âIf you need me, Iâll come running. Real quick, darling.â
Shannon huffed in exasperation. âYouâll do no such thing. I know how to dial 9-1-1 if I need help.â
âIâm closer. If youâll keep making food like this, Iâll come over every night and check your place for bogeymen.â
âHa-ha,â she said.
Rory was ten times more attractive than any man sheâd ever met. And a hundred times more dangerous to her heart. Shannon thought of his kisses. When he teased and called her âdarlingâ she couldnât help but respond, even though she knew he didnât mean it as an endearment.
Life with him would be fun. If he loved her. If she loved him. She froze, overwhelmed at the idea.
Dear Reader,
Itâs the little things that mean so much. In fact, more than once, âlittle thingsâ have fueled Myrna Temteâs Special Edition novels. One of her miniseries evolved from a newspaper article her mother sent her. The idea for her first novel was inspired by something sheâd heard a DJ say on her favorite country-western radio station. And Myrna Temteâs nineteenth book, Handprints, also evolved in an interesting way. A friend received a special Motherâs Day presentâa picture of her little girl with finger-painted handprints and a sweet poem entitled âHandprints.â Once the story was relayed to Myrna, the seed for another romance novel was planted. And the rest, as they say, is historyâ¦.
There are plenty of special somethings this month. Bestselling author Joan Elliott Pickart delivers Single with Twins, the story of a photojournalist who travels the world in search of adventure, only to discover that family makes his life complete. In Lisa Jacksonâs The McCaffertys: Matt, the rugged rancher hero feels that law enforcement is no place for a ladyâbut soon finds himself making a plea for passionâ¦.
Donât miss Laurie Paigeâs When I See Your Face, in which a fiercely independent officer is forced to rely on others when sheâs temporarily blinded in the line of duty. Find out if there will be a Match Made in Wyoming in Patricia McLinnâs novel, when the hero and heroine find themselves snowbound on a Wyoming ranch! And The Child She Always Wanted by Jennifer Mikels tells the touching tale of a baby on the doorstep bringing two people together for a love too great for either to deny.
Asking authors where they get their ideas often proves an impossible question. However, many ideas come from little things that surround us. See whatâs around you. And if you have an idea for a Special Edition novel, Iâd love to hear from you. Enjoy!
Best,
Karen Taylor Richman, Senior Editor
This book is dedicated to Paul and Marci,
Steve and Andi with wishes for all the love and happiness your hearts can hold.
says, âIn the interest of authenticity, most writers will try anythingâ¦once.â Along with her writing adventures, Laurie has been a NASA engineer, a past president of the Romance Writers of America (twice!), a mother and a grandmother (twice, also!). She was twice a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist for Best Traditional Romance and has won awards from Romantic Times Magazine for Best Silhouette Special Edition and Best Silhouette. Recently resettled in Northern California, Laurie is looking forward to whatever experiences her next novel will send her on.
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
Shannon Bannock waved at the children on the gaily decorated float, part of the parade assembling in the parking lot diagonally across from her. Standing at the intersection, she directed traffic away from the main street of Wind River, Wyoming, where the Parade of Lights festival took place each year on the Sunday before Christmas.
As a detective for the combined police-sheriff offices of the town and county, she normally handled domestic matters for the department, but at this hectic time of the year, every officer filled in where needed.
Noting a group of kids and an adult approaching the corner, she quickly set out the wooden road barriers, then led the children and their caretaker across the street to a good spot to view the parade.
âMerry Christmas,â she called to an old school chumâs eight-year-old daughter as the festivities began. For a second she marveled at that factâthat one of her best friends from high school had a child that age. Next year would be the tenth reunion of the class. Amazing.
Of her old pals, she was the only one not married. Friends said she shepherded everyone else into family units but was afraid to try matrimony herself. That wasnât true at all. She just didnât wear her heart on her sleeve. In actual fact, sheâd met someone she thought was quite nice, a new attorney in townâ
âYo, lady cop,â a masculine baritone called.
Glancing over her shoulder, she gazed into light blue eyes and a face thatâaccording to Marilee at the hair and nail shopâshould have graced a monument as an example to all women of true male beauty. Rory Daniels, local heartthrob.