretched, then started down the hill ahead of Cam.

  He wasted no time following her toward the base camp and medical assistance a couple hundred yards away. The injured woman still hadn’t stirred. Cam’s top priority focused on getting her the medical help she needed.

  They broke ranks upon entering the camp, Cam heading toward the paramedic station and the female rescuer jogging up to a group of men near a waiting truck. He watched her for a split second before turning his attention to the open doors of the emergency vehicle.

  “About time you showed up.” Jake kneeled inside a waiting medical van and stretched his arms out toward Cam to take the injured woman and place her on a bed behind him. “Stay here. We need to regroup, change the base camp, and get back out to search. Tim finished checking out the male hiker. I’ll send him off as soon as he looks over the woman.”

  Cam swung his head toward an explosion up the mountain. Fanned by scorching summer winds, the sound fell somewhere between a freight train and a jet engine just before take-off.

  “Move, move, move!” The Captain of the local area’s Search and Rescue, or SAR, team turned in a circle, yelling orders in all directions as everyone scrambled to clear the area. “We’ve got five minutes to evacuate!” Something had ignited from the combination of strong winds, low humidity, dry conditions, and warming temperatures.

  The members of Cam’s SAR squad gathered in their appointed area. Jake checked off each member as the crew truck pulled to a stop.

  “Load up, men,” Jake called as the last member jogged up.

  Cam hopped into the bed of the truck just before Jake, and took a seat at the back rubbing his grit-filled eyes. He stretched aching arms above his head and took one more look around, his eyes landing on a lone figure several yards away.

  “What’s going on with her?” Cam asked Jake, nodding toward the woman.

  “Guess I’d better find out.” Jake started to rise, only to be stopped by Cam’s outstretched hand.

  “I’ll go.” Cam was over the tailgate before Jake could object, striding toward her, while gazing around to make sure no one else would be left behind.

  “Hey. Where’s your crew?”

  She turned, her shoulder length, jet-black hair falling over her eyes, a look of confusion, and perhaps fear, on her face. “I must have gotten the coordinates wrong. We were supposed to meet up here if anything happened.”

  “Look, we’re the last group out and we’ve got to get moving. Come with us and we’ll get you hooked up wherever you need to go.” He took another worried look up the hill at the flames that were beginning to shift away from their location.

  She stared up at him, hesitating for a split second, before nodding her head.

  “Cam! You coming?”

  Cam tore his gaze from the female volunteer and looked toward his team leader.

  “We’d best get in the truck.”

  The group rode in relative silence down the mountain, watching the flames and smoke move away from them. It didn’t matter, their job as search and rescue volunteers was finished in that section of the wilderness. They’d be directed to another site, another camp area where families were still focused on observing the fire that appeared to be miles away, not yet comprehending the danger it posed to them.

  Cam’s group, along with others from across the western United States, had arrived in the Bitterroot Mountain area of Montana to assist with search and rescue efforts. It had been a dry, hot summer and crews across the country were working overtime to keep up with the growing number of wild fires.

  Cam glanced at the volunteer beside him, feeling an inexplicable pull to connect with her.

  “I’m Cameron Sinclair.” Cam extended his hand.

  “Lainey.” She clasped his hand. It was warm and welcoming, and she felt an unfamiliar, slightly uncomfortable sensation creep up her arm at the contact.

  Cam smiled down at her, momentarily mesmerized by her guileless emerald green eyes and broad smile.

  “How long have you been a volunteer?” Cam asked Lainey as the truck bounced over dry, rutted back trails.

  “Four years. You?”

  “Almost seven. Some urban rescue, although most of my experience is in mountain and wilderness rescue.”

  “I’d love to try urban rescue. Most of what I get is mountain, some on horseback.”

  “That right? I’ve done several searches on horseback since I moved to Arizona a few months ago. Where are you from?”

  Lainey’s answer was cut off as they pulled into the main camp.

