Another Man's Children
ONCE BURNED…When polished Seattle professional Lauren Edwards landed at a wilderness cabin to temporarily caretake her widowed brother's children, she was flying blind, relying on untried instincts to guide her. Until help arrived in the unlikely form of brazen bush pilot Zach McKendrick…whose granite shoulders and mesmerizing maleness marked him a force of nature Lauren hadn't bargained for.No woman alive could resist Zach's tenderness with the motherless tykes–or the haunting hunger in his quicksilver eyes. Zach evoked longings Lauren had all but abandoned–for marriage, for motherhood. But would this wounded lone wolf ever seek the warmth of hearth and home–or safely settle for tending another man's children?
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Something about Lauren bothered Zach, set him on edge.
She was undeniably attractive. But the polished look about her screamed high maintenance. Pretty to look at, cold to hold.
Still, there’d been no mistaking the heat that jolted through him when he’d met her clear blue eyes or breathed in her fresh scent. Her skin had felt like soft, warm satin, and before he’d pulled back from their handshake, he could have sworn she was trembling. That she’d flinched.
He was accustomed to the reaction. Which was why it had been longer than he cared to remember since he’d held a woman. Why he devoted hours to rebuilding the old fighter plane that was as battered and scarred as he was.
He’d finally found a degree of contentment living in this wildly beautiful, isolate place.
And now Lauren Edwards was threatening that fragile peace….
Dear Reader,
International bestselling author Diana Palmer needs no introduction. Widely known for her sensual and emotional storytelling, and with more than forty million copies of her books in print, she is one of the genre’s most treasured authors. And this month, Special Edition is proud to bring you the exciting conclusion to her SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE series. The Last Mercenary is the thrilling tale of a mercenary hero risking it all for love. Between the covers is the passion and adventure you’ve come to expect from Diana Palmer!
Speaking of passion and adventure, don’t miss To Catch a Thief by Sherryl Woods in which trouble—in the form of attorney Rafe O’Donnell—follows Gina Petrillo home for her high school reunion and sparks fly…. Things are hotter than the Hatfields and McCoys in Laurie Paige’s When I Dream of You—when heat turns to passion between two families that have been feuding for three generations!
Is a heroine’s love strong enough to heal a hero scarred inside and out? Find out in Another Man’s Children by Christine Flynn. And when an interior designer pretends to be a millionaire’s lover, will Her Secret Affair lead to a public proposal? Don’t miss An Abundance of Babies by Marie Ferrarella—in which double the babies and double the love could be just what an estranged couple needs to bring them back together.
This is the last month to enter our Silhouette Makes You a Star contest, so be sure to look inside for details. And as always, enjoy these fantastic stories celebrating life, love and family.
Best,
Karen Taylor Richman
Senior Editor
CHRISTINE FLYNN
admits to being interested in just about everything, which is why she considers herself fortunate to have turned her interest in writing into a career. She feels that a writer gets to explore it all and, to her, exploring relationships—especially the intense, bittersweet or even lighthearted relationships between men and women—is fascinating.
Contents
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 One
Lauren Edwards stood in the living room of her brother’s rambling log cabin, feeling completely out of place in her panty hose and business suit, and scanned the list her mother had left her.
She didn’t know if she should simply be concerned, or go straight for panic.
For the next week, she would be responsible for her niece and nephew while Sam, her brother, was at work. She adored Jenny and Jason. And she wanted very much to help her brother. She just hadn’t been around the toddlers that much. She hadn’t been around many children at all, for that matter, which was why she’d asked her mom to leave a checklist.
Dubiously eyeing item number two, “Keep out of reach anything that can be stuffed into a facial orifice,” she had to admit she hadn’t considered that their daily routine and the list of dos and don’ts would take up three full sheets of a legal-size pad.
Drawing a breath that brought the scent of burning pine from the stone fireplace behind her, she reached for the handle of her travel bag so she could change into something more comfortable. She was sure it was only because she was still in the process of shifting mental gears that the task ahead of her suddenly seemed so daunting. Only hours ago, she’d been in a meeting in Seattle trying to maintain polite professionalism when what she’d really wanted to do was grin like an idiot because she’d finally made the shortlist for a store of her own.
It was hardly a sure thing, and managing a Brenman’s department store wasn’t going to save a rain forest or cure the common cold, but she’d worked desperately for this promotion. For the past two years, she’d sacrificed evenings, weekends and her social life to prove that she could handle the responsibility—which was why now had not been a good time to tell Andrew Nye, her boss, that she needed to take time off. Andy, who happened to be in line for promotion to the new store Brenman’s was opening himself, lived, ate and breathed retailing. Anyone under him who expected to get anywhere in the company had to regard it as their sole reason for existence, too.
