When Brad Sievers runs into his old friend Jessie Van Dyke at his high school reunion, little does he know how much it will change his life. When his high-powered advertising career fizzles, he falls into a most unlikely career opportunity -- becoming a member of Jessie's search-and-rescue team. Nothing in his life has prepared Brad for this, but he finds it more fulfilling than a dozen advertising campaigns.

Through dangerous rescues and personal trials, Brad and Jessie become close friends. They share in the birth of her first colt from her rescued horse; Jessie helps Brad when one of his first rescues doesn't make it. When one of their rescue victims turns out to be a fellow soldier from Jessie's Iraq War days, Brad almost loses her to old demons. But when Brad is severely injured in a training accident, Jessie nurses him back to health as only she can. And when she goes missing one night, Brad realizes just how important she has become to him.

Both Brad and Jessie must fight their own defenses to finally let down the walls that will allow them to rescue each other. This is a story about breath-taking action and adventurous lives, and the heart that is behind it all.

Written with the voice of experience, Last Chance Rescue draws on the author's own Army Reserve training and medevac experience. Tracey's ride-alongs with actual search-and-rescue teams give the thrilling rescues the energy that puts the reader right in the action. Last Chance Rescue will RIVET you from beginning to end!

REVIEW

Review: Women’s Outdoor

“A veteran of the Iraq war and part of a search and rescue team in the Rocky Mountains, Jessie is complex and guarded. She bumps into Brad, a successful advertising executive who is going through a pre-midlife crisis, at their high school class reunion. When Jessie challenges his superficial lifestyle, he takes it to heart. A 180 degree career change finds him as a member of Jessie's helicopter-based search-and-rescue team in the Colorado Rockies where he faces the dangers of being a first responder and the vulnerabilities that come with a deepening relationship...”

Review, HomeFront Magazine:

“While Last Chance Rescue is fiction, it is in many ways the story of military veterans and their families around the world. Brad Sievers, the speaker in “Last Chance Rescue,” is reunited with Jessie Van Dyke, a former classmate and active-duty Army paramedic who served in the Iraq war. Both characters are troubled by events that occurred in their past - experiences in Iraq, trust and intimacy issues - but something is awakened when the two begin working together as part of a search-and-rescue team in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado...”

Praise for Last Chance Rescue

“Cramer-Kelly traverses the peaks and valleys of one man’s quest for personal fulfillment and the remarkable woman who helps him find it.” -- Sheri Vangen-Ratcliffe, Author of Heir Apparent

“A storyline that rockets up and down like a wild helicopter ride and keeps you guessing until the very end.” -- John Nemo, Author of Jumper, The King's Game and Miller's Miracle

“The author’s emergency medical background and outdoor experience shows through.” -- Terri Watson, Air Idaho Rescue Helicopter Pilot & National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Senior Field Instructor

EXCERPT

The helicopter shuddered and swayed as it lifted off the helipad. Instinctively Brad Sievers gripped the edge of the bench, willing his stomach to calm down.

The chopper was so full he could hardly move, and he felt overly warm and claustrophobic. Though he wore a headset, he could hear the Colorado air pulsing through the giant blades above.

Minutes ago he’d been terribly insistent about tagging along on this search-and-rescue mission; now he wasn’t sure it was a good idea. What the hell am I doing? he thought. I’m in advertising, for Chrissakes!

“Okay, listen up,” the team leader said.

The movement of the chopper was so foreign to Brad that he had difficulty paying attention. The team leader talked about the missing snowmobilers"what they looked like, where they were last seen and probable scenarios. He threw out a lot of numbers"coordinates, Brad realized later"and assigned teams to what he kept calling quadrants. “And Jessie will take our ride-along in CHIPS,” he finished.

Brad had known Jessie Van Dyke since kindergarten"in fact, it was entirely possible he’d chased her around the playground in “kiss and tell”"but they’d been only casual acquaintances through high school. He hadn’t seen her in ten years"until he showed up at their high school reunion in Minnesota just weeks ago, hoping to impress his old crush, Aimee Kinderbach"who blew him off in the end.

He must have had a blank look on his face because Jessie said, “CHIPS is our medevac chopper. It’s equipped with heat-seeking equipment, electronic mapping, medical equipment"the whole nine yards. It’s parked at our rendezvous helipad.” She tugged on Brad’s harness, adjusting the fit like another woman would adjust a tie...