Race Against Time
Authors: Kimberly,Kayla Woodhouse
Praise for
Race Against Time
Kudos to Kimberley and Kayla Woodhouse for their spine-tingling novel
Race Against Time
. This mother-daughter team has proven once again that they’ve got the goods when it comes to action-packed stories. Highly recommended!
—Janice Hanna Thompson, author of
Hello Hollywood!
Kimberley and Kayla Woodhouse rocket out of the gate with another winner. Laden with compelling characters and an intense plot,
Race Against Time
pulls the reader through rapid-fire encounters with intrigue, danger, and deadly trails. There is also a beautiful innocence in the Woodhouse’s craft that is unlike any other.
Race Against Time
is a solid read—one you can’t afford to miss!
—Ronie Kendig, author of
Nightshade, Digitalis
, and
Wolfsbane
Kimberley and Kayla Woodhouse are a potent combination, delivering riveting storytelling and poignant insights into the human condition. Exhilarating, heart-felt, and well written,
Race Against Time
takes readers on a journey long remembered after the last page is turned.
—James L. Rubart Bestselling author of
Rooms, Book of Days,
and
The Chair
Kim and Kayla Woodhouse make an amazing team as co-writers. Their love of God and writing shines in their work, and I can’t wait to read their next novel. I highly recommend their books to readers of all ages who enjoy intrigue, family interaction and heart-warming fiction.
—Tracie Peterson, best-selling, award-winning author of more than ninety-five books, including the Striking a Match and Song of Alaska series
Praise for
No Safe Haven
Non-stop action from an unforgettable mother/daughter team.
Brandilyn and Amberly Collins, coauthors of the award-winning Rayne Tour Series
No Safe Haven
is a page-turner on several levels—adventure, excitement, and compelling characters. But I’m fascinated that it was written by a mother and her teenage daughter, and that the young character in the book suffers with the same disorders that Kayla Woodhouse has. That gave it more texture and urgency and made it difficult to put down. I look forward to seeing more from these authors.
—Terri Blackstock, author of
Intervention
and
Predator
No Safe Haven
is a nail-biting delight of a romantic suspense novel. I loved the Alaskan setting and characters. The Woodhouse writing duo is dynamite!
—Colleen Coble, author of
The Lightkeeper’s Ball
and the Rock Harbor series
No Safe Haven
is a remarkable book that grips you from page one and doesn’t let go. Romance, suspense, intrigue—Kimberley and Kayla Woodhouse have crafted a book that has it all. You won’t be able to put this one down!
—Jenny B. Jones, award-winning author of
Save the Date
and A Charmed Life series
No Safe Haven
explodes onto the suspense scene with an intensity and energy that only Kimberley and Kayla Woodhouse can create. What a compelling look into daily lives—with a burst of excitement and adrenaline—of these powerhouse ladies.
No Safe Haven
is a page-turner you don’t want to miss. I’m so impressed—and a huge fan!!
—Ronie Kendig, author of
Nightshade
and
Digitalis
Copyright © 2011 by Kimberley Woodhouse and Kayla R. Woodhouse
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
978-1-4336-7117-3
Published by B&H Publishing Group,
Nashville, Tennessee
Dewey Decimal Classification: F
Subject Heading: MYSTERY FICTION \ ALASKA—FICTION \ SLED DOG RACING—FICTION
Authors represented by the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80920, www.alivecommunications.com.
Scripture quotations or paraphrases are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). All rights reserved.
Publisher’s Note: The characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 • 15 14 13 12 11
DEDICATION
From Kim:
To Deanna Chang, for hitting me over the head. Literally. I deserved it.
You were right. Yes, you heard me. And without you, I never would’ve tried.
Thank you, friend.
And to Kayla, precious girl. Sure do love you. I love how much God is teaching me through you. What an honor and privilege to write with you. Love you more.
From Kayla:
To God be the glory. Now and always.
To Daddy, thanks for being the most awesome-est dad ever. I love you mostest. Plus infinity and beyond.
I win.
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, we’d like to thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because of Your love and sacrifice, we have the hope and joy of eternity with You. Thank You. We want to glorify God in all that we do.
Jeremy—husband to Kim and dad to Kayla. You are the best. Thanks for your support, encouragement, love, and prayers. We love you so much.
Josh—son to Kim and brother to Kayla. Often the quiet and unsung hero, we wouldn’t be able to do all this without you. We love you!
Karen Ball—again, we can’t express how brilliant you are and how blessed we are to have you as an editor and, more important, friend. Thank you for suggesting we write together. We love it. Thank you for challenging us, teaching us, and bringing out the very best in our writing. You’re amazing. Just sayin’.
Ronie Kendig—fellow author, dear friend, and crit partner. We praise God for bringing you into our lives. Here’s to many more years (and books!) of phone calls, visits, book signings, brainstorming, Bible study, and blessed friendship.
Julie Gwinn—what a blessing to work with you. You always have such great ideas! Thank you. Especially for all your understanding when times are crazy.
Diana Lawrence—for your beautiful covers. Thank you so much for listening to all our opinions and ideas and bringing forth a great design.
Karen Vincler—for allowing us to use you as Anesia on the cover. It’s beautiful.
Lydia Vincler—for taking the wonderful picture of Karen. Thank you so much for sharing!
Greg Pope—the book trailers for
No Safe Haven
and
Race Against Time
are amazing. We’ve heard from so many people who are captivated because they watch one of the trailers. Well done. You are a master.
Our B&H Family—thank you. You’ve poured a lot into us and we know there are so many behind the scenes at work. Thank you. Thank you.
Callis Family—The Naltsiine Kennels would not have come to life on the page without you. Thank you for taking the time to teach us all about sprint racing and for answering all our crazy phone calls. We can’t wait to see you all again! Give the dogs some love from us. (And thanks for allowing us to use some of your unique dog names.)
Tammy and Katie Vachris and Holly Morookian—we love you all so very much. Thanks for extra Alaska expertise and for being part of the fam. We treasure you.
The Country Café in North Pole—wish we lived closer so we could eat there all the time! Thank you for being so generous with us and treating us like family.
Terri Nelson at North Pole Police Department—Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. I know time is precious with the important, life-saving work that you all do. And to all at the North Pole Police Department. Thank you.
Brigadier General (Ret.) Lane Killen—Wow. Thanks for help once again with all the military “stuff”—and thanks for all the years of prayer and support. We’ll never forget OCF Bible study and Colonel Freimark and y’all teaching us the ranks all those years ago.
And to our other two military sources who have to remain anonymous for security reasons—thank you. Your input was invaluable.
Wanda Uballe and Melissa Conatser at Hotel North Pole—we had the greatest experience with you all at the hotel. Thank you for taking great care of us, helping us with research, and allowing us to use it all in
Race Against Time
. It’s been a privilege to get to know you both. Thank you.
Carrie Kintz—crazy friend extraordinaire. Thanks for writing discussion questions (for ALL my books so far!), helping with marketing, reading, critting, and most of all, thanks for your precious, precious friendship. Love you much!
Lori Healy—friend, assistant, PR person, encourager, and much, much more. Thank you for sticking with us all these years. You’ve learned how to keep up and jump in to just about every insane experience we have and help us with it all. You are wonderful and we love you dearly.
Darcie Gudger, Becca Whitham, Sally McPherson, Shelly Ring—critters. Thanks for taking the time to read! Especially in the crunch times. Whew. We’re blessed to have you with us. Darcie, thanks for helping with the discussion questions as well.
The Ahtna Heritage Foundation and Dr. John Smelcer—Thank you for all you do to preserve the Ahtna language.
David and Lori Phelps and family—you all are precious to us. Thank you.
The amazing people at
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
. You all rock. Thanks again.
And last, but definitely not least, you, our wonderful readers. Thank you for investing a part of your lives in our story and in this book. We love to hear from you!
WORD GLOSSARY
These are the Ahtna words used in
Race Against Time,
with the pronunciation (in the brackets) and their definition. Enjoy!
Anesia
[A-knee-shuh]
C’gaaya
[Kay-Guy-ah]—Bear cub
Deltlaagi
[dell-tlaw-gee]—Clock, watch
Kon’
[kon] (C,L)—Fire
łic’ae
[thick-a]—Dog
Naltsiine
[Nall-chee-neh]—Down from the sky clan
Natsagga
[nat-sag-ga] (M)—Smoked salmon strips
Sabiile’
[sa-beel-eh]—Rainbow
Saeł
[sath]—Box
Syats’ea
[soo-yats-eh]—Niece
Ts’ede’
[ched-ah](C,U)—Blanket
Udzih
[yoo-jee]—Caribou
-yats’e’e
[oo-yats-eh]—Daughter (woman’s daughter)
Yanlaey
[yan-lay]—Clouds; overcast
PROLOGUE
ANESIA
Eve of World Championships
Sprint Dog Racing
Anchorage, Alaska
4:26 p.m.
The word
lose
didn’t exist in Anesia Naltsiine’s vocabulary.
Liquid sloshed over the rim of Thunder’s bowl and, in seconds, turned to ice. Anesia leaned down to her prized racing dog and checked his paws, then broke a piece of frozen water off the edge.