A Father, Again

A Father, Again
Mary J. Forbes

THE GUY NEXT DOORJon Tucker was doing just fine living by his lonesome, steering clear of pets and people. Until his neighbor's cat gave birth to kittens on his favorite shirt. But after returning the new family to its rightful owner, Jon was finding it hard to stay away from Rianne Worth. In fact, ignoring the alluringly petite mother of two would be downright unneighborly.The sexy guy in faded jeans who charged onto her land was no stranger to Rianne. Beneath the ex-cop's gruff manner was the same boy who'd awakened the sweetest yearning in her schoolgirl heart. Now the single father was back in Misty River…and Rianne knew that this time, her very adult feelings might prove impossible to resist….

“Why are you weeding in the dark, Rianne?”

“It soothes me when I feel hemmed in.”

“Something happen at work today? The kids?”

She looked toward the hedge. Her shoulders drooped. She shook her head.

He didn’t know why it hurt, but it did. He wanted her trust. Trust. Belief. Support. Yeah, he wanted the combo. He wanted to offer comfort. Which would mean touching more than her hands. Not wise, Jon. Except, wisdom and want were at a draw and he was all out of referees.

“Come here.” He tugged her forward until her shoulder leaned into his chest. For her comfort, he told himself, and wrapped his arms around her. “Shh. We’re okay,” he murmured into the crown of her hair. Holding her loosely, waiting until the tension left by degrees.

She felt great in his arms. Small, warm, soft.

A surge to claim her rushed up, stunning him….

Dear Reader,

Well, we hope your New Year’s resolutions included reading some fabulous new books—because we can provide the reading material! We begin with Stranded with the Groom by Christine Rimmer, part of our new MONTANA MAVERICKS: GOLD RUSH GROOMS miniseries. When a staged wedding reenactment turns into the real thing, can the actual honeymoon be far behind? Tune in next month for the next installment in this exciting new continuity.

Victoria Pade concludes her NORTHBRIDGE NUPTIALS miniseries with Having the Bachelor’s Baby, in which a woman trying to push aside memories of her one night of passion with the town’s former bad boy finds herself left with one little reminder of that encounter—she’s pregnant with his child. Judy Duarte begins her new miniseries, BAYSIDE BACHELORS, with Hailey’s Hero, featuring a cautious woman who finds herself losing her heart to a rugged rebel who might break it…. THE HATHAWAYS OF MORGAN CREEK by Patricia Kay continues with His Best Friend, in which a woman is torn between two men—the one she really wants, and the one to whom he owes his life. Mary J. Forbes’s sophomore Special Edition is A Father, Again, featuring a grown-up reunion between a single mother and her teenaged crush. And a disabled child, an exhausted mother and a down-but-not-out rodeo hero all come together in a big way, in Christine Wenger’s debut novel, The Cowboy Way.

So enjoy, and come back next month for six compelling new novels, from Silhouette Special Edition.

Happy New Year!

Gail Chasan

Senior Editor

Silhouette Special Edition

A Father, Again

Mary J. Forbes

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

To Karen, for loving Jon Tucker the way I did.

Thanks to Tom Lindmark for his descriptive e-mails

on the geography and history of the Clatskanie area.

Any errors are entirely mine, not his.

MARY J. FORBES

grew up on a farm in Alberta amidst horses, cattle, crisp hay and broad blue skies. As a child, she drew and wrote about her surroundings, and in sixth grade composed her first story about a lame little pony. Years later, she was an accountant and worked as a reporter/photographer for a small-town newspaper and attained honors degrees in education. She has also written and published short fiction.

Today, Mary—a teacher by profession—lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children. A romantic by nature, she loves walking along the ocean shoreline, sitting by the fire on snowy or rainy evenings and two-stepping around the dance floor to a good country song—all with her own real-life hero, of course. Mary loves to hear from readers. You can contact her at www.maryjforbes.com.

May 4

Certain moments in life go beyond the casual flickering of memory in your mind’s eye. I call these moments “crystals.” They let your palm and fingers relearn the cool curve of the doorknob. They let your bare soles recall the comfort of the mat’s ragged braids. They let your nose remember the difference between the oatmeal cookies in the oven behind you, and the sap in the trees across the yard. But above all, you see, again, how shadow and light stroke cheek and jaw. And you recognize the hurried cadence of your heart.

Today I embraced a crystal moment.

—Journal entry of Rianne Worth

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

Damn the woman and her cat.