{"product_id":"mountain-ranger-recon","title":"Mountain Ranger Recon","description":"Meg O'Reilly's heart slammed against the wall of her chest. And it had nothing to do with the altitude.\n\nA tall, athletic man hopped off the Rocky Mountain Adventures van and Meg gulped, feeling like one of those cartoon characters with the googly eyes. The drop-dead gorgeous tourist with the short brown hair and drool-worthy body ignored her—and her googly eyes—while he helped a blonde adjust a backpack.\n\nBut she hadn't missed the dark brows shooting up to his hairline when he'd caught sight of her. Meg clung on to the strap of her own backpack, hitched over one shoulder, and scanned the group for a hidden camera or some reality TV host jumping from behind a tree and screaming, \"You've been punked!\"\n\nGabe, the driver of the van, hopped from the last step and swept his arm in Meg's direction. \"This is Meg O'Reilly, your hiking guide. If you feed her chocolate chip cookies, she might tell you about her adventures climbing Mount Everest.\"\n\nImpressed murmurs merged with the roaring in Meg's ears, but she pasted a smile on her face anyway, and with a trembling hand waved to the assembled group. Tall, dark and handsome broke away from the pack, striding forward, extending his large, gloved hand.\n\n\"Good to meet you, Meg. I'm John Shepherd, and this is my wife, Kayla.\" He jerked his left thumb over his shoulder toward the smiling blonde as he gripped Meg's hand in a clasp strong enough to snap her bones.\n\nMeg narrowed her eyes and squeezed back. She knew darned well Ian, or rather John Shepherd, or whatever he was calling himself these days, wasn't married to some buxom blonde.\n\nHe was still married to her.\n\n\"Welcome to the tour… John. This is a rugged hike. Are you sure you're up to it?\" She scanned the muscular frame that made her question ludicrous, before allowing her gaze to meander back to his face. Then she turned up her lips in a false, sweet smile.\n\nHe flashed an answering grin, his broad shoulders relaxing. Why the tension? He must've known she wouldn't blow his cover. Hadn't she always been the dutiful little spy's wife?\n\nUntil the end.\n\n\"I think I can handle it, even though I've never attempted Everest. That must've been some experience.\"\n\nIan should know. They had met on her first and only Everest expedition. Formed an alliance on that mountain. Had each other's backs. Fell in love.\n\nSwallowing the annoying lump in her throat, Megan brushed past Ian and greeted the rest of her group—several couples, a single man from Germany, a mother-daughter duo and a trio of women celebrating a fortieth birthday. They all looked fit and ready for the arduous twelve-mile hike up to the top of the mountain, including Ian's \"wife\" Kayla.\n\nAs Meg explained the rules of the hike to her group, she stole a few glances at Kayla, assessing the fresh-faced, sturdy woman in red fleece. She had to be Ian's fellow agent in Prospero, the undercover ops group that had consumed Ian's life during their two short years of marriage.\n\nThe question remained. What the hell were they doing on her hike?\n\n\"Are there any questions?\" Besides her own. Meg hooked the left strap of her backpack over her shoulder and snapped the catch in the front. She answered a few questions about photo ops and first aid, thankful she could recite the answers in her sleep, since Ian's presence on the hike had her brain in a fog.\n\n\"We travel twelve miles to the top and take the train back down. Stay on the trail and drink plenty of water, even though it feels cold. We'll make several photo stops, so keep your cameras ready for some awesome pictures of waterfalls and gorges.\"\n\nWhile the hikers drank some water and stamped their feet against the cold ground, Meg turned on her radio and slipped it into the pocket of her down vest. Wedging a shoulder against the door of the van, she said to Gabe, \"Are you going straight back to the office?\"\n\n\"Yeah.\" He started the van's engine. \"I'm making another pickup there for Jason's hike to Cascade Falls.\"\n\n\"Make sure the radio's on at the office.\" Meg tipped her head back and surveyed the gray morning sky. \"I don't think it's supposed to snow yet, but we'll probably get an afternoon thundershower or two, and you never know this time of year.\"\n\nGabe rubbed his gloved hands over the steering wheel, huffing out a cold breath. \"Call Scott if you need help. He's out on the trails today. But it looks like you have a good group here. I even had them singing on the van.\"\n\nMeg rolled her eyes. \"You would. But singing isn't going to keep them safe on a muddy trail with a ten-thousand-foot drop.\"\n\n\"Singing won't, but you will. You haven't lost one yet, Meggie.\"\n\nMeg snorted and smacked the door after Gabe cranked it shut. Then she spun around to face Ian and the rest of her group.\n\nSince Ian excelled at keeping secrets, she'd probably never find out what he and his partner were doing here. Of course, Meg had been keeping the biggest secret of all, and since she had no intention of revealing her secret to Ian, she didn't expect him to f\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 037374594X\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: RDV.037374594X.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Ericson, Carol\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: This book is in good condition with very minimal damage. Pages may have minimal notes or highlighting. Cover image on the book may vary from photo. Ships out quickly in a secure plastic mailer.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Reliant Bookstore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44390191530161,"sku":"RDV.037374594X.G","price":12.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0544\/8872\/7729\/files\/skuimage_ed6df32c-cece-499f-bba9-a09f0e045473.jpg?v=1720804991","url":"https:\/\/www.reliantbookstore.com\/products\/mountain-ranger-recon","provider":"Reliant Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}