Healing Her Boss's Heart

Daring to love again...

When handsome surgeon Jack Hanson returns home, he’s not looking for love. His guilt over his wife’s death means he’s never going to risk his heart again! But feisty new employee Carrie Kellem can’t help but intrigue him...

Carrie’s tough childhood has made her independent; she doesn’t need anyone! Until she meets Jack... And suddenly Carrie wishes she wasn’t alone. Can she help Jack to let go of the past and see that he has a future with her?

Carrie responded to his kiss and kissed him back every bit as hard as he kissed her.

She twined her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, wanting to feel more of him. Every inch of him. Pressed to her. Instantly igniting her in ways she’d never been ignited before. In ways that totally shocked her.

She’d never felt need like this. Or desire. Or the pure, raw pounding of want. She hadn’t known it existed. And she didn’t know what to do with it other than what she was doing. Kissing him back. Enjoying the sensation of his hands skimming her body...her back, her hips. Enjoying the sensation of the arousal she could feel pressing against her pelvis.

She would have taken more. Much more. Everything. His kisses, his passion, his body. And she would have returned the same. But all too soon he broke away from it, stepped back and simply stared at her.

“I suppose I should apologize for that,” Jack said finally. “It wasn’t appropriate.”

Dear Reader,

Welcome back to Marrell, Montana. It’s a wide-open place where dreams come true. At least for Carrie Kellem and Jack Hanson.

When I think of Montana so many possibilities come to mind. The beautiful landscape, the friendly people and the Native American heritage. I’ve brought some of that heritage to this story—though not from my own background. It’s a rich history of an amazing people who have endured, and still endure, many hardships to maintain their identity. The tribe I chose was Salish. Mine is Cherokee.

In Healing Her Boss’s Heart, trying to find their identity is what Carrie and Jack are doing. They’re struggling with it—both realising that until they find it they can’t be together. Jack suffers guilt from his past life, while Carrie fights to overcome the disadvantages of hers. Yet they love each other. And in that love they find a way to create a new identity—one that belongs to the two of them together.

I have an old Indian bow on my wall, made by my great-grandfather. It’s not a decoration—it was used for what bows were used for in those days. As a girl, I used that bow for target practice, never realising the significance of it. Now I do, and it’s so much more than just a bow. It’s my heritage. My past. It’s part of what made me who I am.

We all have those things. And my advice is: embrace them. It’s amazing what you’ll discover. It’s amazing what Carrie and Jack discover when they finally embrace their pasts and use that discovery as the beginning of their future.

As always, wishing you health and happiness!

Dianne

Starting with non-fiction, DIANNE DRAKE penned hundreds of articles and seven books under the name JJ Despain. In 2001 she began her romance-writing career with The Doctor Dilemma. In 2005 Dianne’s first Medical Romance, Nurse in Recovery, was published, and with more than 20 novels to her credit she has enjoyed writing ever since.

Books by Dianne Drake

Mills & Boon Medical Romance

Deep South Docs A Home for the Hot-Shot Doc A Doctor’s Confession

Doctor, Mummy...Wife?

The Nurse and the Single Dad Saved by Doctor Dreamy

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

Healing Her Boss’s Heart

Dianne Drake

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Bella. A cherished companion dog.

Praise for Dianne Drake

‘This is a classic romance...a lovely story which I heartily recommend.’

—Harlequin Junkie on The Nurse and the Single Dad

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Praise

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“YOU’RE FROM CHICAGO. Why would you choose us?” Dr. Jack Hanson stared at the blonde beauty sitting across the desk from him. She had a good physique to her. Well muscled. Looked strong. Tall. All of it suited for his program. And if facial expressions gave anything away, hers did. It screamed determination. This was one no-nonsense woman and, while he wasn’t interested in the woman part, he was certainly intrigued by the no-nonsense.

In fact, in his own personal notes, when he’d been asked to do the recruiting for his class, the first qualification he’d listed had been no-nonsense. That, in his opinion, was a God-given trait. The rest of it could be trained into the candidates.

“The timing worked out. As I stated in my cover letter, I was asked to take a leave of absence, which may well turn into a permanent leave, and since I wasn’t doing anything else, this seemed like the place for me to be. An opportunity to learn something new, maybe refocus my efforts in a new direction. That’s what I do in my life, Doctor. I look for ways to move forward.”