Meant-To-Be Marriage

Meant-To-Be Marriage
Rebecca Winters

When darkly sexy Jarod Kendall met beautiful Sydney Taylor he faced the hardest decision of his life - because, as a priest, any relationship was forbidden to him. Their friendship was innocent, but Jarod's love grew secretly and deeply. After a year of Jarod hiding his forbidden feelings Sydney left town, believing her love wasn't returned. Alone, Jarod found his life thrown into deep turmoil.As a man of honor, he realized that he had to leave the priesthood and everything he loved because his heart was with Sydney. Now Jarod is determined to find Sydney and persuade her that against all the odds their marriage is meant to be….

“Hello, Sydney—” Jarod whispered.

“You’re the last person on earth I ever expected to see again in this lifetime…let alone here,” she began.

“It’s a long story.” His voice rasped. “I came as soon as I could.”

She stared at him in utter bewilderment. “What do you mean?”

He cocked his dark, attractive head. “The day you left town you asked me if I would leave with you. At the time, I couldn’t give you an answer.”

That moment had been so excruciating, she experienced physical pain all over again remembering it. Anger consumed her.

“So now you’ve decided you can?” she mocked in raw agony, remembering the kiss he’d given her that had said “goodbye forever.”

PRAISE FOR REBECCA WINTERS

Wonderfully unique every time, Rebecca Winters creates powerful stories that will leave you on a romantic high!

“Rebecca Winters always manages to grab the reader’s attention and keep it.”

—www.writersunlimited.com

“Rebecca Winters provides a deep poignant tale with characters readers will appreciate and like.”

—www.thebestreviews.com

Look out for Rebecca’s next book,

Having the Frenchman’s Baby

On sale in August,

Harlequin Romance #3905

This is the first book in an

exciting new continuity,

THE BRIDES OF BELLA LUCIA!

Meant-To-Be Marriage

Rebecca Winters

Rebecca Winters, whose family of four children has now swelled to include three beautiful grandchildren, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the land of the Rocky Mountains. With canyons and high Alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore, and they—along with her favorite vacation spots in Europe—often end up as backgrounds for her Harlequin Romance

novels. Writing is her passion, along with her family and church. Rebecca loves to hear from her readers. If you wish to e-mail her, please visit her Web site at: www.rebeccawinters.com

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

“I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to let the memory of a priest ruin my entire life! Since he’ll always be forbidden to me, let this be the end of my pain.”

So saying, Sydney tossed her sheaf of roses into the water and watched the waves carry it out to sea. Turning swiftly away, she hurried up the sandy path to the backyard of the Brysons’ fabulous San Diego home.

Now that the honeymooners had gone, the grounds overlooking the Pacific Ocean had emptied of wedding guests. Except for the maids who were cleaning up, Sydney found herself alone.

Earlier, she and the wedding party had greeted a crowd of several hundred who’d congregated here after the Friday afternoon church service. The prominent Bryson family had spared no expense for their only daughter’s nuptials.

Ranger Gilly Bryson King had been claimed as the bride of Dr. Alex Latimer, the legendary ranger in charge of the Volcano Observatory at Yellowstone Park.

Like the handsome prince and the beautiful princess in a fairy tale, the radiant couple in a black tuxedo and flowing white wedding dress had stood a little distance off with the pounding surf below providing the breathtaking backdrop.

Being the maid of honor, Sydney had wanted to look her best for her dear friend. As a result, she’d taken particular care to find the right pink-frost lipstick to highlight the mold of her wide, curving mouth. A little blusher on her cheekbones, the kind only a close friend like Gilly would say made her such a classic beauty, and she’d been ready to face guests.

Among them were a large group of rangers from Yellowstone and Teton Parks who’d flown down for the wedding, which had been a huge affair. Somehow Sydney had been able to get through the festivities without any of her former colleagues being the wiser concerning her latest plans.

Two weeks earlier, Chief Ranger Archer had reluctantly accepted her resignation as a park ranger. Per her wishes, he’d promised to keep quiet about it until she’d left the Park for good.

Sydney had already vacated her cabin, and had moved into a furnished apartment in Gardiner, Montana, before coming to the wedding. No one but the chief knew she’d be teaching school there for the next year. That was the way she wanted it. Otherwise people would ask questions she wasn’t ready to answer.

Except for Gilly, her former co-workers wouldn’t understand that her unexpected career change had been made out of a desperate need for self-preservation. It seemed that being a ranger hadn’t brought the forgetfulness she’d craved.