Bundle of Joy

Bundle of Joy
Annie Jones

Never, Ever Trust A CowboyLike the wind, Jackson Stroud plans to blow through Texas ranch country…and never look back. Proving Shelby Grace Lockhart’s motto correct. But the former Dallas detective doesn’t walk away from ladies—or infants—in distress. So when he discovers an abandoned newborn and a woman looking for a fresh start, Jax knows he came to this special town for a reason.Shelby Grace is just as determined to learn why someone left a baby on her doorstep. As their quest leads in surprising directions, Jax starts to believe he’s finally found a place to belong. What will it take to convince Shelby that this is one cowboy she can count on?

Never, Ever Trust A Cowboy

Like the wind, Jackson Stroud plans to blow through Texas ranch country and never look back...proving Shelby Grace Lockhart’s motto correct. But the former Dallas detective doesn’t walk away from ladies—or infants—in distress. So when he discovers an abandoned newborn and a woman looking for a fresh start, Jax knows he came to this special town for a reason. Shelby Grace is just as determined to learn why someone left a baby on her doorstep. As their quest leads in surprising directions, Jax starts to believe he’s finally found a place to belong. What will it take to convince Shelby that this is one cowboy she can count on?

“Guess that old saying is true. Everything looks different in the light of day.”

Shelby turned to fix her gaze on the tall figure at her side holding the baby carrier easily against his chest. That sight was different.

“I’m going to look around and see what I can find.” Jax settled the baby carrier down on the wooden slats at her feet.

Clearly he expected her to stay put and watch over the foundling. Clearly the man did not understand that Shelby Grace was finished doing what other people expected. It took her only a moment to bend and unsnap the safety latches. She lifted the baby and cuddled her close, even as she headed to the steps to follow Jax.

“No one in Sunnyside would have been able to hide a pregnancy, much less a baby for three months.”

“You honestly think there are no secrets in this town?” He looked back over his shoulder at her. “Would you say everybody here knows all there is to know about you, Shelby Grace?”

ANNIE JONES

Winner of a Holt Medallion for Southern-themed fiction, and the Houston Chronicle’s Best Christian Fiction Author of 1999, Annie Jones grew up in a family that loved to laugh, eat and talk—often all at the same time. They instilled in her the gift of sharing through words and humor, and the confidence to go after her heart’s desire (and to act fast if she wanted the last chicken leg). A former social worker, she feels called to be a “voice for the voiceless” and has carried that calling into her writing by creating characters often overlooked in our fast-paced culture—from seventysomethings who still have a zest for life to women over thirty with big mouths and hearts to match. Having moved thirteen times during her marriage, she is currently living in rural Kentucky with her husband and two children.

Bundle of Joy

Annie Jones

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

People were also bringing babies to Jesus

to have him touch them. When the disciples

saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said,

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

—Luke 18:15–16

For my family, who give me the peace

when I need to write and plenty of space

if I can’t get any writing done.

Contents

Chapter One (#u1fbd9d48-4b62-5696-8f19-021b17508855)

Chapter Two (#u88c1a8fa-2abd-5c0f-a2ac-c721094a1a1c)

Chapter Three (#u9b7ebf5b-fe98-5869-85d4-ac01d6ff0418)

Chapter Four (#u42092d45-d77d-5761-ab33-5b81e429d558)

Chapter Five (#udb2e42d8-cac1-5f90-a79e-a5f0981a6cc4)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Dear Reader (#litres_trial_promo)

Questions for Discussion (#litres_trial_promo)

Excerpt (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One

Nobody did anything without a reason, though reason was rarely behind the things that people did. Jackson Stroud didn’t just believe that; he counted on it.

Guilt. Anger. Pain. Longing. The motivations were often so deep-seated that they were difficult to name. But Jackson—Jax, to people who thought they knew him well—knew what made people tick, or at least he figured it out more quickly than the average Joe.

That knack had served him well these past four years on the Dallas police force. Not as well in his so-called “personal life.” Despite the best efforts of the older ladies at his church to set him up with perfectly lovely women, he’d never been able to turn off the drive to figure people out long enough to make a real connection. Certainly not long enough to settle down. He’d accepted ages ago that he was not the settling-down type.

“Okay by me,” he muttered to himself in the darkness of his truck cab. That just meant there were no broken hearts in his wake when he moved on. Jackson Stroud always moved on.

So when he veered off the brightly lit highway down a darkened ramp in the middle of the night, he did not do so lightly. Bone tired, he needed to stretch his legs, get some coffee and maybe...