A Dad for Her Twins

The Cowboy’s New Family

Widow Abby McDonald is pregnant with twins, suddenly homeless and has nowhere to go. When her late husband’s army buddy offers her a temporary haven at his family ranch in Buffalo Gap, Abby accepts the handsome cowboy’s hospitality. She knows that Cade Lebret, an honorable man with a complicated life on the Double L, is just “doing the right thing.” But when a needy foster child joins their makeshift family, Abby begins to see what a kind, loving father figure Cade is. Suddenly she’s dreaming of making the Lebret family ranch her home forever.

Family Ties: Bundles of joy bring couples together.

“I don’t have a home for my babies,” Abby whispered.

“I have nowhere to go, no money,” she continued, shaking her head.

Though a whisper, the words echoed around the empty room. Cade stared at her in disbelief, everything in him protesting.

Promise me that you’ll be there if ever Abby needs you, Cade, his best friend had said to him.

I promise, Cade had assured him.

Now Abby was a widow—and needed him.

Cade sucked oxygen into his starved lungs, pressed his lips together and muttered, “Okay, buddy.”

“What?” Abby stared at him, frowning.

Cade hefted the two boxes containing everything she owned into his arms and carried them outside to his truck. When he returned Abby was still standing where he’d left her, frowning. She watched him, that faint glimmer of confusion lingering in her eyes. Her defiance had withered away, leaving her small, huddled and, he sensed, very afraid. No way could he leave her like that.

Cade picked up her coat and gently helped her into it.

“What are you doing, Cade?”

“Say your goodbyes, Abby.” He fastened the top two buttons of her coat before moving his hands to her shoulders and gently squeezing. “You’re coming with me.”

LOIS RICHER loves traveling, swimming and quilting, but mostly she loves writing stories that show God’s boundless love for His precious children. As she says, “His love never changes or gives up. It’s always waiting for me. My stories feature imperfect characters learning that love doesn’t mean attaining perfection. Love is about keeping on keeping on.” You can contact Lois via email, [email protected].

A Dad

for Her Twins

Lois Richer

www.millsandboon.co.uk

But the person who trusts in the Lord will be blessed. The Lord will show him that he can be trusted. He will be strong, like a tree planted near water that sends its roots by a stream. It is not afraid when the days are hot; its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year when no rain comes; it always produces fruit.

—Jeremiah 17:7–8

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

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

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Cade Lebret wished he had a woman with him as he steered his truck through the tiny Canadian town of Buffalo Gap, Alberta. Maybe then the locals on coffee row would talk about her instead of him. But romance was never going to be part of his life again because he wasn’t the type women loved, at least not with a forever kind of love.

So he drove through town, staring steadfastly ahead, ignoring the curious stares of bystanders, knowing exactly what they’d say to each other over at Brewsters, the local coffee shop.

Guess who I saw today? Cade Lebret. Remember how his old man always chewed him out? Chewed me out, too, more than once. Nasty temper that Ed Lebret. Poor Cade.

For as long as Cade could remember, he’d hated being “poor Cade.” So now he came to Buffalo Gap only when necessary, did his business and left fast to avoid the sympathy the townsfolk had showered on him for most of his thirty-one years. They all thought his father’s vitriolic outbursts had ended when his dad had a stroke.

Cade’s lips tightened. Even loss of speech and paralysis hadn’t stopped the simmering disapproval in his father’s eyes or his constantly accusing glare. It made for a trying life at the Double L. But Cade had promised he’d stay until he’d turned the ranch’s red ink to black and he wouldn’t renege on his promise, though it was proving to be extremely difficult to keep his word.

Thankfully Cade wasn’t stopping in Buffalo Gap today. His business was in a cemetery outside Calgary and it wasn’t the kind of business that could be rushed.

Having escaped the town limits, Cade hit the accelerator. His truck’s powerful engine ate up the highway, easily pushing back arctic gusts of January air that swept through the valley nestled in the foothills of the Rockies. He flicked the heater up a notch but in spite of the warmth pouring out, Cade shivered. Hot, sunny days were the only thing he missed about Afghanistan.

Well, the heat and Max—Maxwell McDonald, the best friend Cade ever had. Max with his exuberant laughter; Max who found joy in a desert sandstorm. Max who’d once saved Cade’s life, then lost his own over five months ago on a mission that Cade had refused to accept. He’d received a hardship discharge because of his father’s strokes, and despite the military’s offer of a one-time premium payout, he couldn’t go back. The big fee showed how badly they wanted his specialized skill set of breaching enemy defenses. He could have used that money, but not enough to suppress his fear of dying in that war-torn country. Finally they’d accepted his refusal and Max had left without him.