Patricia Johns - The Lawman's Baby

He’s in over his head...

And calling for backup!

Police officer Mike McMann is always cool under pressure, but taking custody of his infant nephew has left him in a cold sweat. Coming to his rescue is social worker Paige Stedler. Paige gives him a crash course on parenting—and a tempting glimpse into a life beyond the badge. But is Mike ready to trade in his SWAT team aspirations for a white picket fence?

PATRICIA JOHNSwrites from Alberta, Canada. She has her Hon. BA in English literature and currently writes for Mills & Boon’s Love Inspired and Heartwarming lines. You can find her at patriciajohnsromance.com.

Also By Patricia Johns

Home to Eagle’s Rest

Her Lawman Protector

Falling for the Cowboy Dad

A Baxter’s Redemption

The Runaway Bride

A Boy’s Christmas Wish

Montana Twins

Her Cowboy’s Twin Blessings

Her Twins’ Cowboy Dad

Comfort Creek Lawmen

Deputy Daddy

The Lawman’s Runaway Bride

The Deputy’s Unexpected Family

His Unexpected Family

The Rancher’s City Girl

A Firefighter’s Promise

The Lawman’s Surprise Family

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

The Lawman’s Baby

Patricia Johns

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09743-7

THE LAWMAN’S BABY

© 2019 Patricia Johns

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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Text to speech

“He’s very sweet...”

Mike smiled hesitantly. “I don’t know how to take care of him, and that scares me a whole lot. I’m better with perps and bad guys than I am with babies.”

“I can see that,” Paige said wryly.

“I can pay you for your time,” Mike added. “Basically, I’ll need to get some sort of childcare arranged, but in the meantime, I’m looking for someone to take care of Benjie while I’m at work, and to teach me everything I need to know.”

It should be simple—a few baby-care lessons and a little baby minding for a couple of weeks. Maybe it would help her get out of her head so she could decide on what to do with the rest of her life. Was she sticking with social services, or was she quitting for good?

“I’m not a long-term solution,” Paige said.

Mike met her gaze, those gray eyes locking on to hers so powerfully that her breath caught. “I’m not looking for long-term. I’m just looking for some help right now while I get my balance. What do you say?”

Dear Reader,

When I write, I often think about my reader—what she might look like curled up in a comfy chair, sitting on a bus, standing in a long lineup somewhere—and what she might get out of the story I’m writing. If there is one thing I hope you feel at the end of this story, it’s brave! I hope you’ll feel courageous enough to take a risk when it really matters. Love is complicated and oftentimes messy. But it’s always worth it.

I write for Heartwarming and Love Inspired here at Harlequin, and I hope you’ll check out my other books. You’re guaranteed to get sweet romance with a lot of heart!

You can find me on my blog at patriciajohnsromance.com, on Facebookand on Twitter. I’d love to hear from you.

Patricia Johns

To my husband, my very own happily-ever-after. I love you!

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

EPILOGUE

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

PAIGE STEDLER WALKED up the front stairs to the Eagle’s Rest Police Department and tugged her coat a little closer. It was a chilly fall morning, and an eddy of wind whipped a pile of leaves against the police station front doors. The police chief had called her in as a special request. Everyone knew that Paige was on stress leave, but this wasn’t exactly related to her job as a Social Services agent. Or so the chief had assured her.

She did feel a lot better than she had three weeks ago when she’d had her fifth panic attack while at work. But Paige wasn’t sure what the chief even wanted from her. Here was hoping it was just a form to sign or something like that. She pulled open the front door and headed into the station’s warmth. The receptionist, Ellen, shot her a smile.

“Paige!” the chief’s voice boomed across the office.

Paige returned Ellen’s smile on her way past and headed toward Chief Simpson’s office in the back. The chief was an older man with a potbelly and a demanding stare that softened when he waved to her. He strode across the bull pen and met her halfway.