SALT CREEK / Phil LeMaitre (ePub)

In an area that few people in the United States on either coast can identify, a place exists that exudes the very essence of the term community. Hidden in the middle of an oil field in Wyoming is a unique area where people look after another when trouble comes.

In the fall of 1984, an event shook even the resilient Salt Creek community to its core, only to witness the grit and determination that made its high school athletes famous. So when a popular teacher and coach named Tim Savolt goes missing, everyone is affected. He was last seen by a friend while walking along the bank of the Salt Creek while collecting water samples for a study. Perhaps the most disturbed person about the news is incoming senior Josh Anderson. He should have accompanied the teacher that day if he hadn't overslept.

Like most teenage boys in the region, Josh's focus each fall centers around academics and football. However, Josh is unique. Instead of drowning in guilt, he launches an investigation to find Savolt. Together with a few of his closest friends, Josh and the boys discover clues that even law enforcement officers missed. But, unfortunately, a mysterious dark green 1978 Ford pickup with two strangers inside begins to hunt the boys after they find every clue. Why the men were even in that part of Wyoming is even a bigger mystery. However, unbeknownst to everyone in the area, a protective guardian is ready to intercede on the boys' behalf. Yet, even in tragedy, something miraculous happens that particular football season that binds residents into an even closer bond.