Family Be Mine
Successful physiotherapist and single mom-to-be Sarah Halverson is not one to take adversity lying down. But these days she's having trouble getting up! Thirty weeks into her pregnancy, Sarah finds that her bouts of dizziness are spelling the end of her mobility–and her independence.She's got to find an answer, preferably one that's close to her office and has a car.Devout bachelor Huntington Phox, owner of a geographically desirable mansion and a Porsche 911, is Sarah's best bet. She could help him overcome a personal challenge of his own, and he could help her through the last tough weeks of her pregnancy. Perfect. Convenient, mutually beneficial and no strings. But the more they share, the more they wonder about exactly where the boundary between friends and more ends!
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She could feel the heat rising again, and she didnât even bother with the excuse of hormones
Sarah knew better.
It was all Hunt. She liked him. More than liked him. She hadnât come looking for it, and sheâd certainly tried to avoid it. But no matter what, she couldnât kid herself any longer.
Maybe she was attracted to him because it proved that she was still a desirable woman. And maybe he was attracted to her because it proved an inner potency, a life force that had been restored.
If it was mutually self-serving, so be it. But it was also no use pretending any longer that something wasnât happening between them. And that something was inevitable, as well.
So what did she say after such a revelation?
âGee, that was a novel way to wrap up a prenatal visitâ was the best she could come up with.
âYou think that wraps things up?â he asked.
âYou and I both know it doesnâtâ¦â she replied with a wink.
Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Grantham and back to school! Ever since writing Falling for the Teacher, I have wanted to tell Sarah and Huntâs story. Sarah intrigued me because on the surface she looked like someone in control. But I had a feeling there was more lurking underneath. What I found was a woman like many of us, someone who has made choices in life, but still wasnât sure where she was going. In short, she was in search of her story. By contrast, Hunt was someone who had his life all figured out, only to find it pulled out from under him. He realized he needed to change direction, but to where and for how long? In essence, he questioned his future. Together, then, Sarah and Hunt were just too good to leave in the background!
Lastly, cancer has an insidious way of touching many families. This book deals with the impact of lymphoma. For those readers seeking more information about blood cancers, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society provides helpful and unbiased information at www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.
Best,
Tracy Kelleher
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tracy sold her first story to a childrenâs magazine when she was ten years old. Writing was clearly in her blood, though fiction was put on hold while she received degrees from Yale and Cornell, traveled the world, worked in advertising, became a staff reporter and later a magazine editor. She also managed to raise a family. Is it any surprise she escapes to the world of fiction?
Many thanks to Dr. Morton Coleman for sharing his expertise and understanding.
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 SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER ONE
Mayâ¦
âYOU KNOW, SARAH DEAR, todayâs blessed event makes up for that whole Brooklyn calamityâ¦â Penny Halverson bit her bottom lip. âNo, I promised I wouldnât bring that up. What I mean to say is that you having a wedding in the Grantham University Chapel isâ¦isâ¦like a dream come true. To think that a member of our family is about to be married in a place like that! Itâs practically like being in England! Or Disney World!â
Penny dabbed the corner of her eye with the all-cotton hanky that she had ironed just before packing her suitcase for the flight from Minneapolis to Grantham, New Jersey. Even within the confines of the church vestry, the mullioned windows and ornate woodwork conveyed the Gothic grandeur of the Ivy League university chapel. But the fact that Pennyâs face shone with a rosy hue had nothing to do with the light piercing the stained glass windows. It was the glow of a motherâs joyâand maybe unexpected heat of this early May day.
Outside, visible through an open door, were beds of Rembrandt tulips edging the green of the courtyard. Their variegated petals flopped in exhaustion. They had managed to survive the ravenous appetite of the local deer population, perhaps a show of respect by the animal kingdom for this hallowed spot, but they were now succumbing to the heat.
âOh, I know I promised, but I canât help it.â Penny pursed her lips and squinted her eyes in a mixture of remorse and pride. âIt more than makes up for the embarrassment that your father felt when youâ¦ahâ¦when youâ¦ah.â
âWhen I was living with Earl? Is that what youâre trying to say, Mom?â Sarah Halverson rolled her shoulders backward and worked at adjusting the neckline on her strapless wedding dress. The fitted bodice tapered to hug her long torso a tad too tightly for comfort. âI know you and Dad didnât approve, and Iâm sorry. But, you know, itâs really not a crime,â she said as she yanked at the stays under her arms and hunched her shoulders together to try to get all the pieces to work in harmony.
âPractically everybody I know is doing it or has done it at one time.â
