Rock Harbor Search and Rescue: Lost and Found - Softcover

Coble, Colleen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1400321638 ISBN 13: 9781400321636

Publisher: Tommy Nelson, 2013

Synopsis

 

An old photo brings a shocking revelation and it’s up to Emily and her best friend Olivia to solve the case!

Fourteen-year-old Emily O’Reilly and her best friend Olivia Webster have a knack for solving mysteries. Emily has been busily training her new puppy Sherlock to be a Search and Rescue dog so that the two can lead search-and-rescue missions someday. So when Emily stumbles across an old photo of Olivia’s adoption day—a fact that has never been revealed to Olivia—the two quickly decide to uncover the mysterious details surrounding Olivia’s birth parents.

But the two bite off more than they can chew as they dig into learning more about Olivia’s adoption without notifying her parents. And to make matters worse, Emily’s mother Marika, a convicted felon recently released on parole, will stop at nothing to contact her daughter—a fact that Emily is not happy about.

When her beloved stepmother Naomi disappears, Emily takes it upon herself to connect the dots and conduct her own snow-bound search-and-rescue mission with Sherlock. Will Emily ever find the secret behind Naomi’s disappearance? And will Olivia ever learn the truth about her adopted parents?

“Colleen is a master storyteller.” –Karen Kingsbury

Meets national education standards.

 

About this title

About the Author

RITA-finalist Colleen Coble is the author of several best-selling romantic suspense novels, including Tidewater Inn and the Mercy Falls, Lonestar, and Rock Harbor series. Robin Caroll is a Holt Medallion, Carol Award, and Daphne du Maurier finalist.

Reviews

Gr 6 Up—This second installment in a series of faith-based mysteries features 14-year-old Emily and her friend Olivia, who discovers that she is adopted. As the girls investigate a potential connection to Olivia's birth parents, someone sets fire to the school, and Emily's stepmother goes missing. The young teens try to solve all of these mysteries at once, but run afoul of their parents. While the plot is fast-paced and the overall mood suspenseful and engaging, the dialogue is clumsy and the narrative can feel pedantic. Set in a small town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Cobble charmingly captures an interwoven community with festivals, school spirit, and overlapping relationships. Fans returning to the series will enjoy the welcome trip with familiar faces, but new readers might be confused at the lack of backstory for the many characters. The personal growth of Emily and Olivia is told rather than shown through their actions, which causes the characters to feel static. Though not outstanding, this is a solid choice for libraries who own the first title, Search & Rescue (Thomas Nelson, 2013), Cobble's adult series set in the same town, or in communities where Christian fiction is in high demand.—Elizabeth Nicolai, Anchorage Public Library, AK

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

ROCK HARBOR LOST & FOUND

By Colleen Coble, Robin Caroll

Thomas Nelson

Copyright © 2013 Colleen Coble
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4003-2163-6

CHAPTER 1

Something wasn't quite right.

Wrinkling her nose, Emily O'Reilly took a step back and staredat the centerpiece she'd just finished putting together. The big blue-and-graycrepe paper C looked lopsided somehow.

"What did you do to that?" Olivia Webster, Emily's best friend,asked with a giggle.

"I followed the instructions ... at least most of them." Atfourteen, Emily thought she could manage a centerpiece withoutdirections, but maybe she should have read them after all.

Olivia giggled again and reached for Emily's pathetic attemptat decorating. "You're hopeless, Em." Within seconds, she had thecenterpiece level and looking like the others sitting on tables acrossthe Rock Harbor Community Center. Olivia was a genius when itcame to that sort of thing.

Emily? Not so much.

"Why are we decorating so early anyway? The celebration isn'tuntil the weekend." Emily shoved the decoration's wrapping intothe bag of trash she'd carried from table to table. "It's only Monday."

"Because we want everything to be perfect." Olivia pushed ina chair, straightened the glitter-littered tablecloth, and lifted thebag of trash. "It's too much to do all at once, and we don't wantanything to get forgotten."

Emily sighed and followed her best friend. How, again, hadshe let Olivia talk her into serving on the homecoming celebrationcommittee?

"It's going to be beautiful." Olivia tossed the bag into thetrash can. "I can't wait."

Emily had to admit that everything did look really nice. Andthe night of the celebration would be epic—lots of food, lots ofmusic, and lots of dancing. Dad and Naomi, Emily's stepmom,would probably slow dance. That would be embarrassing.

