Coming Soon

Blurb:

She’s closed off her heart. He’s hiding a secret that could destroy everything between them.

Kara Davis, a devoted single mother, manages a mountain resort in Georgia. When troubling incidents begin threatening the hotel’s future, she’s stunned to discover the detective assigned to the case is Ian McCray—her late husband’s best friend, and the only man who has stirred her heart in years.

Ian McCray, a former Army Ranger turned detective, has carried a heavy burden since Afghanistan. Seeing Kara again makes it harder than ever to keep the truth buried. As they work together to uncover who is sabotaging the resort, old feelings resurface—and so does the guilt he’s tried to outrun.

But the closer they come to the truth, the more dangerous the investigation becomes.

When Ian finally reveals the secret he’s been forced to keep, Kara must decide whether she can forgive the past—or lose the chance at love forever.

Set in the breathtaking Georgia mountains, Duty to Truth is a romantic suspense story of love, sacrifice, and redemption.

Excerpt:

Prologue

——

The hallway was quiet.

Too quiet for a resort that normally hummed with late-night movement—guests returning from the restaurant, the occasional laughter drifting through half-closed doors, the distant clink of glasses from the bar downstairs.

Tonight there was nothing.

Daniel Carter stood outside Room 312 for a moment, listening.

No footsteps. No voices. Just the low mechanical hum of the building settling for the night.

He slid the keycard into the lock and stepped inside.

The suite smelled faintly of pine cleaner and mountain air drifting through the balcony door he’d left cracked earlier. A lamp glowed softly beside the bed, exactly as he’d left it.

Daniel closed the door quietly behind him.

He moved with calm efficiency, the way someone did when they’d already run through every step in their head. No hesitation. No wasted motion.

The bathroom light flicked on.

White tile. Marble counter. Polished chrome fixtures that probably cost more than the average person’s monthly rent.

He crouched beside the bathtub and reached into his pocket.

A pair of needle-nose pliers.

Removing the drain cover, he slid the tool into the opening and twisted the linkage rod just enough to bend it out of alignment.

The stopper would still appear to function—but it wouldn’t lift properly once the tub filled.

Anyone glancing at it later might assume the mechanism had simply worn out.

Careless guest.

Accident.

He straightened and turned the faucet.

Water rushed into the tub in a clear, steady stream.

He adjusted the flow slightly—strong, but not suspiciously so.

Then he waited.

A few minutes passed.

The water rose slowly, curling against the sides of the tub. When it reached halfway, he nodded once to himself and stepped back.

The rest would take care of itself.

Daniel walked through the room one last time.

No fingerprints where they shouldn’t be. No personal belongings left behind.

The bed remained untouched.

The balcony door closed with a soft click.

He picked up the room key and set it neatly on the dresser.

Perfect.

By the time anyone discovered the problem, he would be long gone.

Daniel slipped out into the hallway and pulled the door closed behind him.

The soft latch sounded louder than it should have.

He walked toward the stairwell instead of the elevator.

Down one flight.

Then another.

By the time he stepped into the lobby, the night clerk barely looked up from his computer.

Daniel offered a polite smile as he crossed the floor.

“Checking out already?” the clerk asked.

“Something came up,” Daniel said easily. “Early drive.”

The clerk nodded, barely interested.

“That happens.”

Daniel set the keycard on the counter.

“Thanks for the stay.”

Outside, the mountain air felt colder.

The parking lot lights cast long shadows across the gravel drive. Daniel walked to his car, slid behind the wheel, and started the engine.

For a moment, he sat there, watching the lodge through the windshield.

Warm light glowed from the windows.

Quiet. Peaceful.

Unaware.

He shifted the car into gear.

By morning, several rooms would be uninhabitable.

Guests would complain.

Staff would scramble.

And the owner would spend the day putting out fires she never saw coming.

Daniel Carter drove down the mountain road, disappearing into the dark long before the first drop of water slipped over the edge of the tub.

Chapter One

——

Kara Davis, co-owner of Larch Rise Resort, walked the resort one floor at a time, just as she did every morning.

Most guests never noticed the quiet inspections that helped keep Larch Rise running smoothly—checking the halls, greeting early risers, catching small problems before they became expensive ones.

A few more steps and she would reach the elevator.

But she stopped mid-stride.

Something felt wrong beneath her shoe.

She shifted her weight.

The carpet gave slightly.

Kara frowned and looked down. The deep blue runner outside Room 312 had darkened several shades, the fibers pressed flat and heavy.

Wet.

She crouched and pressed her fingertips against the carpet.

Cold water soaked through instantly.

A slow drip echoed somewhere down the hallway.

Kara stood quickly and looked toward the suite door.

“Please tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”

She pulled out her master key card and opened the room. The floor inside was the same. In the bathroom, the tile had over an inch of water.

Her eyes shifted to the tub. Water sloshed over the sides in slow waves.

Kara lunged forward and twisted the faucet shut.

The room fell suddenly quiet except for the soft slap of water against tile.

She grabbed the chrome lever on the overflow plate and shoved it down.

Nothing happened.

The water level didn’t move.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Then she rolled up her sleeve and plunged her arm into the tub, feeling blindly along the bottom until her fingers closed around the metal stopper. It felt oddly stiff, as if something had jammed the linkage.

