âA month? Youâre asking me to stay for a whole month?â
âYouâd enjoy it.â
âIâIââ Nell took another huge gulp of wine and tried to think straight. âYouâre not serious, are you?â
âWhy not?â
âYou canât just drop out of the sky and into my life and say: Hey, come live with meâas if the past twenty years havenât happened.â
âI realise that.â
âWhat are you saying, then?â
Jacobâs smile did wicked things to Nellâs stomach. âIâm saying that weâre grandparents of a baby boy who needs us. Weâre both very keen to be a significant part of his life, and itâll be damned difficult to do that if weâre living thousands of kilometres apart. So my invitation makes good sense.â
Barbara Hannay was born in Sydney, educated in Brisbane, and has spent most of her adult life living in tropical North Queensland, where she and her husband have raised four children. While she has enjoyed many happy times camping and canoeing in the bush, she also delights in an urban lifestyleâchamber music, contemporary dance, movies and dining out. An English teacher, she has always loved writing, and now, by having her stories published, she is living her most cherished fantasy.
In 2007 Barbara won the Romance Writersâ of America RITA® Award for Best Traditional Romance with CLAIMING HIS FAMILY.
To catch up on all Barbaraâs latest news visit www.barbarahannay.com
Dear Reader
I eventually married the lovely man who was my boyfriend when I was nineteen. But most young people of that age move on to form new relationships, and the old boyfriends disappear, never to be heard of or seen again.
In many cases, thatâs probably a good thing. But Iâm sure there are occasional wistful moments when some women wonder What ifâ¦?
What if I saw him again after all these years? Would he recognise me? Would he have changed? Would there still be a spark?
What ifâ¦? is the question writers ask all the time. Itâs how we come up with stories. So I guess itâs hardly surprising that we love reunions. Theyâre so brimming with tension and questions and romantic potential.
When I first started on this plot possibility, I never dreamed Iâd end up writing about Nell and Jacob being brought together by a twist of fate to care for their baby grandson! But the temptation to try something quite different is very alluring, and I was delighted that my editor loved the idea, too.
I hope you enjoy Nell and Jacobâs journey to happiness.
Warmest wishes
Barbara
BABY ON BOARD
From bump to baby and beyondâ¦
Whether sheâs expecting or theyâre adoptingâ
a special arrival is on its way!
Follow the tears and triumphs as these couples find
their lives blessed with the magic of parenthoodâ¦
Look out for more bumps and babies
coming soon to Mills & Boon® Romance
A SUMMERâS morning at dawn.
Nell and Jacob met at their secret place on the sheltered river bank, the only safe place for the bossâs daughter and the hired help.
Arriving by separate tracks, they tethered their horses at opposite ends of the clearing. Nell was nervous and Jacob was on tenterhooks waiting for her news, but he came towards her proudly, striding through the misty morning light with his shoulders back and his head high, as if he owned the earth.
A metre from her, he stopped and she read the silent question in his serious grey eyes.
Too anxious to speak, she simply shook her head, watched the movement in his throat as he swallowed.
âYouâre pregnant then,â he said quietly.
Nell dropped her gaze to her clasped hands. âIâm almost certain.â She heard his sharp indrawn breath and whispered, âIâm sorry.â And she realised for the first time that she was a little afraid of this tall and ruggedly divine young man.
Suddenly, she felt as if she didnât really know him, in spite of the many stolen hours sheâd spent with him here during the long, hot weeks of her summer holiday. Pregnancy changed everything, changed something precious and perfect into a shameful mistake. And it forced the two of them to consider a future they werenât prepared for.
More than anything, Nell was scared of what her father would do when he found out. His bad temper was beyond volcanic. He would never forgive her for this and she was certain that he would offer her only one option.
She trembled at the thought, drew a hasty breath for courage. âMy parents will want me to have an abortion.â
Jacobâs frown was fierce. âYou donât want that, do you?â
No. She couldnât bear the thought of terminating a baby they had made. She shook her head.
âYou mustnât do it then, Nell. Donât even think about it.â He reached for her hands, threaded his strong, work-toughened fingers through hers and she felt the familiar rasp of the callus on his right palm.
Beside them, the river chattered carelessly and the scent of eucalypts and sheoaks hung heavy in the air.
âIâm sorry,â she whispered again.
âDonât be.â Jacob gave her hands a gentle shake. âDonât apologise.â