Little Annie Smith had just been the victim of an armed bank robbery and was in need of protection. The problem was, she wasnât so little anymore. And Griffin Chase, self-proclaimed guardian, had just watched her throw her bra out the window of his car!
âAre you okay?â Annie asked, once the task was completed.
âI was just wondering about the, uh, this sudden need to divest yourself of, uhâ¦â Griffin stuttered.
She laughed, a delicious, free little giggle that would have reassured him if heâd ever imagined that quiet Annie Smith, the housekeeperâs daughter, could make such a sound.
âOh, Griffin,â she said. âIâm just tired of waiting.â
Waiting for what?
âFrom now on, my life is never going to be the same!â
Cold prickles gathered force at the nape of Griffinâs neck. Though heâd never considered himself a superstitious man, he suddenly had the terrible feeling his life would never be the same, eitherâ¦.
Dear Reader,
When Patricia Kay was a child, she could be found hiding somewhereâ¦reading. âEver since I was old enough to realize someone wrote books and they didnât just magically appear, I dreamed of writing,â she says. And this month Special Edition is proud to publish Patriciaâs twenty-second novel, The Millionaire and the Mom, the next of the STOCKWELLS OF TEXAS series. She admits it isnât always easy keeping her ideas and her writing fresh. What helps, she says, is ânonwritingâ activities, such as singing in her church choir, swimming, taking long walks, going to the movies and traveling. âStaying well-rounded keeps me excited about writing,â she says.
We have plenty of other fresh stories to offer this month. After finding herself in the midst of an armed robbery with a gun to her back in Christie Ridgwayâs From This Day Forward, Annie Smith vows to chase her dreamsâ¦. In the next of A RANCHING FAMILY series by Victoria Pade, Kate McDermot returns from Vegas unexpectedly married and with a Cowboyâs Baby in her belly! And Sally Tyler Hayesâs Magic in a Jelly Jar is what young Luke Morgan hopes for by saving his teeth in a jelly jarâ¦because he thinks that his dentist is the tooth fairy and can grant him one wish: a mother! Also, donât miss the surprising twists in Her Mysterious Houseguest by Jane Toombs, and an exciting forbidden love story with Barbara Benedictâs Solution: Marriage.
At Special Edition, fresh, innovative books are our passion. We hope you enjoy them all.
Best,
Karen Taylor Richman
Senior Editor
For my big brother, Matt.
Maybe itâs not as tasty as my chocolate-chip cookies, but it is another way of letting you know I love you.
considered herself a writer from that first haiku (about the sound of footsteps in the rain) she wrote in second grade. She became a romance writer in the sixth grade, when she penned a series of love stories starring herself and the teen idol of the time. She turned published author after marrying the love of her life and having two sons. Now she lives in Southern California, where she writes, wifes and mothers. She prefers not to say which one comes first, but they are all vitally important to her. When she isnât concocting a new story or concocting some way to sneak vegetables into fish sticks and apple-sauce, she makes time to volunteer in her boysâ school. Finally, for her sanity, she always finds a way to curl up with a good book.
You may contact her at P.O. Box 3803, La Mesa, CA 91944.
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
Annie Smith shuffled a half step forward in the long Friday-morning teller-line at her branch of the Strawberry Bay Savings and Loan. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a harried-looking woman in a silk blouse and business suit speed around the corner from the entry doors, then skid to a halt just millimeters before her nose smacked into Annieâs half-turned shoulder.
Annie had been the last in line. Now the harried woman was, and she didnât look very happy about it.
âUnh,â the woman grunted in annoyance. âI just hate waiting, donât you?â
Annie quickly murmured a polite noise and spun to face completely forward, unwilling to confess her one guilty secret.
She didnât mind waiting.
Of course, not if it was a line for the ladiesâ room or not if she was on her way somewhere important. But as the owner of a small, but growing catering business, and as a twenty-four-year-oldâalmost twenty-fiveâsingle woman, she was a ship under her own steam and her own schedule.
And the fact was, this ship was pretty content to wait her turn. Annie liked watching the other people in line, dreaming up their occupations and lifestyles, amusing herself with their âCandid Cameraâ-worthy reactions to the frustrations of using the bank-supplied pens.
Annie tightened her hold on her handful of checks ready for depositing. Sheâd signed her name and written her account number with her own trusty Bic.