The Family She Needs
And doctor makes three…Nurse Karina Brown only has room in her heart for one guy: four-year-old Mickey. Running a small-town surgery and looking after a little boy with Down syndrome isn't easy, but Katrina wouldn't have it any other way.Until Mickey's co-guardian, gorgeous Dr. Logan Pascale, moves into their home–determined to sell up! His heart is on lockdown but soon, united in their love for Mickey, Logan and Karina are falling for each other, too! Can Karina persuade Logan that everything he needs is right under her roof…already?
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‘The Gift of a Child by Sue MacKay is a deeply emotional, heart-rending story that will make you smile and make you cry. I truly recommend it—and don’t miss the second book: the story about Max.’
—HarlequinJunkie
‘What a great book. I loved it. I did not want it to end. This is one book not to miss.’
—GoodReads on The Gift of a Child
‘Were you ever hit? Shot, I mean?’ The question was quiet, and filled with a lot of other questions.
‘No.’ Logan straightened and looked directly at Karina. ‘No.’
That wasn’t a lie. A dead hostage was no use to anyone. The guns had been pointed a metre either side of him, the bullets kicking up the dust close enough that he’d felt the grit on his legs, the warning explicit. Don’t think you can get away.
Logan looked deep into Karina’s eyes, saw nothing but her big-hearted concern and felt his heart roll. His finger touched her chin, his thumb slipping over her smooth skin.
‘But you had a bad time?’
‘Yeah, Karina, I did.’
Then he bent and brushed his lips over hers to stop her talking any more. Except the instant his mouth touched hers he had to have more, had to lose himself in her. His arms came up and wrapped around her, hauling her warm, soft body in close against his chilled, frightened one. He could forget the horror while Karina deflected him. He deepened his kiss. Karina returned it, meeting each of his moves with one of her own. Then her arms slid around his neck and pulled him even closer and he felt safe. Warm and cared about and safe.
Many years ago I moved from Auckland to the small rural town of Motueka—talk about a culture shock! But once I got my head around no traffic lights, and all the apples and kiwifruit anyone could wish for growing everywhere, I quickly discovered some of the most wonderful people and made a lifelong friend there.
When I wanted to tip Karina Brown out of her usual Auckland haunts and into somewhere that could nurture her I naturally chose Motueka, and let the locals work their magic on her, too. And then along comes Logan Pascale—and if ever there’s a man who needs help it’s him. Of course it’s Karina who really gets him back on his feet, with her big heart and a ton of love to share.
I hope you enjoy following these two on their journey to happiness.
Cheers!
Sue MacKay
With a background of working in medical laboratories, and a love of the romance genre, it is no surprise that SUE MACKAY writes Mills & Boon® Medical Romance™ stories. An avid reader all her life, she wrote her first story at age eight—about a prince, of course. She lives with her own hero in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds, at the top of New Zealand’s South Island, where she indulges her passions for the outdoors, the sea and cycling.
To Jacqui. Thank you for the keys to your house, a sympathetic ear, lots of advice I mostly ignored, and the best ever parties. It might’ve been a long time ago but I’ve never forgotten.
Table of Contents
Dear Reader
‘I’M AFRAID IT’S a no from this bank, Miss Brown.’ The manager stood abruptly, indicating the interview was over.
Karina gritted her teeth to hold back a sharp retort. Miss Brown? In a town where everyone from millionaires to bag ladies was on first-name terms, she had just been insulted. She’d lived in Motueka for a little under a year but no one called her Miss anything. She was Karina Brown. End of. Had been since the day she’d left Auckland in a blaze of flashing media cameras and pushy reporters shoving microphones in her face as they demanded answers to questions she’d had no intention of answering. The day she’d gone back to her maiden name and left her old life behind to go and reinvent herself.
‘Thank you for your time, Mr Pederson.’ She gave the same back through clamped jaws.
Rising from the chair, she was astonished to feel her legs shaking. Smoothing down her knee-length pencil skirt and tugging her shoulders back tight inside her tailored jacket—not worn since Auckland—Karina strode out of the bank manager’s office with all the aplomb of her old persona. She would not grovel for the money she desperately needed to buy the other half of the house—not yet. Being told no just increased her determination to achieve her goal.
‘How’d that go?’ Rebecca called, only loudly enough for her to hear.
Crossing to her friend, who was more commonly known as Becca, despite her name badge, stationed at the bank’s customer service desk, Karina shook her head. ‘A big fail. Apparently I’m not a good prospect for lending money to.’
Ironic, considering her background. Once upon a time several hundred thousand dollars had been chickenfeed to her. Nowadays she lived on the wages she earned as a nurse at the medical centre she jointly owned in the small rural town of Motueka, far removed from that glamorous life. She had a tiny nest egg, put aside for rainy days, but nothing big enough to buy out Logan Pascale.
