The Maverick Who Ruled Her Heart

‘Susan Carlisle pens her romances beautifully … HOT-SHOT DOC COMES TO TOWN is a book that I would recommend not only to Medical Romance fans but to anyone looking to curl up with an angst-free romance about taking chances and following your heart.’

—HarlequinJunkie.com on HOT-SHOT DOC COMES TO TOWN

Small beach towns have always held a fascination for me. I’ve often wondered what it would be like to live in one year-round, to watch the crowds come and go, or to have seventy-degree weather when others are living in zero during the winter months. What I haven’t wanted to experience is a hurricane, which is also part of residing along the Gulf coast. Still, people choose to live and love in these towns where they might lose everything to Mother Nature.

My characters, Jordon and Kelsey, are a couple of these people. Kelsey has lived in the same tiny town all her life. She wants out. In fact that’s all she can think about. Jordon has moved back to town after being gone for a number of years. It’s the one place where he feels at home. Each sees living in Golden Shores from a vastly different perspective. Only through adversity do they manage to understand how the other feels and find happiness together.

I hope you enjoy Jordon and Kelsey’s story, and the touch of sunshine the Gulf coast brings to it.

I love to hear from my readers. You can contact me at www.SusanCarlisle.com

Susan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Nick

Your mother loves you.

Cover

Praise for Susan Carlisle

Dear Reader

Title Page

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

EPILOGUE

Copyright

JORDON KING COULDN’T decide if he was repulsed or fascinated by the tall, blonde woman with the spiked hair flitting from one table to the next.

She greeted, smiled at and hugged each man as she worked her way around the tables surrounding the dance floor of the Beach Hut Bar and Grill in Golden Shores, Mississippi. Maybe his issue was that she hadn’t given any attention to him. No, that wouldn’t be the reason. Women just weren’t on his agenda right now. Getting his professional life back in order was.

Taking another draw on his drink, he placed the bottle on the bar. What had it been? Fifteen years since he’d been in the Beach Hut? Then he’d been underage and sneaking in with a fake ID. He surveyed the rustic room with high wooden beams darkened from cigarette smoke before the no-smoking ban had been instituted. Very little had changed, bringing back both good and bad memories of the place.

Mark, one of his new colleagues at Golden Shores Regional Hospital, remarked as he looked toward the woman, “Well, it looks like she’s having a good time tonight.”

“Yeah, it looks that way,” Jordon said on a droll note.

“So, how do you like working and living in Golden Shores?” Mark asked.

Jordon chuckled. “Well, I’ve not been here but two days, but so far so good. Thanks for the invite out tonight.”

“No problem. I thought it might be a good way for you to meet a few people from the hospital.”

That was the only reason Jordon had agreed to attend. Even in a small hospital there were people in departments he would never meet if it wasn’t for some event like this. He watched as the blonde made a graceful movement, shifting one hip this way and then another as she made her way through the tight spaces between chairs toward the bar. There was something about her …

“Okay, everyone,” the man on the stage said into the microphone. “It’s time to get this party really started.”

“For this next song I want you to find someone you either don’t know well or don’t know at all and bring them to the dance floor. Let’s mix things up.”

The blonde had been coming toward the bar and made a detour around a group, talking. It brought her out of the last set of chairs directly in front of him as the last of the instructions was given. Her gaze met his.

Never breaking their connection, she stepped up to him and said, “I don’t know you. Want to dance?”

Even in the din her voice sounded low and raspy, like that of one of those old-time movie stars. Her eyes, which were almost too large for her face, watched him with an intensity that made him feel uncomfortable, as if daring him to turn her down.

Jordon shook his head.

She gave him a come-hither smile, crooked her index finger and beckoned him on. Had he met her before?

“No, thank you.”

She stepped closer. “Oh, come on. It’s impolite not to accept someone’s invitation to dance. Besides, you’re the only guy in the place I don’t know.”

Maybe not. She didn’t seem to know him. The woman really was a tease. Maybe the only way to get rid of her was to agree. He took another swig from his bottle and set it down, then nodded. Her smile turned brilliant, as if he’d given her the greatest gift. She headed for the dance floor and he followed.