Reluctant Father
New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer brings readers back to the range with a reader-favorite tale of love, family and cattlemen!Blake Donavan has one nemesis—love. He's spent so many years building a wall between himself and the outside world that he doubts anyone could ever thaw the ice around his heart. But he gets the surprise of a lifetime when a little girl with his green eyes shows up on his doorstep. He's a daddy! What's a rancher to do?Little Sarah is accompanied home by Meredith Calhoun, who isn't so eager to see Blake. Although she was once a thorn in Blake's side, Meredith is now a stunningly beautiful woman. She's spent time away from home and matured, becoming a successful author. But can she melt Blake's hardened heart to create a forever family with the man of her dreams and his newfound daughter?
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New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer brings readers back to the range with a reader-favorite tale of love, family and cattlemen!
Blake Donavan has one nemesis—love. He’s spent so many years building a wall between himself and the outside world that he doubts anyone could ever thaw the ice around his heart. But he gets the surprise of a lifetime when a little girl with his green eyes shows up on his doorstep. He’s a daddy! What’s a rancher to do?
Little Sarah is accompanied home by Meredith Calhoun, who isn’t so eager to see Blake. Although she was once a thorn in Blake’s side, Meredith is now a stunningly beautiful woman. She’s spent time away from home and matured, becoming a successful author. But can she melt Blake’s hardened heart to create a forever family with the man of her dreams and his newfound daughter?
No one can resist a book by Diana Palmer!
“Nobody does it better.”
—New York Times bestselling author Linda Howard
“Palmer knows how to make the sparks fly…
heartwarming.”
—Publishers Weekly on Renegade
“A compelling tale…[that packs]
an emotional wallop.”
—Booklist on Renegade
“Sensual and suspenseful.”
—Booklist on Lawless
“Diana Palmer is a mesmerizing storyteller who
captures the essence of what a romance should be.”
—Affaire de Coeur
“Nobody tops Diana Palmer
when it comes to delivering pure, undiluted romance. I love her stories.”
—New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz
“The dialogue is charming,
the characters likable and the sex sizzling.”
—Publishers Weekly on Once in Paris
DIANA PALMER
has a gift for telling the most sensual tales with charm and humor. With more than 40 million copies of her books in print, Diana Palmer is one of North America’s most beloved authors and considered one of the top ten romance authors in the United States.
Diana’s hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, art, astronomy and music. She has been married to James Kyle for over thirty-five years. They have one son, Blayne, who is married to the former Christina Clayton, and a granddaughter, Selena Marie.
CONTENTS
Will of Steel started out to be a different sort of book altogether, a comedy about a young girl and a police chief who came together because of their respective uncles’ wills. But that isn’t how it turned out, as you will discover.
Authors know that characters tend to take on lives of their own once they are created. You can have a pattern for a book, but the hero and heroine can revise it to their own liking. No, I’m not certifiable: this is actually how the creative process works. So I plot the book, and the characters write it their own way.
Rourke was in Tough to Tame and Dangerous, and he popped up again in this book, with a bit more background. I didn’t invite him, he just came along for the ride. He’s one of those men I can’t get rid of. Cash Grier was another. He’ll get a book of his own down the line, I guess.
Thanks for your support and your kindness, and all the prayers and hugs. I am doing well, although I’m a little less mobile than I used to be. Chronic illness forces changes, not many of them welcome. I am grateful to have loyal fans and laptop computers and a thoughtful husband and understanding family. Those are blessings worth rubies in this world. The most beautiful ruby is my granddaughter, Selena, but I won’t go on about that, although I could!
Much love to all of you, and thanks again for staying around and reading my books. You’re the reason I can’t stop writing them.
Love,
Diana Palmer
For Margaret, with love.
Chapter 1
Blake Donavan didn’t know which was the bigger shock—the dark-haired, unsmiling little girl at his front door or the news that the child was his daughter by his ex-wife.
Blake’s pale green eyes darkened dangerously. It had been a hell of a day altogether, and now this. The lawyer who’d just imparted the information stepped closer to the child.
Blake raked his fingers through his unruly black hair and glared down at the child through thick black lashes. His daughter? The scowl grew and his expression hardened, emphasizing the harsh scar down one lean, tanned cheek. He looked even taller and more formidable than he really was.
“I don’t like him,” the little girl murmured, glaring at Blake as she spoke for the first time. She thrust her lower lip out and moved closer to the lawyer, clinging to his trouser leg. She had green eyes. That fact registered almost immediately—that and her high cheekbones. Blake had high cheekbones, too.
“Now, now.” The tall, bespectacled man cleared his throat. “We mustn’t be naughty, Sarah.”
“My wife,” Blake said coldly, “left me five years ago to take up residence with an oilman from Louisiana. I haven’t seen or heard from her since.”
“If I might come in, Mr. Donavan…?”
He ignored the attorney’s plea. “We only cohabited for a month—just long enough for her to find out that I was up to my neck in legal battles. She cut her losses and got out quick with her new lover.” He smiled crookedly. “She didn’t expect me to win. But I did.”
