Detective Daddy

Detective Daddy
Jane Toombs

WHOSE BABY?The last thing police officer Dan Sorenson expected to find on his doorstep during the biggest blizzard of the season was a woman. A beautiful, shivering woman. But once he escorted her inside to warm up, he was in for an even bigger shock…. For the mysterious woman was not only pregnant but about to give birth!After safely delivering Fay's baby girl, Dan was full of questions–questions that Fay wasn't up to answering. Ever the trooper, Dan stepped in as caretaker and stand-in daddy, only to become increasingly attracted to–and frustrated with–his temporary guest. Was he just a port in the storm? Or could he offer a more permanent type of shelter?

It would be a hell of a lot easier to psych himself into confronting an armed perp than to face delivering a baby….

Armed with a plastic drop cloth and a stack of worn-but-clean towels, Dan went back and prepared the couch the way Fay had told him to.

“Thanks,” she said. “If I hadn’t seen your light…” Her words trailed off and she began to take deep breaths.

“Another contraction?”

She nodded, and he knelt beside her, tentatively resting his hand on her abdomen. Through the flannel cloth, it felt rigid as a board. He checked the second hand of his watch. Before he could move his hand, something thrust against it, surprising him. Damned if the baby hadn’t kicked him. The realization made him smile. Feisty little thing. Dan decided the most reassuring thing he could do for Fay was to keep his mouth shut about how inexperienced he really was. Strange how people assumed cops delivered lots of babies.

“Um, Dan? It’s coming—”

And without hesitation, he sprang into action….

Dear Reader,

Well, if it’s true that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, you’re going to need some fabulous romantic reads to get you through the remaining cold winter nights. Might we suggest starting with a new miniseries by bestselling author Sherryl Woods? In Isn’t It Rich?, the first of three books in Ms. Wood’s new MILLION DOLLAR DESTINIES series, we meet Richard Carlton, one of three brothers given untold wealth from his aunt Destiny. But in pushing him toward beautiful—if klutzy—PR executive Melanie Hart, Aunt Destiny provides him with riches that even money can’t buy!

In Bluegrass Baby by Judy Duarte, the next installment in our MERLYN COUNTY MIDWIVES miniseries, a handsome but commitment-shy pediatrician shares a night of passion with a down-to-earth midwife. But what will he do when he learns there might be a baby on the way? Karen Rose Smith continues the LOGAN’S LEGACY miniseries with Take a Chance on Me, in which a sexy, single CEO finds the twin sister he never knew he had—and in the process is reunited with the only woman he ever loved. In Where You Least Expect It by Tori Carrington, a fugitive accused of a crime he didn’t commit decides to put down roots and dare to dream of the love, life and family he thought he’d never have. Arlene James wraps up her miniseries THE RICHEST GALS IN TEXAS with Tycoon Meets Texan! in which a handsome billionaire who can have any woman he wants sets his sights on a beautiful Texas heiress. She clearly doesn’t need his money, so whatever can she want with him? And when a police officer opens his door to a nine-months-pregnant stranger in the middle of a blizzard, he finds himself called on to provide both personal and professional services, in Detective Daddy by Jane Toombs.

So bundle up, and take heart—spring is coming! And so are six more sensational stories about love, life and family, coming next month from Silhouette Special Edition!

All the best,

Gail Chasan

Senior Editor

Detective Daddy

Jane Toombs

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

JANE TOOMBS

lives most of the year on the shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula along with a man from her past and their crazy calico cat, Kinko. In the winter, though, they all defect to Florida for three months. In addition to writing, Jane enjoys knitting and gardening.

Contents

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 One

Listening to the howl of the wind outside the hunting lodge in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Dan Sorenson dropped another log onto the fire and poked it into place. A good night to be indoors, he thought. These storms usually lasted up to three days, switching back and forth from sleet to snow, until they finally petered out. Hell to try to drive in them or to venture out at all. Lucky he’d piled enough wood into the back shed before this particular April storm began.

He glanced around at the comfortable, if shabby, main room of what had been his grandfather’s, then his dad’s hunting lodge set in acres of wilderness. Its cedar logs had been carefully notched into place long ago by immigrant craftsmen from Finland; the place could stand up to whatever Mother Nature threw at it. Favoring his left leg, he crossed to a side window in a vain effort to peer into the darkness.

He checked the switch to the porch light, left in the up position and shook his head. He’d turned the light on, the same way his mother always had done in a storm.

“You never know who might have need of a light in bad weather,” she’d always said.

Certainly no one in this isolated area. But, somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to shut it off. He turned away, about to head back to the comfort of the Morris chair drawn up by the fireplace when he was startled by a noise.

Was someone at the door—on this miserable night in the middle of nowhere? Impossible. And yet he was almost sure he’d heard a sort of scrabbling sound, all but drowned by the wailing wind. Better check it out. He turned back toward the door, automatically reaching for his gun. Once a cop, always a cop, but, of course he wasn’t wearing his piece, he’d left it up in the loft. Didn’t need to keep it on him here in the wilderness, especially during a storm. He reached for the knob and pulled the door toward him.

Dan caught his breath. A woman covered from head to toe with snow stood swaying on the front porch. He reached out and hauled her into the lodge, shoving the door shut against the thrust of the wind.

“C-c-cold,” she whispered.

He guided her toward the fire, and took off her soaked coat. My God—the woman was pregnant! She hugged herself, shivering.

“S-so c-cold,” she repeated.

Dan convinced her to take off her sweater, but had to help, since her fingers shook so badly. He was concerned to find that the shirt she wore was also damp. So were her pants.

“You need a hot shower right away.”