To Love Again

To Love Again
Bonnie K. Winn

She wasn't going to take "no" from anyone anymore, especially not her late husband's rude business partner. Determined to provide for her two children and prove she wasn't the weak woman her husband had convinced everybody she was, Laura Manning moved her family to tiny Rosewood, Texas, to take over his share in the real-estate firm.Who was Paul Russell to tell her she couldn't do it? Having survived her husband's mental abuse, Laura knew she could do anything, no matter what the handsome Texan said. Especially since her family - and her heart - were at stake.

The doorbell rang. Yanking open the door, Laura was surprised to see Paul. She searched her mind for why he would show up on a Saturday morning. “Hi,” she said.

“Morning.” He extended a basket of muffins. “Fresh from the bakery.”

Muffins? From Paul Russell, who’d barely acknowledged her presence in his office for the past week? “Oh… How nice,” she said. “Well, then, come in.”

He entered, his steps tentative.

“I’ll get some coffee.” She led him to the kitchen, then prepared the coffee and put the muffins on a plate. “You’re out and about early,” she said. It was the closest her manners would allow her to come to asking why he was here.

“I realized I hadn’t properly welcomed you and the kids,” he said.

That was one way to put it, she thought. He had all but put the brakes on the welcoming committee and steered it out of town. But now, it seemed, Paul Russell might be changing his tune.

BONNIE K. WINN

is a hopeless romantic who’s written incessantly since the third grade. So it seemed only natural that she turned to romance writing. A seasoned author of historical and contemporary romance, Bonnie has won numerous awards for her bestselling books. Affaire de Coeur chose her as one of the Top Ten Romance Writers in America.

Bonnie loves writing contemporary romance because she can set her stories in the modern cities close to her heart and explore the endlessly fascinating strengths of today’s woman.

Living in the foothills of the Rockies gives her plenty of inspiration and a touch of whimsy, as well. She shares her life with her husband, son and a spunky Westie terrier who lends his characteristics to many pets in her stories. Bonnie’s keeping mum about anyone else’s characteristics she may have borrowed.

To Love Again

Bonnie K. Winn

And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee,

or to return from following after thee:

for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou

lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be

my people, and thy God my God.

—Ruth 1:16

To Karen Elizabeth Rigley, sister and friend.

For all you do. For all you are.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

Letter to Reader

Questions for Discussion

Prologue

Houston, Texas