Merkaba, a supernatural suspense series (Walk the Right Road, Book 3)

A Father’s Love ~
I LOVED this story. It was very heart warming. It
’
s the kind of story I think every father should read to the
i
r children.

Mimi

The Forgotten Child ~
READERS FAVORITE 5
-
Star Review
:
A real page turner
with … a
fast moving plot
. A
must read!

Reviewed by Brenda C. for Readers Favorite

Danger Reunites a family ~ The Search

Nancy Radke

This was a very compelling and well written story. I couldn
’
t put in down and finished it in two days with off and on reading.

Bonnie – Amazon Reviewer

The Forgotten Child ~ Wonderful ~ Really hit home when Trevor came into the picture with autism. Real dramatic issues that could
happen. Great
plot! Expertly crafted.

Short Stuff ~ Amazon

Lorhainne has a way of making you crazy about her characters, whether it
’
s hating them or loving them...on the edge of my seat for both and can
’
t wait for the next.

Amazon Reviewer ~ Skybabe

Start Reading

Afterword

Other Works by Lorhainne Eckhart

About the Author

Contact Information

Copyright Information

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

He watched her from the shadows, hiding behind an old fir tree in the thick, forested parkland. She was in the clearing. He’d seen her there yesterday and the past four days before that.

He’d stumbled upon her quite by accident. Wednesday, five days ago, just after breakfast, he had been intrigued by what she was doing. At first, he couldn’t figure out what the woman was about, as she appeared to be searching for something in the grassy ground of the clearing and then in the brush. She would reappear with a rock and drop it in the center of the open meadow again and again until she had a pile of different-sized rocks. And she was always sprinkling something from a leather-fringed pouch at her waist.

Had it been any other woman, he wouldn’t have given her his attention for this long, but there was something about this one he couldn’t read. She remained mysterious as she stood tall, shoulders squared and back as if nothing in life could hold her down. She nodded to herself and smiled as if someone was with her. He looked twice and then glanced behind him, and he knew that she was, in fact, alone. This strange woman was stunning, with silky dark hair tied back in a ponytail that draped to her waist. She was slender in an athletic way and had long, tanned legs that he could only imagine entangled with his. Every day, she dressed the same: tank top and beige shorts, with gray wool socks sticking up from the tops of old brown hiking boots. Her outfit was practical and cool on this extremely hot July day in the state parkland just outside Gardiner, Washington.

He appreciated a woman who knew how to look after herself, and by the looks of this one, she didn’t let an idle moment pass. This had piqued his interest, as had her determination as she constructed and built a circle of rocks, closing her eyes and then muttering something he couldn’t make out from this distance. After she had finished, she pulled a lighter from her pouch and lit something in her hand, smoke drifting up and trailing as she walked clockwise around the entire circle before tucking the smoking bundle between the rocks.

Now, today, five days later, she was sitting on the ground, watching the circle with a peaceful expression he hadn’t seen on anyone since the shaman he met in San Pedro, Chile—the shaman responsible for his return to Gardiner.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he cut through the bushes and long grass until he faced the woman and her circle. Standing on the other side of the rocks, with the morning sun nearly blinding him, he raised his hand to block the light as he gazed down on her. She didn’t acknowledge him right away, but his heart thudded when she glanced up slowly with the most amazing green eyes. Her face was tanned, with rounded cheeks, and she stared in a way that made him realize she wasn’t about to make this easy. Damn, a difficult woman, but that would just be a minor challenge.

“How’s it going?”

She stared at him, her hands folded in her lap. Her lips thinned in a way that made him think she was irritated.

“Ah, I was out taking a stroll and stumbled upon this.” He gestured down at the circle. “Wow, it’s nice.” He flashed her one of the killer smiles that all the ladies loved, and he knew she soon would melt and invite him to sit down with her.

Instead, she frowned, glancing away and wiping her hands together as she stood up. Tough chick—maybe he needed to start a little more formally.

“The name’s Dan McKenzie, Miss...” He waited, but she wasn’t biting.

“If you’ll excuse me.” She inclined her head and gave him nothing of herself, not a glance, not her attention, nothing. In fact, she turned, taking a step to walk away.

He couldn’t believe it. “I didn’t mean to intrude or anything. Was just trying to be friendly.” He stepped aside.

She placed her hands on her very curvaceous hips, definitely a spot he’d like to have his own hands, and watched him in a hard way that had him clearing his throat. She was a tiny thing, too. The top of her head didn’t clear his shoulders, but then not many reached his height of six-foot four.

