Jane Godman - Secret Baby, Second Chance

A terrorized young mother and her secret child return home, where a killer awaits...

She’s alive! Vincente Delaney has finally found his girlfriend, Beth Wade, who disappeared a year and a half ago, alive. But he’s shocked to discover someone with her: their child, a little girl he never knew about! Once upon a time, lone wolf Vincente never expected forever with Beth, but now he must put everything on the line to protect her and their family.

Beth was forced to leave Vincente to protect everything she held dear. But now the threat to her loved ones’ lives has reared its ugly head again. As danger approaches, she and Vincente must delve into her past to cast out the darkness jeopardizing their future.

She hadn’t known that Lia had already been growing inside her, hadn’t noticed the changes in her body.

Her whole focus had been on the nagging worry at the back of her mind. The worry that had ratcheted up to a whole new level a month later with the arrival of the letter and the first photograph. By the time the next one turned up in her mailbox a week before she left Stillwater, she had been half-crazy with worry. Any physical symptoms her body had been displaying had come second to the turmoil of her emotions.

Vincente frowned. Clearly, he wasn’t buying that explanation. Beth didn’t blame him. She wouldn’t herself if she was the one listening to it. A lot on my mind. It was a classic fobbing-off phrase. His lips parted in preparation to ask more just as a cry from the baby monitor, for the second time that day, provided an interruption.

This cry was different. This wasn’t one of Lia’s usual noises. It was a high-pitched scream that brought Beth straight to her feet and had her running for the door. At the same time, out in the yard, Melon went into a frenzy of barking.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Picking up on her panic, Vincente was right behind her as she dashed up the stairs.

“Someone is in Lia’s room.”

* * *

Sons of Stillwater: Danger lurks in a small Wyoming town

* * *

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Dear Reader,

Thank you for journeying back to Stillwater with me!

Secret Baby, Second Chance is the third book in the Sons of Stillwater miniseries, and it tells the story of Vincente Delaney.

The only unpredictable thing Vincente’s rancher father did was fall in love with beautiful Italian socialite Giovanna Alberti. When the marriage ended, his mother left for Italy and a series of new marriages. Vincente was left feeling out of place in Stillwater...and within his own family.

The only person with whom he ever felt truly comfortable was Beth Wade. Vincente and Beth had a unique, passionate relationship. Then, one night, she disappeared...

This story goes deeper than the mystery of why Beth went on the run and what happened ten years ago during an ill-fated expedition to the Devil’s Peak.

When Vincente catches up with Beth, everything has changed. The passion is still there, but the danger they are in, together with their new responsibilities, mean they have to face a different kind of future.

I loved writing the story of how Vincente falls in love twice over. He almost lost Beth and he has to deal with that, but he is also instantly enchanted by his daughter. He never thought he would be a father, but this little person captures his heart.

I’d love to find out what you think of Vincente and Beth’s story. You can contact me on my website ( janegodmanauthor.com), Twitter ( @janegodman) and Facebook ( Jane Godman Author).

Happy reading,

Jane

SECRET BABY, SECOND CHANCE

Jane Godman

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JANE GODMAN writes in a variety of romance genres, including paranormal, gothic and romantic suspense. Jane lives in England and loves to travel to European cities that are steeped in history and romance—Venice, Dubrovnik and Vienna are among her favorites. Jane is married to a lovely man and is mom to two grown-up children.

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedicatin

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Extract

Copyright

Chapter 1

“We’ve found Beth Wade.”

Vincente Delaney had been waiting to hear those words for the last twelve months. Waiting and dreading. Now they had finally been spoken, it was as if his mind wasn’t sure how to process them and his emotions didn’t know how to react. He’d imagined that, as soon as he was told, he would be torn apart by anger and pain. Instead, all he felt was a curious detachment, as though he was viewing the scene as an outsider.

“Why wasn’t her body with those of the other women Grant Becker murdered?”

He was pleased to find his voice sounded normal. That he could ask the question without crumbling. He supposed it was because there had been plenty of time to prepare for this moment. Twelve months ago, the police had told him that Beth fitted the profile of those killed by the murderer known as the Red Rose Killer and she was likely to have been one of his victims. Ever since then, this situation had been at the back of his mind. He hadn’t thought about it every minute of every day. Not quite that often.

Of course, it had been made worse because the man responsible for the deaths of all those women had been someone Vincente had known most of his life. Grant Becker had been his brother Cameron’s best friend. Vincente and Grant had gone hunting and drinking together. To learn that Grant, the sheriff of West County, was not only a serial killer, but that he could have been responsible for killing Beth... Vincente shook his head. He still struggled to come to grips with the reality of what had happened in his hometown. Grant was dead now, but the legacy of his crimes had rocked the city of Stillwater, Wyoming, to its core.

“Oh, dear Lord, Vincente. I’m so sorry. That came out all wrong.” Laurie, Cameron’s wife, was a detective in the Stillwater police. She moved swiftly across the room to place her hand on his arm. “Beth isn’t dead. What I came here to tell you was that we’ve finally found out where she’s been living since she left Stillwater.”

The emotion did kick in then, so hard and fast he felt light-headed with it. Relief hit him first. She’s not dead! The long, anguished months of picturing her murder, of wondering if there was anything he could have done to save her, of thinking about all the might-have-beens... And all that time Beth had been alive.

“Where is she?” His initial relief was followed by something colder and harder. Beth was alive. Questions began to form. Dozens of them. Why had she left? And why so suddenly? What was her life like now? Was she single? Married? In a relationship? Why did those things matter? She had walked out on him without an explanation. If not in the middle of the night, near enough. It wasn’t the action of someone who wanted to be with him. Nevertheless, she owed him some explanations.