"Come on, let's head to my house. Mom and Dad should stillbe at the movies." Olivia led the way out of the front door.

The community center was one of the most beautiful buildingsin town, built by Rock Harbor's early residents during theCopper Queen mining hype. Emily loved the building's reallycool high ceilings and fun corners to explore.

Emily followed as the other volunteers spilled out ontoHoughton Street. "I hope they don't get home sooner than youthink." She jumped onto her bicycle and pedaled after her bestfriend.

A late-fall breeze tugged at Emily's hair, pushing a hint of thedistinct scent of Lake Superior across the parking lot.

"Me too. But the movie isn't supposed to be over for"—Oliviachecked her watch, her bike wobbling—"another forty minutes.It'll take them at least thirty to drive back home." She bumpedover the curb and onto the sidewalk.

They biked down Houghton Street and passed the familiarsights of town. Rock Harbor might be smaller than some townsin Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but it more than made up for itwith the quaintness of the town with its Victorian buildings andcommunity activities. Soon the residents would own the townalone again. The summer and early fall tourist season was almostover now that winter was on its way in.

The girls coasted up Olivia's driveway and propped theirbikes against the carport. Olivia unlocked the side door with thekey she wore on a chain around her neck, hidden safely underher shirt.

Emily shut the door behind them. "I'm so glad Naomi thoughtof using your parents' wedding picture as the design for theanniversary cake. The baker said she needed a copy right awaythough. Do you have any idea where to look?"

"They used to have it out when I was a little girl. I'm not surewhere Mom put it when we moved to this house." Olivia pulledout the top drawer in the desk by the door to the hall.

Emily moved to the bookcase and looked. "Did you knowthe first marriage license was issued in the mid-eighteenhundreds?"

"No, I didn't, and I don't understand why you even knowthat." Olivia shook her head, grinning, then turned back to thedrawer. "You and your random facts."

Emily loved history—the more random, the better. Maybethat's why she loved being on the History Smackdown team somuch.

"Do they have an office?" Emily asked. She should knowbecause she'd spent the night there lots of times, but they usuallyhung out in Olivia's room. She'd been in the living room, thekitchen, and Olivia's room, but nowhere else.

"No. We have this computer desk, but that's about it." Oliviaopened the next drawer. "But I'm not seeing any pictures."

"What about an attic?"

Olivia grinned. "The way you love attics is a little weird. Butwe only have a nasty one that you get to with a pull-down ladder,and it's full of insulation. Dad doesn't store anything up there.Mom says it's a death trap."

"Then where do they store stuff like your Christmas tree?"

"Oh! There's some attic space over the garage. We'll check ifnothing's in the drawers."

Emily glanced through the books in the bookcase but foundno photo albums. "Nothing here."

"Nothing here either." Olivia slammed the last desk drawer."Let's check the garage."

Emily followed her to the garage, and together they managedto get the ladder pulled down. The exertion left Emily huffing."How much time do we have left?"

Olivia disappeared up the ladder. "About a half hour." Hervoice was muffled.

"We'd better hurry then. We'll need to get out of here so theydon't know we came by." The girls were supposed to go to Emily'safter helping out at the community center, but Naomi knew theywere coming by to get the picture.

Olivia's face appeared in the hole above her. "There's nothinghere but the Christmas tree and some boxes of ornaments."

"They have to keep things like this somewhere."

Olivia came back down the ladder, and the girls shoved itback into place. Olivia had a smudge of dirt on her cheek, andEmily brushed it off.

"Now what?" Emily asked.

"I didn't want to go into Mom and Dad's room. They keep itshut. But I think we have to. We don't have any other option, Iguess."

Emily raised her brows. "You never go in there? Not even tocrawl in bed with your mom and watch a movie or something?"

Olivia shook her head. "They don't have a TV in their bedroom."

"Haven't you even taken your parents breakfast in bed orsomething?"

Olivia just shook her head and led the way back inside thehouse.

Emily scrunched up her nose. There was something fishyabout that. Emily and her two brothers loved piling on the bedwhenever Dad didn't have to work. And sometimes even just withNaomi. Emily and Timmy always made Dad and Naomi breakfastin bed on their birthdays and for Mother's Day and Father'sDay. But, Olivia was an only child. Maybe that changed things.Olivia's parents were crazy about Olivia though. And every familywas different.

Standing outside the closed door to the bedroom, Emily'spulse sped up. "What if your mom catches us in here? Will weget in trouble?"

