âI can be a pretty persuasive guy â¦â
âPersuasive or not, the farm has to stay a farm or Iâm not selling. Thatâs my sticking point,â Jenna insisted.
âHmm ⦠Maybe Iâll just have to try to figure out how to get you unstuck â¦â
âGood luck with that,â she said, impervious to the hint of flirting in his voice.
He laughed. âIt was good to finally meet you, though, Jenna Bowen.â
âYou, too,â Jenna responded.
Good to meet the man who would very likely be instrumental in dashing her late fatherâs one wish?
She wasnât sure how that could be.
âDidnât I tell you?â Meg whispered from beside her as he left. âHeâs nice, isnât he?â
âNice to look at,â was all Jenna would admit, while a part of her acknowledged that she had liked him quite a bit â¦
Dear Reader,
Loss and chaos have shaken Jenna Bowen in the past eleven months. Desperate to find some calm for herself and her fifteen-month-old adopted daughter, sheâs returned to her hometown of Northbridge, Montana, where sheâs sure the last of the chaos will pass and she and Abby can settle into being a family of two.
Ian Kincaid is a dynamic man, raisedâalong with his estranged twin brotherâby a legendary football powerhouse. Ian has spent his life earning his place as the legendâs adopted son.
Jennaâs unfortunate circumstances and Ian doing his fatherâs bidding bring them together. On opposite sides of things, something still manages to click between them and before he knows whatâs hit him, Ian wants Jennaâs family of two to be a family of three. Jenna isnât so sure about that idea. On the other hand, thereâs just something about the man â¦
Come see how it turns out.
Happy reading!
Victoria Pade
âOh, lookâthis is where Mom hid J.J.âs princess costume!â Jenna Bowen exclaimed when she discovered the pint-size, ruffly, flouncy dress in the back of the hall closet she was clearing out.
âI remember that Halloween,â Meg Perry-McKendrick said.
They were both on the floor. Jenna was on her knees scooting in and out of the closet, while her best friend since childhood held a garbage bag and a cardboard box in front of her, awaiting Jennaâs decision about whether what she dragged out went to charity or into the trash.
Jenna sat back on her heels to hold up the costume sheâd just discovered.
âWe were sixteen that year,â Meg continued. âI remember because weâd both had our driverâs licenses for just a few weeks and neither of our parents would let us drive that night for fear we might hit a trick-or-treater. We thought that was crazy. So, since we were sixteen, that would have made J.J. what? Four?â
âFour, right,â Jenna confirmed, quickly calculating the age her much younger sister would have been at the time. âAnd instead of driving around, we ended up taking J.J. out. Rather than saying trick or treat at every door she regally stood thereââ
âJust waiting to be given her due,â Meg concluded as they both laughed at the shared memory.
âShe was so cute,â Jenna said affectionately. âBut Mom couldnât get her out of this thing even after Halloween. Sheâd only change into her princess pajamas to go to bed at night. Mom would wash the costume while J.J. was asleep, hoping sheâd get tired of wearing it the next day. But by Christmas, Mom couldnât take it anymore, and one morning when J.J. went looking for it, Mom said the washing machine had eaten it. I always figured she just threw it away, but apparently, she hid it in here.â
âShe was probably afraid J.J. would refuse to wear anything at all if she couldnât have the costume, so sheâd better keep it, just in case. Thatâs what Iâd do if it were Tia.â
Tia was the daughter of Megâs new husband.
âJ.J. did spend that whole day in the house, in her pajamas,â Jenna said. âMom and Dad were worried she was going to start wearing those night and day, because one way or another, she insisted that she was a princess.â
âJ.J. always was strong willed and determined,â Meg recalled.
Because sheâd been around Jennaâs house so much growing up, Meg knew the goings-on in the Bowen family as well as Jenna did. Jenna was packing up her family home, and since Meg had some free Saturday afternoon time, sheâd come by to help.
With that bit of reminiscence over, Meg said, âShall we save the costume for Abby? Think sheâll take her turn at wanting to be a princess, too?â
âI have to streamline, remember?â Jenna answered. âThat means, get rid of everything that isnât necessary, because I wonât have room for more than Abby and I need. And after so many washings, the costume is pretty worn out. I donât think it can even go in the charity box. Letâs just put it in the trash.â