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The one that got away

Could Kate Rafael’s day get any worse? First she lost her job, then her house burned down and now her ex is back in town. Apparently, Ben McGuffey’s taking a break from being a big-city doctor to help at his family’s tavern and reassess the choices he’s made for his career.

Ben ends up giving Kate a hand…then giving her kisses…and finally, a second chance. But when a local teenager shows them both a glimpse of what it means to be a family, Ben wonders if having kids in small-town Vermont would clash with his ambitions. Or can he truly come home again…to Kate?

“Since you have clothes now,” Ben said, “I might consider taking you out to dinner in Burlington.”

“Well, you know—” Kate inserted the key into the lock and looked up at him. Even in the darkness, she saw the green gleam of his eyes, but she couldn’t read his expression “—you don’t have to do me any favors, Dr. McGuffey.” She didn’t know whether to laugh or not.

His hand covered hers before she could get the door unlocked. “Oh, come on, Katy.”

“Come on where?” she said, the words and her breath both catching in her throat at once so that she squeaked when she spoke.

“It wouldn’t be a favor, unless it was to me,” he said, turning her so that his arms surrounded her. “Don’t you ever wonder?” he asked, pulling her close. And closer. “What would be the same between us? What would be different?”

Then he kissed her.

Dear Reader,

I have lived in Indiana my entire life. This is fine with me—it’s home and I love it here. I also love traveling, and my favorite place to go is Vermont. Since our younger son and his family lived there for fifteen years, I got to go at least once a year. Every time I went—especially after the grandkids came along—it was like going home.

On one visit a piece of a story and a couple of people I hadn’t met before decided to keep me and my notepad awake one night. I love second chances both in books and in real life, so when high school sweethearts Kate and Ben introduced themselves and their Northeast Kingdom hometown, I was compelled to follow along. To see how the guy who really wanted to be a world-class skier ended up as a doctor, and the girl who only wanted to be a mom never became one.

Then, just when I thought things were falling into place, Jayson Phillip Connor entered the picture. Sixteen, with Down syndrome, a penchant for juice boxes and a great, loving heart, Jayson changed everyone he met.

I hope you enjoy finding out how.

Liz Flaherty

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Liz Flaherty

www.millsandboon.co.uk

LIZ FLAHERTY

retired from the post office and promised to spend at least fifteen minutes a day on housework. Not wanting to overdo things, she’s since pared that down to ten. She spends nonwriting time sewing, quilting and doing whatever else she wants to. She and Duane, her husband of…oh, quite a while...are the parents of three and grandparents of the Magnificent Seven. They live in the old farmhouse in Indiana they moved to in 1977. They’ve talked about moving, but really…thirty-seven years’ worth of stuff? It’s not happening!

She’d love to hear from you at [email protected].

For the Wednesday Women.

We’ve known each other since we all knew what our natural hair color was, couldn’t write our names in cursive and had no idea where we would find our happily-ever-afters. We’ve gone from passing notes in elementary school to comparing pictures of grandchildren, mourned each other’s losses and cheered every success. If we don’t see each other for ten years or so, we have no problem picking up right where we left off.

Thanks for the friendship. See you at lunch.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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

EPILOGUE

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

“TWENTY YEARS,” KATE Rafael lifted her glass and squinted at its contents. “I went to Schuyler and Lund straight out of high school. Just to work a year before college, you know, because I was going to be a nurse. A four-year-degree one—I could have learned to stop fainting at the sight of blood. Really I could. And then I was going to marry Ben and have four children. You know, two boys and two girls like you did only my boys were going to be older than the girls.”

Penny Elsbury listed to one side and sat up straight on the bar stool in her kitchen. “Is it just me or is it getting really tired in here?”

Kate frowned at Penny. “I’m not tired. It must just be you.”

“And they let you go why? Nobody ever bled there, so they didn’t know about your problem.” Penny squinted at her glass, too, then gave Kate a confused look that would have been funny if Kate had been sober. Which she wasn’t exactly.