A lot has changedâand a lot hasnât
Five years ago, Beth Thomasâs engagement to Danny Brockwood ended when his secret child was dropped off on his doorstep. Now eight months pregnantâand about to be a single mother herselfâBeth is back in her Alberta hometown, where the rugged mechanic is raising his son.
She wants to hate Danny; discovering heâd hidden his toddler from her was the reason she left. And now Dannyâs bought out the beloved corner store that had been in Bethâs family for generations. But their still-simmering chemistry isnât all they have in common. Can two single parents win back each otherâs trust with the help of one determined boy?
âYouâll be okay, Beth.â
Danny took a step closer. He looked down at her pale fingers in his hand, and he longed to lift them to his lips. He was supposed to be over her...
âAre we okay?â Beth asked, looking up at him. She was close enough that he could have bent down and caught those pink lips with his.
âYou mean, are we friends?â he asked, his voice catching. He missed her so much it hurt.
Sheâd walked out on him, broken his heart. Sheâd been wrong, but that didnât change the way he still yearned for her.
Dear Reader,
This book revolves around a little boy named Luke whose heart has been broken. He wants a momâsomeone to love him and protect him, to be proud of him. And my heroine is the perfect choice, if only she can sort out her issues with his father.
In my real life, my days revolve around my own little boy, who is about the same age as Luke. One day, I was walking my sonâs friends home from school as a favor to their mother, and another friend of mine (a mom of a little girl) saw me heading off with this group of sweet, rambunctious boys. She looked rather panicked on my behalf. The thought of caring for that many boys was intimidating to her. But I have a son, so little boys make sense to me. They can be complicated, but they are so worth the work! When I needed to choose a child for my hero, I knew it had to be a boy, because I just had to share that feeling when a pair of arms wrap around your neck and a little boy says, âI love you, Mom!â
If you enjoyed this book, you may enjoy my other books, too. I have two other Heartwarming releases before this one, but I also write for the Western Romance and Love Inspired lines here at Harlequin. All of my stories are sweet, which means the relationship develops without going beyond a kiss. So you can trust my books, regardless of the line they are published under.
If youâd like to connect with me, you can find me at my website, www.patriciajohnsromance.com, or on Facebook. Iâd love to meet you.
Patricia
PATRICIA JOHNS writes from Alberta, Canada. She has her Hon. BA in English literature and currently writes for Harlequinâs Love Inspired, Western Romance and Heartwarming lines. You can find her at patriciajohnsromance.com.
To my husband and our little boy.
Youâve had me by the heartstrings from the start. I love you!
CHAPTER ONE
BETH THOMASâS FATHER, Rick, didnât seem terribly concerned that Granny was missing. He looked up from a basket of laundry heâd been halfheartedly folding and shrugged.
âSheâs probably wandered off again,â he said. He was a short man with a full head of iron gray hair and bushy black eyebrows, and he was staring down at the laundry as if heâd rather murder it. He was recently divorced from Bethâs stepmom, Linda, and the housework seemed to irritate him more than the divorce settlement. He was a moderately successful literary novelist, and Beth was still waiting for him to inject all this unprocessed emotion into a new manuscript. So farânada.
âDoes she wander off often?â Beth asked.
âFrom time to time...yes.â
Beth rubbed a hand over her expanding belly, and the baby wriggled inside her. She was eight months pregnant with sore feet, and Granny had been the buffer zone between Beth and her father since sheâd arrived home for the holidays.
âWhere does Granny go?â Beth pressed.
âThe store.â
For the Thomas family, âthe storeâ never referred to the grocery store or the hardware store. Rick raised his eyes to meet her gaze, and she could see the pain there. Before Linda left, Rick had declared bankruptcy, and the corner store that had belonged to the family for three generations had been put up for sale by the bank. So much for second mortgages.
âIâll go check there,â she said.
âI can do itââ Rick dropped a T-shirt back into the basket. âYou should probably put your feet up or something, kiddo.â
Kiddo. She was thirty-two.
âNo, Iâm fine, Dad. Iâm supposed to get exercise anyway. Iâll go see if I can find her.â