The Secret Daughter
Duke Fontaine is dead, but he's left behind a daughter no one knew he had. A daughter who's about to inherit one-third of his estate.Noelani Hana is the secret daughter of Louisiana sugar magnate Duke Fontaine–and the secret sister of his children Casey and Jackson. Their existence is as much of a shock to her as hers is to them.Complying with the terms of his will, Noelani travels to Bellefontaine, the family estate and sugar plantation. She wants nothing more than to collect her share of the inheritance and return home to Hawaii.Three things stop her. One, she'll have to wait for the cane harvest, since the Fontaines are land rich and cash poor. Two, she discovers that they apparently have an enemy willing to sabotage Bellefontaine, and as Noelani is now a member of the family, she, too, becomes a target.And three–she meets Adam Ross. A man who's sweet as sugar, sexy as sin and damn good in a crisis!
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âDamn, damn, damn, damn, damn!â
Adam kicked at the ladder again.
âQuit swearing at the roof and hold still.â
Adam wondered if heâd imagined the woman who appeared to be digging through the honeysuckle below and to the left of his swinging feet.
âAre you hurt?â a low melodic voice inquired.
âA few scrapes,â he muttered. âProbably a bruised rib or two. If you can lift that ladder, sweet thing, chances are Iâll live.â
âChances go down if you call me sweet thing again.â
Adam couldnât see much of his Good Samaritan. But he fell instantly in lust with her sweet-as-sugar voice. Despite a downpour few women of his acquaintance wouldâve ventured out in, this one had come from nowhere, raised his ladder and then climbed a few rungs to guide his feet to safety.
âAreâ¦are you Jackson Fontaine?â she asked, her voice suddenly hesitant.
âIâm Adam Ross. I restore historic homes. Iâm sorry,â he said abruptly. âI didnât catch your name.â
âNoelani. Noelani Hana. Iâmâ¦Duke Fontaine isâ¦â
So this lovely woman was the secret daughter. Dukeâs little indiscretion. The illegitimate Fontaine heir.
Dear Reader,
One of the biggest challenges in writing linked books like the Raising Cane trilogyâespecially a project involving three individual authorsâis finding characters we love to love. Seeing the characters as people youâd want to know and live with for an extended period of time is essential to writing any book. When three writers carry over characters from each otherâs stories, itâs like populating a small town.
Eve Gaddy, K.N. Casper and I met and brainstormed probably twenty scenarios and twice as many possible heroes and heroines before we decided to set our family in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the heart of sugarcane country. Casey and Jackson Fontaine have roots in their ancestral plantation, Bellefontaine, stretching back to the Civil War. Theyâve grown up in the sugarcane business and are itching to prove their worth to a controlling father. When their parents go off on an around-the-world second honeymoon, it seems the perfect opportunity. Except the Fontaine family has enemies and family scandals. Love interests show up, which further complicate their lives. It takes three books to solve the familyâs problems, bring in the crop of sugarcane and unite three sets of lovers. I hope youâll enjoy Caseyâs Gamble, The Secret Daughter and Jacksonâs Girls.
Sincerely,
Roz Denny Fox
P.S. I love to hear from readers at P.O. Box 17480-101, Tuscon, AZ 85731, or e-mail me: [email protected].
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Duke & Angelique Fontaine: Owners of Bellefontaine, recently deceased
Cassandra (Casey) Fontaine: Bellefontaine plantation manager and daughter of Duke and Angelique
Nick Devlin: Riverboat casino owner and builder; married to Casey
Jackson Fontaine: Bellefontaine business manager and son of Duke and Angelique
Megan Fontaine: Jacksonâs four-year-old daughter
Esme Fontaine: Dukeâs opinionated sister
Noelani Hana: Illegitimate daughter of Duke Fontaine and Anela Hana
Adam Ross: Nickâs friend and historic home renovator
Roland Dewalt: Long-standing neighbor of the Fontaines
Murray Dewalt: Rolandâs son and longtime friend of Casey and Jackson
Vivian (Viv) Pontier-Renault: Caseyâs best friend
Luc Renault: Jazz musician and Vivâs husband
Tanya Carson: Meganâs nanny
Betty Rabaud: Fontaine family cook
Bruce Shiller: Owner of sugar plantation in Hawaii where Noelani grew up
Denise Rochelle: Current Fontaine employee, romantically interested in Adam Ross
Chuck Riley: Copilot who flew with Duke Fontaine
Remy Boucherand: Police detective investigating suspicious events at Bellefontaine
In researching the trilogy, we discovered that everything weâve ever heard about Southern hospitality is completely true. Our heartfelt thanks go to Kenneth and Mary Jane Kahao, longtime sugar growers in the Baton Rouge area, for squiring us around. Because of them, we were able to tour cane fields during cutting season and get an in-depth look at a working sugar mill.
Nor would our books be so rich with the history of the sugar industry if not for the generosity of Caroline Kennedy, Director, and Jim Barnett, Curatorial Assistant, of the West Baton Rouge Museum. (Caroline was quick to inform us she wasnât that Caroline Kennedy.)
Our apologies for any errors or bits of poetic license we may have taken in order to weave the fictional fabric of our linked stories.
I also want to thank my husband for driving us to and from Louisiana, and for the hours he and Mary Casper spent reading our stories for continuity. Theyâre the best.
And thanks to Paula, Laura and Beverley, our editors, for their coordination, support and the insight needed to move this project from start to finish.
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
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
