Adam's Daughter

Adam's Daughter
Jennifer Taylor

The doctor’s secret childNurse Elizabeth Campbell had promised her sister she would never reveal her baby’s identity to its father. But now Beth has Hannah in her care and the child is in need of her father’s help. Beth knows she must find him.Dr. Adam Knight is furious that no one told him he had a daughter, and he’s determined to be involved in Hannah’s life. But he’ll also be in Beth’s life – fueling their unexpected attraction. An attraction that Beth wants to resist because she fears that Adam’s real feelings are not for herself – but her sister!

“I want to see Hannah. I’ve missed the first six years of her life, so I think I have the right to do that.”

“All right. But I want you to understand that Hannah doesn’t know anything about you. Claire…well, Claire decided that it was better not to tell her in the circumstances.”

“And you agreed to keep the secret, didn’t you?” He smiled thinly. “You and Claire erased me from Hannah’s life–but the situation is going to change from here on, believe me.”

“What do you mean?”

“That I intend to make up for all those lost years. Hannah needs a father. She needs me in more ways than you ever realized!”

He had a right to be angry, a right even to blame her for keeping her promise to Claire, but did he have the right to disrupt Hannah’s life? Could she really trust him not to break her precious niece’s heart?

Could she trust him not to break her own heart, as well?

Dear Reader (#u45153ebd-5bf6-5645-8daa-83303f8fa1fc),

It is always a pleasure to write a miniseries because it means that I get the chance to spend extra time with characters that I have grown to love during the course of telling their story. Beth, Adam and little Hannah, who appear in the first book in my new series, became particularly dear to me, so it was lovely to know that I would be able to catch up with what was happening at a later date!

Set in Cheshire, in northwest England, Adam’s Daughter tells the story of two people who are brought together by their love for a very sick little girl. Helping Hannah means that both Beth and Adam must make some life-changing decisions, but I hope you will feel, as I did by the end of the book, that they have made the right choices.

Look out for the second book in the series and see how well everything is turning out for them.

Best wishes,

Adam’s Daughter

Jennifer Taylor

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

CONTENTS

Cover (#ue058a08f-c05b-5f55-8d33-0cc25a558ca5)

Dear Reader (#u625c002c-95f6-5058-aa73-4664b9932e19)

Title Page (#u25d09ee1-972a-521c-be74-4e2ab00eed92)

CHAPTER ONE (#u96348826-0887-5948-8bf6-dadf7c5ce363)

CHAPTER TWO (#uf01850d7-6d1c-5c2a-8b9d-81b37220b84c)

CHAPTER THREE (#u83d167be-6997-5847-9d38-3a97e723ee48)

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)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ONE (#u45153ebd-5bf6-5645-8daa-83303f8fa1fc)

ELIZABETH CAMPBELL was about to break the most solemn vow she had ever made. It was little wonder that her hands were shaking as she reached for the telephone. Seven years ago she had promised her sister, Claire, that she would never try to contact Adam Knight under any circumstances. Even though she’d had misgivings about the decision Claire had made, Beth had kept her word.

Until now.

Her deep green eyes were shadowed as she dialled the number. It had taken her some time to track him down. At one point she had feared that she would never find him and then late last night, as she had been going through some of Claire’s old diaries, she had found his phone number. She knew that the likelihood of her being able to reach him on it after all these years was very slim, but it was the only lead she had.

The problem was that Claire had told her very little about Adam Knight. All Beth knew was that her sister had met him at a hospital in London where she had been doing her pre-registration training.

Claire had been typically honest about their relationship. She hadn’t tried to pretend that Adam had been the love of her life. They’d had a brief affair then they’d gone their separate ways. When Claire had written to him a few months later he hadn’t replied, so it was hardly surprising that Beth found herself beset by doubts once again when she heard the phone ringing.

Even if she did manage to contact Adam Knight, what right did she have to ask him for help? Surely he had made it clear all those years ago that he wasn’t interested?

‘Yes?’

The voice that answered was deep, male and heavily laced with impatience. It only served to make Beth feel even more nervous so that she found herself stammering. ‘I—I’d like to s-speak to Adam Knight if he’s available, please.’

‘Speaking. However, I was just on my way out and I don’t have the time to hang about. I can give you thirty seconds and that’s it.’

‘Oh, I see. Maybe I should phone back later,’ she began, stunned that she had found him at last. She certainly didn’t want to make a mess of things by blurting out the reason why she was phoning.

‘That sounds like a good idea,’ he said, briskly interrupting her. ‘If I’m not in then leave your number on the machine and I’ll get back to you at some point. OK?’

He hung up before she could reply. Beth slowly replaced the receiver then took a deep breath. Hardly the most auspicious of starts! If that was an indication of Adam Knight’s character then she might have to rethink her plans. He hadn’t sounded like the kind of man who would put himself out for anyone, but she’d already suspected that.

It was a worrying thought but she tried not to dwell on it as she got ready for work. She had been working at Winton Surgery for almost a month now and she loved her new job. She had been desperate to leave St Jude’s so she’d applied for the post of practice nurse at the busy Cheshire surgery as soon as she’d seen the advertisement. The fact that a self-contained flat over the surgery had come with the job had been an added bonus.

The price of accommodation in the town was horrendous and she doubted whether she would have been able to afford more than a bedsit on her salary. Now, as she finished pinning up her shoulder-length, red-gold hair and looked around the sunlit bedroom, she gave a little sigh of relief. At least she had somewhere decent for them to live when Hannah came home…