Second-Chance Daddy
When heâs offered a job at Hunterâs Hideaway, single dad Cash Herrera immediately accepts. It means the former bad boy can start over and gain custody of his son, Joey. Still, small-town folk have long memoriesâespecially Cashâs pretty childhood nemesis. Rio Hunter is now a lovely, courageous woman...and Cashâs new boss. Past betrayal makes them both wary, and Rioâs secret promise will soon take her away from Hunter Ridge. Yet working with Cash and teaching Joey about her beloved horses draw her closer to both. Can she create a loving family with the man whoâs claiming her future?
âWe both want to make this transition work.â
Rio slowly nodded, as if not yet convinced. âI guess it wouldnât hurt. Maybe we can try it tomorrow, anyway.â
âThatâs all I ask.â
Her mouth curved. âNot asking much, are you?â
With a sense of elation that heâd won her over, Cash couldnât help but share her smile as they openly studied each other, her mind likely teeming with as many questions about their working relationship as filled his. If he guessed right, this spunky lady kept many a man on his toes these days, and not because they were on guard for an ambush as heâd often been in his youth.
Looking down at her, he caught the soft, quick intake of her breath before she abruptly spun away and started down the trail back to the heart of the Hideaway.
âSee you at sunrise,â she called over her shoulder with a sassy toss of that ponytail, and he shook his head. This might prove to be a longâand interestingâfew months.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for joining me in Arizona mountain country as Cash and Rio journey on a rocky road to a happily ever after!
Cash had struggled through the betrayal of someone heâd loved. Rio, likewise, learned things about herself and the one sheâd given her heart to that left her empty. Both are wounded souls. People who, because of past experiences, question their self-worth and are suspicious of the motives of others. They are people who doubt they deserve love and who desperately need to recognize that the love God offers is not âdeserved,â not âbargained for,â but a free gift because He loves them unconditionally. Donât we all need the kind of love only God can give us through his son Jesus Christ?
If, like Rio, you are in a destructive relationshipâor know someone who isâseek help or encourage them to seek it. While I donât have the background, training or connections to personally help you, there are those who do. Churches, campus counselors, law enforcement, community and faith-based shelters. And never forget God loves you!
You can contact me at Love Inspired Books, 195 Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Or via email at [email protected]. Please stop by loveinspiredauthors.com and Seekerville.blogspot.comâdesignated as one of Writerâs Digest magazineâs 101 Best Websites for Writers. We love readers, too!
Glynna Kaye
GLYNNA KAYE treasures memories of growing up in small Midwestern townsâand vacations spent with the Texan side of the family. She traces her love of storytelling to the times a houseful of great-aunts and great-uncles gathered with her grandma to share candid, heartwarming, poignant and often humorous tales of their youth and young adulthood. Glynna now lives in Arizona, where she enjoys gardening, photography and the great outdoors.
âFor I know the plans I have for you,â declares
the Lord, âplans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.â
âJeremiah 29:11
For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faithâand this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of Godânot by works, so that no one can boast.
âEphesians 2:8â9
To my âSeeker Sistersâ
at seekerville.blogspot.com.
Thank you for over a decade of love,
prayers and encouragement.
God did a beautiful thing
when He brought us together.
Mary Connealy
Janet Dean
Debby Giusti
Audra Harders
Ruth Logan Herne
Pam Hillman
Cara Lynn James
Myra Johnson
Sandra Leesmith
Julie Lessman
Tina Radcliffe
Missy Tippens
Chapter One
âNice try, Grady, but Iâm not buying it.â
Riona âRioâ Hunter confidently shook her head as her older brother pulled a weathered suitcase out of her pickup truck and set it in the gravel at her booted feet. She gave him a serenely sweet smile, knowing his idea of welcoming her back to mountain country Arizona after a weekâs absence at a spiritual retreat would be to try to get her riled. âGrandma Jo wouldnât do something like that behind my back.â
And certainly not right when theyâd gotten word of a potential opportunity for a much-needed financial boost. Tallington Associates, an events coordinating company, would soon be evaluating the family-run Hunterâs Hideaway that catered to outdoor enthusiasts as a possible recommended site for client gatherings. If all went as hoped, that contractor could be arranging bookings for years to come.