“Dan, is it?” She flattened her palm in a motion for him to stop, and her tone was pure annoyance. “I’m not interested in whatever it is you’re selling. Been there, done that, honey. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Whoa, wait, I’m not selling anything. I just stumbled across you and wanted to say hi. Being neighborly is all.”

This time she laughed, chuckling at him in a way that had him stepping back and crossing his arms. He knew when someone was mocking him.

“Are you for real? Hell, I’ve come across way better liars than you. Let me see. On Saturday, when I came out here, you were hiding right over there.” She pointed through the crop of trees where he had, in fact, been hiding.

But there was no way she could have seen him. Or was he slipping?

“God knows what you were up to, and I still don’t want to know. And then every morning this week, when I came here... Let’s see. Sunday, you were over there, just under that cedar. Monday, you were over there by that crop of alders, and Tuesday, back under the cedar, which I presume you figured was the best spot to watch me. Did you learn anything? Like what you see?” She didn’t give him a chance to respond. She grabbed her small, beaded-patterned pouch before she turned her back, much like a cat would, and started walking away. She hadn’t gone two steps before he called out.

“So will you be back again tomorrow? Same time?”

She glared over her shoulder, picking up her pace as she strode away. She didn’t look back as she hiked onto the trail that weaved its way through the thick forest, which opened onto a rough back-roads parking lot that had barely seen a dozen vehicles all summer.

He blinked, wondering who this strange, sexy woman was. She had discovered him before he had a chance to figure her out, and he laughed, trying to brush her off, but the woman was an absolute puzzle, one he meant to piece together. Before this day was out, he intended to know everything about her.

Chapter 2

Not only could he not find out who she was through his new “friends” who were working for him, but no one remembered having heard of anyone new moving into the area. His conclusion was that she had to be one of the many tourists who visited in the summer. But his contacts didn’t reach the resorts or hotels, and he didn’t know who the visitors were in this part of the Pacific Northwest. None of his old friends knew he was back. In fact, he had planted evidence the past January that was sure to convict Richard, his business partner, of his murder, and as far as everyone still knew, he was dead. That was how he planned to keep it, because he liked having a new start, with a clean slate and none of that baggage weighing him down.

Returning to Gardiner the previous month had been tricky, though, slipping back onto his property in the dead of night and staying in the vacant house he’d kept for growing marijuana. It was a three-bedroom bungalow with a twelve-foot fence that kept it isolated from the others—the only one with a gate that locked from the inside, so no one could see him coming or going. The tenants in the other rental houses would never have expected him, anyway. After all, he was dead, and that was the way it needed to stay. Only his mother, who handled his estate, had any idea of where he was. Even after her initial shock when he had returned that past month, showing up on her doorstep, she had still forgiven him after she understood the truth of why he needed to disappear.

As he slipped into his light blue sedan and drove through downtown Gardiner, shielded by his tinted windows, he glanced at the familiar shops and past the property with the ready-built homes he owned with Richard. When he noticed the large commercial sale sign, something in his stomach sat a little heavy, even though he knew his mother had agreed with Richard and had put the property on the market. Even now, Dan fought the need to hold on to it. He had to let it go, let it be sold. Otherwise, everyone would know what he’d done and the fact that he was still very much alive. If that happened, he would truly be dead this time, and that worry was something he couldn’t live with. So he shoved aside the need to prosper and grab as much as he could from everyone, and he turned the corner.

That was when he spotted his dark-haired beauty wearing the same tank top and shorts she had been wearing earlier, though she had traded her hiking boots for a pair of hot pink flip-flops. She strode down the sidewalk, carrying a brown, wrapped parcel; he assumed she’d just stepped out of the post office. She didn’t stop but walked down the sidewalk with the dozen or so other people, and she then climbed into a black Jeep, an older model with the roll bar and doors off, before signaling to pull out into traffic. Dan slowed his car and waited for her to take the cue and pull out in front of him.

“Come on, lady, I’m waiting for you.”

She did, slowly, and then hit the gas to the next set of lights.

“Where are you going, lady?” Dan followed, not too close to raise suspicion but a ways back, mainly because there were only a few cars on the highway that afternoon. He wondered how he’d get her to come to him. How long would it take before she smiled and did anything he asked? Women were so predictable. They needed to be handled just right, and he could read them well. They all wanted his attention, wanted something from him, just one thing. He knew how to pet a woman and flatter her until she’d dog his heels and bend to his will. That was just what he had planned for this dark-haired beauty. She’d be a pretty distraction that he could play with until... Well, he couldn’t help himself. He tired of women and their dogged loyalty after he had them, after the chase was done—over. Boredom always followed.