Always an outsiderâ¦
Armed with only her suitcases and secrets, Tess Spencer arrives at Bell River Ranch. Sheâll work temporarily at their spa and never tell the Wright sisters her true connection to them. Meeting gorgeous carpenter Jude Calhoun challenges those plans, however. Strong and capable, Jude makes Tess want to share the burden of what she knowsâ¦.
That confession may come sooner than she wants when her past intrudes at the ranch. But if she reveals the reasons sheâs here, she will definitely be the outsiderâunwelcomed and alone. And leaving Bell River could cost her the one man she wantsâ¦.
He wasnât going to do this
Jude could read the expression on Tessâs face. She wanted him. More than that, he wanted her. Wanted to see where comfort took them.
But no. He wasnât even going to think about doing this.
It probably would have been much, much smarter to let Tess go on believing he was a married man, a picked peach with a helpless infant depending on him. Because they wouldnât be lovers, tonight or ever.
Heâd felt the years of deprivation in her body, more skin-and-bones than slender. Heâd felt the terrible, lifelong isolation that left her shocked that anyone was willing to catch her when she fell.
And he felt the hunger, far deeper than a lack of food. A chronic lack of love that made intimacy frighten her so much she fought it even when she was unconscious.
But no. He had sworn off wounded birds. And this beautiful little sparrow was as broken as they came.
Dear Reader,
When I started writing The Sisters of Bell River Ranch series, I knew I wanted to include at least one sister who came to the family by an indirect route. Iâve known so many loving, loyal families who bring each other great comfort and happinessâbut who werenât âbornâ to one another the old fashioned way. I wanted, somehow, to honor those wonderful bonds.
The heroine of The Secrets of Bell River, Tess Spencer, is illegitimateâher very existence one of the biggest secrets of all. Sheâs a half sister to some, no blood relation at all to others, and yet she finds her way straight into their hearts.
In the end, sisterhood is not just blood, or even growing up in the same house. Itâs about sharing tears and dumb jokes, and circling the wagons against common enemies. Itâs about seeing the world the same way. Iâm lucky enough to have had a sister in the conventional method, but through the years life also granted me friends who were such kindred spirits that they claimed a sisterhood of the heart. One came to me as a childhood friend, but another I found much later in lifeâsomething I hadnât imagined was possible. All of them are gifts beyond measure, and I know Iâm not the only one who has what I call âlike sistersââthe women who have, indeed, become âlikeâ sisters. It makes for a rich life, indeed.
In fact, the only thing a woman needs after that isâ¦a hero of her very own. And thatâs where the gorgeous, wounded Silverdell carpenter, Jude Calhoun, comes in.
I hope you enjoy their story! And if you, too, have sisters and âlike sisters,â I hope youâll hug them today.
Warmly,
Kathleen OâBrien
P.S.âStop by and say hi at www.facebook.com/KathleenOBrienAuthor, or visit me at www.kathleenobrien.com!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kathleen OâBrien was a feature writer and TV critic before marrying a fellow journalist. Motherhood, which followed soon after, was so marvelous she turned to writing novels, which could be done at home. She believes the true friend is the one you trust with your secretsâeven if itâs just that embarrassing thing about popcorn and reality TV. The best friends are the ones who love you because of those secrets, not in spite of them.
To Chaela, Celie, Annâ¦and, of course, Renie.
My âsistersâ of the heart, whether you like it or not.
CHAPTER ONE
IN TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS, Tess Spencer hadnât ever felt like she truly belonged anywhere, and it took only one look at the snow-covered perfection of Bell River Ranch to know she didnât belong here, either.
So what if the women who owned it were technically her âfamilyâ? She didnât know themâhadnât even heard of them until two months ago, when, on her deathbed, her mother had dropped the bombshell about Tessâs paternity.
The Wright sisters didnât know Tess, either. Not even that she existed.
And they probably never would.
Sheâd left Los Angeles, where sheâd lived all her life, and sheâd come to Silverdell thinking she might, just might, tell them. That had been her motherâs dying wishâto leave a safety net for the only child she was leaving too soon. In Tessâs imagination, introducing herself to Rowena, Brianna and Penelope Wright had seemed possible. Terrifying, but possible.