Janice Carter - Her Kind Of Hero

He saved her life...

But he’s not the hero she expects

Dana Sothern has finally found the man who rescued her as a teen. But when she tries to thank Matt Rodriguez, instead he challenges her to volunteer at his youth camp. The experience brings Matt and Dana closer. But away from the camp, the reformed bad boy’s and the corporate lawyer’s worlds are far apart. Can they bridge the gap between them?

Writing has been a passion for JANICE CARTERfrom a young age, but her “second” career after teaching didn’t officially start until she took a romance-writing course at a local community college. The story she began then became her debut novel, a Mills & Boon Intrigue. Janice says she’s been very lucky to be able to do what she enjoys most—writing about the connections between people and their families; in other words, how we find love and romance.

Also By Janice Carter

For Love of a Dog

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Her Kind of Hero

Janice Carter

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09745-1

HER KIND OF HERO

© 2019 Janice Hess

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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Dana dived under the water, coming up inches away from him.

Her teeth were chattering as Matt drew her close. He held her against him until she stopped shivering, then gently eased her back far enough to be able to lower his face to hers. Her lips were soft and full and sweet.

She pulled back abruptly and gave an embarrassed laugh. “I’m ready to get out.”

Matt watched her jump through the water onto the shore where she bent down to get her towel. By the time he waded to the beach she’d spread out the blanket.

Matt hoped his impulsive kiss wouldn’t change the easygoing connection that had sprung up between them. He liked this slow unfolding of common interests and shared experiences and didn’t want to jeopardize it.

But Dana’s life had been cushioned from the hard realities of the lives of many in Chicago. How would she react to the real Matt Rodriguez? Would he still be a hero in her eyes?

Dear Reader,

Her Kind of Hero is my second Heartwarming and my thirteenth Harlequin romance novel. I call it my “lucky” thirteen because I feel lucky to have the opportunity to write stories of people connecting with one another, with family and community.

But this book is particularly special to me. When my children were young and before I returned to full-time work, I was involved in a number of community organizations as a volunteer and a board member. Those experiences were enriching and gave me an appreciation of the importance of community work not only at the local level, but to society as a whole.

This book is special for me in another way, too. The frightening incident that brought my heroine, Dana Sothern, together with her hero, Matt Rodriguez, was partially based on a news article and a long-ago personal experience of mine. I speculated how a narrow escape, such as the one Dana and Matt had, might lead to a new direction in a person’s life. For Dana and Matt, the repercussions and personal revelations of a terrifying moment on a subway platform led to new beginnings for both of them. And also to something totally unexpected—love.

Enjoy the read!

Janice Carter

For Sybil Jean Best, with much love.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

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

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

MATT RODRIGUEZ DIDN’T bother reading the article. The headline wasn’t auspicious—No Home for Group Home. Another neighborhood protest that was certain to sabotage another project that was meant to help the community. There’d been a time when he’d thought those two words— neighborhood and community —were synonymous, but his experiences over the past few years had shown that it wasn’t true in the real world. He sighed and closed the laptop. Bad timing for his funding proposal to the city of Chicago for the drop-in center and the camp.

He stroked the top of his head, rubbing against the bristles of new hair growth. Two weeks ago, he’d decided to aim for a more conservative look. He thought it would help bolster his image as a solid representative of the community instead of an activist who might—heaven forbid!—shake the pillars of the very community he hoped to improve. For all, not just some. Whatever It Took was his motto. The new look was simply another incarnation in a series for Mateo “Matt” Rodriguez.