A Quarter for a Kiss

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version
^®
NIV
^®
. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The author is represented by MacGregor Literary.

Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota

Cover photo © Guido ClaBen / Fotolia

Lyrics from “A Quarter for a Kiss,” words and music by David Starns, © Copyright 2003 by David Starns, are used herein with all rights reserved and by permission.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

A QUARTER FOR A KISS

Copyright © 2004 by Mindy Starns Clark

Published 2011 by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-2959-2 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-4170-9 (eBook)

The Library of Congress has cataloged the edition as follows:

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Clark, Mindy Starns.

A quarter for a kiss / Mindy Starns Clark.

p. cm.—(Million dollar mysteries ; bk. 4)

ISBN 978-0-7369-1293-8 (pbk.)

1. Nonprofit organizations—Fiction. 2. Saint John (V.I.)—Fiction. 3. Widows—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3603.L366Q37 2004

All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 / LB-CF / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

Acknowledgments

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-One

Twenty-Two

Twenty-Three

Twenty-Four

Twenty-Five

Twenty-Six

Twenty-Seven

Twenty-Eight

Twenty-Nine

Thirty

Thirty-One

Thirty-Two

Thirty-Three

Thirty-Four

Thirty-Five

Thirty-Six

Thirty-Seven

Thirty-Eight

Thirty-Nine

Forty

Forty-One

Forty-Two

Forty-Three

Forty-Four

Forty-Five

Forty-Six

Forty-Seven

Forty-Eight

About the Author

The Buck Stops Here

Whispers of the Bayou

Under the Cajun Moon

Shadows of Lancaster County

Secrets of Harmony Grove

Other Books by Mindy Starns Clark

About the Publisher

For my mother,
Jacquelyn Dickerson Starns.

You are my rock,
my friend,
and my inspiration.

I love you!

Acknowledgments

Thank you so much:

John Clark, J.D., C.P.A., for everything. Your generosity of time, resources, and love never ceases to amaze me.

Kim Moore, for being the best (and the sweetest) editor on the planet.

David Starns, my wonderful brother, for penning the song “A Quarter for a Kiss” and then bringing it to life in the studio. You are the single most amazing musician I have ever known.

Steve Laube and Frank Weimann, for your representation. What a pair!

Daniel Scannell, for outstanding research assistance.

Kay Justus, for brainstorming, researching, and providing invaluable contacts.

Jackie Starns and Shari Weber, for reading and proofing.

Shana Smith, for “coining” the right phrase to give the book its title.

Ken Weber, for creating and maintaining my website.

Janet White, for gracious hospitality.

The brilliant minds at Chi Libris, MMA, Dorothy L, and Sisters in Crime, for tremendous advice and support.

And a big thanks to those who have answered questions and expanded the base of my knowledge in the course of writing this book: Daniel Bailey, Tim Barker, Bob and Sue Butler, Alice Clark, Emily and Lauren Clark, Jeff Cohen, Kathy Coon, Jonathan King, Craig Kozan, R. Troyan Krause, Warren Levicoff, Jack Liddy, Dave Redinger, Douglas T. Reindl, Robert M. Starns, M.D., Corinne Weaber, and the helpful staff of Northeast Scuba Supply of Trooper, PA.

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed
,
or hidden that will not be made known
.

M
ATTHEW
10:26

One

“Come on, Callie,” Tom urged. “You can do it. You know how.”

Ignoring the burning in my calves, I kept my gaze on Tom, who had reached the top of the wall almost effortlessly and now waited there for me to join him.

“There’s a grip at two o’clock, up from your right hand about six inches,” he guided, speaking in the low, soothing tones I teasingly called his “rock climbing” voice. Glad for that voice now, I released my handhold and reached upward, my fingers easily finding and grasping the tiny ledge. “Now your foot,” he said. “Slow and easy. You’re almost there.”

As I went I concentrated on all I had learned about rock climbing in the last few weeks. It was Tom’s passion, and we had spent a number of hours practicing on a real rock face while he taught me the basic tricks and techniques. Now we were in an indoor gym, on a simulated rock wall, climbing much higher than we had ever gone in our practice runs. And though I was wearing a safety harness that was roped to the ceiling, that didn’t make it any easier or any less scary—particularly where the wall actually bent outward, pitching me at a difficult angle.