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  “Wade either invited her or met her there, and somehow lured her out to the farthest cabin for some private action. He claims she wanted to play, but from all accounts she was a girl who never would’ve done anything like that. He says she ‘went crazy,’ and things got out of hand.” He hesitated. “It…was fairly clear from the remains that he’d beaten her badly. Some broken bones, and it looked to me like a fractured skull.”

  Janna rested her fingertips at her mouth, her eyes stricken. “That’s so awful.”

  “He buried the body in a panic, but was too drunk and scared to remember exactly where. All this time, he’s been afraid that he left evidence behind. Sure enough, he did.”

  “What about the other remains?”

  “A backpacker rambling throughout the West. He saw Wade disposing of the body, so Wade stabbed him, then buried that body, too, but during the fight he lost his grandfather’s monogrammed knife.”

  “Wade said something about finding it in your cabin.” Janna wrapped her arms around her waist and looked up at Michael, her voice filled with sadness. “What if he’d hurt Ian?”

  “That could’ve happened, because Wade’s guilt and fear have been growing for years. He panicked when he heard the lodge was reopening, and started searching with a metal detector. Found all sorts of little metal things, though not what he was after.”

  “Then how did Ian get it?”

  “The detector had just started clicking again when Ian showed up. Wade ran to avoid being recognized. Ian discovered the knife and kept it for over a month. He never told me.”

  “I feel like such a fool. Wade acted like he was concerned about our welfare, but all along he was lying. If I’d been smarter, none of us would’ve been in danger.” She drew in a shaky breath. “And what about the people in town, all those years ago? Did no one at that party notice him with an unfamiliar girl? See that he went home alone or think he acted strangely?”

  “I’ve talked to a lot of people who lived here at the time. When I asked about Wade, they all got a little edgy. His dad was once very influential in these parts and wielded a lot of power. So even if anyone suspected something back then, they probably wouldn’t have dared testify against the man’s son.”

  “I want to believe in people,” she said in a broken voice. “But after this, I’ll always wonder.”

  They both fell silent.

  There were a hundred things he wanted to say to her, but he didn’t even know where to begin.

  “I know it’s been hard, dealing with your job and my problems at Snow Canyon,” Janna said, turning to him. “But we’ll be fine now, if you want to move into town. You can rip up that silly penalty clause for the early departure fee.” A sad smile tipped up a corner of her mouth. “I hope we can still be friends, though.”

  “I don’t want that, Janna.” At the flash of surprise and hurt in her eyes, he winced at his poor choice of words. “I couldn’t sleep last night, because all I could think about was the fact that I’d nearly lost you forever. And if I don’t make things right, it could still happen.”

  The flicker of hope in her expression gave him the courage to continue. “During the last year I’ve struggled a lot with my faith. I haven’t been able to forgive myself for Ian’s disabilities and Elise’s death, because it’s my fault Ian was behind the wheel. That guilt has been with me every minute of every day. I just couldn’t understand why God let all of that happen.”

  “Oh, Michael. Most parents buy their teenagers a car…and bad things don’t happen to all of them. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “I think you said something like that to me a while ago, but I wasn’t ready to listen, because I’d failed my family so badly.” He exhaled slowly. “I was still overwhelmed with grief, and I couldn’t see how that would ever change. How could it? The accident could never be reversed. Nothing could bring Elise back or make Ian whole again. God could not give me what I wanted most.”

  Resting a hand against his cheek, Janna searched his face, her eyes filled with compassion…and something much deeper that seemed to reach out and touch his heart. “And now?”

  “Thinking you’d died in that fire and seeing Wade shoot at Ian shook me right to the core. But God answered my prayers, just as He always has. I’ve just been too blind and stubborn to always see His answers.” Beneath her loving touch, he felt the healing balm of forgiveness and grace spread through him, warming him. Making him feel complete. “His forgiveness has always been right in front of me, too. I’ve just been too busy blaming myself to accept it.”

  She nodded. “Last night I realized a few things, too. The whole time, I was praying for rescue and for the child I might never see again. God’s answer was giving me a way to escape and the strength to do it on my own. I still can’t believe I made it out that window in time.”

  “For which I will be forever grateful.” Michael stood and offered her his hand. When she rose, he curved his arms around her in a gentle embrace, and tucked her head beneath his chin. It felt so perfect, so right to hold her, that his heart seemed to swell until it filled his chest.

  She pulled back and gave him a rueful smile. “Since last night, one thought has been running through my head. Why do I ever doubt Him? There was never any love in my childhood home, and ever since my husband left, I’ve been afraid of risking another failure. But that isn’t the way God wants His children to live—and I could have missed a chance with you if all of this hadn’t happened.”

  Her words filled him with happiness and promised a chance at a future he’d never thought possible. “I love you, Janna. I don’t think I realized it until I nearly lost you.”

  She leaned forward to brush a kiss against Michael’s cheek. “And I love you, too—more than words could ever say.”

  Something stirred behind them, and they both turned as one to see Tessa standing on the sidewalk with Ian and Rylie.

  They were all grinning.

  “Wow,” Rylie breathed. “Does that mean I’ll have a brother?”

  Ian tugged on her ponytail, his grin widening into a broad smile. “Lucky you, kid.”

  “It does, if Janna agrees.” Michael held his breath, felt his own eyes burn when he saw the answer in hers—the promise of a lifetime of love waiting to be explored.

  She grinned. “Yes!”

  A feeling of thankfulness and completion swept through him, so powerful and overwhelming that it felt as if the Lord’s glory was shining down on all of them, blessing them with a future filled with joy.

  Michael opened his arms and welcomed Janna and the children into an embrace—and felt as if he’d truly come home at last.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-1040-4

  HARD EVIDENCE

  Copyright © 2007 by Roxanne Rustand

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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