Child of Her Dreams
How can she love him? He doesn't take her seriously!Hainesville, Washington, might not be glamorous, but it's the place supermodel Geena Hanson wants to be after she collapses on a Milan runway and has a near-death experience that sends her back into life with the promise of having a child.How can he love her? She's seriously offbeat!Dr. Ben Matthews is in Hainesville filling in for the local family physician. A man of science if ever there was one, Ben couldn't be more different from warm and intuitive Geena, his temporary receptionist.Opposites attract? Geena and Ben certainly do. The swift attraction blossoms and love looks as if it will endure.Until Ben's brother goes missing and Geena tries to comfort Ben with what happened to her "on the other side"…
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“Are you still hung up on this near-death thing?” Ben said
“It’s not a hang-up. After reading about other people’s experiences, I’m more convinced than ever that it’s real. So don’t tell me I’m talking rubbish,” Geena shot back.
“I wouldn’t dare, but there are facts you should be aware of…. Apparently when the brain is starved for oxygen the neurons that deal with vision fire at random, creating the sensation of bright light. Because more neurons are at the center of our visual field and fewer at the edges, you get a tunneling effect.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand.”
“I’m trying to help you understand. All these so-called paranormal incidents can be explained scientifically.”
She slung her bag over her shoulder. “Science doesn’t have all the answers, Dr. Ben Matthews. Open your mind. You might be surprised at what flows in.”
And then she was gone, hurrying around the corner. Ben gazed after her, shaking his head. Just when he thought he was beginning to know her, just when they were beginning to connect, some damn thing would blow up in their faces. If it wasn’t her modeling, it was her near-death experience. Baby-sitting for a relative stranger, believing in the paranormal…studying algebra?
Who the hell was Geena Hanson, anyway?
Dear Reader,
Tales of near-death experiences have long fascinated me. Whether you believe they are a spiritual journey or merely the result of a lack of oxygen to the brain, there is no doubt that for many who undergo this profound experience, it is life altering. Among other things, love, in all its forms, becomes a reason for existence. As a romance writer, this seems to me only natural.
When supermodel Geena Hanson experiences near death after collapsing on a runway during a fashion show, she’s no longer content with her materialistic lifestyle. Change is difficult and scary, but her newfound reverence for life helps her grow. When she falls in love with Dr. Ben Matthews, their opposing beliefs cause them to challenge each other on every level. Their conflict comes to a head over a young boy with cancer, whom they’ve both grown to love.
Child of Her Dreams is the second of three linked books about the Hanson sisters of Hainesville, Washington. Previously readers met Geena’s eldest sister, Erin, in Child of His Heart.
I love to hear from readers. Please write me at P.O. Box 234, Point Roberts, Washington 98281-0234, or send me an e-mail at www.superauthors.com.
Joan Kilby
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
While researching Child of Her Dreams I read, watched and listened to everything I could find on near-death experiences. Two items were particularly helpful: the book Transformed by the Light: Life after Near-Death Experiences by Cherie Sutherland, and the BBC series The Human Body, done by Robert Winston.
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
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
“BREATHE IN, signorina.”
Geena sucked in her stomach, and the Italian seamstress wielded needle and thread to take a tuck at the waist of her ivory silk creation. Holding her breath made Geena feel even fainter; she hadn’t eaten for two days in preparation for the launch of a new collection of Milan’s hottest designer.
Throbbing techno music swirled through the dressing room as models returned from the catwalk, hurriedly stripping off one set of clothes in exchange for another. Geena’s tightly strung nerves jittered with the warring effects of too many pills and too little food and sleep. She reached for another cigarette.
Lydia, her agent, glided over and ran a hand down Geena’s back, pinching as though testing for flab. Penciled eyebrows lowered under a fringe of jet-black hair. “You look…fabulous, darling.”
Geena tweaked the strands of her waifish coif and shook her head in self-disgust. “I need to lose five pounds before the Paris show.”
“You seem on edge, Geena.” Lydia eased the cigarette from between Geena’s fingers and took a drag. “I’ve got plenty of girls for Paris if you want some time off at a Swiss spa.”
Geena’s heart raced at the thinly veiled suggestion that she wasn’t needed. “I’m fine. Honestly.”
“Think about it,” Lydia said, blowing smoke over her shoulder as she drifted off to another client.
Geena’s worried gaze followed her agent in the mirror. If Lydia wasn’t insisting on her coming to Paris, if Lydia wanted her to take time out to go to a spa, Geena must be overweight. Maybe even on her way out.
Glancing at her image, she saw haunted blue eyes shrouded in gray and purple eyeshadow. Maybe Lydia wanted to replace her with some dewy-skinned teenager. At twenty-eight Geena was getting old to be a supermodel.
She was aware suddenly that her breathing was shallow and her rapidly beating heart had taken on an irregular rhythm. Please, no, not palpitations now; she was due on the runway in seconds.
She gulped air, trying to fill her lungs, scrabbled in her tote bag for a vial of pills and swallowed two with a gulp of mineral water. This was crazy. Forget Paris; after Milan she needed a break. After pushing her feet into a pair of four-inch heels, she made her way to the stage entrance.
