In His Brother's Place

In His Brother's Place
Elizabeth Lane

I want the boy.For three years Angie Montoya hid her son from her late fiancé's family…until his brother tracked them down. Now Jordan Cooper demands she move to his Santa Fe ranch–the boy's birthright. But how can Angie live with the man who called her a gold digger…the man whose one kiss she's never forgotten?Racked by guilt since his twin's death, Jordan seeks redemption by raising his nephew. But Angie resurrects a hunger in him that only she can satisfy. Jordan knows he can have her on one condition–that she never learns the truth about him.

Her fragrance was familiar.

It was the one he remembered from that night in his car—the night that had changed everything.

He’d wanted Angie Montoya from the first time he’d seen her with his brother. He’d wanted her that night, and, damn his soul, he wanted her now.

“Jordan …” Her lush lips shaped his name. “I need …”

He silenced her with a gentle kiss. As her mouth opened in invitation, the kiss deepened. She moaned and stretched on tiptoe to lift her hips closer to his erection. Jordan hauled her upward, grinding her against him. She was gasping by the time he found the zipper at the back of her dress.

That night in the car, they’d managed to stop before things got out of control.

But there would be no stopping now.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to my very first Mills & Boon

Desire™ novel. After a long line of historicals, I’m thrilled to be lending a new voice to these powerful, passionate stories.

While writing this book, I fell in love with my characters. Fiercely independent, Angie carried on when the death of her fiancé left her alone and pregnant. Now, as she struggles to raise her son, can she find happiness with a former enemy—the twin brother of the man she loved?

Jordan had long believed Angie was after his brother’s money. Now her young son, Lucas, is the only surviving link to his twin—and the heir to Justin’s fortune. Jordan is determined to raise the boy as his own. But proud, stubborn Angie is part of the package—and he can’t stop thinking about her.

One of my favorite characters has no lines to speak. He’s a rescue dog, saved from death row by the love of a little boy. I’m hoping Rudy’s story will inspire someone out there to adopt a homeless pet or support a group that works to help these innocent animals.

Before closing, I’d like to thank two of the people who made this book possible—Desire senior editor Stacy Boyd for taking a chance on “something different,” and my wonderful editor Elizabeth Mazer, whose patience and encouragement got me this far and whose gifted touch added the polish to make my story shine.

Love to you all. Enjoy.

Elizabeth

About the Author

ELIZABETH LANE has lived and traveled in many parts of the world, including Europe, Latin America and the Far East, but her heart remains in the American West, where she was born and raised. Her idea of heaven is hiking a mountain trail on a clear autumn day. She also enjoys music, animals and dancing. You can learn more about Elizabeth by visiting her website at www.elizabethlaneauthor.com.

In His

Brother’s Place

Elizabeth Lane

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

One

Santa Fe, New Mexico

“You’re sure about the boy—and his mother?” Jordan’s grip tightened on the phone.

“You’re the one who has to be sure, Mr. Cooper.” The private investigator’s voice was as flat as a digitized recording. “The packet’s on its way to your ranch by courier—birth certificate, hospital records, the mother’s address and several discreet photos. Once you’ve seen everything, you can draw your own conclusion. If you need follow-up—”

“No, there’ll be nothing else. I’ll transfer your fee as soon as I’ve seen the documents.”

Jordan ended the call with a click. The packet would be arriving from Albuquerque within the hour. If his hunch was right, it would hold enough legal and emotional dynamite to blast his well-ordered world into chaos.

Stepping away from the desk, he stared out the window of his study, which commanded a vista of open ranchland stretching toward the horizon. In the distance, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, rich with autumn color, glimmered in the November sunlight. This was Cooper land, as it had been for more than a hundred years. When his mother died it would pass to him as the sole surviving heir of the family trust. He was the last Cooper heir—or so he’d thought. But if the report confirmed what he suspected …

Jordan turned away from the window, leaving the thought unfinished. It wasn’t too late to back off, he reminded himself. When the packet arrived, he could burn the damned thing unopened or shove it through the shredder. But he’d only be destroying paper. Nothing could erase the memory of Angelina Montoya or change the reality of what she’d done to his family.

Especially now.

Jordan’s eyes shifted toward the far wall, bare except for a group of framed family photos. The largest showed two young men grinning over a stringer of freshly caught rainbow trout. Their features were so nearly identical that a visitor would’ve been hard pressed to tell which was Jordan and which was his twin brother, Justin.

When the picture was taken the two had still been close. Three years later, Justin had fallen for dark-eyed Angie Montoya, hostess in an upscale Mexican restaurant off the Plaza. His determination to marry her had torn the family apart.

Convinced the woman was a gold digger, Jordan and his parents had taken every action they could think of to separate the couple. The resulting schism between the brothers had never had a chance to heal. Rushing home from a ski trip on the eve of Angie’s birthday, Justin had flown his Cirrus SR22 plane into a storm and crashed into a Utah mountain.

Grief had dragged Jordan’s father into an early grave and made a bitter old woman of his mother. As for Angie Montoya, she had simply vanished—until last week when, after nearly four years, Jordan had come across her name. Searching further, he’d found a picture that had him on the phone within the hour with the best private investigator in the state. He’d wanted answers, and now he was about to get them. The report would almost surely confirm what Jordan had suspected.

Angelina Montoya had not only stolen Justin from his family—she had stolen Justin’s son.

Albuquerque

“You’ve been working hard on that picture, Lucas.” Angie swiveled her chair away from the bedroom computer hutch to give her son her full attention. “Why don’t you tell me about it?”

Lucas held out the drawing—three lopsided stick figures sketched in crayon on a sheet of copy paper. “It’s our family. This short one is me. This one with long black hair is you.”

“And who’s this, up here at the top?” Anticipating the answer, Angie felt her throat tighten.

“That’s Daddy, up in heaven. He’s looking out for us, just like you said.”

“That’s right. Do you want to put this picture on the fridge to remind us?”

“Okay.” Clutching his masterpiece, the boy scampered down the hall toward the tiny kitchen. Angie gulped back a surge of emotion. It wasn’t easy, living with daily reminders of Justin. But she’d wanted to make sure Lucas didn’t feel fatherless. She kept Justin’s framed portrait at the boy’s bedside and an album of snapshots on the bookshelf, within his reach. His small fingers had worn the pages thin at the corners.

Most of the photos showed Justin and Angie together or Justin alone. There were no pictures of Justin’s family. After the way they’d treated her, she wanted nothing to do with any of them—especially Jordan.

It was Jordan who’d come on her birthday to bring the news of Justin’s death. He hadn’t said much, but Jordan’s manner had made his feelings clear. Weeks earlier, the family had offered her fifty thousand dollars to walk away from Justin. If she’d taken it, Justin would still be alive.

Angie would never forget the bitterness in those contemptuous gray eyes. How could two brothers who looked so much alike be so different? Justin had been warm and loving, quick to laugh and quick to forgive. The thought of Jordan conjured up words like cold, judgmental, mercenary …

And manipulative. She’d had firsthand experience with that particular trait of his.

The sound of the door buzzer broke into her thoughts. “I’ll get it!” Lucas called.