My second son, Drake, has always had a soft spot for Maya Ramirez. They were smitten with each other in their youth, but as an heir to the Colton fortune, my son kept his distance from the housekeeperâs daughter. Back then, I encouraged his self-sacrifice, but Iâve learned a lot about love and loss over the years, and now I believe that some people are destined for each other. Like his mother and meâuntil Meredith turned her back on me and decided to make my life hell. But I digressâ¦. When Drakeâa Navy SEAL who often disappears to parts unknown for long periods of timeâreturned home for a brief visit several months ago, he finally gave in to his pent-up passion for Maya. Now sheâs pregnant, and my son insists sheâs about to give birth to a Colton baby! But my tight-lipped boy has his work cut out for him if he intends to stake a claim on his woman and childâ¦.
LAURIE PAIGE
reports that in addition to remodeling the kitchen in her new (to her) mountain retreat home, she has adopted two mixed-breed Labrador retrievers. Itâs like having two two-year-olds in the house. She wishes sheâd tossed in twin dogs that steal socks and hide them in different rooms in the house in the story of Maya and Drake. That would have added some confusing elements for the characters! On second thought, Drake probably had all the problems he could handle dealing with proud, stubborn Maya and claiming a place in her life and that of their child! However, true love can smooth out the most tangled of troublesâ¦except for those caused by two seventy-pound dogs. In that case, Laurie recommends obedience classes, which is where she will be as soon as she finishes the next book.
Meet the Coltonsâa California dynasty with a legacy of privilege and power.
Drake Colton: Navy SEAL. Heâd come home to celebrate his fatherâs sixtieth birthday, but this officerâs family-filled agenda gives way to a night of passion when he is reunited with the housekeeperâs daughter.
Maya Ramirez: Overnight Cinderella. Though Drake Colton had always seen her as a kid sister, this tomboy has blossomed into a raven-haired beauty in his absence. And one night, he makes all her adolescent fantasies a breathtaking reality!
Inez Ramirez: Suspicious mother. She and her husband have always been loyal to the Colton family but now she suspects that a certain Colton may be responsible for her daughterâs âcondition.â
Maya Ramirez breathed deeply of the crystalline air and let it out in a long exhalation. The accompanying sigh was not exactly one of contentmentâtoo many disturbing things had happened on the Colton ranch the past eight months for contentment to prevailâbut at least she had found a certain peace of mind concerning her own future.
Her horse, a sweet mare named Penny for the coppery highlights of her coat, twitched one ear in her direction. Maya patted the mareâs neck and admired the scenery.
It was one of those February days along the coast of northern California in which the sky gleamed a breath-catching blue and the temperature had soared into the sixties after a week of cold, drizzly rain. Today, the cloud bank had receded offshore and all was bright and beautiful. For the first time in months, anything seemed possible.
Almost anything, Maya corrected, batting away a lazy bee that hummed over the lupine that was already beginning to flower in stalks of white, yellow and lavender blue.
âA hawk,â ten-year-old Joe Colton, Jr., yelled, pointing at the long, sweeping line of fifty-foot cliffs that scalloped the ocean along the western border of the ranch.
âWhere?â Teddy Colton, younger by two years, called.
âRight there, sillyâ Uh, right there,â Joe amended with a quick glance at Maya.
She gave him an approving nod, then smiled with affection. She didnât allow name-calling or insults. Although newly employed as their full-time nanny, sheâd been baby-sitting the boys for years, being only sixteen when sheâd first been asked to accompany Mrs. Colton to a spa and take care of Joe Junior, who had been a baby at the time.
Ten years ago. Maya sighed and shifted in the saddle, the sudden sting of tears surprising her as she contemplated the passage of timeâso fast and yet so slow.
When Mrs. Colton had had Teddy, Maya had helped out with him, too. After graduating from the local high school, sheâd started college via computer courses and worked on the Colton estate when needed by her mother, who was the housekeeper there.
Last month sheâd been asked to move into the main house and take over as a full-time baby-sitter for the two youngest Colton boys. The nanny, Ms. Meredith called her. Frowning, Maya admitted sheâd needed the job rather desperately.