Father Most Blessed

Father Most Blessed
Marta Perry

COULD SHE GO HOME AGAIN?Paula Hansen had her doubts about returning to Bedford Creek and Alex Caine–the man she'd once loved–but she knew she couldn't deny her aunt's request. So she'd turned to God for guidance, and heard His answer loud and clear. She needed to put memories of their past aside and help bring this proudly independent father and his troubled son closer together….Burdened with saving his family's company, Alex soon discovered Paula was the answer to his prayers. And now that he'd been blessed with a second chance, he'd do anything to make sure that this time, Paula would be in his life forever!

“Why on earth don’t you replace this…stuff?

It’s your house, after all.”

Alex’s gaze lingered on the heavy oil portrait of his grandfather that hung over the dining-room fireplace. “Sometimes I find that hard to believe.”

His words were so quiet, he almost seemed to be speaking to himself. Paula wanted to argue, but instinctively she knew it wouldn’t do any good. She’d been wrong. It wasn’t his house, not in the way she understood those words. It was the Caine mansion, and right now Alex looked as if that were a heavy burden.

She frowned down at the folder in her hand. “I’ll get started on this.”

Alex turned toward her, seeming to shake off the clouds that surrounded him. “Thank you.”

“For what? It’s my job.” It was hard to sound casual when her heart clenched at his closeness.

“For being here. For helping me. I’m glad you’re back.”

MARTA PERRY

wanted to be a writer from the moment she encountered Nancy Drew, at about age eight. She didn’t see publication of her stories until many years later, when she began writing children’s fiction for Sunday school papers while she was a church educational director. Although now retired from that position in order to write full-time, she continues to play an active part in her church and loves teaching a class of lively fifth-and sixth-grade Sunday school students.

Marta lives in rural Pennsylvania with her husband of thirty-seven years and has three grown children. She loves to hear from readers and enjoys responding. She can be reached c/o Steeple Hill Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017.

Father Most Blessed

Marta Perry

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

For it is by grace you have been saved, through

faith, and this not from yourselves: it is the gift of

God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

—Ephesians 2:8-9

This story is dedicated with love and gratitude to

the siblings and spouses who add so much richness

to our lives: Pat and Ed, Bill and Molly,

Herb and Barb, Gary and Arddy, and Chris.

And, as always, to Brian.

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 Sixteen

Letter to Reader

Chapter One

A man who lived in a twenty-room house ought to be able to have silence when he wanted it. Alex Caine tossed his pen on the library desk and stalked to the center hallway of the Italianate mansion that had been home to the Caine family for three generations. The noise that had disrupted his work on a crucial business deal came from beyond the swinging door to the servants’ area.

Frowning, he headed toward the sound, his footsteps sharp on the marble floor, and pushed through the door to the rear of the house. He’d told his ailing housekeeper to rest this afternoon, so there should have been no sound at all to disturb his concentration. But Maida Hansen, having taken care of him since the day his mother died when he was six, tended to ignore any orders she didn’t want to follow.

Well, in this case she was going to listen. If he didn’t find the right words for this delicate negotiation, Caine Industries might not survive for another generation. There might be no company at all to leave to his son.

He winced. What would his grandfather or his father have said to that? They’d assumed they were founding a dynasty to last a hundred years. They wouldn’t look kindly on the man who presided over its demise.

The noise came from the pantry, down the hall from the kitchen. He seized the doorknob and yanked.

The figure balanced precariously on the step stool wasn’t Maida. Maida had never in her life worn blue jeans or a sweatshirt proclaiming her World’s Greatest Teacher. His heart stopped, and he looked at the woman he had thought he’d never see again.