Mistletoe Mommy

Mistletoe Mommy
Tanya Michaels

It was supposed to be a family vacation. That's why Dr. Adam Varner grabbed his brood and hit the road, hoping to find a way to reconnect with his daughters and son. On the way, he rescues stranded pet sitter Brenna Pierce…and feels another kind of connection. And then there's the amazing way she's bonding with his kids. Brenna didn't come home to her small Georgia town looking for a family.In fact, the Mistletoe native is a lot more comfortable relating to pets. And, appealing as she finds the sexy surgeon, she can't afford to get attached to someone who's just passing through. Is Brenna the woman Adam didn't know he was looking for? Can she help him turn a temporary stay into something more…permanent?

They stood there for a heartbeat that felt like a lifetime, staring at each other

When was the last time he’d impulsively kissed a woman? This had been thoroughly spontaneous, and he was glad. If he’d stopped to think first, he might not have done it.

Adam cleared his throat. “I’ll round up my kids.”

Brenna nodded, bemused.

Neither of them said anything else, but when he got to the back door, he couldn’t resist looking over his shoulder at her. She remained in the same spot, motionless. Except that she’d pressed her fingers to her lips.

As he stepped through the door, a whisper of sound followed him.

He thought it might have been wow.

Dear Reader,

I grew up surrounded by a lot of happy chaos—relatives visiting, friends in and out of the house and pets underfoot. (At one point we owned three dogs, two cats and a ferret, all of whom played together.) An adult now with kids of my own, I am definitely carrying on the chaotic tradition.

In Mistletoe Mommy I bring that tradition to Mistletoe, Georgia. Brenna Pierce is a pet sitter who thinks the biggest complication in her life is a broken-down car—until Dr. Adam Varner and his three children roll into town for summer vacation! Trying to get her self-owned business up and running, Brenna doesn’t have time for romance. And Adam certainly isn’t looking for a relationship. He already has his hands full trying to bond with a teenage son, surly “tween” daughter and a little girl obsessed with getting a cat for her fifth birthday. Yet, amid the chaos of animals and kids, Brenna and Adam discover love and something that feels remarkably like family.

This is my third book in the 4 SEASONS IN MISTLETOE miniseries, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I’ve loved writing them! Watch for the series conclusion, Mistletoe Hero, in October 2009.

Wishing you only the happiest chaos,

Tanya

Mistletoe Mommy

Tanya Michaels

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tanya Michaels began 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 Books. Since then, Tanya has 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 book is dedicated to the caring and

hardworking ladies of

Koala T. Care Pet Sitting and Dog Walking.

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

The day Brenna Pierce was having would be enough to drive any woman crazy. Which, in Brenna’s case, would actually be an improvement, because at least she would be driving somewhere.

Instead, she paced alongside a curvy stretch of blacktop in the pounding late-June heat. Her stepfather had raised her to believe that swearing was vulgar, but now, sweaty and exasperated, Brenna mentally chanted a stream of four-letter words, running them together in an all-purpose Über-Curse. Coincidentally, loan was a four-letter word—and something she might have to apply for soon.

She’d been praying her ancient hatchback would make it through this summer, but the faded green car appeared to be on its last legs. Er, tires.

Her cell phone wasn’t currently working, either. No bars here. Maybe she’d unintentionally discovered Mistletoe, Georgia’s answer to the Bermuda Triangle, a magnolia-lined stretch of asphalt where all things mechanical sputtered and died. Investigating scientists could name it the Brenna Straightaway.

To find a patch with better reception, she’d climbed out of the car. Her pacing hadn’t netted any results yet, but she couldn’t cover more than a few yards without taking along the vehicle’s occupant, Lady Evelyn. Wiping damp strands of coppery hair away from her face, Brenna glanced through the open window. Lady Evelyn, a Yorkshire terrier, sat in the back seat wearing her safety restraint harness as imperiously as though it were crown jewels. The Yorkie glared, unamused by first the lack of air-conditioning—fixing the A/C would cost more than the car was worth—and now the unscheduled stop.

At least Brenna had managed to almost coast to the shoulder. Though the vehicle wasn’t as out of the way as she would have liked, it also wasn’t in the middle of the road.

Reaching inside, she patted her canine companion on the head. “What do you say, Evelyn? Wanna get out and help me push?”

Beneath the pink bow holding up silky hair, the dog’s dark eyes seemed incredulous. Surely you jest. I’m a prizewinning purebred. I have ribbons. I don’t do manual labor.

Hearing doggie voices in her head couldn’t possibly be a good sign. I have got to get out of the heat. Even more importantly, Brenna had to reach Patch by three-thirty. Four o’clock at the latest.

Brenna grabbed the leash from the front seat. “Come on,” she said, unfastening Lady Evelyn’s safety harness. “Let’s go for a walk.”

If they were lucky, she’d get cell reception just up the road and reach someone who could drop everything to come give them a ride. Preferably someone with air-conditioning. They hadn’t gone far when a car came barreling over the hill. Brenna waved her arm.