Annette Broadrick: Daddy's Angel

“Whether she’s writing romantic suspense or pure romance, Annette Broadrick always tells a great story! I love her tough but tender heroes!”

—Bestselling author Ann Major

“I love Annette Broadrick’s books! They make me laugh and cry and then laugh again as she takes me on a whirlwind ride toward a wonderfully happy ending.”

—Award-winning author Paula Detmer Riggs

believes in romance and the magic of life. Since 1984, Annette has shared her view of life and love with readers. In addition to being nominated by Romantic Times magazine as one of the Best New Authors of that year, she has also won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best in its Series, the Romantic Times WISH award, and the Romantic Times magazine Lifetime Achievement Awards for Series Romance and Series Romantic Fantasy.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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This book is dedicated to all those very special angels who devote their valuable time to the loving, nurturing and caring of a husband and/or children 365 days a year.

You know who you are. So does God.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Noelle waited patiently.

Noelle St. Nichols had all the patience in the world. Of course, technically speaking, she wasn’t part of the world.

Not exactly.

For several seasons now, she’d been a Christmas angel, the kind who presides at the very top of the Christmas tree each season.

Before accepting her present occupation, she’d enjoyed a multitude of varied assignments…all part of the training for novice angels. Not that people on earth understand the extensive training each and every angel willingly pursues. Many people have absolutely no conception that angels exist.

Of course most people have heard about them, particularly at Christmastime. Whenever the Christmas story is told, the listener hears about the time when the angels appeared to the shepherds, announcing the birth of the baby Jesus.

Because of the special sense of love and understanding that seems to fill the air around Christmastime, some people—if asked—might admit that quite possibly there really was a time when there were angels who actually talked to shepherds. If pressed, they might admit to believing that even in this day and age there are angels who protect small children.

Few people, however, want to admit that they could have a guardian angel, although they might joke about the possibility.

Noelle had never been able to understand how people could speak about guardian angels as though they were a joke. How could such an honorable profession be considered amusing?

At one point in her training, her highest aspiration had been to become a guardian angel. She had diligently studied for her proposed calling and had been given several assignments that had resulted in less than spectacular results. She’d discovered that attempting to guide and protect a person who was determined to ignore that quiet voice within could be difficult—not to mention downright frustrating!

Noelle sighed and thought back over her long and varied career, which had been filled with unexpected twists and turns.

One of her less admirable traits was her impulsiveness.

She wouldn’t be where she was today if she hadn’t impulsively offered to fill in for a friend on this particular assignment.

How could she have known at the time the far-reaching effects her present occupation would have on her own goals and aspirations? Even if she could have foreseen the consequences, she wasn’t certain she could have resisted the opportunity to be with children.

Children were her very special love. What better way for her to be around them than to become part of their annual celebration of Christmas?

Small children still had memories of the time when they lived with the angels. They recognized her immediately. Consequently she had no difficulty communicating with them.

She’d been filled with excitement by the thought that she might be placed in a child’s home and be given the opportunity to offer one or more children a refresher course on love and all its many aspects—such as compassion…and caring…understanding…and sharing…empathy…and acceptance.

As far as she was concerned, one of her most sacred duties was to remind children of the larger significance of Christmas, that it was a magical time when love could produce miracles.

Children came into the world filled with a wondrous knowledge of all things. Unfortunately many of them forgot about the wonder and the magic of Christmas as they grew older, which was why Noelle St. Nichols chose to come to earth as a reminder. So she became a Christmas tree angel.

And fell head over heels in love.

She sighed, thinking of the series of events that had taken place for her since she had become a Christmas tree angel. So much had happened, both joyous and sad.

Bret Bishop had had an extraordinary effect on her. He had stolen her heart as surely as a train robber successfully empties a safe.

She winced at her unfortunate choice of metaphor. The train robber had been one of her earlier assignments as a guardian angel. He hadn’t been one of her successes.

Her record carried as many failures as it did triumphs, although her supervisor continued to remind her that there was no such thing as a failure in their dimension…only lessons to be learned.

Falling in love certainly hadn’t been part of her particular curriculum, but it had happened, even though Bret Bishop was unaware of her existence.

While she waited for her annual liberation from the attic, Noelle reminisced, reliving that time in her history when she had believed she would be filling in as a Christmas tree angel for only a few weeks.

She wore a shimmery white gown with a long full skirt that stood stiffly in a full circle around her. Her white-blond hair fell in waves to her waist and framed her face. A twinkling halo of brilliants encircled her head and in her left hand she carried a tiny, star-tipped wand.

For several days she’d entertained herself by sending waves of loving energy to the children who walked through the aisles of the department store where she was displayed. Rarely did she notice the adults until the day she heard someone say, “Bret, would you look at this?”

A young woman with short black curls framing her face paused in front of the tree ornament section where Noelle was prominently displayed. The man beside her obligingly glanced at Noelle.

Noelle looked back…and was a goner.

The first thing she noticed about Bret Bishop was his happiness. He glowed with it, especially whenever he looked at the woman beside him.

He was young, Noelle noted. A very fine specimen of manhood—his body perfectly proportioned, his face filled with integrity.

Noelle was certain she knew him…or had known him from some other dimension in space and time. Her reaction was much too strong not to have been forged in an earlier reality.