âIâm Ryanâs father. I should have been there.â
Hating the look of guilt haunting her eyes, Derrick reached out and pressed his hand over hers. âBri, this is not your fault.â He scraped a hand over his jaw. âAnd if Iâd known about the baby, I would have been there.â
âDerrickââ
âNo, Bri. Itâs true and you know it. If I had known, I could have stopped these maniacs from kidnapping my son.â
Confusion muddled his brain, panic over where his son was making his throat tight. But Derrick wouldnât let fear consume him.
Heâd find Ryan no matter what. And heâd be the father the boy deserved.
His Secret Christmas Baby
Rita Herron
To Linda Howard, a special friend of my sisterâs and now one of mine. Thanks for all your fabulous stories at the mountain cabin in Blue Ridge, and for being a fan!
Hope you enjoy this one!
Award-winning author Rita Herron wrote her first book when she was twelve, but didnât think real people grew up to be writers. Now she writes so she doesnât have to get a real job. A former kindergarten teacher and workshop leader, she traded her storytelling to kids for romance, and now she writes romantic comedies and romantic suspense. She lives in Georgia with her own romance hero and three kids. She loves to hear from readers so please write her at P.O. Box 921225, Norcross, GA 30092-1225, or visit her Web site at www.ritaherron.com.
Brianna Honeycutt âA social worker at Magnolia Manor; her adopted son Ryan is missingâ¦.
Derrick McKinney âHeâll do anything he can to find the missing child, especially now he knows the baby is his.
Ryan Cummings âThe infant has become Briannaâs whole world. Why would anyone want to kidnap an innocent baby?
Natalie Cummings âRyanâs birth mother died after childbirthâwas it natural causes or was she murdered?
Dana and Robert Philips âThey desperately wanted a babyâcould they have kidnapped Ryan?
Rhoda Hampton âShe recently suffered her third miscarriageâdid she take Ryan to replace the baby she lost?
Principal Lamont Billings âDoes he know more than heâs telling about Natalieâs death?
Evan Rutherford âTeacher and high school football coachâdoes he know who is behind the meth lab?
Jameson Mansfield âThe town lawyer who handles adoptions: Does he know something about the missing baby?
Dr. Houston Thorpe âDid he lie about Natalieâs cause of death?
Sheriff Beau Cramer âHe dated Natalie. But is he covering up her murder?
Mark Larimer âA nurse at the local hospitalâdid he kill Natalie and kidnap the baby to keep his long-time secret about the meth lab?
Ace Atkins âIs this tough kid from Magnolia Manor responsible for the meth lab?
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
âBrianna, Iâm afraid. If anything happens to me,â Natalie Cummings whispered, âpromise me that youâll take care of the baby.â
âNothing is going to happen to you.â Brianna Honeycutt squeezed her best friendâs hand as she pulled into the hospital emergency room entrance.
Another contraction seized Natalie, and she began the Lamaze breathing exercises, her hold on Briannaâs hand tightening painfully. âHe, he, heâho.â
Brianna breathed with her, grateful theyâd finally made it to the hospital. A winter storm had rolled in, snow flurries blurring visibility, and sheâd had to drive at a snailâs pace. And Natalieâs contractions were coming one on top of the other.
She threw the car into park as the contraction eased, and helped Natalie out, but Natalie clutched her hand again. âPromise me, Bri, I need to hear you say it.â
Pain and fear darkened Natalieâs eyes, and Briannaâs stomach clenched. Sheâd known Natalie was afraid of childbirth, but her voice quivered with terror.
âOf course, I will,â Brianna vowed softly. âBut youâre going to be fine. A few minutes from now, youâll be holding your baby, and youâll forget all about the pain.â
Natalie opened her mouth to say something, but another contraction seized her. She pressed her hand to her stomach, and tried to breathe through it.
Suddenly a nurse and orderly appeared and raced toward them. âSheâs in labor,â Brianna stated.
The nurse called for a wheelchair, and the orderly ran to get it. Brianna followed behind her as they wheeled Natalie to the reception desk to check her in.
Then suddenly Natalie cried out in pain, her water broke and chaos descended.
âIâm her labor coach,â Brianna informed as they rushed Natalie through the double doors to the exam room.
âWeâll come and get you in a moment,â the nurse said over her shoulder. âLet the doctor examine her.â