Pictures for Maddie — Gayle Mullen Pace

Her secret . . .
Larke Scott never told anyone why she broke her engagement and disappeared, shattering her heart and leaving her fiancé confused and angry. She hid from him that she gave birth to his child, hoping that if she kept the secret and stayed away from the man she loved, her family would be safe.

His resolve . . .
Five years later, Mayor Kody Raines has his hands full -- the worst flood in one hundred years is overwhelming towns along the Tennessee River. In the midst of the crisis, he turns around and there she is, the woman he's never forgotten, the woman who mercilessly dumped him and vanished. She makes a shocking confession -- he has a daughter! Convinced there's more to the story, he decides that, no matter what the cost, he'll discover how deep her deception runs.

Nature's fury . . .
With the threat of the levee's imminent collapse, Kody and Larke suddenly find themselves in the middle of a nightmare: on the run, dodging an unknown assailant. He believes she knows more than she's telling. Their world unravels when they receive a desperate phone call -- “Maddie is missing.”

And the levee breaks . . .