The Unknown Malone

The Unknown Malone
Anne Eames

TWO SECRET SONSMichael Phillips had been shocked to learn he was the unknown Malone - the secret child of a wealthy Montana family's patriarch. And now it seemed his beautiful boarder was hiding something from him. But he'd never expected that something to be a little boy… .AND THE WOMAN WHO LOVED THEM BOTHSingle mother Nicole Bedder had to keep her child a secret from everyone - even from the man she had come to love so passionately. But now that Michael knew the truth about Nicole's hidden past, could one secret child welcome another into his heart?Montana Malones: These sexy brothers' lips are sealed with their secrets… till passion pries 'em loose.

Letter to Reader (#u064241b1-5d1c-5b3e-9065-ab4921828b07)Letter to Reader (#uffb202df-d70f-5ed9-99c9-1b21fd9754df)Title Page (#u1c737aed-7235-5215-be6a-2ed7febc9447)About the Author (#u093c02f6-0826-5073-90d3-5cc4936cbb29)Dedication (#ua1380d57-acb7-5fb5-9eba-09257f367b6b)Chapter One (#u4d711245-77ca-516a-89df-26f97a94c997)Chapter Two (#u02f32bd7-d8e7-5ba2-a288-df045dad86a8)Chapter Three (#u57dd071e-a9a3-52e7-8f9b-48841acd1798)Chapter Four (#u9034201e-b07f-51c3-9227-d892b968d049)Chapter Five (#u87133958-250c-58bc-8a07-378fdb7ab7a9)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)Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Dear Reader,

Here’s the fourth and last in the series THE MONTANA MALONES, which debuted June ‘97 with A Marriage Made in Joeville, followed in December by The Best Little Joeville Christmas and Last of the Joeville Lovers, May ’98.

Thanks for the many wonderful letters from readers asking that this series continue—I couldn’t help but respond. In The Unknown Malone it’s seven years later and you will get to know more about Taylor’s brother, Michael, along with the woman he can’t resist, Nicole—a woman on the run with a storehouse of secrets.

Familiar faces return for an encore: Savannah and Ryder, Jenny and Shane, Taylor and Josh, Max, Hannah and, of course, Billy, whom many of you have said touched your hearts from beginning to end. Also by request, one of these other characters finds romance, too.

As always, I enjoy hearing from readers and welcome your letters.

Here’s hoping you have a happy and loving holiday season′

Warmest regards,

Anne Eames

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Silhouette Desire—where you’re guaranteed powerful, passionate and provocative love stones that feature rugged heroes and spirited heroines who experience the full emotional intensity of falling in love!

This October you’ll love our new MAN OF THE MONTH title by Barbara Boswell, Forever Flint Opposites attract when a city girl becomes the pregnant bride of a millionaire outdoorsman.

Be sure to “rope in” the next installment of the exciting Desire miniseries TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB with Billionaire Bridegroom by Peggy Moreland. When cattle baron Forrest Cunningham wants to wed childhood friend Becky Sullivan, she puts his love to an unexpected test.

The always-wonderful Jennifer Greene returns to Desire with her magical series HAPPILY EVER AFTER. Kiss Your Prince Charming is a modern fairy tale starring an unforgettable “frog prince.” In a sexy battle-of-the-sexes tale, Lass Small offers you The Catch of Texas. Anne Eames continues her popular miniseries MONTANA MALONES with The Unknown Malone. And Sheri WhiteFeather makes her explosive Desire debut with Warrior’s Baby, a story of surrogate motherhood with a twist.

Next month, you’ll really feel the power of the passion when you see our new provocative cover design. Underneath our new covers, you will still find six exhilarating journeys into the seductive world of romance, with a guaranteed happy ending!

Enjoy!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: PO. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

The Unknown Malone

Anne Eames

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

ANNE EAMES

This is Anne Eames’s seventh novel for Desire. She has been a Golden Heart finalist and Maggie winner, and her books have appeared on the USA Today bestseller list.

Anne and her husband, Bill, live in southeastern Michigan.

You may write to Anne Eames at: 4217 Highland, Box #252, Waterford, MI 48328. For an autographed gift, please enclose a business-length, self-addressed, stamped envelope.

To Tim, Emily, Haley, TJ,

Savannah and Tom Garthe

with all my love always

and

with special thanks to

forester extraordinaire,

Betsy Couzens Mitton

One

At a gas station east of Livingston, Montana, about forty miles from Joeville, Nicole Bedder leaned closer to the rest room mirror and growled in frustration. The false eyelash she’d so carefully glued in place was now stuck to the end of her finger. It didn’t help that her hands were shaking. It had been eighteen hours since her last meal.

She tried again, this time using tweezers to press the phony lashes to her own. With more finesse it worked, and she applied the second. They felt heavy and she blinked hard as she riffled through her purse for blush.

A loud knock on the door made her jump.

“I’ll be out in a sec.”

She’d already ratted and sprayed her recently bleached hair into a style even Dolly Parton would have been proud of. Now she applied a thick layer of red lipstick over her already full lips, making sure she exceeded the lines in a suitable fashion.

She stepped back and inspected the finished product. The denim skirt wasn’t as short as most, the top not very tight, but sexy things had never been part of her wardrobe. This would just have to do.

A quick readjustment inside her bra and the cleavage atop her red tank top swelled. She turned from side to side for one last look.

Good grief. Who was this person?

Before she could lose her nerve she thrust open the door. The plump, elderly woman waiting outside gasped. Her eyes traveled the length of the young woman in front of her before her lips settled into a firm, straight line. She brushed passed Nicole with a disgusted humph and there was a resounding twist of the lock behind her.

A feeling of dread spread across Nicole’s shoulders and neck and she fought a sudden urge to cry. Obviously she had just convinced somebody’s grandma that she was a worldly woman, but could she trick the owner of the Purple Palace?

Yet all she had to do was fit in, she reminded herself. A helper, the ad had said. Yesterday she’d decided she couldn’t go to a place like that looking like Manan the Librarian, her normally mousy brown hair tied in its familiar ponytail. No, she had to look as though the occupants’ shenanigans were nothing out of the ordinary, that they weren’t the least bit offensive to her sensibilities.

Now, with hands on hips, she looked to the sky and shook her head. High school drama classes hadn’t prepared her for this gig. But what choice did she have? She said a quick prayer, filled her lungs and then strode toward the gas pump, trying not to wobble on her Salvation Army high heels.