The Surgeon's Christmas Baby

UNEXPECTED FAMILY...

After a tour in Afghanistan and years as a trauma surgeon, Alonso Marquez needs to get out of Albuquerque and away from his past. A trip seems like the perfect solution, but he doesn’t make it far. Sparks fly when Alonso stops to help a gorgeous rancher fix her car, and just like that his road trip is cut short by one very hot night...with some very real consequences.

Hannah Buck didn’t plan on starting a family that night. Her hands are already full managing the ranch and helping her troubled half brother. But Hannah sees the good in Alonso and knows he will be an incredible dad to their baby—if only he could see it, too. Alonso has spent his life saving others. Now, with Hannah at his side, can he finally save himself?

“If my staying tonight is going to cause problems for you...”

“I don’t care what anyone says about me.” Besides, her family had been the topic of gossip for years in Paradise. Alonso would give them something new to chat about.

Seconds ticked by, then Alonso reached across the seat and brushed a strand of loose hair from her face. She didn’t want the night to end. Didn’t want to leave his side.

“Alonso?”

“What?”

“Do you ever get lonely?” Until she’d sat across the table from him at the restaurant, Hannah hadn’t consciously acknowledged the depth of her loneliness.

“Yes.” His quiet answer made her heart pound.

This is crazy. You hardly know the man.

She couldn’t argue with the voice in her head but the strength to resist a night in Alonso’s arms had fled the instant he’d pulled her close on the dance floor. “I don’t want to be alone tonight,” she whispered.

He leaned across the seat and slid his hand around the back of her neck. “I don’t want to be alone, either.”

And then he kissed her.

Dear Reader,

The world can be a scary, ugly place. Many of us have given up, thrown in the towel or lost hope at one time or another. It’s usually during those dark days when someone comes into our lives and shows us that not all is lost.

In The Surgeon’s Christmas Baby, no one is more world-weary than Alonso Marquez. As a trauma surgeon he’s seen far too much death and destruction to hold any faith in humanity. That is until he meets Hannah Buck. Hannah shows Alonso that love is the key to unlocking the beauty and goodness which still exists in the world. When Hannah becomes pregnant by accident, Alonso is terrified of bringing a child into a world where bad always wins over good. It’s only through Hannah’s love that Alonso finds the courage to leave the darkness behind and reach for a life filled with love and joy that only a family can bring.

I hope you enjoy Alonso and Hannah’s journey to their very own happy-ever-after. If you missed the first story in the Cowboys of the Rio Grande series, The Cowboy’s Redemption (June 2015) is still available through your favorite online retailers.

You can find out more about me and my books at marinthomas.com. I love to connect with my readers and invite you to follow me on Facebook at facebook.com/AuthorMarinThomas and Twitter at twitter.com/MarinThomas.

Happy reading!

Marin

The Surgeon’s

Christmas Baby

Marin Thomas

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MARIN THOMAS grew up in the Midwest, then attended college at the U of A in Tucson, Arizona, where she earned a BA in radio-TV and played basketball for the Lady Wildcats. Following graduation she married her college sweetheart in the historic Little Chapel of the West in Las Vegas, Nevada. Recently empty nesters, Marin and her husband now live in Texas, where cattle is king, cowboys are plentiful and pickups rule the road. Visit her on the web at marinthomas.com.

To my great-niece Adley Faith:

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. Follow your dreams and never look back.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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

Chapter Fourteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“Quit lookin’ at me like that.”

Darn Luke’s ornery hide. Hannah Buck squeezed the steering wheel, wishing it was her half brother’s neck.

Yesterday after lunch Luke had left the ranch to attend a Halloween party with friends. He’d promised to be home by dark, but ten o’clock had come and gone and Hannah had paced the kitchen floor, imagining him lying dead in a ditch somewhere—just as she’d found their father two years ago.

“You could have texted me that you were staying the night at Connor’s.”

“I left my cell phone at home.”

On purpose. When their father died, the court had appointed Hannah Luke’s legal guardian—a job she’d gladly accepted. But she hadn’t counted on her then fourteen-year-old brother embarking on a mission to make her life miserable.

The recent skipping school, drinking and smoking pot had to stop. She’d attributed Luke’s rebellion to grief and in the beginning hadn’t demanded too much of him. Even his teachers had gone easy on him. But two years had passed since their father’s death and Luke’s behavior was getting out of hand. If he didn’t settle down and quit running wild, he’d end up in jail, and then she wouldn’t be able to save his butt.