Stranger In The Night

Stranger In The Night
Catherine Palmer

In the dead of night, there's a knock on the door at Haven, an inner-city youth center in St. Louis.A refugee family–scared, tired and hungry–seeks shelter. Fresh back from Afghanistan, former marine sergeant Joshua Duff takes on the mission. He recruits aid worker Liz Wallace, but she has questions for Joshua. Such as why a Texan with an oil magnate for a father is working at Haven. Or why a man who fears nothing–including the gang violence threatening the center–seems scared of opening his heart to her.Joshua will call upon his training and his faith to protect Liz and Haven. Yet the most dangerous threat lurks closer than they realize.

Praise for

CATHERINE PALMER

and her novels

“Catherine Palmer pens a page-turner with a…thought-provoking plot.”

— Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Fatal Harvest

“Palmer knows how to write about a sensitive subject with wisdom and kindness.”

— Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Thread of Deceit

“Marked by top-notch writing and sweeping drama.”

— Library Journal on The Briton

“Veteran romance writer Palmer…delivers a satisfying tale of mother-daughter dynamics sprinkled with romance.”

— Library Journal on Leaves of Hope

“Enjoyable…Faith fiction fans will find this novel just their cup of tea.”

— Publishers Weekly Religion Bookline on Leaves of Hope

“Believable characters tug at heartstrings, and God’s power to change hearts and lives is beautifully depicted.”

— Romantic Times BOOKreviews on “Christmas in My Heart” in That Christmas Feeling

“ Love’s Haven is a glorious story that was wonderfully told…. Catherine Palmer did a stand-up job of describing each scene and creating a world which no reader will want to leave.”

— Cataromance Reviews

Christy Award-Winning Author

Stranger In The Night

Catherine Palmer

A Haven Novel

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

To the refugees in Clarkston, Georgia,

who have brought such joy into my life.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to those who shared stories of their work with refugees. In particular, I’m grateful to Tim Cummins, Terry Earl, Bennett Ekandem, Kim Kimbrell and all the caseworkers and other staff at World Relief. May God bless each of you. As always, my gratitude to my husband is boundless. Thank you for reading every word—sometimes more than once. I love you, Tim.

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land,

you shall not do him wrong.

The stranger who sojourns with you

shall be to you as the native among you,

and you shall love him as yourself…

I am the Lord your God.”

— Leviticus 19:33–34

“Come, you who are blessed by the Father,

inherit the Kingdom prepared for you

from the foundation of the world.

For…I was a stranger,

and you took me in.”

— Jesus Christ

Matthew 25:34–35

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven