Mistletoe Baby

Mistletoe Baby
Tanya Michaels

The warm, close-knit community of Mistletoe, Georgia, is the ideal place to raise a family. But after four years, Rachel and David Waide have just about given up hope. Until they get the news: They're pregnant! With less than nine months to get their marriage back on track, David comes up with a plan. He'll prove to the woman he loves they have what it takes to be a real family.And with the whole town rooting for them, how can he lose? And how can Rachel resist the charms of the sexy, take-charge father-to-be? With a wedding in the family and another baby on the way, it looks like it's the season for miracles in Mistletoe after all….

Mistletoe Baby

Tanya Michaels

“I can’t look. You do it.”

“You sure?”

She just couldn’t. “I’m sure.”

Closing her eyes, Rachel waited an interminable heartbeat of time, heard David suck in his breath.

“Oh my God.” His words were a reverent whisper.

“You’re kidding!” She knew he’d never joke about this. Still, maybe he’d misread the test, or…“Let me see.”

He moved aside, letting out an earsplitting whoop even as she viewed the proof for herself. “We’re pregnant!”

Her knees trembled. She was carrying his baby. Tears welled in her eyes. Before she could classify them as happy crying or something more bittersweet, he pulled her into his strong arms.

And kissed her.

Dear Reader,

In 2007, I created the town of Mistletoe, Georgia, for a Harlequin American Christmas novella and I loved the setting and characters so much that I knew I had to return! (Luckily, my editor agreed.) Many of you wrote to ask if there would be more Mistletoe stories and the answer is a resounding yes: four, as a matter of fact! One for each season.

First up is the winter tale of David and Rachel Waide, a husband and wife who love each other deeply but have lost their way, due in part to the emotional toll of infertility struggles. The last thing they want to do is upset their loved ones at Christmas with news of a separation, especially when David’s brother is about to get married. The entire Waide family is busy with wedding preparations. So David and Rachel agree to put on a happy face until the end of December. Amid the magical holiday season and poignant reminders of what matrimony means, can they rediscover what drew them together in the first place and maybe discover brand new gifts as well?

Watch for the next book, Mistletoe Cinderella, to be out April 2009! You can learn about all four stories at my Web site, www.TanyaMichaels.com.

Happy reading & enjoy your stay,

Tanya

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tanya Michaels started telling stories almost as soon as she could talk…and started stealing her mom’s Harlequin romances less than a decade later. In 2003, Tanya was thrilled to have her first book, a romantic comedy, published by Harlequin. Since then, Tanya’s sold nearly twenty books and is a two-time recipient of the Booksellers’ Best Award as well as a finalist for the Holt Medallion, National Readers’ Choice Award and Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA

Award. Tanya lives in Georgia with her husband, two preschoolers and an unpredictable cat, but you can visit Tanya online at www.tanyamichaels.com.

This holiday story about marriage—

one couple preparing to join their lives

while another couple rediscovers their love—is

dedicated to real-life married couple Jane and Eric,

aka The Mims Who Saved Christmas. Thank you so

much for everything you’ve both done, for always

picking up the phone no matter the hour, for always

having a kitchen stocked full of comfort food, and

for always laughing at the right moments.

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

It was the worst basketball game in Waide brother history—even including the one when David, at fourteen, had been showing off for a cute neighborhood girl and ended up with stitches. At least he’d sunk the layup before taking the trip to the emergency room, not to mention going on the subsequent movie date and having his first real kiss.

Given David and Tanner’s combined performance this December afternoon, however, a team from Whiteberry Elementary could probably take them. David’s shots kept going wild. He knew he was throwing with too much force, taking repressed anger out on a ball that had never hurt anyone.