His Ten-Year-Old Secret

His Ten-Year-Old Secret
Donna Clayton

FabulousFathersTHE BONDS OF PARENTHOODHer child was alive! For ten years Tess had believed her little girl was lost to her forever. Then an unexpected inheritance led the lovely doctor back home…to the man she'd always loved. There she discovered her beloved Dylan was a bachelor father, and the child he was raising was their own daughter!Dylan had vowed to protect and cherish his child, yet he opened their lives to let Tess in. But this dedicated father was no longer the young lover Tess remembered. Could she uncover the tender man she had never forgotten, and convince him to take a chance on their newly formed family, and their own true love?…?ThisFabulous Fatherhad ten years of loving to catch up on!

What had Tess expected, he wondered A baby? (#u07959333-3b36-5adf-9734-15a4925126c4)Letter to Reader (#u962b33f2-8f63-5867-b016-f0e52b610142)Title Page (#u1a994d0f-1e77-5d5b-bc4b-ab1f6d6895fc)Dedication (#u63d9c30f-bd0c-5b2b-8568-bac29d5f0c97)About the Author (#uce7dbcd9-9139-5366-a8e1-e21495f79376)Prologue (#u496a2193-2c42-5f77-b872-6c0f74546083)Chapter One (#u107a87ba-84b9-5734-92d8-9826f5207d7b)Chapter Two (#ueab53bd5-fe1e-5688-91ad-d2f3229edf80)Chapter Three (#ucbf07238-f263-59b6-b418-a7cd959b35d6)Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

What had Tess expected, he wondered A baby?

Since she was coming into town ten years after the child’s birth, of course their daughter was going to be all grown up. Why did Tess look so astounded?

When Tess lifted her gaze to his, it was filled with silent, thunderous questions Dylan found quite bewildering. Her attention clamped once again on the daughter, she uttered a soft, breathy “Oh, my,” turned and raced out the door.

“Wow,” Erin said to him. “Who was that, Dad?”

Dylan didn’t answer right away. Not because he meant to ignore his daughter’s query, but because he didn’t know what to say.

“That,” he said at last with a slow, measured reluctance, “was your mother....”

Dear Reader,

In May 2000 Silhouette Romance will commemorate its twentieth anniversary! This line has always celebrated the essence of true love in a manner that blends classic themes and the challenges of romance in today’s world into a reassuring, fulfilling novel. From the enchantment of first love to the wonder of second chance, a Silhouette Romance novel demonstrates the power of genuine emotion and the breathless connection that develops between a man and a woman as they discover each other. And this month’s stellar selections are quintessential Silhouette Romance stories!

If you’ve been following LOVING THE BOSS, you’ll be amazed when mysterious Rex Barrington III is unmasked in I Married the Boss! by Laura Anthony. In this month’s FABULOUS FATHERS offering by Donna Clayton, a woman discovers His Ten-Year-Old Secret. And opposites attract in The Rancher and the Heiress, the third of Susan Meier’s TEXAS FAMILY TIES miniseries.

WRANGLERS & LACE returns with Julianna Morris’s The Marriage Stampede. In this appealing story, a cowgirl butts heads—and hearts—with a bachelor bent on staying that way. Sally Carleen unveils the first book in her exciting duo ON THE WAY TO A WEDDING... with the tale of a twin mistaken for an M.D.’s Bride in Waiting! It’s both a blessing and a dilemma for a single mother when she’s confronted with an amnesiac Husband Found, this month’s FAMILY MATTERS title by Martha Shields.

Enjoy the timeless power of Romance this month, and every month-you won’t be disappointed!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

His Ten-Year-Old Secret

Donna Clayton

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

With love to my brother-in-law,

Chip Fasano:

See, Chip, mechanics make great heroes! And many thanks to Terry S. Greer,

the hot-rod information man.

DONNA CLAYTON

is proud to be a recipient of the Holt Medallion, an award honoring outstanding literary talent, for her Silhouette Romance novel Wife for a While. And seeing her work appear on the Waldenbooks Series bestsellers list has given her a great deal of joy and satisfaction.

