Protecting the Sasquatches
Beginning of Chapter One
Seven Devils Road
Coos Bay, Oregon
Tawny peered out the car window as the last traces of daylight drained from the sky. By day, the forest along Seven Devils Road was picturesque—moss clung to towering Douglas firs, thick carpets of ferns spread alongside huckleberry bushes, and wildflowers bordered the two-lane road.
At night, it felt different. Menacing.
This lonely stretch of road on the Oregon Coast was the worst place imaginable to be stranded. There were few cars and even fewer homes. She'd managed to call for a tow truck two hours ago. It still hadn't arrived.
Something darted between the trees near her. She blinked and looked again. Something was out there. She was sure of it.
“Tawny,” Josh whined. “It’s cold in here. Shut the window. The tow truck driver had better get here soon or...or I will give the company a one-star review.”
Tawny rolled up the window. “Be grateful. I was lucky to find a spot in the field across the street that had a cell signal. The dispatcher said it would be a while before someone got to us. There’s an accident on Highway 101. Someone swerved to avoid what they thought was a Bigfoot and hit a tree. It was most likely a bear.”
Josh’s face paled. “A Bigfoot? Let’s hope it doesn’t show up here.”
Tawny laughed. “You have nothing to worry about. We both know Bigfoots are a myth.”
“No, they aren’t,” Josh argued. “They’re real.”
A low wail suddenly echoed through the forest—drawn-out and eerie—shattering the silence. The sound rose in pitch, then slowly faded away.
Silence.
Then it came again.
Longer this time.
A hollow, haunting cry drifted through the forest, sending a chill racing down Tawny’s spine.
Caught Between Life & Death
Beginning of Chapter One
Coos Bay, Oregon
David jerked upright, his breath catching in his throat. A jolt of pain knifed through his injured leg.
Someone—or something—had climbed into his bed.
He pushed himself up and stared at the shadowy figure lying beside him. It was too dark to tell who—or what—it was.
His neighbors had warned him that his newly purchased Victorian house was haunted. Several people claimed they had seen a mysterious blue light glowing from the tower room window. He had lived there for two weeks and had seen nothing unusual.
Until now.
No one should be in his house.
No one should be in his bedroom.
And absolutely no one should be in his bed.
David swung his legs to the floor and snapped on the Tiffany lamp. Light streamed through the stained glass, casting amber, red, and blue across the dark walls.
He turned back to the bed—and gasped.
A woman lay beneath the gold-and-blue quilt, her light brown hair spilling across the extra pillow.
Was she a ghost?
No. She couldn't be.
He didn't believe in the supernatural.
David limped to the other side of the bed and looked down at the intruder. A faint translucent shimmer clung to her skin, while a soft blue glow surrounded her body.
For the first time since purchasing Thornberry House, he wondered if the old Victorian really was haunted.