Patricia Johns - The Deputy's Unexpected Family

From stubborn bachelor to family man...

The Comfort Creek Lawmen have a new member

Returning home has stirred painful memories for officer Gabe Banks. But responding to a robbery at Harper Kemp’s bridal shop has upended his world. Harper’s adopted four-year-old is the daughter he never knew existed. Gabe’s no longer the bad boy Harper remembers, but he’s still terrified of commitment. Despite their fierce attraction, Harper must protect her little girl’s heart...and her own.

PATRICIA JOHNS writes from Alberta, Canada. She has her Hon. BA in English literature and currently writes for Harlequin’s Love Inspired, Western Romance and Heartwarming lines. You can find her at patriciajohnsromance.com.

Also By Patricia Johns

Love Inspired

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

A Baxter’s Redemption

The Runaway Bride

A Boy’s Christmas Wish

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

The Deputy’s Unexpected Family

Patricia Johns

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08555-7

THE DEPUTY’S UNEXPECTED FAMILY

© 2018 Patricia Johns

Published in Great Britain 2018

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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“I think I need to apologize.”

“Sure. But there are no apologies necessary.”

“No?” Gabe eyed her uncertainly. “Look, that was... I’m not hitting on you.”

“Great.” She wasn’t sure if that was an improvement.

“That doesn’t clear it up. I mean, yes, I find you attractive. More than attractive—gorgeous. I always have. That’s no excuse.”

“But it wasn’t only you.”

“It wasn’t?” He raised his eyebrows. “You sure about that?”

“I felt it, too. But obviously, we can’t go there.”

“Obviously. You’re my daughter’s mother. And you and I have to maintain a good relationship for her sake. We can’t just try this on for size and change our minds later without it affecting Zoey.”

“We’re blessed, in a way. We don’t have some failed romance between us. We’re better for it.”

“And we need to keep it that way. I know that, and I won’t...let things get complicated. If that makes you feel any better.”

So they were on the same page. But it didn’t exactly fix whatever attraction was stewing between them.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

—James 1:17

Dear Reader,

It’s hard to wait for blessings, isn’t it? We get impatient, and when we see others enjoying the blessings we pray for, it can be hard. In this book, Harper has to make her peace with the love and romance she wishes she had in her life in the face of her younger sister’s wedding.

When my husband and I got engaged, we told our church family. There was a woman who was a few years older than me—a single mom. She threw her arms around me with a genuine hug, and she said, “I’m so happy for you! May God bless me, too!” That stuck with me, because she was so gracious, so lovely, so genuinely happy for the joy of others, and I thought, I want to be like her .

It might not be easy, but I’ve made it a habit now that when others reach my goals before I do to say, “I’m happy for her! May God remember me, too.” Because I’ve learned that just because God has blessed one person, doesn’t mean His plans for anyone else have diminished.

If you’d like to connect with me, you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or on my blog, PatriciaJohnsRomance.com. I’d love to see you!

Patricia Johns

To my husband,

my very own Happily Ever After. And to our son, who is old enough now that he really hates being left out of book dedications!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Bible Verse

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

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

Harper Kemp stood in the center of her disheveled shop, Blessings Bridal, gaping at the mess. She had arrived two hours before any of the other shops on Sycamore Avenue opened for the day, hoping to get a little paperwork done, but had walked into this.

The front display window was edged in the sharp lace of broken glass and a chill autumn wind whisked into the shop. The cash register hung open, empty, and several voluminous gowns clung to the mannequins in tatters. Whoever had done this had slashed through the delicate material, leaving the floor littered with beads. The front display case had been smashed, and the velvet nests that once held tiaras, clasps, bejeweled belts and the like now lay vacant, peppered with glittering glass.