Reading is one of Donna’s favorite ways to while away a rainy afternoon. She loves to hike, too. Another hobby added to her list of fun things to do is traveling. She fell in love with Europe during her first trip abroad recently, and plans to return often. Oh, and Donna still collects cookbooks, but as her writing career grows, she finds herself using them less and less.

Donna loves to hear from her readers. Please write to her in care of Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017.

Dear Erin,

Please forgive your old dad for being sappy, but I need to tell you that-even with your grimy knees and elbows, and your ever-present baseball cap—I couldn’t have been blessed with a more charming, beautiful and loving daughter. For almost ten years now, you and I have been on our own. We’ve had some lean times, you and I, but so far we’ve made it through. And I wouldn’t change a day of the past.

I’m telling you all this for a reason. Your mom is back in town, and our lives are about to change forever. Tess Galloway had an unforgettable effect on my life once. And there’s a pretty good chance that’s not going to change this time around. But now you’re involved. So I’m not afraid to tell you, I’m more than a little nervous about her arrival in Pine Meadow.

But the fact that your mom is here and eager to meet you has had me thinking about the kind of dad I’ve been. You and I tinkered with car engines when we should have been finding a teacher for piano lessons or visiting fancy museums. I may not have risen as far in the world as some people thought I should, I may only be a mechanic, but I’m your dad. I’ll always be your dad. And I’ll always love you with all my heart.

Love,

Dad

Prologue

She simply could not put off this chore any longer. Tess Galloway stood at the threshold of her father’s bedroom door. The late-afternoon sun slanted golden through the window, casting streaks of light across the worn, brown rug. Absently Tess worried her bottom lip between her teeth and went inside.

The air still held a whispery trace of familiar spicy aftershave. Barely noticeable after all these weeks, the scent offered her a vague sense of comfort as she inhaled it deeply into her lungs, yet her heart pinched in her chest with painful longing.

The dark-stained pine of the bed’s footboard was scarred and dull with age, the mattress sagging in the middle. Tess grinned gently at the memory of how her father had allowed her an occasional, albeit short, bedjumping session when she’d been a little girl. She grazed her fingertips lightly across the cotton spread.

Two small steps had her standing in front of his bureau, and without even picking up the pipe that rested there, Tess detected the faint aroma of tobacco. The rich fragrance kindled feelings of deep love and total security the likes of which she would never again experience.

“Daddy,” Tess whispered to the empty room. Her eyes stung as unexpected tears shattered her sight into glittering shards. “Oh, how I miss you.”

A month had passed since Harry Galloway’s funeral. For weeks Tess had found one excuse after another to keep from sorting through his belongings, packing up his clothes, cleaning out his bedroom.

But the chill of fall was in the air and close on its heels would be winter. She was certain there was someone in need of warm clothing. Her father’s gray wool overcoat might be a bit frayed at the cuffs, but it would certainly keep someone toasty when the temperatures dipped low. And his olive mackintosh was just as rain repellent as ever. There were several suits. Trousers and a sport coat or two. Dress shirts and ties. Not to mention shoes. Three pair to be exact, all in good condition, seeing as how her father worked all his life in one shoe repair shop or another. It would be a sin to let such serviceable clothing hang in the closet, sit in the drawers, unused.

Tess dashed a tear trail from her cheek with the back of her hand. “This simply must be done,” she told herself, giving the words an insistent inflection. “Today. ”

The topmost bureau drawer slid open and Tess dived into it with both hands, scooping out paired socks that had been rolled into balls and stragglers that had no mate but that her father hadn’t been able to get rid of. There were neatly folded handkerchiefs, at least a dozen of them, one of which her dad slid into his back pocket every day. Harry Galloway would never have been caught without his trusty handkerchief. One never knew when one’s glasses would need a good cleaning, or a park bench brushed off, or a little girl’s nose wiped...

Again, Tess felt an achy spasm shoot through her chest.

“We’re thick as thieves, me and you, Tessie.” She could almost hear his soft, gentle voice as he’d described their close and loving relationship. Her dad had been an emotional man. Yes, he had.

She sniffed back another tear. “Stop, darn it,” she chastised herself aloud.