Out of the Depths

^>*Serenity, Arkansas

Cody stared at the crowbar in Trudy Lynn’s hand and blanched. “What if he’d turned it on you?”

“I never thought of that.” Leaning slightly toward Cody, she dropped the crowbar. “Pretty dumb, huh?”

“Yeah.” There was a catch in his voice. He didn’t try to hide it.

When she started looking woozy, he reached for her.

Trudy Lynn stepped into his waiting embrace. “I won’t be stupid like that again, I promise.”

“Good. I don’t think my heart can take much more excitement.” He heard a stifled sob and began to soothe her the way he would a frightened child. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

She leaned back slightly to look at him through teary eyes and said simply, “I know.”

VALERIE HANSEN

was thirty when she awoke to the presence of the Lord in her life and turned to Jesus. In the years that followed she worked with young children, both in church and secular environments. She also raised a family of her own and played foster mother to a wide assortment of furred and feathered critters.

Married to her high school sweetheart since age seventeen, she now lives in an old farmhouse she and her husband renovated with their own hands. She loves to hike the wooded hills behind the house and reflect on the marvelous turn her life has taken. Not only is she privileged to reside among the loving, accepting folks in the breathtakingly beautiful Ozark mountains of Arkansas, she also gets to share her personal faith by telling the stories of her heart for Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired line.

Life doesn’t get much better than that!

Valerie Hansen

Out of the Depths

Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

—James 1:2–3

I never get tired of saying that Joe is the most

important person in my life. He always will be.

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

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

EPILOGUE

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

PROLOGUE

“She’s the last one.”

“I told you she would be. She’s real stubborn. We’re gonna have more trouble with her than we did with the others.”

“Nonsense. She’s a woman. Alone.”

“Not exactly. She’s got a lot of friends.” He winced at the string of curses that erupted from his surly companion. “Well, she does. And folks around here stick together. You oughta know that.”

“I don’t want to hear any more lame excuses. If you can’t handle this job, I’ll hire somebody who can.”

“You threatening me?”

“I never threaten. I promise.”

“Give me a few more weeks. I’ll up the pressure. She’ll cave. I know she will.”

“She’d better. I’m sick of waiting.”

“I don’t know why you’re in such a big hurry all of a sudden. It’s gonna turn out just the way I said. It’s a sweet setup. She doesn’t suspect a thing.”

“Yet.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that. She’ll be ready to pack her bags and head for the hills before much longer. She’s already jumpy as a cat.”

“She should be,” the man said with a self-satisfied snort. “She has plenty to be scared of.”

“You said there’d be no rough stuff.”

“That was before. Things are different now. I’m running out of patience. And time. I’ll step in and clear up the problem myself, once and for all, if I have to.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Try me.”

“Whoa. Don’t get all het up.” He waved his hands in front of him, palms out, in a placating gesture. “You won’t have to do a thing. Two or three more weeks and Trudy Lynn Brown will be finished. She’ll be so down in the dumps she’ll be beggin’ for a chance to sell out.”

“Selling’s not enough. I want to see her business closed. Period. End of story.”

“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

“Good. You’d better make sure that’s exactly what happens or she won’t be the only one in deep trouble.”

“I know, I know. But don’t forget about those kids she’s got workin’ for her. If they get in my way it might slow down our plans a tad.”

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