The Bachelor's Baby Dilemma

“Don’t worry. You’re going to be okay.”

“And so are you. With your niece, I mean.”

Tanner smiled. “We’re always telling each other that everything will be all right.”

“So it seems.” Candy wanted to wrap her arms around him and indulge herself in a body-warming hug. But they’d yet to embrace, and this wasn’t the time to start. She knew better than to risk it, especially when the mystery of his bedroom was just around the bend.

“I chose a magical horse for you to ride today,” he said, drawing her into a new conversation.

“Magical?”

“A white horse. All she needs is a sparkly gold horn to look like a unicorn.”

“Unicorns were my girlish obsession.” She thought about the stress associated with her youth, the perfection that had been expected of her. “Sometimes I used to imagine disappearing into a world of make-believe and never coming back.”

“Now’s your chance. For a few hours, anyway.”

“What’s the mare’s name?”

“Enchanted.”

“That’s beautiful, Tanner.” It was as close to magic as a grown-up girl like Candy could get.

Family Renewal: Sometimes all it takes is a second chance.

The Bachelor’s Baby Dilemma

Sheri WhiteFeather

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SHERI WHITEFEATHER is an award-winning, bestselling author. She writes a variety of romance novels for Mills & Boon and has become known for incorporating Native American elements into her stories. She has two grown children who are tribally enrolled members of the Muscogee Creek Nation. She lives in California and enjoys shopping in vintage stores and visiting art galleries and museums. Sheri loves to hear from her readers at www.sheriwhitefeather.com.

Contents

Cover

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

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

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Candy McCall didn’t want to sell her house. It was her dream home, her Southern California sanctuary, and she was going to miss it when she was gone.

Of course it hadn’t sold yet. She hadn’t even gotten any offers. That might change today, though. A potential buyer was on his way. And of all things, she’d discovered that it was someone from her past. Her very first boyfriend, in fact. A man named Tanner Quinn. She hadn’t seen him since they were teenagers or kept track of his whereabouts, but they had a mutual friend who’d referred him to her.

She’d spoken to him briefly on the phone and learned that he owned a place called T.Q.’s Riding Academy and Stables. Oh, and that if he was interested in her house, it would be a cash sale.

She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer. A cash sale was just what she needed to get out of this mess. She was in such a dire financial situation she couldn’t even afford to use a Realtor.

But how strange was this going to be, showing her house to Tanner? She was actually nervous about seeing him.

Just as she opened her eyes, the doorbell rang.

She rushed to answer the summons, then gazed at the man on her porch. Heaven almighty. That six-foot-three frame. Those slate-gray eyes. He would be around her age, thirty-four or so now, and although he’d grown up and filled out, she would know him anywhere.

With his short black hair slicked away from his handsomely chiseled face, he made quite the dashing figure. He wore a classic ensemble of English riding gear. Clearly, he’d just come from work. Or a polo match. Or something where wicked boots were required.

Neither of them spoke. They just kept staring at each other, with awkward smiles, trying to get used to this hasty reunion.

He finally said, “Well, hello, Candy Sorensen.”

“Hello, yourself. But for the record, I’m Candy McCall now,” she reminded him.

“Oh, that’s right. Your married name.”

“Yes.” She paused and uncomfortably added, “But as I mentioned on the phone, I’m divorced now.” The dissolution of her marriage was a painful topic, but she couldn’t very well behave as if she was still a doe-eyed wife. Changing the subject, she gestured to the doorway. “Do you want to come in?”

She stepped back to allow him entrance, and he crossed the threshold, looking like the horseman that he was. She wasn’t surprised that he made his living in the equestrian industry. He’d always worked around horses, except that he’d been more of the cowboy type when he was younger.

Then again, she didn’t doubt he would be just as comfortable in Wrangler jeans and a Stetson as he was in a button-down shirt and breeches, or that he still rode Western-style.

Trying to keep a professional air, she took a deep breath, preparing to treat him like the potential buyer he was. But he wasn’t glancing around her living room or paying attention to the house he’d come to see.

Instead, he swept his gaze over her. “You sure as hell look good. But you always did.”

“Yes, picture-perfect me.” There went her professionalism. She made a doll-like motion, mocking herself. Candy was a long, lean, leggy brunette who’d spent her youth parading around in beauty pageants and hating every second of it.