Tennessee Vet

Tennessee Vet
Carolyn McSparren

Is he ready to soar like an eagle and live again?When Stephen MacDonald brings Barbara Carew an injured bald eagle, the widowed veterinarian doesn’t expect to heal two wounded males! Although he came to rural Tennessee to recover from his own accident, Stephen seems invested in Orville’s future…and Barbara’s. But even as their connection grows, Barbara isn’t sure she’s ready. Or has she already started to teach Stephen—and herself—to soar again?

Is he ready to soar like an eagle...

and live again?

When Stephen MacDonald brings Barbara Carew an injured bald eagle, the widowed veterinarian doesn’t expect to heal two wounded males! Although he came to rural Tennessee to recover from his own accident, Stephen seems invested in Orville’s future...and Barbara’s. But even as their connection grows, Barbara isn’t sure she’s ready. Or has she already started to teach Stephen—and herself—to soar again?

RITA® Award nominee and Maggie Award winner CAROLYN McSPARREN has lived in Germany, France, Italy and “too many cities in the US to count.” She’s sailed boats, raised horses, rides dressage and drives a carriage with her Shire-cross mare. She teaches writing seminars to romance and mystery writers, and writes mystery and women’s fiction as well as romance books. Carolyn lives in the country outside of Memphis, Tennessee, in an old house with three cats, three horses and one husband.

Also By Carolyn McSparren (#uca6a9067-0996-59b4-8ab1-f282274ba986)

The Wrong Wife

Safe at Home

The Money Man

The Payback Man

House of Strangers

Listen to the Child

Over His Head

His Only Defense

Bachelor Cop

Williamston Wildlife Rescue

Tennessee Rescue

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Tennessee Vet

Carolyn McSparren

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

ISBN: 978-1-474-08611-0

TENNESSEE VET

© 2018 Carolyn McSparren

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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The eagle let forth with one of his horrendous screeches.

Startled, Barbara slipped and braced her hand against the front of Orville’s cage.

Stephen grabbed her wrist and pulled it away from the cage a second before Orville’s beak struck the wire. He kept her wrist and spun her to face him. “You okay?”

Her eyes were wide with fear and he heard her breathing speed up. He held her close. Those flecks in her eyes drew him to her as though he were a miner who’d discovered a seam of gold a foot wide.

A moment later they were closer still. The kiss came without thought or even volition. It started out as a friendly peck. A moment later it changed into something deeper.

It was one heck of a kiss before breakfast!

Dear Reader (#uca6a9067-0996-59b4-8ab1-f282274ba986),

Losing a beloved spouse, the person with whom we share memories no one else shares, can feel as though we are stuck with a leftover life to live. The very idea that we could find another love feels like a betrayal. Yet, even when we turn our backs on love, it can sneak back into our hearts and our minds.

Barbara Carew, a veterinarian with a small practice by the Tennessee River, is too busy to think about love. The sudden death of her husband left her with complete responsibility for herself, their two children and all the animals that desperately need her help.

Stephen MacDonald, a history professor, not only lost his wife to cancer, but nearly lost his leg in an automobile accident. After a year in rehab, he still uses a cane. He seems to be functioning, but in reality he’s forgotten what it’s like to laugh, to love, to take chances.

Barbara and Stephen are brought together by a shrieking, angry, desperately wounded bird that Stephen names Orville. And through Orville’s journey of healing, Barbara and Stephen find their own hope.

This second book in the animal rehabilitator series Williamston Wildlife Rescue is also in praise of the wonderful people who take in and care for wild animals, raptors included. These people devote their lives and frequently their money to help the wild creatures that so often are in trouble because of human beings in the first place.

Watch for the third book in the Williamston Wildlife Rescue series, available in 2019.

Carolyn

This book is dedicated to the US Fish and Wildlife Service at Reelfoot Lake State Park in Tennessee, who watch over and protect our bald eagles. Thanks to them, the number of breeding pairs is increasing every year.

You go, guys!

Contents

Cover (#u263b5bc8-d57f-5da4-bc25-a5668856fc3d)