Magic In A Jelly Jar

Magic In A Jelly Jar
Sally Tyler Hayes

Mills & Boon M&B
WHEN YOU WISH UPON A…TOOTH?Disillusioned with love, single dad Joe Morgan had no time for his instant and unwanted attraction to enchanting dentist Samantha Carter. But Joe needed Samantha's help. His son, Luke, had the crazy idea that Samantha was the magic tooth fairy. And Luke was saving teeth in a jelly jar so Samantha would grant his wish for a mother!With one tender, unexpected kiss, Joe broke through Samantha's fragile defenses. And spending time with Joe and Luke awoke dangerous yearnings. Samantha knew her own wish was for them to be a family. But that would never happen–unless she could open Joe's wary heart to the magic of love….

“Dad!” Luke tugged furiously on Joe’s jeans. “It’s her!”

“Who?” Joe was still staring at her and thinking that he hadn’t been so blown away by the sight of a woman in years. She had dainty feet, encased in fancy sandals in a sparkling silver color. Smooth, trim calves. Cute knees. A long, bulky white jacket—he could have done without that. Delicate hands—no rings, he noted. Pale, peach-colored lips, eyes as blue as the sky. An absolutely dazzling smile, directed at his son.

“The tooth fairy!” Luke said.

“Luke, there’s no such thing as—”

“Uh-ummm.” The woman cleared her throat loudly. She gave him a conspiratorial wink.

Being this close to a woman, having her smile at him baffled Joe. How could he consider allowing another woman into his life? One had been more than enough.

But when he looked at this woman, he felt uneasy. Here, he thought, was a woman who just might be able to change his mind….

Dear Reader,

When Patricia Kay was a child, she could be found hiding somewhere…reading. “Ever since I was old enough to realize someone wrote books and they didn’t just magically appear, I dreamed of writing,” she says. And this month Special Edition is proud to publish Patricia’s twenty-second novel, The Millionaire and the Mom, the next of the STOCKWELLS OF TEXAS series. She admits it isn’t always easy keeping her ideas and her writing fresh. What helps, she says, is “nonwriting” activities, such as singing in her church choir, swimming, taking long walks, going to the movies and traveling. “Staying well-rounded keeps me excited about writing,” she says.

We have plenty of other fresh stories to offer this month. After finding herself in the midst of an armed robbery with a gun to her back in Christie Ridgway’s From This Day Forward, Annie Smith vows to chase her dreams…. In the next of A RANCHING FAMILY series by Victoria Pade, Kate McDermot returns from Vegas unexpectedly married and with a Cowboy’s Baby in her belly! And Sally Tyler Hayes’s Magic in a Jelly Jar is what young Luke Morgan hopes for by saving his teeth in a jelly jar…because he thinks that his dentist is the tooth fairy and can grant him one wish: a mother! Also, don’t miss the surprising twists in Her Mysterious Houseguest by Jane Toombs, and an exciting forbidden love story with Barbara Benedict’s Solution: Marriage.

At Special Edition, fresh, innovative books are our passion. We hope you enjoy them all.

Best,

Karen Taylor Richman

Senior Editor

Magic in a Jelly Jar

Sally Tyler Hayes

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

To my son, John, a mathematically gifted and mercenary child who, when he started losing his baby teeth, began with great excitement to count and even do a bit of multiplication in order to figure out what his entire mouth was worth empty of teeth.

And to his first-grade class at St. Mary’s, where the loss of each tooth was dutifully charted and graphed as part of their lessons in math.

SALLY TYLER HAYES

lives in South Carolina with her husband, son and daughter. A former journalist for a South Carolina newspaper, she fondly remembers that her decision to write and explore the frontiers of romance came at about the same time she discovered, in junior high, that she’d never be able to join the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

Happy and proud to be a stay-home mom, she is thrilled to be living her lifelong dream of writing romances.

Dear Tooth Fairy,

My name is Luke, and I saw you last week. You came to my school to talk about teeth, and you were so pretty. I gotta big problem, and I know you’re the one who can help me. I tried everythin’ else and nothin’ worked. Santa didn’t help, even though I was real good. I wished on my birthday candles, but that didn’t work. I wished on the first star at night, but that didn’t work. But you can make everything all right. I saw you, and I know you can do real magic. I gotta plan, too. I’m gonna collect a hundred baby teeth, no matter what it takes! I figure that’ll be enough. And I’ll give ’em to you and make my wish, and you can bring my mother back….

Love,

Luke

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Prologue

“Aw, c’mon, Jenny. It won’t hurt. Promise.”

The girl knew he was lying. After all, he was a boy, and at seven, Jenny knew all about boys. He’d say anything to get what he wanted. And once he did, he’d be off to charm some other girl. Jenny’s mother had told her older sister all about boys one night when she didn’t know Jenny was listening.

“Please. I neeeed it,” he whined pitifully.

She’d heard about that before, too. “I told you—no.”

“Give you a quarter.”