Can he cowboy up for fatherhood?
He had no room for love...until now.
After meeting the son he never knew he had, Marcus Palermoâs simple life turns upside down. Complicating things further is Lissa Hart, the boyâs lovely guardian. Sheâll help him become a parentâbut falling for a gruff cowboy is not in her plans. Will she realize her future lies in Bluebonnet Springs with the rugged rancher?
BRENDA MINTON lives in the Ozarks with her husband, children, cats, dogs and strays. She is a pastorâs wife, Sunday-school teacher, coffee addict and sleep deprived. Not in that order. Her dream to be an author for Harlequin started somewhere in the pages of a romance novel about a young American woman stranded in a Spanish castle. Her dreams came true, and twenty-plus books later, she is an author hoping to inspire young girls to dream.
Also By Brenda Minton
Bluebonnet Springs
Second Chance Rancher
The Rancherâs Christmas Bride
The Rancherâs Secret Child
Martinâs Crossing
A Rancher for Christmas
The Rancher Takes a Bride
The Rancherâs Second Chance
The Rancherâs First Love
Her Rancher Bodyguard
Her Guardian Rancher
Lone Star Cowboy League: Boys Ranch
The Rancherâs Texas Match
Lone Star Cowboy League
A Reunion for the Rancher
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
ISBN: 978-1-474-08423-9
THE RANCHERâS SECRET CHILD
© 2018 Brenda Minton
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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âLetâs try to be friends.â
âIâm trying,â Marcus told her in his low, gruff voice. âYou have to give a guy a few days to figure things out and get over feeling like heâs had his legs kicked out from under him.â
âI know.â She pulled her seat belt around and he reached over to click it into place for her. âThank you.â
âIâm not going to take him from you,â he said as they headed down the long driveway back to the main road.
The sting of tears took her by surprise. She wiped at them and when he handed her a handkerchief, she shook her head.
âIâm fine.â
âYeah, of course you are.â He shoved the handkerchief into her hand. âI know he needs you. I know he doesnât need a scarred-up, dysfunctional cowboy for a dad.â
âI think youâre wrong,â she told him.
And the words took her by surprise.
She hadnât expected to like Marcus Palermo...
Dear Reader,
Iâm so glad we were able to spend time together in Bluebonnet Springs, Texas. I hope you enjoyed the Palermo family, Essieâs café and the other characters in this series. I think itâs rather fitting to end the series with the story of Marcus Palermo. He seemed to need a happy-ever-after. Thanks to the arrival of Lissa Hart and a little boy named Oliver, Marcus will find a path to love and happiness.
I think the Palermo family are an example of the healing that comes from finding faith and in not giving up. They were abused, broken and lost, but each of them found a way to take back what was taken and make new lives from the old.
I hope you enjoyed their stories and I hope youâll stick around for my next miniseries. Iâve caught myself singing the song âOklahomaâ around the house recently. Hint hint...
Blessings,
Brenda
It is of the Lordâs mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.