Judy Christenberry - Daddy On The Doorstep

He needed to hear her secret.

He wasn’t in the best of moods, but she had to tell him. She had to tell him now while there was still time….

“I have something to tell you, Nick.” She stood up even though her knees were shaking as much as her voice.

“You’re trembling like a leaf,” Nick said softly, then gently settled her on the sofa. He squatted down beside her, bringing his blue eyes level with hers.

This revelation was going to be difficult. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes. She opened her mouth to reveal the one thing her husband didn’t want to hear.

“Nick, I’m pregnant….”

Dear Reader,

Spring cleaning wearing you out? Perk up with a heart-thumping romance from Silhouette Romance. This month, your favorite authors return to the line, and a new one makes her debut!

Take a much-deserved break with bestselling author Judy Christenberry’s secret-baby story, Daddy on the Doorstep (#1654). Then plunge into Elizabeth August’s latest, The Rancher’s Hand-Picked Bride (#1656), about a celibate heroine forced to find her rugged neighbor a bride!

You won’t want to miss the first in Raye Morgan’s CATCHING THE CROWN miniseries about three royal siblings raised in America who must return to their kingdom and marry. In Jack and the Princess (#1655), Princess Karina falls for her bodyguard, but what will it take for this gruff commoner to win a place in the royal family? And in Diane Pershing’s The Wish (#1657), the next SOULMATES installment, a pair of magic eyeglasses gives Gerri Conklin the chance to do over the most disastrous week of her life…and find the man of her dreams!

And be sure to keep your eye on these two Romance authors. Roxann Delaney delivers her third fabulous Silhouette Romance novel, A Whole New Man (#1658), about a live-for-the-moment hero transformed into a family man, but will it last? And Cheryl Kushner makes her debut with He’s Still the One (#1659), a fresh, funny, heartwarming tale about a TV show host who returns to her hometown and the man she never stopped loving.

Happy reading!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

Books by Judy Christenberry

Silhouette Romance

The Nine-Month Bride #1324

*Marry Me, Kate #1344

*Baby in Her Arms #1350

*A Ring for Cinderella #1356

†Never Let You Go #1453

†The Borrowed Groom #1457

†Cherish the Boss #1463

†Snowbound Sweetheart #1476

Newborn Daddy #1511

When the Lights Went Out… #1547

**Least Likely To Wed #1570

Daddy on the Doorstep #1654

Silhouette Books

The Coltons

The Doctor Delivers

JUDY CHRISTENBERRY

has been writing romances for over fifteen years because she loves happy endings as much as her readers do. She’s also a bestselling author for Harlequin American Romance, but she has a long love of traditional romances and is delighted to tell a story that brings those elements to the reader. A former high school French teacher, Judy devotes her time to writing. She hopes readers have as much fun reading her stories as she does writing them. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favorite sports teams and keeping track of her two adult daughters.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Andrea Bainbridge peered through the sheets of rain deluging her windshield and prayed she’d make it to Aunt Bess’s house before her car was swept off the road. She could barely see the pavement. Only the center white line kept her on track.

Afraid to go above a snail’s pace, Andrea thought she’d never reach the long drive that led to Aunt Bess’s farmhouse. When she finally saw the outline of the familiar mailbox through the pouring rain, she turned her car into the drive with relief and then panicked as the wheels skidded beneath her.

Mud wasn’t the right description for what was under her car now. Maybe quicksand would be better. Or shifting sands. Or—

Stop it, Andy! You’re getting hysterical!

With good reason, she argued with herself. Aunt Bess had called her three hours ago, complaining of chest pains. Andrea hadn’t been able to convince the stubborn old lady to go to the hospital without her. Bess had assured her she could wait until Andrea arrived.

Normally she could make the drive in a little less than two hours. But these conditions weren’t normal. It had been raining day and night for almost a month. Andrea knew how Noah had felt. All the rivers and streams had flooded days ago. There was only one road to Bess’s farm which was still above water.

And she wasn’t sure how much longer it would be open. She’d been petrified when she’d crossed that one-lane wooden bridge.

The car slid out of control and she fought the steering wheel. When she finally came to a halt, she was almost sideways in the small lane.

“Hold on, Bess. I’m coming,” she muttered, more for herself than Bess. But the old lady was the one person in this world Andrea loved without reservation. She’d do anything for Aunt Bess.

Carefully backing up, she braked and then put the car in Drive. The tires spun and she swallowed her fear. Easing off the gas pedal, she allowed the forward motion of the gear to move the car. Once the tires had gripped whatever solid ground there was, she pressed slightly on the pedal and breathed a sigh of relief as the car moved forward.

When the dim form of the old farmhouse became visible, Andrea killed the motor and leaped from the car. She wasn’t worried about the rain or the mud, only about Bess. She had to get her to a hospital.

“Bess? Bess?” she called as she swung open the front door.

Silence greeted her. Fearing what she might find, Andrea raced to the kitchen, the true center of Aunt Bess’s home, but it was empty.

From there, she ran to the bedroom. More silence.

“Bess? Where are you?” Panic rising, she raced back through to the living room and the front door. That’s when she saw the message taped to the panel of glass.

Andy,

I persuaded Bess to let me take her to the hospital before you got here. I didn’t think she should wait. Hope I did the right thing.

Roy Evans

Andrea slumped against the door, relieved beyond words that Bess was in good hands. Roy Evans was a nearby neighbor who checked on Bess almost every day. Then, concern about Roy’s statement about not waiting filled Andrea and she ran back to the kitchen and the phone on the wall.