Jean Barrett - Paternity Unknown

“Nothing. Please, just go.”

She was protecting something inside that bedroom. Or someone. He was certain of it. She was no longer living here alone. Another man? He was gripped by a sudden spasm of jealousy.

When he strode purposefully toward the bedroom door, Lauren tried to cut him off. “You have no right!” she cried in panic.

He opened the door, walked into the room. There was no other man. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except for a crib located near the window.

Ethan was only dimly aware of Lauren behind him, plucking at his sleeve in a futile effort to stop him. He reached the crib, the breath sticking in his throat as he looked down into its shallow depth.

A pair of blue-green eyes—his eyes—gazed back at him innocently.

Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,

This month you’ll want to have all six of our books to keep you company as you brave those April showers!

Debra Webb kicks off THE ENFORCERS, her exciting new trilogy, with John Doe on Her Doorstep. And for all of you who have been waiting with bated breath for the newest installment in Kelsey Roberts’s THE LANDRY BROTHERS series, we have Chasing Secrets.

Rebecca York, Ann Voss Peterson and Patricia Rosemoor join together in Desert Sons. You won’t want to miss this unique three-in-one collection!

Two of your favorite promotions are back. You won’t be able to resist Leona Karr’s ECLIPSE title, Shadows on the Lake. And you’ll be on the edge of your seat while reading Jean Barrett’s Paternity Unknown, the latest installment in TOP SECRET BABIES.

Meet another of THE PRECINCT’s rugged lawmen in Julie Miller’s Police Business.

Every month you can depend on Harlequin Intrigue to deliver an array of thrilling romantic suspense and mystery. Be sure you read each one!

Sincerely,

Denise O’Sullivan

Senior Editor

Harlequin Intrigue

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To my readers

I never forget that you make it all possible

If setting has anything to do with it, Jean Barrett claims she has no reason not to be inspired. She and her husband live on Wisconsin’s scenic Door Peninsula in an antique-filled country cottage overlooking Lake Michigan. A teacher for many years, she left the classroom to write full-time. She is the author of a number of romance novels.

Write to Jean at P.O. Box 623, Sister Bay, WI 54234. SASE appreciated.

Lauren McCrea—The frantic mother has no choice but to join forces with the one man she is unable to trust.

Ethan Brand—He has sworn to find his little Sara…and prove his innocence to the woman he never forgot.

Sara—The innocent baby is a pawn in a desperate game.

Hilary Johnson—What terrible secret is the housekeeper concealing?

Sheriff Howell—He resents any interference in his cases.

Marjorie Landry—The FBI agent ends up being a disappointment.

Anthony Johnson—He is the key to everything.

Buddy Foley—The Seattle cop is a friend from the past.

Charlie Heath—The pompous lawyer isn’t all that he seems.

Prologue

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

He was in the wilderness, he was lost, and it was snowing.

Okay, so there was still some question about the first two, but there was no mistaking the snow. The skies had been a clear, brittle blue when he’d left the airport near Kalispell. Somewhere along his route, though, a cloud cover had sneaked in over the mountains, obscuring the sun.

He hadn’t been worried when the first white flakes swirled through the air. Hell, it was November, and this was Montana. It was supposed to snow, wasn’t it? The car rental agency hadn’t mentioned anything about the possibility of a storm on the way.

But the snow had thickened and for the better part of an hour now, the stuff had been falling at a serious rate. No weather report on the radio. All he could seem to find was music.

The wilderness part was a matter of definition. He knew there were rugged mountains out there—the Flathead Range, according to the map he’d found in the glove compartment. He just couldn’t see them through this curtain of white.

For that matter, he could barely make out the ranks of evergreens pressing in on him. They crowded both sides of the winding road, a forest unbroken by any clearing or a sign of a building. For a man who had spent most of his life in a large city, that translated into his version of a wilderness.

As for being lost…yeah, it felt like it.

He couldn’t remember when he had last met another vehicle. There was just him and this narrow ribbon climbing through the hills. It seemed more like a back road than a highway. Had he missed a sign, taken a wrong turn? The map was of no use; it wasn’t specific enough.

Nor could his cell phone help him. He’d tried to raise the state highway department to learn about the weather conditions and to ask directions, only he was unable to get a signal. The weather was probably to blame—maybe a tower was down.

As if all that weren’t bad enough, the light was rapidly fading. No surprise at this time of the year when the days were so short, but it made his situation all the more treacherous.

Any fool would have turned back long ago, but he didn’t consider it. He couldn’t. Whatever the risk, the urgency of his mission forced him to go on. He had to reach the woman whose knowledge meant his survival.

No time to lose, either. They must be searching for you by now, and if you don’t get to her before they find you…

Forget about that. Take it one step at a time.

At this moment, that meant concentrating on the road. It wasn’t good. The snow was piling up. How much longer would the route remain passable?

Whether it was the instinct that had served him so well in the past or merely blind luck that enabled him to glimpse the sign at the side of the road a moment later, he couldn’t say. The point was, he saw it, and he could have easily missed it in the driving snow.

Easing the car to a halt, he peered through the windshield where the wipers swished across the glass. The beams of his headlights penetrated the snow and gathering darkness just enough for him to make out the old, faded sign.

It wasn’t a directional sign. It was a small billboard. Straining, he could see that it advertised vacation cabins for rent. The cabins were of no interest to him. Their location was. Elkton, Five Miles Ahead, the sign read. His destination. He was on the right road.

Relieved, he moved on. The conditions worsened with each bend in the road as the snowfall accelerated to a furious blizzard. It was full night now. He could barely see the route. Feeling his way, he crested a rise and almost missed a sharp curve. He swung the wheel in time and rounded the turn.