A Family of Her Own
When Katie Rogers returns to Dundee, Idaho, it's not because she wants to.It's because she's disillusioned, broke–and pregnant. She was going to make something of her life in the big city. Instead, she's paying a high price for trusting the wrong man. Booker Robinson is the man she didn't trust, the man she'd left behind in Dundee…and the first person she sees when she comes back.But despite Booker's notorious past, he now has a successful business and a home of his own. He's also spent two years getting over Katie. She's the last person he wants to see. But when her parents refuse to take her in, she doesn't have anywhere else to go, and Booker soon finds himself with a roommate–one who needs a father for her baby….Katie's vowed she'll never trust the wrong man again. But sometimes a man isn't everything he seems. And sometimes he's more….
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Katie was pregnant
Booker couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Katie wasn’t only down on her luck, she was pregnant. Andy Bray, that sorry son of a bitch who’d come through town bragging about everything he was and everything he was going to be, when he wasn’t anything at all, had gotten her pregnant and left her to cope on her own.
Booker longed to make Andy pay for what he’d done. Then he reminded himself that he had no stake in Katie’s life. He might have loved her once, but she’d chosen someone else. Someone with all the trappings of responsibility—the preppy clothes, the supportive family, the college degree. That removed Booker from the picture completely. He should head over to the Honky Tonk, he told himself, and forget he’d ever seen her.
“She’s not my problem,” he muttered, punching the gas pedal. But he didn’t get farther than half a block before Katie’s parting words came back to him: Haven’t you ever done anything you regret?
Dear Reader,
I’ve written several other books in between the Harlequin Superromance novels I’ve set in Dundee, Idaho—all of which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. But whenever I return to this fictional town, I always feel as if I’ve come home. Maybe it’s because I never planned on writing a series set in Idaho. But the characters in each new book simply beg me to go back and continue the story.
If you’ve read my earlier Dundee books, you’ll recognize the hero of this one. Booker Robinson is rather unique. He’s tough and weathered on the outside, but none of his critics can compare to the man he is inside. I think Katie Rogers does quite well for herself the second time around. I hope you’ll agree.
I love to hear from readers. Please feel free to contact me via my Web site at www.brendanovak.com. I frequently give away autographed bookmarks and sponsor drawings. Or you can write to me at P.O. Box 3781, Citrus Heights, CA 95611.
May you hold your family close, even if, like Booker’s, that family isn’t as conventional as most.
Brenda Novak
Brenda Novak
A Family of Her Own
To Sugar Novak, my mother-in-law, who will leave the world
a much better place for having been part of it. Sug, I’m grateful to have you in my life. You’re one of the few people I know who truly understands the meaning of family. Here’s to all for one and one for all….
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
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
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
BOOKER ROBINSON SAT IN his truck at ten o’clock on a warm Thursday night, staring at the small rental house where Katie Rogers lived and telling himself he was crazy to even be here. He wasn’t the type to ask for anything. He’d made it a habit never to need anyone. He’d learned as a child that showing vulnerability was never rewarded.
But he’d heard that Katie and Andy Bray were almost engaged, that she was going to leave town with Andy soon. And he knew if she did, she’d be making a big mistake. Andy wouldn’t take care of her the way he would. Andy wouldn’t love her as he did. Andy loved only himself.
Taking a deep breath, Booker cut the engine, got out and walked up the driveway. He’d hoped Katie would come back to him on her own. For a few short weeks, they’d shared something that was heady, powerful and very mutual. He was sure she felt everything he did. But her family and most of her friends had convinced her she’d be ruining her life by taking a risk on someone like him, a man with a criminal past and not much of a future. And now she was running scared and on the verge of marrying someone else.
She might end up marrying Andy, Booker told himself, but she wasn’t going to do it without at least knowing how he felt about her. He lived with enough regrets already….
It took several minutes for someone to answer his knock. When the door finally opened, Katie’s best friend, Wanda, peered out at him.
“Oh…uh…hi, Booker.”
He could tell she was nervous about seeing him, so he didn’t bother with small talk. Wanda was one of the people telling Katie that he’d never amount to anything. “Is she home?” he asked, not bothering to specify Katie by name because they both knew who “she” was.
“Um…I don’t think—”
He broke in before she could finish. “I saw her pull into the garage from the end of the street.”
“Right.” She chuckled self-consciously. “I wasn’t sure if she actually came in or not, but she must have if you saw her. Just a minute.”
While he waited, Booker’s pulse raced. He’d never laid his heart open to a woman before, and he wasn’t sure where to start now. He hadn’t let himself love many people.
You’re a fool for even trying, you know that, don’t you? Who are you to say you’re any better than Andy? At least Andy comes from a good family and has a college degree. What do you have to offer?
He almost turned to leave, but then Katie appeared at the door.