Olivia turned the doorknob. "No, she'll just tell me bedroomsare meant to be private places and should only be entered byinvitation."

"Weird," Emily muttered. If she disobeyed a standing houserule, Dad would ground her. At least take away her phone fora week.

Olivia shoved the door open. "She says it's because she wantsto teach me about boundaries."

"That makes sense I guess." Emily peered past the doorwayinto the bedroom. It was way neater than Dad and Naomi's.The bed didn't have a wrinkle, and the tables and dressers werecleared and held only a vase with fake flowers and a statuette."No pictures here."

"There's one place I want to check. Mom's trunk." Oliviapointed to the foot of the bed where a cedar chest stood. Therewas a lacy coverlet draped over the shiny wood.

Emily could see Olivia's hesitation, so she stepped past herand lifted the cover to reveal the top. The lid rose easily, and thearoma of cedar wafted to her nose. She inhaled. "I love that smell."

Olivia knelt beside her. "Me too. And I think we've foundthe right place. There are all kinds of pictures and documents inhere. Look, here's their marriage license."

It was nicely framed in black. "We can use it if we can't findtheir wedding photo." Emily laid it aside. "Here it is!" She pulledout the wedding photo showing a younger version of Olivia's parentsposing together. "Your mom is so pretty." With Mrs. Webster'sbright blue eyes and natural blond hair, she could've been a model.

"Yes, she is. I always wished I looked like her. I don't knowwho I look like though."

There was a picture under the wedding photo of a baby witha man and a woman. The woman was holding the little girl andsmiling down at her. Emily picked it up. "Aw, too cute. How oldwere you here?"

She turned over the photo and froze when she read the wordson the back: At Tarver's office the day of Olivia's adoption. July 13.She was three months old. Happy day!

Adopted? Liv was adopted? Emily's gaze flashed to Olivia,but words wouldn't come.

Olivia reached for the photo. "What's it say?"

Too late, Emily tried to pull it away, but Olivia's fingers heldit in place while she read it. Emily was almost afraid to see herfriend's expression, but she couldn't look away.

Olivia's eyes widened, and the color drained from her cheeks."A-adopted?" Her voice was thick, then her fingers went slack,and the picture fell from her hand.

Emily touched her shoulder. "Liv? You okay?"

"I—I knew there was something ..." Her words choked off. "Ithought I was just imagining things, you know? I don't look likeeither one of them."

Emily wished she knew what to say. She could only imaginehow she would feel to find out she was adopted. Marika was ahorrible mother, but at least Emily knew who she was. "What areyou going to do?"

The tears were rolling down Olivia's face now. "I don't know.I can't admit to them that I found it without telling them I wasin the chest. And they'll want to know why I was in there. I don'twant to spoil the surprise."

Just like Olivia to think of everyone else's feelings before herown. "Maybe you can start asking questions about seeing babypictures and stuff. I bet they've wanted to tell you but weren'tsure how," Emily suggested.

"Maybe." Olivia got up and put the picture away. "We have toget out of here before Mom comes back. Just pray for me, Em."She straightened the coverlet back over the top of the cedar chest.

Her voice was choked. "You know I will, Liv. I'm sorry."

"Me too, Em. Me too. But you know what this means, don'tyou?"

Emily nodded. "You need to know who your real parents are.And I'll help you."

* * *

Olivia ... adopted.

Emily couldn't wrap her mind around it, and she ached forher friend. She didn't even know how she'd feel if she found outshe was adopted. She stared up at the picture in the Phantom ofthe Opera frame sitting on the shelf over her computer. Takenlast year, it was Naomi and Dad and Timmy and Matthew andher with Charley at their feet. The whole family hugged oneanother and smiled for the camera.

Sherlock growled.

Emily giggled at her puppy as he growled again, then pouncedon the chew toy that had fallen off the edge of his bed by herdesk. She hadn't even had him a month, and already she lovedher puppy so much. She couldn't imagine giving him up now ...it would break her heart.

Who were Olivia's real parents, and why had they givenher up? Why hadn't Mr. and Mrs. Webster told Olivia she wasadopted? Lots of kids were adopted, so it wasn't like it was somethingto keep secret.

The back of the picture had said, At Tarver's office. Who wasTarver? Maybe the person at the adoption agency?

