Dad's E-mail Order Bride
The greatest birthday present Rachel Morrison could give her dad, Graham, would be a life. Then she could have one, too. Because running a lodge in Port Protection, Alaska, is totally his dream, not hers. She wants to move back to New York–the most awesome city in the world for a teenage girl.Well, she's about to make that happen.Posing as her dad online, Rachel connects with Courtney Woods–a gorgeous, smart Big Apple ad exec. Perfect! But when Courtney steps off the float plane with a super birthday greeting, Graham isn't feeling the perfection. Okay, so Rachel tricked them into this situation, but they're made for each other. She just has to prove it to them!
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âDo you want to teach your daughter a lesson?â
Courtney cocked her head in Grahamâs direction. âBecause you know the best way to do that would be to beat Rachel at her own game.â
âIâm not sure what you mean,â Graham admitted.
âI think weâve both figured out the reason Iâm here is because Rachel thought if we hit it off, youâd be willing to move back to New York City.â
He snorted. âNot likely to happen.â
âSo what if we let Rachel think her idea worked when she gets home? Except instead of you going to New York, weâll tell her Iâve decided to move to Alaska?â
He threw his head back and laughed. âTo quote Rachelâs favorite expression, she would totally freak out.â
âExactly,â Courtney said with a smile.
Dear Reader,
Like many authors, I also have a day job. One of the things I enjoy about being a dental hygienist is meeting interesting people.
Recently one of my patients married a man sheâd met on an online dating site. The venue she used to meet her Mr. Right wasnât what intrigued me. What intrigued me was that this man lived in a remote part of Alaska.
I thought of the drastic changes she and her teenage daughter would face living in such a secluded place, especially from her daughterâs point of view. Can you imagine telling a teenager she would be living with no shopping malls, no movie theaters, no fast-food andâgaspâno cell phone service?
Thatâs when my inspiration for Dadâs E-mail Order Bride was born. I decided to tell my story from a different angle. Fifteen-year-old Rachel Morrison isnât going to Alaskaâsheâs there with her stubborn widower dad who has no interest in moving back to New York City. Rachelâs goal: pretend to be her dad on an online dating site and find him a wife from New York so heâll have a reason to return to civilization.
Getting to know my characters in this book was great fun for me. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Cheers,
Candy Halliday
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Multipublished romance author Candy Halliday lives in the Piedmont of North Carolina with her husband, a spastic schnauzer named Millie and an impossible attack cat named Flash. Candyâs daughter and son-in-law and her two teenage grandchildren live nearby. Candy loves to hear from readers. Drop her a line at www.candyhalliday.com.
This book is dedicated to the greatest group of dads I know: Tracy Cottingham, Eddie Clark, Chris Patrick, Steve Poe, Matt Miller, John Mathews, Mark Thomas, Mike Simmons and Jon Scott.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks always to my super agent Jenny Bent, and a huge congratulations to Jenny for launching her own literary agency: The Bent Agency.
Immense thanks to my amazing editor, Wanda Ottewell, who has incredible insight and demands the best from me.
All of my love forever to my wonderful family: Blue, Shelli, Tracy, Quint and Caroline.
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 THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER ONE
GRAHAM MORRISON heard the noisy motor long before the floatplane came into view. He stuck his ax into the top of the log heâd been splitting with a loud thwack, removed his gloves and watched the plane circle the cove and make a graceful landing on the water.
Like other homes and establishments in Port Protection, Alaska, the small community was accessible only by boat, or by floatplane. Most people would have found the extreme isolation on the northern tip of Prince of Wales Island unbearable. But never once had Graham regretted coming to Alaska to renovate the fishing lodge his grandfather had left him.
Port Protection was a safe haven.
For himâand for the daughter he was raising alone.
Graham shoved his gloves into the back pocket of his jeans and started down the path to the long dock stretching out below Trailâs End Lodge. His place was always the last stop for the bush pilot on Friday, but today Graham hoped Gil Hargraves wouldnât try to amuse him with any of his escapades.
Women were always Gilâs favorite subject. And Gil never missed an opportunity to remind Graham what he was missing staying secluded in Port Protection where the population was less than one hundred people and where the only single woman in town was in her late seventies and had outlived three husbands.
On Gilâs last trip heâd supposedly been gearing up for an amorous weekend with twin sisters from Anchorage. Other men might enjoy hearing Gil brag about his conquests, but Graham didnât.
Gil was thirty.
He needed to grow up.
The floatplane came to a stop alongside the dock. Gil switched off the loud engine, opened the door and swung himself easily out of the plane. Even Graham could understand why he didnât have a problem with the ladies. Gil was better looking than most guys, kept in shape, and Graham had heard his fifteen-year-old daughter refer to Gil more than once as wickedly hot.
