Joan Pickart - To A Macallister Born

Jennifer sank back in the chair and splayed her hands on her flat stomach.

Jack’s baby, her mind whispered. No, it was her baby. Her secret. She was not going to tell Jack about this child unless he came to her and asked her to marry him.

She wouldn’t trap him into proposing to her, thus sentencing herself to a lifetime of wondering if he truly wished to be by her side.

If Jack went to California per his original plan, he would never, ever know that this child existed.

And the serious discussion she’d scheduled for that evening? Oh, yes, they’d have that talk, but she’d keep a tight rein on her emotions. She’d wait to hear what Jack had to say.

Wait…while she hoped and prayed that he’d ask her to be his wife.…

Dear Reader,

Welcome to a spectacular month of great romances as we continue to celebrate Silhouette’s 20th Anniversary all year long!

Beloved bestselling author Nora Roberts returns with Irish Rebel, a passionate sequel to her very first book, Irish Thoroughbred. Revisit the spirited Grant family as tempers flare, sparks fly and love ignites between the newest generation of Irish rebels!

Also featured this month is Christine Flynn’s poignant THAT’S MY BABY! story, The Baby Quilt, in which a disillusioned, high-powered attorney finds love and meaning in the arms of an innocent young mother.

Silhouette reader favorite Joan Elliott Pickart delights us with her secret baby story, To a MacAllister Born, adding to her heartwarming cross-line miniseries, THE BABY BET. And acclaimed author Ginna Gray delivers the first compelling story in her series, A FAMILY BOND, with A Man Apart, in which a wounded loner lawman is healed heart, body and soul by the nurturing touch of a beautiful, compassionate woman.

Rounding off the month are two more exciting ongoing miniseries. From longtime author Susan Mallery, we have a sizzling marriage-of-convenience story, The Sheik’s Secret Bride, the third book in her DESERT ROGUES series. And Janis Reams Hudson once again shows her flair for Western themes and Native American heroes with The Price of Honor, a part of her miniseries, WILDERS OF WYATT COUNTY.

It’s a terrific month of page-turning reading from Special Edition. Enjoy!

All the best,

Karen Taylor Richman

Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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For my daughter, Paige, my very own Tempe, Arizona, fire fighter

I’m a proud mommy, Peep

Silhouette Special Edition

*Friends, Lovers…and Babies! #1011

*The Father of Her Child #1025

†Texas Dawn #1100

†Texas Baby #1141

‡Wife Most Wanted #1160

The Rancher and the Amnesiac Bride #1204

ΔThe Irresistible Mr. Sinclair #1256

ΔThe Most Eligible M.D. #1262

Man…Mercenary…Monarch #1303

*To a MacAllister Born #1329

Silhouette Desire

* Angels and Elves #961

Apache Dream Bride #999

†Texas Moon #1051

†Texas Glory #1088

Just My Joe #1202

ΔTaming Tall, Dark Brandon #1223

Previously published under the pseudonym Robin Elliott

Silhouette Special Edition

Rancher’s Heaven #909

Mother at Heart #968

Silhouette Intimate Moments

Gauntlet Run #206

Silhouette Desire

Call It Love #213

To Have It All #237

Picture of Love #261

Pennies in the Fountain #275

Dawn’s Gift #303

Brooke’s Chance #323

Betting Man #344

Silver Sands #362

Lost and Found #384

Out of the Cold #440

Sophie’s Attic #725

Not Just Another Perfect Wife #818

Haven’s Call #859

is the author of over seventy novels. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys watching football, knitting, reading, gardening and attending craft shows on the town square. Joan has three all-grown-up daughters and a fantastic little grandson. In September of 1995, Joan traveled to China to adopt her fourth daughter, Autumn. Joan and Autumn have settled into their cozy cottage in a charming, small town in the high pine country of Arizona.

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

Jennifer Mackane stretched leisurely, then snuggled deeper beneath the blankets on the bed with a sigh of contentment.

She wasn’t scheduled to work today, or tonight, at Hamilton House, she mused, and would be able to spend the free hours with her precious Joey. They’d straighten up around the house and run errands, then indulge in dinner at Joey’s favorite fast-food restaurant.

She’d have the luxury of tucking a fresh-from-his-bath Joey into bed that night and reading him a story as he drifted off to sleep. Bliss. Sweet bliss.

A faint aroma of freshly brewed coffee reached Jennifer, and she knew the automatic timer on the machine had produced the hot, beckoning brew.

No, she thought. She’d stay in bed a while longer, be sinfully lazy. Then again, the coffee smelled so deliciously tempting.

“Oh, who am I kidding?” she said, laughing. “That coffee is calling my name.”

She threw back the blankets and left the bed, poking her feet into enormous yellow slippers that boasted the head of a smiling Big Bird.

Joey was so proud of those slippers he’d given her for Christmas last year, she mused. He’d gone shopping with his Uncle Brandon and Uncle Ben, the outing producing the bizarre slippers as Joey’s gift to his mom.

Jennifer had shot dagger-filled looks at Brandon Hamilton and Ben Rizzoli when she’d opened her present, and had seen the merriment and mischief dancing in their dark eyes. But she’d become accustomed to the pair’s nonsense while the three of them had grown up together. Here in the pretty little town of Prescott, nestled high in the mountains a hundred miles above Phoenix, they’d enjoyed an idyllic childhood.

Jennifer thudded her way toward the kitchen as she smoothed her red flannel nightshirt down to her knees. Big Bird’s heads bobbed up and down with each step she took.

Joey would be checking to see that she was wearing these silly creations, she knew, despite the fact that it was nearly a year since he’d given them to her.

In the large kitchen of the old, three-story Victorian house, Jennifer poured herself a mug of hot coffee, then opened the refrigerator to find the carton that would provide the splash of milk.

She hesitated and frowned, her gaze falling on the bridal bouquet on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. She added milk to the coffee, retrieved the bouquet, then settled at the kitchen table, staring at the lovely flowers as she took her first sip.