Carter

Dale Mayer

Mar 2020 · The K9 Files Book 7 · Valley Publishing Ltd.

About this ebook

Staying away was harder than he thought …

Recovering from an accident was hell on anyone, but, for a stubborn guy like Carter, it was worse. No way would he be a burden. So he stayed away from Montana, where his best friend lived … and his best friend’s sister.

Until Geir and Cade ask Carter to check up on a dog delivered to a small town close by, but the dog never arrived. Considering this was one of the missing War Dogs that Titanium Corp was handling, Carter was happy to assist. Maybe even relieved as it gave him a reason to go where he’d been afraid to go before.

Walking into her partner’s office to find his dead body on the floor had sent Hailey down a nightmarish path that never seemed to end. Then it had started with Carter’s arrival. What else should she expect from the man who she’d always loved and who had rejected her time and time again. She’d hoped the attraction to him would have lessened by now, but it was even worse.

As the body count mounts, and the town takes sides, Hailey realizes that Carter was always the one to back her up, even when it meant he could die in this fight that’s gone to hell. Particularly when Carter finds the missing K9 dog, and his current owner is on the wrong side of the war …

Only Carter doesn’t care, knowing he’d always stand on the side of right, but maybe—if he was lucky this time—he wouldn’t be standing alone …

military romance; military; mystery and suspense; Action and adventure; Navy SEAL romance; SEAL; alpha hero; Romantic Suspense; Mystery; Suspense; light action; romance; Hero; strong female; Army Marine; Air Force; Broken Heros; Dogs

Ratings and reviews

And I thought I had family issues... Carter’s best friend, Gordon and his younger sister, Hailey, live in the same Montana town where War Dog Matzuka was headed months ago for retirement. Before his accident, whenever Carter had leave from his military service, he would go to Gordon’s ranch and help him by doing handyman-type work. Hailey had grown up hoping that she and Carter would someday marry and have a family together. But back then, she was so young that Carter would never risk his friendship with Gordon to even consider her. Carter married someone else, who divorced him while he recovered from the accident that left him with injuries too severe to continue his military service. Also, timing being what it was, Gordon’s and Hailey’s father died right around the time Carter was facing all the surgeries and rehab in addition to the divorce. Thus, neither Carter nor Gordon had any opportunity to provide support to each other at their most trying times. At Titanium Corp Carter had been trying to find a way to reintegrate to civilian life and perhaps start his own home building company. Feeling less than fit and confident to offer his services to help Gordon at the ranch like he used to, Carter uses the search for Matzuka as a reason to visit Gordon, who is having his own problems with someone causing border issues with his ranch. Hailey, now thirty years old, is a partner in a financial services firm that manages several very big accounts. After having found some suspicious ledger sheets on the copy machine recently, Hailey had begun to think that someone was embezzling from their company. Again, timing being what it is, one of Hailey’s partners, Fred Longfellow, is found dead in his office from a gunshot the morning after Carter’s arrival. So, we have Matzuka, who had been approved for adoption by Brenda Longfellow at the town where three generations of the Longfellow family live. We have the death of Fred Longfellow and suspected embezzler in his and Hailey’s company, and we have Gordon’s dispute with (wait for it…) the Longfellow family over the lines between their properties. Carter has literally walked into a trifecta of trouble. Wow! Great story, great people, lots of mystery in this small Montana town. Loved it!!! I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This is the 7th book in the brilliant K9 series, although it is a standalone you are likely to meet up with old friends if you have read other Dale Mayer books. A number of retired military dogs have gone missing and a team of operators are determined to find them and re home them. Cater Brotherton is looking for a challenge now that his injuries have healed, he is an ex navy SEAL who's wife left him whilst he was fighting to come to terms with life changing injuries.Carter is invited to go to Montana, where his best friend Gordon lives, to try to locate a dog called Matzzuka, Gordon is delighted to have him stay on the ranch where he lives with his sister Hailey, Gordon's wife has left him even though they are both still very much in love, Hailey is not so delighted, she was heartbroken when Carter married even though they always bickered. Hailey is a partner in a finance firm and is worried that there may be some inside embezzling, when Hailey's two partners are found murdered is she the main suspect or is she the next in line to die. The whole town is run by the Longfellow family, they are very powerful people and they want to take over Gordon's farm and don't care how they do it, who can Hailey trust when even the sheriff is a Longfellow, how is Matzzuka involved with this family and can Carter retrieve him ? This is a lovely story of men who owe their lives to these dogs and doing their best to give them a happy retirement, it has murder, dog napping,embezzlement and of course romance. I love how the author deals sympathetically with the subject of infertility and the psychological effects of the people affected. I can highly recommend this book and I eagerly look forward to the next one. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I didn't think I could get attached to characters so quickly but this story did just that! Carter has a tool belt attached to his hips and a pencil behind his ear as he helped his Navy friends with another reconstruction project. He is now missing a foot, has a badly injured arm and hand and his recovery from his injuries as a Navy Seal is going well despite his wife walking out on him when she saw him injured. Cade is worried about him and has a plan to get him started back in life. Cade knows his friend is missing his dogs (wife took them) and has stalled about visiting his long time friend on his ranch in Montana. Carter felt he would be a burden and it was easier to not go. So Cade has a proposition for Carter involving a missing K-9 named Matzuka, sent to Montana but not recovered from the airport and has been missing for 3 months. So the story begins, adding his best friend in Montana has a sister who livens up the visit immediately with her less than friendly greeting then the next day finding one of her partners at work dead from a 'apparent' suicide which he accomplished with his non dominate hand creating suspicion. Kate (friend's sister) works in an investment firm, Carter has a degree and experience in finance unknown to others. These things only begin to touch the complications. The tale continues with 3 generations of "Longfellows" to muddy the waters. They apparently all but own the town and the youngest generation have created more than their fair share of havoc. With the ranch's property lines being breached, people winding up injured and/or dead, possible sabotage in the company and the missing K-9, this story was fast paced and difficult to put down in a good way! I was happily up reading way past any decent bedtime! The epilogue talks of Weston wanting to get in on the action. He just may do that with missing K-9 in Alaska. Shambhala is blind in one eye, limps and loves to listen to music. Weston has connections to family there too, I can't wait to hear more.