It resisted for a second—then popped loose.

The water began to swirl toward the drain.

She rushed to the phone and called the front desk.
“Get maintenance to 312 at once. There’s a big problem. And find out who the guest is for this room. They did what? I’ll be down in a few minutes, and I want that information.”

It was only a few minutes before Hector Ruiz, the hotel’s maintenance supervisor, arrived. He wore jeans, work boots, and a tool belt that clinked softly as he walked. His dark hair was streaked with gray at the temples, and his steady brown eyes took in the damage with practiced calm.

“Yes, Kara, it could take days to get this cleaned up and even longer than that if there’s more than one room damaged. That’s not counting reconstruction of the floors.”

“Thank you, Hector. Please keep me informed.”

Besides overseeing the maintenance department, Hector was also the husband of Kara’s business partner—and her favorite chef—Elena Ruiz.

As it turned out, the room had been rented to Daniel Carter, a businessman from New York City, who had checked out early that morning after receiving an emergency phone call.

* * *

By the time the maintenance crew finished pumping out the water, the damage was already done.

Kara stood on the highest balcony overlooking the mountains and drew in a long breath of cool summer air, hoping it might steady the tension still coiled in her chest.

Below her, the resort grounds stretched out in peaceful contrast to the chaos that had filled the main lodge only minutes earlier.

Somewhere beneath her feet, industrial fans now hummed through the hallway where water had poured through the ceiling of three guest rooms. The flooded suite above them had been discovered just in time to keep the damage from spreading further.

A bathtub.

Running full blast.

Drain plugged.

Whether it had been carelessness or something else, Kara didn’t know yet. But the guest who had rented the room had checked out early that morning—hours before anyone realized what had happened.

Convenient timing.

The inconvenienced guests received room upgrades and a free dinner for their trouble. They seemed satisfied with the arrangement.

She exhaled slowly and turned her attention to the recreation area below.

Chatter and laughter drifted upward as a group from the Morgan-Drake Corporation stepped out of one of the buildings dressed in tennis attire. Her twin sister, Sara, was among them.

They must have finished their final brainstorming session for the day.

Right on schedule.

Was it only 10 a.m.?

She felt like she’d already worked a full day.

The group crossed the lawn toward the tennis courts, joking with one another as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Later, they would head to the pool to cool off before dinner. Kara could practically set her clock by their routine.

A warm summer breeze moved through the surrounding trees, stirring the deep green needles of the evergreens. Here and there, the golden larches hinted at the bright yellow they would display once autumn arrived.

Normally, the view brought her peace.

Today, it barely dented the knot in her stomach.

The day had barely started, and she was already putting out fires she never saw coming.

Larch Rise had weathered storms before—economic downturns, harsh winters, even a small landslide years ago—but problems like this were different. Water damage meant closed rooms, angry guests, and expensive repairs.

And the timing couldn’t have been worse.

Her parents would arrive tomorrow for the family reunion she had reluctantly agreed to host.

Kara rubbed her temples.

Conflicting emotions swirled as she thought about it—a mixture of dread and reluctant excitement. It had been years since the entire family had been in one place.

Sara had never been the problem. Despite the miles between them, they talked often. Kara had even officiated her wedding.

Their mother, however, was another story.

Maybe the family reunion wouldn’t ruin Sara’s weekend.

Below, Sara laughed at something one of the executives said, the sound carrying faintly up the hillside.

For a moment, Kara allowed herself to watch her sister, wishing the rest of the family were as easy to be around as Sara had always been.

Behind her, a door opened.

“Kara?”

She turned slightly as Hector stepped onto the balcony.

“We’ve got the water contained,” he said. “But you’re going to want to see the damage downstairs.”

Kara nodded.

“Give me a minute,” she replied quietly.

He hesitated, then returned inside.

Kara looked out over the mountains one last time.

From up here, Larch Rise still looked exactly the way she had always imagined it would—peaceful, welcoming, untouched by the problems inside its walls.

If only the guests believed that too.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Hector knocked on Kara’s office door.

“Got a minute?”

Kara set aside the damage report. “Please tell me you found good news.”

Hector began, “We were able to save many of the cheaper items. The pillows, spreads, and furniture. They will need washing or steam cleaning. Some got pretty wet. Especially those on the floors beneath.”

“That’s good.”

He continued, “In addition to Room 312, the ceilings and carpeting in the rooms below will need to be replaced.”

“Come on, Hector,” she pleaded. “Tell me something good.”

“I found a guy who is willing to work on it over the weekend if I can help him.”

“Thank you. I can always count on you, but I wish you didn’t have to do that.”

When he didn’t say anything else or leave, she looked up. Hector looked upset.

“Is there something else?”

He held up the tub mechanism he’d removed from Room 312.

“I took this down to Miller’s Hardware to see if they had a replacement.”

She frowned. “And?”

“The owner took one look at it and said the linkage had been bent.”

Kara straightened in her chair. “Bent?”

See these marks?” Hector pointed to the rod. “The owner said those weren’t made by water. Someone used a tool on it. Once the linkage bends like that, the stopper won’t lift properly. Tub just keeps filling. His exact words were: ‘This didn’t happen by accident. Somebody forced it.’”