In His Loving Care

In His Loving Care
Jennifer Taylor

On discovering he has a daughter, Lewis Cole's life is changed in an instant, from single city surgeon to single father and country GP. He's determined to give little Kristy all of the love and attention she needs, but somehow he finds there is also room in his heart for beautiful Dr. Helen Daniels.When she's around it feels like they are a family. Lewis can see her as the perfect wife and mother for Kristy, but Helen needs something more – a child of her own. How can Lewis fulfil her dreams when he's still discovering how to be a dad?

Jennifer Taylor kicks off a brand-new Medical Romance™ miniseries…

BACHELOR DADS

Single doctors…Single fathers!

At work they are skilled medical professionals, but at home, as soon as they walk in the door, these eligible bachelors are on full-time fatherhood duty.

These devoted dads still find room in their lives for love…

It takes a very special woman to win the hearts of these dedicated doctors, and a very special kind of caring to make these single fathers full-time husbands.

Dear Reader (#u348b415d-86b4-5d5a-b24e-8b6e6250b5df),

The three books in my new series, BACHELOR DADS, are based on one common theme: a father’s love for his child. Although each of the fathers has to overcome many different obstacles, Lewis, Owen and Connor are united by their love for their children. These men will do anything it takes to make sure their child is happy, even if it means sacrificing their own happiness. Fortunately, I was able to make sure they were all suitably rewarded for their dedication!

In this book, In His Loving Care, Lewis Cole is determined to do everything he can for his six-year-old daughter following her mother’s death. He knows that Kristy needs a lot of support and decides to change his career so he can devote more time to her. The chance of a partnership in a busy rural general practice seems like the ideal solution, but he hadn’t bargained on the attraction he feels for the beautiful and vulnerable senior partner, Helen Daniels. He longs to build a future with Helen, but how can he when he has to put his daughter’s interests first?

I really enjoyed helping Lewis and Helen find a solution to their problems, and I hope you enjoy reading how they worked things out in the end.

Best wishes,

Jennifer Taylor

In His Loving Care

Jennifer Taylor

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

CONTENTS

Cover (#u94ed03c4-d16f-5f0b-982f-458883d45a0b)

Dear Reader (#udb0e18bb-8ed0-5f5b-bbbe-0a52cfcde0c7)

Title Page (#u4b8ecf47-26e7-53da-96b8-fed41d088a28)

CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_56caa09d-0642-5a21-b037-d4f689707f6d)

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_cb706711-7ac1-5f90-94d7-feea29d2cb8b)

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_e97dbfd3-a72c-5074-99b4-9475fbc9fbd3)

CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_2e093c59-df0d-50be-846d-589c36a8289c)

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)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_2c2c76bd-85e3-5c7e-be44-5b792c9cd505)

‘DR COLE? I’m Helen Daniels, the senior partner. Thank you for coming.’

Helen summoned a smile as the man stood up, hoping that she didn’t look as weary as she felt. The response to her advertisement for a new partner to join the staff at The Beeches surgery had been far better than she’d anticipated. Even after whittling the applications down to just a dozen, it still meant that she’d spent every spare minute this past week interviewing for the post. Lewis Cole was her final candidate and, to her mind, the most promising, although she took care not to let him know that as she escorted him from the waiting-room. She intended to choose her new partner very carefully—make the decision with her head, not her heart.

A frown puckered her brow as she led the way into her consulting-room. She had no idea why she should have imagined that she might become emotionally involved when making the decision. It had never crossed her mind while she had been interviewing the other candidates so why had it occurred to her now?

Covertly, she studied Lewis Cole as he sat down in front of her desk, taking stock of a leanly muscular physique, crisp dark brown hair and smoothly handsome features. He was wearing a beautifully tailored black suit with a white shirt and an expensive silk tie so maybe that was what had set him apart from the other candidates, she mused. None of the people she’d interviewed to date had been so formally attired and perhaps that was why he had stood out.

He suddenly looked up and Helen hastily took her seat when she found herself subjected to an equally thorough scrutiny from a pair of piercing deep grey eyes. If she’d been weighing up Lewis Cole then he was returning the favour and she couldn’t help wondering what he thought of her.

Did he find her particular shade of red hair attractive, for instance? Someone had once described the colour as wet-fox red, and had meant it as a compliment, too, although the colour might not be to everyone’s taste. The warm greeny-blue colour of her eyes wasn’t too bad, though, and her features were even enough…

‘Thank you for seeing me, Dr Daniels. I know my application was a little late reaching you but I didn’t notice your advertisement when I first read the journal.’

Helen jumped when Lewis Cole addressed her in a voice that sounded like dark chocolate—all smooth and rich and velvety. She quickly returned her attention to what she was supposed to be doing, rather surprised that it had wavered in the first place. Taking his application out of her tray, she placed it in the centre of her blotter.

‘I did request that the advertisement should be placed inside a box so it would stand out, but my instructions weren’t carried out.’ She treated him to a cool smile, wanting to regain control of the interview and not allow him to hijack it, as she sensed he might do. ‘Fortunately, it didn’t cause too many problems at the end of the day. I received over fifty applications for the post, which is an excellent result.’

‘Indeed it is.’

He leant back in his chair, crossing one long leg over the other as though he was totally at ease, and Helen felt another ripple run through her. In light of the experience she’d gained during the past week, it seemed incredible that a candidate should be this relaxed during an interview so what made Dr Cole so sure of himself?

She cast another glance at his application, facts leaping out at her from the expertly typed pages: aged forty; member of the Royal College of Surgeons as well as the Royal College of Physicians; senior consultant in gastrointestinal surgery at St Leona’s in London; retrained as a GP the previous year…

She looked up, wondering not for the first time why he’d decided to quit surgery. He’d stated in his application that it had been “for personal reasons”, although she had no idea what that meant. Maybe it was time she found out.