Heidi McCahan - Their Baby Blessing

The navy prepared him for anything...

except an instant family.

When navy veteran Gage Westbrook promised to look out for his late best friend’s son, he never imagined he’d bond with the baby boy. And he definitely didn’t plan to fall for Connor’s gorgeous temporary guardian, Skye Tomlinson. But weighted by guilt for the accident that took Connor’s dad, can Gage find the courage to forgive himself and embrace the chance at a family?

HEIDI McCAHAN is a Pacific Northwest girl at heart, but now resides in North Carolina with her husband and three boys. When she isn’t writing inspirational romance novels, Heidi can usually be found reading a book, enjoying a cup of coffee and avoiding the laundry pile. She’s also a huge fan of dark chocolate and her adorable goldendoodle, Finn. She enjoys connecting with readers, so please visit her website, heidimccahan.com.

Also By Heidi McCahan

The Firefighter’s Twins

Their Baby Blessing

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Their Baby Blessing

Heidi McCahan

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09670-6

THEIR BABY BLESSING

© 2019 Heidi Blankenship

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.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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“Do you want to hold him?”

Connor stretched out his arms and leaned toward Gage.

Gage scooted his chair back. “I’ll try.”

Connor babbled an unintelligible sound and kicked one leg against Skye’s hip while leaning farther out of her grasp. He wasn’t old enough to use words yet, but she understood his body language. She gently passed him to Gage.

Skye avoided eye contact and moved past him to the kitchen, wishing there was a wall or a cabinet or anything to block her view of Gage, cautiously holding Connor like he was the most fragile thing in the world. A telltale flutter in her midsection made her deliberately turn away and take her sweet time rummaging in the pantry for a container of the puffed rice snacks Connor loved.

That was the last thing she needed—succumbing to the image of this strong, competent man riding in like some fairy-tale hero to rescue the damsel in distress.

She wasn’t in distress. Okay, maybe she had a little bit going on in her life, but she didn’t need him to rescue her.

Dear Reader,

Have you ever felt absolutely convinced you were on the right path, but your current reality doesn’t look anything like you’d anticipated? When I set out to write Their Baby Blessing , I couldn’t pinpoint the deeper theme of the story. As I brainstormed the hero and heroine, it became apparent that Skye was going to be a fiercely independent character, with aspirations and expectations for her life, yet circumstances would arise that challenged her plans. Then about halfway through the first draft, I realized aspects of Skye’s struggle with wanting to do her own thing and doubting God’s faithfulness mirrored my real-life struggles and doubts.

It’s a challenge, isn’t it? Sometimes life doesn’t look like we thought it would, and we misinterpret our circumstances as our opportunity to step in and take control. Thankfully, control is just an illusion and God is always faithful, even when we wrestle with doubt. He often has plans that far exceed our wildest expectations, including blessings we never envisioned receiving. I hope this is the message you take with you long after you finish reading Gage, Skye and Connor’s story.

Thank you for reading this book. I love hearing from readers, and you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and at heidimccahan.com. All subscribers to my e-newsletter receive a free novella that isn’t available anywhere else. By the way, if you enjoyed Their Baby Blessing and would post an honest review online, I’d be grateful.

Sincerely,

Heidi McCahan

Commit thy works unto the Lord,

and thy thoughts shall be established.

—Proverbs 16:3

To my Colorado family:

although we don’t see each other often,

I’m thankful for the moments when

our paths intersect. Much love to all of you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

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

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

She shouldn’t have said yes.

Seated at a table next to the window, Skye Tomlinson cupped both hands around her disposable coffee cup and scanned the parking lot outside Common Grounds for a man who might be Gage Westbrook. What was she thinking—meeting a total stranger for coffee? And after only a brief exchange of direct messages on social media, too. What if he’d fabricated his whole story? Maybe this was an elaborate scheme he’d plotted to—

Relax. Not every man was out to manipulate women for their own personal gain.