Temporary Doctor, Surprise Father

Temporary Doctor, Surprise Father
Lynne Marshall

Her baby secret… One-time bad-boy Dr Beck Braxton has been assigned a temporary role in the ER department of his old local LA hospital. Fine - until he discovers that the nurse he’ll be working with is the woman who broke his heart thirteen years ago…Of all the ERs in all the world, he had to walk into hers… Jan can’t believe the rogue she’s never been able to forget is back in her life! While he’s changed, Beck is still as devastating as ever - and the chemistry between them is still very much alight…Now all Jan must do is to tell him her secret… that Beck is the father of her child!

“Beck,” she whispered. “Please try to understand.”

He took hold of her neck and drew her closer to him. “Understand what? That you ran away from me?”

“I didn’t run away. My mother sent me.” She covered his mouth with a cold hand. Tears glimmered in her eyes. “Beck, I was pregnant.”

He swept her hand away and rose up onto his elbows, a sucker punch pummeling his chest. “Pregnant?”

She nodded as tears glistened and flowed over her lids.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He shot up to sit. “We could have worked something out. I had plans for us.”

“You don’t understand.”

A torrent of mixed-up feelings swept over him—anger, grief, frustration—they swirled together, making him queasy. He jumped off the bed, fought for balance and set off pacing the floor. “You were pregnant with my child and you didn’t tell me?” He bit back the wave of nausea that pressed against his stomach and threatened to move up his throat. “How could you not tell me?”

Dear Reader

When I sat down to write this book, TEMPORARY DOCTOR, SURPRISE FATHER, I had the image of a formerly bubbly, beautiful young woman, who had changed drastically in the thirteen years since she’d met and fallen in love with her high-school sweetheart. He’d left for boot camp, been chosen for Special Forces, become a Green Beret medic, travelled the world, and carried on with his life. She’d made a painful decision, harboured a huge secret, and paid a devastatingly emotional price. And it had changed her life. The choices we make in our youth often come back to haunt us.

As this reunion story unfolds, I hope you’ll fall in love with my gorgeous hero, Beck, as much as I did. And I suspect, once you’ve scratched the gruff exterior of my heroine, January, you’ll want to be friends with her.

A bit about Special Forces medics here. They are first on scene in the battlefield, and what they do for the injured can save lives. Their training is intense, and in all my years in nursing I haven’t come close to doing many of the procedures our medics learn in their Special Forces training. Hats off to those who volunteer for this difficult job. There is only one word to describe them. Heroes!

I love to hear from readers. If I’ve struck a chord with you in this book, let me know. Or if you’d just like to say hello, you can visit me at my website: www.lynnemarshallweb.com (http://www.lynnemarshallweb.com). And if you enjoy blogs, a group of us Medical

Romance authors have got together for Love is the Best Medicine, a blog which we update every week. You can link to it from my website.

Thanks for reading my book!

L

Temporary Doctor, Surprise Father

Lynne Marshall

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

Lynne Marshall has been a registered nurse in a large California hospital for twenty-five years. She has now taken the leap to writing full time, but still volunteers at her local community hospital. After writing the book of her heart in 2000, she discovered the wonderful world of Medical

Romance, where she feels the freedom to write the stories she loves. She is happily married, has two fantastic grown children, and a socially challenged rescued dog. Besides her passion for writing Medical

Romance, she loves to travel and read. Thanks to the family dog, she takes long walks every day!

Praise for Lynne Marshall

‘A page-turning read with passion and romance.’

—Cataromance on

PREGNANT NURSE, NEW-FOUND FAMILY,

Medical

Romance

This book is dedicated with love

to the only Special Forces medic I know—

my son the Green Beret, John-Philip.

CONTENTS

Prologue (#ud6c1b837-a94a-5fd9-ba7f-5b95abf6b871)

Chapter One (#uac999d02-5822-512d-8aa3-a3924555a6f8)

Chapter Two (#u90e39ff7-b7d9-56b1-b206-9fab20e68dfa)

Chapter Three (#u622b936b-c550-558b-a218-7a0d123c6505)

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)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

PROLOGUE

“WILL you wait for me?” Beck Braxton wove his fingers through January Stewart’s long platinum hair to frame her face. Standing in the driveway of her house, she avoided his eyes. “Will you?”

She gave a reluctant nod.

“I love you. You know that,” he said, wishing they were somewhere much more private.