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A decades-old crime.

A secret ready to explode.

Trapped in a burning barn, fire ranger Clay Reiger barely escapes with his ex-girlfriend, fire marshal Autumn Jennings, as the inferno rages out of control. Soon a chilling pattern emerges—fires eerily similar to those set by a serial arsonist who disappeared years ago. As the past resurfaces, the danger becomes impossible to ignore. With their lives under attack and a long-buried secret threatening to reignite old wounds, Clay and Autumn must confront their shared history. Can they unravel a deadly mystery and stop a vengeful criminal before more lives are lost?

From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.

A New Job and an Old Flame: A Prequel Novella to Cold Case Arson Investigation 

Autumn rubbed Grayson’s shoulder. Her six-and-a-half-year-old son snuggled deeper beneath his Yankees blanket. “Hey Buddy, time to get up.” The clock read 7:00am, and while Grayson’s first grade classroom didn’t start until 8:00am, she needed to be at the office by 7:30. “I love you. Be a helper to Aunt Meg and your teacher today.”

“Okay. Wuv you, too.” 

She pressed a kiss to his warm brow and closed her eyes briefly, thanking God for her sister Meg and brother-in-law Trey’s hospitality. They had offered her and her son a place to live as Autumn adjusted to her new position as the Fire Marshal of Holloway, Pennsylvania. After the holidays, she would begin the daunting process of searching for a place of their own. 

Just her and Grayson. 

A pair of bright blue eyes flashed through her memory, a mirror image of her son’s. 

Clay Reiger.

Where was he? What would he think if he knew he—they—had a son? 

She rose, her limbs heavy, and headed downstairs. After hugging her sister and thanking her for taking Grayson to school, Autumn grabbed her purse, work jacket, and her thermos of coffee and headed out. A chill tinted the air, and she slipped her jacket over her polo shirt. Fall had arrived in full force, the warmth of summer just a memory. 

The drive to the downtown Holloway municipal building only took ten minutes, and the fire marshal’s office was blessedly quiet as she entered. She weaved around a few cubicles to her office and set her thermos on her desk. The scent of stale coffee and damp turnout gear clung to the air, and her receptionist, Dana’s, cheery voice greeted her. 

“Good morning, Marshal Jennings. How’s it going?”

“Morning, Dana. It’s going. Please, call me Autumn. Any messages?” 

“Mrs. McCorkle again. Her neighbor, Mr. Timms, is burning wood pallets in his backyard barrel. She says it’s rusty and, I quote, it’s creating a toxic mold that’s making my dog Mitzi cough and not want to go potty outside. End quote.”

“Poor Mitzi. She’s not wrong.” Autumn released a sigh. “Put a visit to Mrs. McCorkle’s on my schedule for tomorrow morning, please. I’ll talk to Mr. Timms.” She tapped her fingers on the desktop. “Don’t I have an inspection today?”

“Yes, the Hartley Historical Center at eleven.”

Right. Autumn typed in her password and checked email. She needed to go over two sets of blueprints, one for a businessman turning the warehouse on Platt Street into a high-end restaurant, and the other for a reroofing project of the Holloway High gymnasium. “Did Ron Sayers bring over the blueprints for his renovation yet?”

“They’re in the conference room,” Dana responded. “Also, I ordered that digital drafting monitor for the PDFs you asked for.”

“Thank you. My eyes thank you. You’re the best.”

She spent the next ninety minutes checking the blueprints, then reviewed expired business permits, and finally denied three local residents’ open burning requests. They were still at drought levels in Holloway County, and with the two recent arson cases, she wanted to be extremely careful. 

Dana peeked her head around the corner. “You heading to the historical center soon? It’s a twenty-minute drive, longer if the train cuts you off on Sixty-two.”

“Right. On my way.” Autumn shut her computer off and stood, chugging the rest of her coffee. It was almost ten-thirty, and Grayson would be in PE now. He’d been so excited last night because they were finally playing baseball this week. Her heart constricted. Clay loved baseball, too—especially the Yankees—and they’d been to several major league games while they dated. 

“See you in a couple hours,” she called to Dana. 

When she stepped outside, golden sunshine warmed her. She climbed in her truck, set the address in her GPS. What would Clay think if he knew about—

“Stop it.” Her throat tightened, and she strangled the steering wheel. She’d wrestled with this through the years, especially during the hard moments when Grayson asked about his dad and when Autumn wondered if she’d tried hard enough to reach Clay after he left. 

God, why can’t I just meet a kind, Christian man and fall in love again? Why do I keep thinking about Clay Reiger when he’s obviously moved on?

She’d dated a little, but the relationships had felt forced. Besides, it was complicated with her son. Her momma bear love for Grayson meant he was top priority, and introducing a male-figure who might not stay around for long was a risk she wasn’t willing to take. 

She prayed Proverbs chapter three, verses five and six. Still, tears prickled her eyes as she pictured herself awkwardly tossing a baseball to her son. He needed a dad. 

The GPS led her through Allegheny National Forest, the trees emblazoned with yellow, reds, and golds that took her breath away. Upon pulling into the Hartley Historical Center’s small lot, she noted the US Forest Service truck parked out front. Another red truck peeked out from behind the house, closer to the barn out back. The owner, Miles Hartley, ran a petting zoo too, and from what she’d heard from police sergeant Heath Calhoun, Mr. Hartley had let the historical center deteriorate. In light of the two local arsons the last few days, it was imperative they make sure the building was up to code. 

She climbed the front stairs, clipboard and iPad in hand. It sounded like she and the Wildland Fire Ranger who’d arrived before her would be working together on the investigation into the possible link between the recent building fires and an unsolved arson cold case from quarter-of-a-century ago. 

“Hello?” she called. “Anyone here?”

“Back here.” A faint male voice carried over, and she stepped inside and clicked the power button on her iPad. 

Moments later, footsteps behind her announced the fire ranger’s approach.

“Marshal? Thanks for coming out. I checked the—”

That voice. She swung around. No. It couldn’t be. 

Clay Reiger stood before her, those haunting blue eyes drilling straight to her heart. 

“Autumn?”

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Until next time, may your reading bring both light and encouragement.

Happy reading!
~ Danielle.