In Rock Harbor Search and Rescue , a middle grade fiction novel based on Colleen Coble’s bestselling Rock Harbor series for adults, kids will enjoy the mixture of pets, adventure, suspense, and a mystery. Emily O’Reilly is obsessed with all things Search and Rescue. She volunteers with the team and goes on rescue missions with her stepmom. She is even selling homemade jewelry to save up for her own Search and Rescue puppy. But when an expensive necklace is stolen from a renowned jewelry artist at Rock Harbor’s fall festival and Emily is accused of the crime, it looks like she’ll never get her puppy and be able to join the Rock Harbor Search and Rescue team. Emily isn’t willing to give up on her Search and Rescue dreams that easily, and she sets out to find the real culprit and to restore her reputation. With a few suspects in mind, Emily is determined to uncover the truth, but she isn’t prepared for the secrets she and the Search and Rescue dogs sniff out in the process. This exciting mystery is filled with twists and turns that will keep readers on the edge of their seats and have them pining after a Search and Rescue puppy of their own! "Colleen is a master storyteller."—Karen Kingsbury Colleen Coble is the USA TODAY and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than eighty-five books and is best known for her coastal romantic suspense novels. Connect with her online at colleencoble.com; Instagram: @colleencoble; Facebook: @colleencoblebooks; X: @colleencoble ROCK HARBOR SEARCH & RESCUE By Colleen Coble Robin Caroll Thomas Nelson Copyright © 2013 Colleen Coble All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4003-2106-3 Chapter One "I don't think he's got a scent." Emily O'Reilly waved away the black flies that swarmed around her face. Their search dog, Charley, had paused and was nosing a patch of leaves. The trees blocked out the sun here and made her shiver. Her stepmother, Naomi, paused to catch her breath. "It's going to be dark soon. Mrs. McKinley will be frantic if we don't find her dog." Emily glanced around at the dark shadows. "I hate to think of little Chloe out here." She loved her neighbor's little poodle. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Chloe!" Only the wind answered her. Tears pricked her eyes. They'd been searching for over two hours. What if an owl had carried off the puppy? Or, even worse, an eagle? Naomi put her hand on Emily's shoulder. "Don't look like that, Emily. We'll find her." If she were only five instead of nearly fourteen, Emily would have buried her face against Naomi and cried. "What about predators out here?" she whispered. She could hear rustling in the woods around her. She knew it was probably squirrels or birds getting out of the way of the search-and-rescue team, but it was easy to imagine a fox or a wolf instead that may want to have a poodle-sized snack. Or could it be the Windigo? The thought of the old Ojibwa legend made her throat tighten. She'd been lost out here once when she was a kid, and the noises she'd heard in the night still came back to haunt her. Or maybe it was her imagination. She knew the Windigo was only a legend—the Ojibwa Native American tribe's version of a bogeyman—but it was still enough to give her goose bumps. Her babysitter had told her the old story enough times that Emily could never forget it. And even though she knew better ... out here, in the dark, with the wind moving through the trees ... "She's probably just wandered off," Naomi assured. She called Charley to her and had him sniff the bag that held one of Chloe's stuffed animals. "Search, Charley!" The dog whined, then put his nose in the air and leaped over a fallen log. He began to bark. His tail went up, and he disappeared into the shadows. "He's got a scent!" Naomi shouted. She took off after the dog. Emily ran hard to keep up. Please, God, let Chloe be okay . Her heart raced, and she strained to catch a glimpse of the dog. There was a yip, then she heard two dogs barking. One was clearly a small dog from the frantic yapping. "Chloe!" The leaves rustled, and Chloe burst into view. Emily fell to her knees, and the sweet little poodle ran straight to her arms. Her little pink tongue lapped at Emily's face. "You're all right!" She didn't care if she was crying. She hugged the dog and turned her wet face up to Naomi. "I thought an owl had gotten her." She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and then stood up with the dog in her arms. Suddenly, Naomi's cell phone softly began playing the theme song from The Princess Bride inside her jacket, and she answered it. From this side of the conversation, Emily realized there was another problem. Her gut tightened when Naomi hung up and called Charley to her. "A couple at a nearby camper reported their ten-year-old son hasn't come back from a short hike along a well-marked trail," Naomi said. "I'd rather not pull you into this, but we're closer than anyone else." "I want to help!" The