Heartland
Praise for Davis Bunn's Novels
“Heartland
tells the story of a decent, upstanding cowboy, JayJay, who through an act of Providence finds himself in Hollywood as the lead actor in a successful TV series based on his life. JayJay in his innocence and virtue reveals the corruption, greed and other evils in the entertainment industry. JayJay helps each one of the characters, cast and crew to discover what's good about themselves.
Heartland
is a fantastic read. It is hard to put down. Like the best in literature, it makes you laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time. While it uncovers the corruption in Hollywood, it also helps the reader understand his own failings and perhaps even to discover the solution.”
âMovieguide Magazine,
in granting
Heartland
its highest
rating ever for a book
“Heartland
is T. Davis Bunn at his best! From the first page until the last I was captivated by the creatively-developed, fast-moving plot. Warmly enriched by believable characters and laced with timeless principles, reading this book was just pure pleasure! I heartily recommend it to all of us who love a good story, well told.”
âAnne Graham Lotz,
Bible teacher and award-winning,
best-selling author
“Readers beware: this is one you won't put down until you've reached the final page. Davis Bunn has woven a plot so intriguing . . . so fascinating . . . so FUN . . . I can hardly say enough good things about it!
Heartland
is on my âyou
have
to read this' list I give to all my friends. It will find its way to yours, too.”
âEva Marie Everson,
author of The Potluck Club Series
“He's at his best in this absorbing . . . suspense thriller.”
â
Publishers Weekly
,
regarding
Imposter
“I am amazed a guy who isn't a long-time Baltimore cop wrote [
Imposter
] . . . Suspenseful, thrilling, action packed, and incredibly real.”
âMike Hammel,
Senior Homicide Detective,
Baltimore Police Department
“[
Imposter
is] a sweeping crime drama of political ambition, personal corruption, and military intrigue, all rolled into a can't-put-it-down read . . . a masterpiece.”
âMark Mynheir,
former homicide detective and
author of
Rolling Thunder
“[
Imposter
is] an absolute cracker of a suspense thriller. The story explodes off the page.”
âHy Smith,
Senior Vice President, United
International Pictures
“
The Lazarus Trap
is a masterpiece. It will keep you on the edge of your seat from page one right through to when you reluctantly finish.”
âEddie Bell,
former chairman and CEO,
HarperCollins UK
“Bunn has comfortably made the transition from evangelical to mainstream readers, and his popularity shows no sign of abating.”
âJohn Mort,
Booklist
Heartland
Other books by Davis Bunn
Novellas
Tidings of Comfort and Joy
The Quilt
The Book of Hours
International Thrillers
Elixir
The Lazarus Trap
Imposter
For a complete list of books by Davis Bunn,
please visit davisbunn.com
Heartland
Davis Bunn
Copyright © 2006 by Davis Bunn
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansâelectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherâexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
WestBow Press books may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected].
Scripture quotations are from the GOOD NEWS TRANSLATION, SECOND EDITION, Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved; and THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION®, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.
Publisher's Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. All characters are fictional, and any similarity to people living or dead is purely coincidental.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bunn, T. Davis, 1952â Heartland / Davis Bunn.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59554-203-8
ISBN-10: 1-59554-203-5
1. Accident victimsâFiction. 2. Television programsâFiction. I. Title.
PS3552.U4718H43 2006
813'.54âdc22
2006022260
Printed in the United States of America
06 07 08 09 QW 6 5 4 3 2 1
This Book Is Dedicated To
Tony Collins
&
Ember Wilcock
Glad Tidings,
New Beginnings
Contents
J
ayJay aimed on setting the ranch in his rearview mirror two hours earlier, only his sister followed him from room to room while he packed his meager belongings. Clara, who had raised him after the floods swept their parents off in his tenth winter, had never been one for quarreling. But she did her best. “Think of everything we've been through to keep this ranch! Evil bankers, greedy oil barons, locusts, tornadoes, typhoid, hail, snakes, and now you're going to just walk away?”
JayJay's only response was to slip into his boots and stomp down on the heels to make them set right.