Emily quickly opened the browser on her computer, thenran a search for adoption agencies in the Upper Peninsula. Overforty-five results loaded. Forty-five? Sheesh, they'd never getthrough that many. She then ran a search for "adoptions in theUpper Peninsula" and "Tarver." Only two results loaded: LesTarver and Charlotte Tarver, both listed as attorneys specializingin private adoptions. Les Tarver had an office in Ishpeming,which was about an hour and a half to two hours away, whileCharlotte's office was in Marquette, one of the closest towns toRock Harbor. Emily jotted down the information.

She opened two new tabs and began searches on both Les andCharlotte Tarver. She waited for both pages to load. The resultson Les Tarver returned first. Emily read a few of the posts only tofind Les Tarver had retired from the legal profession four yearsago. If he was the attorney who handled Olivia's adoption, findinginformation might be difficult.

There were many more results on Charlotte Tarver. Picturesof her winning various legal awards, news articles about herwork, and her website. Emily clicked on the website. She scannedthe information, then found the Contact Us form. Should she fillit out? Olivia might not want her to. She hesitated for a moment,then typed a message stating she had some questions regardingadoptions approximately fourteen years ago.

"Timmy! Emily! Matthew! Dinner," Naomi called.

Emily clicked Send on the message, then closed the browserwindows. It'd be nice if she got a response tomorrow. Maybe sheand Olivia could ask Inetta Harris to help them with the research.She'd done so before, helping Emily clear her name when she'dbeen accused of stealing a valuable necklace. Yeah, she'd askInetta for help.

The phone rang, and she answered it before looking at thecaller ID. "Liv, you won't believe this." Too late she realized it wasthe house phone, not her cell phone. It wouldn't be Olivia. "Uh,sorry. This is the O'Reilly residence."

"Just who I wanted to talk to."

Emily froze at the familiar throaty voice. It was Marika."You're not supposed to call here," Emily stammered. Her pulseraced, and she knew she should hang up, but wasn't that rude?

Six years ago, her mother Marika had been accused ofattempted murder. She'd testified against her partner and hadgotten a lighter sentence, and just last month had been releasedfrom prison. Emily could still remember all the horrors that hadhappened to her and Timmy because of their mother. No, inEmily's heart, Naomi was her real mother.

"I miss you, honey. You and Timmy. I've changed. Let me proveit to you."

She went hot then cold at the thought. "I have to go." Sheclicked off the phone, then hugged herself and held her breathwhen it rang again. Let Dad or Naomi get it this time. It stoppedafter three rings. She sat in front of the computer and fought tears.Not now. Marika couldn't be back in her life now.

Rapid footsteps sounded in the hall, then her father's familiarhard rap came on her door. "Emily."

She leaped up and threw open the door. One look in her dad'sface, and she knew he'd talked to Marika.

"The next time she calls, just hang up. She's not allowed tohave contact with you."

Relief flooded her. "Yes, sir. She caught me off guard."

His eyes softened, and he put his hand on his shoulder. "I know.It's time for supper."

He gave her a big hug, and then they joined the rest of the familyat the table. Dad offered up the prayer, then everyone began tofill their plates. Despite the yummy smell of one of Emily's favoritemeals, beef pasties, she really didn't feel like eating.

"And me and Dave, we're making a volcano for our scienceproject. It's gonna really blow up and everything." Her littlebrother Timmy rattled on and on about school stuff. Usually hisnonstop talking drove Emily crazy, but right now, his constantjabbering was a welcome distraction. It gave her time alone withher thoughts.

"What's with all the breads and cakes in the pantry?" Dadasked Naomi.

"Ladies' group at church. I'm delivering a basket to the waitressesover at the Copper Club later tonight." Naomi finishedcutting up Matthew's food and pushed his plate back in frontof him.

"Alone?"

"No. Bree is picking me up at nine."

Emily pushed her food around on her plate. She was really worriedabout Marika calling again, and she couldn't help but wonderhow Olivia was. She'd sworn she wasn't going to tell her parentsshe'd found out, but Emily didn't know how. As it was, she wantedto tell Dad and Naomi about it but knew she couldn't. It wasn't hersecret to tell, and Olivia had been betrayed enough.

"Emily, honey, is something wrong?"

She stared at Naomi from across the table. "Just not reallyhungry, I guess."

Dad cleared his throat. "Are you worried about Marika? I toldher I'd press charges if she called again."

(Continues...)

Excerpted from ROCK HARBOR LOST & FOUND by Colleen Coble, Robin Caroll. Copyright © 2013 Colleen Coble. Excerpted by permission of Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tommy Nelson
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1400321638
• ISBN 13: 9781400321636
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256