Duty-bound Dad
Former soldier Vito DâAngelo has come home with a foster sonâand a secret that could devastate his comradeâs lovely widow. Lacey McPherson is Vitoâs childhood friend and the last person he wants to hurt. But as their friendship turns to more, the truth grows harder to reveal. Laceyâs trying to renovate her guesthouse and build a peaceful single life. Yet letting ruggedly handsome Vito and young Charlie stay on her property awakens a longing for the family sheâs sure sheâll never have. But it may open the door to a loving future...if the onetime boy next door proves to be just the man she needs...
âTongues are wagging. It is Rescue River.â
âGossip central,â he agreed.
âAnd speaking of wagging tongues,â she said, âimagine what people will assume if you come and live in the guesthouse. Theyâll think weâre a couple. Iâm not comfortable with that.â
âI understand.â He looked down at his hands, traced a scar that peeked out from his shirt cuff. âIâm not exactly a blue-ribbon bronco.â
âVito!â She sounded exasperated. âYou havenât changed a bit since you had to try on six different shirts for the homecoming dance.â
âThat was a long time ago. And the truth is, I have changed.â
She rolled her eyes. âYouâre still good-looking, okay? Women donât mind scars.â Then she pressed her lips together as her cheeks grew pink.
His heart rate accelerated just a little. Why was she blushing? Did she think he was good-looking?
But of course, she hadnât seen the worst of his scars.
And even if there was a little spark between them, it couldnât go anywhere. Because he was living with a secret he couldnât let her discover.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for coming with me on another visit to Rescue River! Lacey has been a part of the Rescue River community from the beginning. Most recently, she was part of Buck and Ginaâs story, when she reluctantly provided shelter to the struggling single mom. Once everyone else found happiness, it was only fair that Lacey should find love, too...and Vito, the romantic Italian, seemed like just the right man to bring out Laceyâs tender side.
Both Vito and Lacey carry scars and baggage from the past. Donât we all? Fortunately, our heavenly father forgives our mistakes and leads us to be new creations in Christ. He can even soften a heart of stone.
Visit my website, www.leetobinmcclain.com, and sign up for my newsletter to keep track of all the news from Rescue River.
Wishing you a happy summer filled with many books!
Lee
LEE TOBIN McCLAIN read Gone with the Wind in the third grade and has been a hopeless romantic ever since. When sheâs not writing angst-filled love stories with happy endings, sheâs getting inspiration from her church singles group, her gymnastics-obsessed teenage daughter and her rescue dog and cat. In her day job, Lee gets to encourage aspiring romance writers in Seton Hill Universityâs low-residency MFA program. Visit her at leetobinmcclain.com.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
âEzekiel 36:26
To my daughter, Grace, who shows me
every day that families arenât about bloodlines; theyâre about heart.
Chapter One
Lacey McPherson leaned back, propped her hands on the low white picket fence and surveyed the wedding reception before her with satisfaction. Sheâd pulled it off.
Sheâd given her beloved brother and his bride a wedding reception to remember, not letting her own antiromance attitude show. But she had to admit sheâd be glad when her half-remodeled guesthouse stopped being a nest for lovebirds.
âNothing like a spring wedding, eh, Lacey?â
She jumped, startled at the sound of the gruff, familiar voice right behind her. She spun around. âVito DâAngelo, you scared me!â And then her eyes widened and she gasped. âWhat happened?â
His warm brown eyes took her back to her teen years. Sheâd been such a dreamer then, not good at navigating high school drama, and her brotherâs friend had stepped in more than once to defend her from girls who wanted to gossip or boys who tried to take advantage. She and her brother had welcomed invitations to the DâAngelo familyâs big, loud Italian dinners.
But now the most noticeable thing about his face wasnât his eyes, but the double scar that ran from his forehead to his jawline. A smaller scar slashed from his lower lip to his chin.
Instinctively she reached out toward his face.
He caught her hand, held it. âI know. I look bad. But you should see the other guy.â
His attempt at a joke made her hurt more than it made her laugh. âYou donât look bad. Itâs just...wow, they barely missed your eye.â Awkwardly, she tried to hug him with the fence in between.