To Save This Child

To Save This Child
Darlene Graham

His future is in her handsKendal Collins is in Chiapas, Mexico, on a medical mission. When a two-year-old orphan is thrust into her arms, she finds herself falling in love with the boy. Miguel is now her responsibility, and she's going to do whatever it takes to help this child, including giving him a home and a mother–her.Dr. Jason Bridges warned Kendal about getting emotionally involved with the locals, but he forgot to warn himself about getting involved with her. Jason can't deny the feelings he has for Kendal anymore. Or the child… He wants them to be a family–the three of them.

“What was that?”

Kendal bolted upright beside Jason, peering into the dark jungle.

In the same instant they both saw the figure move. It was a young woman, crouching in the undergrowth like a frightened animal.

“It’s the same girl who was outside the hotel,” Kendal whispered at Jason’s shoulder. “The one who had the child with her.”

She emerged into the moonlight and beckoned them. Kendal started to get up, but Jason grabbed her arm.

“That little child!” she protested. “What if he needs us?”

The woman led them into the jungle over a dappled moonlit path to a small cave where trickles of water dropped over the opening. “Aquí,” she said softly, putting a finger to her lips. In here.

Inside, the sleeping form of a tiny boy was visible curled up on a brightly woven blanket. He was pretty, like his mother, except his mouth and jaw didn’t look right.

“Oh,” Kendal breathed, feeling her heart melt.

Dear Reader,

When I ventured into the Yucatán jungle to visit with a Mayan medicine man a couple of years ago, I had no idea what I would find.

But as I followed my guide deeper into the heart of the jungle, the isolation and the ancient peace of the place closed around me. In such a remote setting, I realized, twenty-first-century trappings could quickly fall away. In such a setting, time would slow, priorities would emerge, sensations and feelings would be amplified.

The medicine man was not what I expected. A humble little man who spoke to my guide in the quiet, clicking cadence of the Mayans, he kindly shared with me his efforts to help his people attain better health, using simple herbs and ancient remedies.

Not long after that, I met a doctor who had performed surgeries for the Doctors Without Borders organization in the same region. I am very grateful to Dr. Michael Bumagin for sharing his technical knowledge of reconstructive surgery and the details of his service in Chiapas. (This is a work of fiction, of course, so any creative embellishments are mine, not Michael’s.)

Those experiences came together to form this story, where two people, swept away by both passion and compassion, find something unexpected in the remote jungle. They find a child who opens their hearts. And as they struggle to save that child, they find something else unexpected—a deep and lasting love for each other.

I treasure my reader mail. Contact me at P.O. Box 720224, Norman, OK 73070, or www.darlenegraham.com.

My best to you,

Darlene Graham

To Save This Child

Darlene Graham

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

This story, my tenth Superromance novel,

is dedicated with deep appreciation to the gifted and

hardworking editors who have given me so much

encouragement and help over the past five years:

Paula Eykelhof, Zilla Soriano, Laura Shin and

Kathleen Scheibling

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

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE