“You’re right, Rob,” she said. “This is a beautiful night to take a walk along the river.”

  “Along our future,” he replied. “This is where we both belong, Mandy, where we should live out the rest of our lives.”

  “Yes.” What else could she say to words that were so true?

  Rob took her hand again and led her to a picnic table up on the lawn. He sat her down on the bench seat facing the river. Expecting him to sit beside her, Mandy was surprised when he bent down on one knee in front of her.

  What’s he doing?

  Rob took her hand and waited until she focused her gaze on his face and realized how serious he was.

  “Mandy.” The word came out hoarse, draped with emotion, and he cleared his throat. “I love the river, and I love this place, but most of all, I love you. More than anything, more than life itself.”

  He pulled a small box out of his pocket and thumbed open the lid. Inside nestled a gold ring with a small, brilliant diamond.

  Mandy’s heart thudded as she stared at him. She knew what was coming next. Oh my God.

  His tremulous smile was full of hope, mixed with a dash of fear. “Will you marry me, mi querida?”

  THE END

  Acknowledgments

  I want to thank those who selflessly shared their expertise with me so this book could be as authentic as possible. My go-to-expert for the whole Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures series, Stew Pappenfort, Senior Park Ranger of the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA), answered many questions and reviewed the manuscript to make sure I portrayed river rangers and river rescue situations correctly. John Knight, Director of The America Cup Fly Fishing Tournament held every fall in Colorado, graciously let me tromp alongside rivers with him for a day and pepper him with questions while he judged the 2009 tournament. His wife Jodi also was helpful in providing behind-the-scenes details about how such tournaments are run. The characters John and Carol Squire in the book were developed to honor this hard-working and dedicated couple.

  Ned Parker, owner of Breckenridge Outfitters, and Adam Gros-kin, one of his fly-fishing guides and a very patient teacher, provided valuable information about fly fishing in Colorado. It wasn’t Adam’s fault that all I managed to hook during my lesson was my thumb! Peter Sheetz, a member of the U.S. Youth Fly Fishing Team, let me pick his brain about potential ways a competitor could cheat in a tournament and how the sport of competitive fly fishing is organized. Christina Herndon, former Deputy Coroner of El Paso County, provided forensic information such as how immersion in a river would affect dead bodies over time.

  Any errors in fact or procedure are due to my exaggeration or misunderstanding of these experts’ patient instruction. One deliberate twist of fact that I made was to place the Vallie Bridge campground inside Chaffee County, so my river ranger character, Mandy Tanner, could continue to work with character Detective Victor Quintana of the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office.

  I read many reference books on the sport of fly fishing, but two that were especially helpful were The Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide by Tom Rosenbauer and The Complete Angling Guide for the Summit County Area by Michael D. Shook.

  Finally I must thank those who help me in my writing career. My literary agent, Sandra Bond, works tirelessly for me, and I rely heavily on her literary contract expertise. Terri Bischoff, Acquisition Editor at Midnight Ink, and Connie Hill, Senior Editor, made sure the book’s prose was the best it could be. Thanks to Lisa Novak for the brilliant cover art! Thanks also to all of the staff at Midnight Ink who contributed to the production and marketing of the book, especially Marissa Pederson, Publicist. And a huge shout-out to my critique group, Vic Cruikshank, Maria Faulconer, Barbara Nickless, M. B. Partlow, and Robert Spiller, for their extremely helpful suggestions along the way.

  About the Author

  Beth Groundwater was an avid “river rat” in the 1980s, running whitewater rivers in the eastern United States in an open-boat canoe. She has enjoyed reacquainting herself with that subculture and its updated boating equipment while researching the RM Adventures mystery series. Beth lives in Colorado and enjoys its many outdoor activities, including skiing and whitewater rafting. She loves to speak to book clubs about her books. To find out more, please visit Beth’s website at bethgroundwater.com and her blog at bethgroundwater.blogspot.com.

  Photo by Neil Groundwater.

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Information

  Dedication

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

 

 

  Beth Groundwater, Wicked Eddies

 

 

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