  “All right everyone, listen up.” Jake stood as the truck came to a stop at the main staging area for all SAR groups. “Stay close. Get something to eat, take care of business, and meet me back here in thirty minutes. I’ll find out our next insertion point and assignment.” He looked down at Lainey. “You need any assistance finding your team?”

  “No sir, I’ll be fine. Thanks for the ride.” Lainey vaulted over the tailgate, not wasting a minute before searching for the rest of her team. She was worried about them. They never left anyone behind, and never missed their meet location.

  “Hey, wait up.”

  Lainey turned to see Cam come up behind her.

  “Need any help? I’ve got time.”

  She looked up at his face, smudged with soot, and hidden behind reflective sunglasses that made him look cocky, and somewhat dangerous.

  “Uh, no. Thanks for the offer, though. I think I see a few of them over there,” she pointed toward a group several yards away. She started to turn, then looked back. “And thanks for giving me a ride.” She flashed a broad smile at Cam, her eyes crinkling at the corners, before she dashed away toward her group.

  “Wait. What’s your last name?” Cam called after her as a truck pulled between them, cutting off his view of her retreat. He cursed softly under his breath, wondering what had come over him.

  He had no time to build a relationship—at least not one requiring work, and especially not some type of long distance thing. He had plans, and they didn’t include a pretty SAR worker. Cam shook his head. If he believed that, then why did he sense he’d just missed out on something important?

  Chapter One

  Four months later, Fire Mountain, Arizona

  “You about ready?” It was early evening on Friday. Eric Sinclair, Cam’s younger brother, had them lined up for some type of double date with a woman Eric had met at a local business meeting and the woman’s partner. If Cam remembered right, they owned a CPA firm in Fire Mountain. There wasn’t much he hated more than dating—any type.

  He’d been on a couple of dates since returning from the last major search and rescue operation in Montana. Each time he’d tried to focus o
n the women, follow their stories, and enjoy the back-and-forth banter, but he couldn’t stop himself from seeing a different face. The vision would come unexpected. It was of a young woman with ebony hair, fair skin, and sparkling green eyes that contained a bit of merriment as if she knew something he didn’t. Her first name was Lainey, the search and rescue volunteer who’d captured him mentally during their brief encounter.

  Cam had thought about her often, each time chastising himself for getting off track and fantasizing about someone he didn’t know, and had no time for even if he did.

  “Sure. Let’s get this over with.” Cam straightened the files on his desk and turned off the desk light—something he much preferred to the annoyingly bright ceiling lights.

  “Look, it’s just a date. Dinner, maybe some music afterwards. Besides, when was the last time you were out?”

  “Last night…”

  “I don’t mean the company touch football game. Out on a date?”

  Cam walked around to the front of his desk and leaned against the edge. “A couple of months ago.”

  “And was it a disaster?”

  He let out an impatient breath. “No, she was great. I just didn’t have any interest in seeing her again.” Cam’s frustration at family and friends trying to set him up, meet new women, showed in his disgusted expression.

  Eric clasped a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “You need to relax, get out once in a while. Look, I understand your need to succeed, follow in Dad’s footsteps, and I know you have ambitions that don’t include meeting the right woman. Still, you need to take a break and have some fun.”

  Cam wasn’t surprised that Eric had pegged the situation so accurately. He’d been driven his entire life to excel, learn numerous skills, be the top at all he tried, and imitate the success his father had achieved. Kit Sinclair had been a great man and Cam’s determination to be like him required complete focus and dedication.

  Eric knew Cam better than anyone. Although they’d had different mothers, he, Cam, and their sister, Brooke, had always been close. Eric’s mother, Annie Sinclair MacLaren, married Heath MacLaren after her first husband, Kit Sinclair, passed away. With the marriage, they’d gained a stepbrother, Trey MacLaren, a Navy pilot, and stepsister, Cassie MacLaren, a student at Arizona State. Both Cam and Eric now worked for MacLaren Cattle Company as well as the rapidly growing development division—Eric in land development and Cam as head of the IT department and as part of the company’s flight team.