The Daddy Dilemma
Could she have found her little boy? Six years ago, Sara Hobart helped a childless couple create their own miracle. Now she needed one of her own. All her instincts were telling her she was Kyle Barclay’s birth mother. Only one thing stood in the way of her answers: Kyle’s widowed father.Ever since his wife had died, Nathan had tried to be the best parent he could to five-year-old Kyle. Then this gorgeous, sensual stranger showed up. Legally, Sara had no claim on his son. But could he keep her from the little boy who already adored her? That went double for Nathan, who was suddenly yearning to go from single dad to devoted family man…
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“I have to protect Kyle.”
Nathan ran a hand across his forehead.
“What are you protecting him from? If I am Kyle’s mother, I’m going to want to spend more time with him. I want him to know who I am. How will you handle that? Will you try to shut me out of his life or include me in it?”
The more he studied Sara’s features, the more Nathan saw Kyle’s. “I don’t have the answer, Sara, not now, not yet. There’s no point jumping ahead of ourselves.”
“I’d like to know where my life is going and what I can expect next.”
He recognised that desire. “There’s no way to plan for the unexpected and you know it.”
He saw the uncertainty of the situation was shaking her world. There was nothing he could do about that.
He just hoped it didn’t shake his, too.
KAREN ROSE SMITH
Award-winning and bestselling author Karen Rose Smith has seen over sixty novels published since 1991. Living in Pennsylvania with her husband – who was her college sweetheart – and their two cats, she has been writing full-time since the start of her career. Lately, in addition to writing, she has been crafting jewellery with her husband. She finds designing necklaces and bracelets relaxing enough to let her mind weave plots while she’s beading! Readers can receive updates on Karen’s latest releases and write to her through her website at www.karenrosesmith.com or at PO Box 1545, Hanover, PA 17331, USA.
Dear Reader,
When I develop a hero, I create the type of man I would choose as a life partner. My three heroes in this series – the Barclay brothers – have many qualities in common. They feel deeply, although they don’t always show it. They will not hesitate to go out of their way to protect the people they love. They long to be fathers so they can share their view of the world as well as the love their family has given them.
But Nathan, Sam and Ben Barclay also have individual personalities. Once a financial analyst, now an innkeeper, Nathan takes life and fatherhood seriously. A veterinarian, Sam loves animals as well as kids and uses his sense of humour to make a point. Ben, a district attorney, although cynical at times, wants good to prevail.
Which hero do you prefer? After you read the series, I’d like to know.
Readers can e-mail me through my website at www.karenrosesmith.com or write to me at PO Box 1545, Hanover, PA 17331, USA.
I hope you enjoy reading my mini-series as much as I enjoyed writing it.
All my best,
Karen Rose Smith
To my aunt Rose Marie, who has made
Minnesota her home. Love, Karen.
Prologue
She was going to save her mother’s life.
As Sara Hobart lay on the surgical center gurney, she knew she’d done the right thing. She’d had no choice.
Her friend Joanne, who worked at the fertility clinic, sat by her bed, her black ringlets tumbling around her face as she declared vehemently, “No one should be denied treatment because they can’t afford to pay. With the ten thousand for donating your eggs, you’ll have enough to give the hospital to go through with your mother’s transplant. Right?”
“Along with the fund-raising money, we’ll have enough. We can tell her doctor to begin treatment. Thank you so much for helping me. For being here today. I never thought I’d do anything like this—” Emotion tightened Sara’s throat. Her mom deserved every chance to prolong her life, and Sara would do anything in her power to make it happen.
Joanne patted Sara’s hand. “You’re not only helping your mom, you’re giving a childless couple a chance to conceive. Your eggs are going to a worthy recipient.”
Of course her friend couldn’t divulge the names of the people she’d be helping. The couple’s criteria had been simple: eggs from a healthy woman, twenty-eight or younger, with a 1300+ SAT score. A law student, Sara had fit the bill. When Joanne had given her the idea, it had been a godsend.
“The couple you’re donating to already had two in vitro attempts that failed,” Joanne further explained.
Sara never would have considered going through this procedure if her mother hadn’t gotten ill. But bone marrow transplant treatment was considered experimental with her mom’s rare blood disorder, and was more expensive than they had ever realized. Although Sara had written appeal letter after appeal letter, the insurance company had denied coverage. Because her mother didn’t have time to wait any longer, Sara had decided the only thing to do was to raise the money herself. Joanne as well as other friends had helped with the fund-raisers in their small town ten miles outside of Minneapolis, but they’d come up thousands short, even for the down payment.
When Sara had been accepted as a donor by the clinic, she’d told her mom, and they’d both cried tears of relief…and of hope. Sara couldn’t imagine a world without her mother in it. She’d never had a father, never had uncles or aunts or cousins. She and her mom only had each other, and were best friends. But Joanne was a very good friend, too. In fact, she was taking the afternoon off to drive her to her apartment.