Clara pointed through the living room window, past the shed holding the pickup, back to where the cottonwoods tracked the creek leading off the stream. To the tombstones by the meadow's border.
Clara's voice rose an octave and a half. “You mean to tell me you can just walk away and leave all that behind?”
JayJay shouldered his canvas duffel and said, “I reckon so.”
He couldn't take their lone truck and leave Clara without a way to get to market, and his horse, Skye, was still lame. So JayJay hoofed it down to the highway and thumbed a ride to Simmons Gulch. There he waved down the bus for Los Angeles, the only city serviced by the only bus that still called on the only town he had ever known.
JayJay hesitated there on the first step of the bus and took a last look around. He was about to enter a world he'd never had any interest in before. Which of course was why his fiancée had dumped him for that feller who traveled the rodeo circuit riding wild bulls.
That recollection was painful enough to drive him into the bus.
Soon as he took a seat, the bus rumbled to life and pulled away. He tilted his hat down over his eyes and dozed off, dreaming of better days.
The grinding sound of the accident almost woke him. The bus jolted hard, and there was a flashing pain, and it was almost natural to stay asleep and let everything go . . .
“Peter?”
“Upstairs.”
Cynthia clambered up the steps to his attic office. It was a tough climb, as she was eight months pregnant with twins. “Why aren't you getting dressed?”
“The script is due tomorrow and I'm still stuck on the same scene.”
“Poor Peter.” His wife had changed out of her current favorite T-shirt, which read “frontloader.” Instead she wore a frock that billowed like a navy-blue sail. “How long have you been working on it?”
Peter stared at the computer screen. “Three weeks and one day.”
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
Normally Peter responded to such questions with a look. The one that said,
I'll talk about it when I'm done.
This time, however, Peter replied, “I've got JayJay leaving the valley. The bus has an accident. Then nothing. JayJay Parsons has been napping on the LA bus for twenty-two days. He's as good as petrified.”
Cynthia walked over and hugged him from behind, pulling his hands from the keyboard. “I thought you told me you had the sense in your prayer time of everything being okay.”
“That was then. This is now.” He had come upstairs on a whim, hoping he could finally make some headway. What he felt right now was
power
. Despite his dissatisfaction over the lack of progress, the room felt electrified. “We both know what's going to happen tomorrow.”
“It's just more rumors.”
“No, Cynthia. Not this time.” He touched the edge of the laptop. The force hummed so powerfully he could feel his entire body vibrate. Yet he still could not write a single word. Which was ridiculous. “I feel so alone.”
“That's the one thing you're
not.
The church has been spreading word all over. People are writing from places we've never heard of promising to prayâhow many e-mails did you get just today?”
“It doesn't matter. The show is doomed.”
“This is not the way you're going to start our anniversary evening.” Cynthia reached over him and turned off his laptop. “For six years, people all over the world have found a hint of goodness and light in
Heartland
. I'm as sorry as you the show's in trouble. But this isâ”
“No you're not.” Peter swallowed hard. “Nobody's that sorry. Not even you.”
Cynthia did not argue. “Don't do this, Peter. Keep the fire alight where it matters most. In your creative heart.”
Peter kept his fingers on the keyboard. Even turned off, the computer seemed to hum with a barely repressed force. He wondered idly if there was a short in the connection. “Tomorrow I'm meeting with the studio chief. And he's going to tell me what everybody on the set has been saying for weeks. That
Heartland
is finished.”
Cynthia ran the fingers of one hand through the hair at the base of his neck. Rubbing him like she would a cat. Saying nothing.
Peter caught her expression reflected in the plate-glass window beyond his desk. The emotion etched into her features brought a lump to his own throat. He swallowed hard and asked, “What am I going to do?”
“You're going to come downstairs and get dressed. Tonight we're going to do our best to put all this aside and give thanks for the blessings we still have.”
“And tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow we'll pray that you have the strength and wisdom to face whatever happens.” She pulled him from the chair. “Now you come with me.”
As he started down the stairs behind his wife, Peter cast one final look back at his desk.