Cerella Sechrist - Tessa's Gift

She gives him peace...

But can he give her the same?

A new PR job at the Findlay Roads hospital is exactly the fresh start Tessa Worth needs. The challenge? Coaxing the gruff but brilliant Dr. Noah Brennan out of his shell. Noah and Tessa grow closer as she helps him heal from the loss of his wife and daughter, but Tessa is afraid of revealing her own secret. Can they find hope and healing...together?

CERELLA SECHRISTlives in York, Pennsylvania, with two precocious pugs, Darcy and Charlotte, named after Jane Austen characters. Inspired by her childhood love of stories, she was ten years old when she decided she wanted to become an author. A former barista, Cerella could spend hours discussing coffee origins and flavour profiles. She’s been known to post too many pug photos on both Instagram and Pinterest. You can see for yourself by finding her online at cerellasechrist.com.

Also by Cerella Sechrist

Gentle Persuasion

The Paris Connection

A Findlay Roads Story

Harper’s Wish

A Song for Rory

The Way Back to Erin

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Tessa’s Gift

Cerella Sechrist

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09088-9

TESSA’S GIFT

© 2019 Cerella Delbaugh Sechrist

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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Dedicated to my nieces, Emily and Ellis. You are

the daughters of my heart, and you make every

day an adventure. I love you both so much.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to…

Tracy Bedell-Hoke and her daughter, Elizabeth, for sharing their family’s experience with childhood cancer and answering my questions, no matter the time of day.

Zachary and Jackie Loder for being so open about their struggles with early-onset menopause and infertility.

Dr Bradley Phiel and Linda Kimes from Heston Veterinary Medical Center for assistance with animal therapy questions.

Linda Seitz and her therapy dog, Viva, for details on animal therapy, especially in a hospital setting, and for graciously agreeing to appear as characters in the story.

Lisa Lawmaster Hess for our weekly writing sessions, which include brainstorming, encouragement and caffeine.

Every single person who offered their support and prayers as I finished up this book in the midst of my dad’s accident. Thank you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgements

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

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

TESSA WORTH BENT over to finish clipping the leash to the pole. Before she could stand, her canine companion gave a hearty shake of his head, and she jerked back from the spray of slobber.

“Ugh.”

She wiped a strand from her chin as she straightened. “Rufus, we’ve been through this,” she chastised the dog. “Flinging drool on the ladies is no way to win hearts.”

The English bulldog looked up at her with doleful eyes.

“Don’t even start with me, mister,” she said, then gave a quick glance around to be sure no one was witnessing her one-sided conversation with the dog. “Those bedroom eyes may have worked for you when you were a stray, but they won’t get you anywhere with me.”

Rufus huffed, and another gob of drool landed on her sneakers. She groaned and swiped her shoe on the back of her leggings.

“Okay, listen. Just let me get some tea, and I’ll bring you one of those muffins you like.”

Rufus whimpered.

“No, not the bran-and-apple ones. The blueberry. Your favorite.”

Rufus licked his chops, leaving a strand of slobber dangling from his nose.

“Oh, buddy. We really need to do something about that.”

Rufus parked his behind on the sidewalk, unconcerned.

Overcome with affection, Tessa knelt down to scratch him behind the ears. He groaned with pleasure, and she was reminded once again how looks could be deceiving. During her time working at the local animal shelter, she had watched Rufus be bypassed for adoption again and again in favor of the younger or cuter pets.

When she’d left the shelter for her new job as a marketing and PR coordinator for a nearby hospital, she’d realized she couldn’t leave Rufus behind. After all, they had something in common—she knew what it was to feel like she didn’t quite measure up. She’d adopted him on her last day working at the shelter a little over two weeks ago. She hadn’t regretted that decision for a second, despite the drool issue.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Sit tight.”

Rufus sneezed, which she took for a sign of agreement, and then Tessa stepped inside the Lighthouse Café.