Heâll prove heâs back for good
Detective Jack Evans will keep proposing as many times as it takes. He never expected to come home to Riverton, Wisconsin, let alone to find himself lost in a night of passion with reporter Emily Finneganâand he gets an even bigger surprise when he finds out sheâs pregnant. Now heâs determined to marry the beautiful brunette. It took a world-shaking surprise to make him realize what was missing in his life. But Emily has been hurt before and isnât convinced his desire to marry her is about love. Heâll do whatever it takes to prove his heart is hers...for as long as they both shall live.
âWeâll get married,â he blurted. âRight away, as soon as you want.â
The declaration caught him completely off guard and he added, âYou can move to Chicago. Iâll take care of you and the baby and...â
Horrified didnât come close to describing her expression.
âWhat?â he asked.
âOh, gee, Jack. We hardly even know one another, for one thing.â
âEmily, weâve known each other for years.â
âAll right, then,â she said. âWhatâs my favorite color?â
He looked her up and down, as though her wardrobe might offer up a clue. âYellow?â
âWrong. Whatâs my middle name? Whenâs my birthday?â she asked, relentlessly hammering her point home.
Again, he had no idea, none whatsoever.
âSee? You donât know anything about me, but you think getting married is a good idea. You think I should walk away from my family and my job and everything Iâve ever known, follow you to Chicago, waiting for you to get unbusy enough to be a husband and a father?â
âI donât know, Emily. Weâre going to be parents, and Iâm trying to do the right thing.â
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Riverton, Wisconsin! This (fictional) small town, steeped in the culture of Americaâs Heartland, is home to the Finnegan sistersâEmily, Annie and CJâand Iâm delighted to introduce them to you.
I grew up in a close-knit family, always knowing there was someone there to celebrate the good times and to offer support when the going got tough. I cherish all the memories of afternoon picnics and Sunday dinners, so itâs no surprise to anyone who knows me that those are the things I love to write about.
To Catch a Wife is about coming to terms with the past, learning to cope with an uncertain future and discovering that love is all about the compromise. This is middle sister Emilyâs story, and I hope you enjoy it. I love to hear from readers and invite you to visit my website at leemckenzie.com, where you can send me an email, sign up for my (mostly) monthly newsletter and find out about my other books, including future books in this series. Happy reading!
Warmest,
Lee
From the time she was ten years old and read Anne of Green Gables and Little Women, LEE McKENZIE knew she wanted to be a writer, just like Anne and Jo. In the intervening years, she has written everything from advertising copy to an honors thesis in paleontology, but becoming a four-time Golden Heart® Award finalist and a Harlequin author are among her proudest accomplishments. Lee and her artist/teacher husband live on an island along Canadaâs west coast, and she loves to spend time with two of her best friendsâher grown-up children.
For Johanna Raisanen, editor extraordinaire
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to Melanie Backus for entering my Name This Furry Friend contest and suggesting the name Tadpole for Emilyâs hamster. It was a hands-down favorite with the judges.
CHAPTER ONE
EMILY FINNEGAN SETTLED onto the middle stool at the big kitchen island, sliding comfortably into her place as the middle sister. No matter what was wrong with the worldâfloods, famines, personal freak-outsâhere in the heart of the Finnegan family farmhouse, everything felt right.
Her younger sister, CJâCassie Jo as their father affectionately called herâsat on the stool to Emilyâs right. CJ was dressed for the stables in dark jeans and a faded denim work shirt, her long blond hair pulled back in a high ponytail.
Across the gleaming white Formica countertop, Annie, eldest of the three sisters, stood with carafe in hand. âCoffee?â She angled the pot over Emilyâs mug. If the kitchen was the heart of the home, then Annie was the life force that kept it beating.
âSure. Oh, wait. No.â Emily hastily withdrew her cup. âOnly if itâs decaf.â
CJ clapped a hand to Emilyâs forehead.
Emily ducked away from it. âWhat are you doing?â
âChecking to see if youâre running a fever. Since when do you drink decaf?â