Brenda Wallace

A Judge who is schooled in martial arts has AK-47 armed invaders attack his court to free defendants but, he leaps into action and kills or subdues the attackers saving numerous innocent parties an foiling the great escape attempt. He becomes an instant celebrity but, life that is constantly interrupted by photographers and others seeking to cash in on his moment of fame. He finds himself constantly angered and in danger of exploding and using some of his martial skills against jerks rather than actual bad guys. He takes a leave of absence and retires to a friends small cabin deep in the Rocky Mountains woods. He is far from population, with no phones, press or other interruptions from civilization. He is slowly living the quiet life and winding down from the tense burning that had become his recent life. Just when he believes things are becoming normal, he hears a small whimper from the forest while out chopping wood. He looks about and finds a young girl barefoot and clothed in a dirty shirt with welts and scratches covering her body. When he tries to pick her up, she shrinks away and whimpers more. By moving slowly, he is able to take her back to the cabin. He slowly tries to draw out a story but the young girl doesn't respond and appears mute. He takes it upon himself to do what he can to settle her, giving her warm food and being gentle with her. He treats her wounds with antiseptic cream and cleans her up as she allows. His gentle manner soothes her until she is able to sleep without nightmares and doesn't shrink into a corner unless he moves suddenly and frightens her. As her self confidence develops he takes her out to fly a kite in a near meadow. She knows how to fly kites and is able to cause it to do tricks but, as it is flying, someone shoots it out of the sky. The judge and girl move back to the cabin where he takes up his pistol and confronts the men. A firefight ensues and the judge wounds one of the men and they run off but, remain a unknown threat. The judge is also wounded in the leg but can still walk with pain. He does what he can to reassure the young girl and does what he can to dress his wound. He secures the cabin as best he can but, doesn't lock the front door. An attractive young woman bursts into the cabin with a very large gun and mistakenly threatens to shoot the judge thinking him a pervert who kidnapped her daughter from a Denver park. The young girl speaks out and tells her mother not to shoot the judge as he had been the one who had befriended her and kept her from further harm. Together they set off for civilization only to be hunted and haunted by a number of bad guys. Together, they fight their way back to their homes but, it seems that someone is taking everything apart just in front of them. Several more attempts are made to abduct the young girl but they are thwarted by either the judge or the girls mother. The story takes many strange twists but leads to a happy solution after severely testing the participants. The suspense, action and obvious affection between characters makes this a great read!… (altro)