Snow Baby

Snow Baby
Brenda Novak

When Chantel Miller gets lost during an unexpected snowstorm, a stranger named Dillon Broderick rescues her.In the hours they spend together they become very close and the intimacy of that night creates a special bond between them. But real life intervenes. The woman Chantel was on her way to see is her sister, Stacy. They've been estranged for ten years and Chantel is determined to regain her affection. The woman Dillon was on his way to see is…Stacy.They've been friends for some time but now there's an added complication. Stacy's in love with him. Which means Chantel can't pursue a relationship with Dillon. Even when she discovers she's pregnant because of that snowy night…

HARLEQUIN SUPERROMANCE

Celebrates its 20

Anniversary

Two decades of bringing you the very best in romance reading.

To recognize this important milestone, we’ve invited six very special authors—whose names you’re sure to recognize—to tell us how they feel about Superromance. Each title this month has a foreword by one of these authors.

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Blake says that Superromance novels “present a broad spectrum of romance stories from the heart-pounding to the heartwarming.” She talks about the books’ “innovative plot lines and fresh new voices”—qualities that definitely appear in the work of Brenda Novak.

Snow Baby is Brenda’s second book for Superromance. She’s achieving a reputation for realistic and moving stories with a strong focus on family relationships.

Publishers Weekly has described her writing as “energetic” and her characters as “appealing.”

Her peers also acknowledge her talent. The well-known writer Merline Lovelace calls Brenda’s books “must-reads.” Vicki Hinze (author of Acts of Honor) says this about Brenda’s stories: “Real people. Real problems. Complex and genuine. Brenda Novak shoots straight for the heart—and captures it!”

Dear Reader,

As an author, the question I get asked most often is “Where do you get the ideas for your stories?” Sometimes it’s a specific location that inspires me, or an unusual event. Sometimes it’s something as remote as a friend’s retelling of an experience that happened to another friend’s sister’s aunt’s neighbor! Well, this story strikes a little closer to home for me. It was inspired by my own sister. She and Chantel, the heroine, have many things in common. They are both tall—almost six feet—consider themselves “ugly ducklings” (although the rest of the world sees a swan) and battle the unique insecurities that come with towering over most other women and turning heads everywhere they go.

Take that kind of character and put her in a story where she and her sister are in love with the same man, and you have the backdrop for Snow Baby. To keep from destroying relationships that mean a great deal to them, Chantel and Stacy Miller and Dillon Broderick all wrestle with their individual needs and desires. But only when each is ready to sacrifice his or her happiness for the other two do they establish the kind of bond that transcends the selfish and the ordinary and becomes something truly special.

And it’s all because of an unexpected snow baby…

I hope you enjoy my latest Superromance. I’d certainly love to hear from you. You can write to me at P.O. Box 3781, Citrus Heights, CA 95611. Or simply log on to my Web site at www.brendanovak.com to leave me an e-mail, check out my book signings or learn about my upcoming releases.

Best wishes!

Brenda Novak

Snow Baby

Foreword by Jennifer Blake

Brenda Novak

For my sister, Debra Cundick, a beautiful

child, a beautiful adult, the inspiration behind this book.

Sometimes in life we meet people who encourage us, who

teach us that we are worthy of our dreams, who set an

example for us of courage and determination in the face of

formidable challenges. I married one of those people—

and that is something for which I will always be grateful.

FOREWORD BY JENNIFER BLAKE

Romance novels serve different purposes for different people. Depending on the category or type, they provide fantasy adventure for those in need of escape from everyday tensions, trust in a future filled with love and joy for readers who have not yet found these things, a sense of home and family for women who have either lost theirs or never had any, remembrance of intimacy for those whose memories may have dimmed, and more—so much more. These so-called simple stories reaffirm the magic of living and loving. They illustrate that women can survive and prosper and find their hearts’ desires. They provide a promise that women and men can share a close relationship and the implicit pledge of a wonderful future. They give people a life goal that, even when it seems least attainable, still causes the senses to quicken and the world to seem good and bright.

Some would say that romance novels create unrealistic expectations, that a real personal relationship can never live up to the fantasies presented. What a shortsighted view! Those who hold it fail to see that in striving for the Holy Grail of a perfect love, men and women may overcome incredible odds to discover tolerance and acceptance of each other’s foibles and find rich moments of laughter, passion and devotion. They can become better lovers solely from the attempt. All great endeavors begin with a fantasy. If you never dream of climbing the highest mountain, then you’ll never reach the heights. If you never dream of a fine romance, then you will surely never feel the magic.

In my own experience, however, romance authors seldom write their stories with the idea of creating romantic expectations. They write for the pleasure of the words flowing through their brains, for the joy of creating their own special worlds and inviting readers into them. They write to show others with a romantic frame of mind the charming, funny or exciting stories that they create to entertain themselves and to share the romantic joy they feel inside. If they can entertain readers while doing these things, then that’s more than enough.

Superromance novels like the one you hold in your hands explore the promise of love in all its many varieties. They present a broad spectrum of romance stories from the heartwarming to the heart-pounding. They are as close to mainstream as it’s possible to come in category romance, and have been the proving ground for many authors who have gone on to have bestsellers in the broader fiction market. With innovative plot lines and fresh new voices, they provide more fully developed reading experiences. I hope you enjoy this story—Snow Baby by Brenda Novak—and that you find it in whatever joy and romance your heart may be seeking.

Jennifer Blake

Jennifer Blake is a four-time New York Times bestselling author, whose first book was published in 1970. She has published well-known historical romances like Love’s Wild Desire, as well as contemporary mainstream novels, the most recent of which is Roan (MIRA Books, July 2000). Jennifer has received many awards and accolades; among these are the fact that she was appointed Writer-in-Residence at Northeast Louisiana University in 1982, and in 1997, was chosen as the recipient of Colorado’s Frank Waters Award for Achievement in Fiction. Jennifer Blake understands, respects and values romance fiction—and romance readers—as her success has repeatedly proven.

CONTENTS

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