Kris Fletcher - Picket Fence Surprise

They weren’t expecting this...

Heather Jacobs has a lot in common with Xander Sorenson: they’ve each got a great kid they adore, and neither of their paths to parenthood started out easy. So he’s the perfect guy to help her with her plan to seek joint custody of her daughter. But the perfect guy for her? Not so much, especially when she’s not convinced his reckless ways are behind him. Plus, he brings out a side of her that she’d rather keep in check. And then the impossible happens...

When was the last time that had happened?

Not just the laughter, but the ease, the banter, the feeling that it was okay to be himself? Xander couldn’t remember. The only certainty was that he had missed it. He liked it.

And even though he knew it was a bad idea, he wanted to know what else might go so well between Heather and him.

And from the way she suddenly wouldn’t meet his gaze as she walked him to the door, he had a feeling that she might be doing some wanting and wondering of her own.

“Thanks again,” she said, her tone oddly formal after their earlier laughter. “You’ve been a lifesaver with this.”

“My pleasure. And thanks for dinner. Cajun-blackened stir-fry has never tasted so good.”

Her laugh this time was a little higher, a little more strained. Like she was...nervous. Maybe a little shy.

Maybe a little uncertain as to what should happen when they reached the door.

Dear Reader:

I have a confession: I never intended for Xander to have his own book.

When I introduced him in A Family Come True, he was simply someone who had to be there, the catalyst that put the story in gear. (True story: his name is Xander because all through the first draft of that book, he was simply X.) He was supposed to show up when I needed him, do his part and disappear.

Except he never got the memo. And he kept horning his way into scenes. And then Piya Campana (aka Editor Extraordinaire) dropped a not-so-subtle hint that she would love to see his story.

Once that decision was made, the next question was to find the right partner for him. I auditioned a number of characters for the part but none felt right. Who would have the insight and experience to get involved with someone with Xander’s background? At last I realized that the only woman who could truly understand Xander was one who had something even more challenging in her history. With that, it became abundantly clear that there was only one possible match for him in all of Comeback Cove.

I hope you enjoy Xander’s story! Please visit me at www.krisfletcher.comto sign up for my newsletter, learn about upcoming books and stay caught up with everything happening in Comeback Cove.

Yours,

Kris

Picket Fence Surprise

Kris Fletcher

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KRIS FLETCHER would like you to believe that her children’s science-fair volcanoes were all perfectly sculpted from papier-mâché, but the truth is that the mashed-potato episode of this book just might have a basis in fact. Ahem.

Kris grew up in Southern Ontario, went to school in Nova Scotia, married a man from Maine and now lives in central New York. She shares her very messy home with her husband, some of their many kids, two Facebook-fodder cats and a growing population of dust bunnies.

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This book is dedicated to two very special individuals who taught me lessons that changed my heart.

To Kelli-Lee Howie, who helped me remember that there is so much more to this writing gig than daily pages and deadlines. It was my honor and privilege to learn from you.

And to my nephew Shawn-Man, who started our relationship down a whole new road with a simple Facebook question about writing. Our talks made me remember the joy and excitement of being a new writer and reminded me that words can open worlds. You showed me that courage, imagination and Fruity Pebbles can take us anywhere. Walking may indeed be overrated, but oh, sweetie, how I hope you’re dancing now.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

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

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

“MOMMY, I’VE DECIDED what I want for my birthday.”

Heather Jacobs paused in her conversation to focus on her daughter. Not that she had much choice: Millie had wrapped herself around Heather’s waist much like an octopus would wrap itself around lunch.

“Millie, I’m talking. You’re supposed to say ‘Excuse me,’ and wait.”

“I’m sorry. But it’s so perfect, and I’ve been thinking about it forever and I just have to tell you about it now!”

Heather glanced across the top of Millie’s head and shared a look of empathy with her friend Xander Sorenson, a fellow single parent and her main link to sanity at these extended family gatherings.

“Who else needs an apology from you?”

Millie wriggled with impatience, but offered a sincere, “Sorry, Mr. Sorenson.”

“Accepted.” He tugged on the end of Millie’s ponytail, narrowly missing the bright blue ribbon that Heather had woven into the curls to mark the festive occasion—the birthday party of Xander’s daughter, Cady. “So what’s such a perfect present that you figured it out already? Isn’t your birthday in the fall?”

“October 29. Almost Halloween. And, Mommy, what I want is...” Millie clasped her hands in front of her, twisting them together. “What I really want more than anything is for you and Daddy to share me more. Like Mr. Sorenson and Aunt Darcy share Cady.”

So much for Heather’s lifelong certainty that it was impossible for a jaw to actually drop.

It wasn’t that the question was unwelcome. On the contrary, it probably ranked right up there with Millie’s just-birthed howl, or the first time she’d said Mama. Heather had been yearning to hear those words, or a variation thereof, for almost nine long and lonely years.

But why had Millie chosen to make her request in the middle of a birthday party that was almost entirely populated by members of her ex’s very large, very nosy family?

Parenting Truth Number 614: Kids will always find the worst possible time to ask you anything.

And Heather had thought it was rough explaining tampon dispensers in public bathrooms.

“Mommy? Did you hear me?”

Thankfully, most of the adults in attendance were busy blowing bubbles for the pint-size guests. The back lawn of the North family home, usually an expanse of green reaching from the house to the bank of the St. Lawrence River, was today dotted with clumps of toddlers, their parents and enough balloons to decimate the world’s helium supply. No one was within hearing distance.