Linda Goodnight - Lone Star Dad

The Secret Next Door

Nurse Gena Satterfield knew raising her rebellious nephew, Derrick, would be tough, but moving to Gabriel’s Crossing was supposed to help ease the transition into their new reality. That was before she realized her new neighbor was Quinn Buchanon—her teenage crush, the town’s onetime star quarterback...and Derrick’s father. Her sister’s dying wish was that Gena keep this secret. Yet watching Quinn connect with the boy and penetrate his angry walls, Gena begins to see him in a whole new light. Now, torn between the truth and the promise she made, Gena has to follow her heart. And hope they can all heal together...as a family.

Her cranky, surly nephew sat on the bare floor while a mother cat licked milk from his fingertips.

Nestled around the black-and-white cat was a bunch of brand-new baby kittens.

Derrick raised a rapt face. “She had babies. I watched.”

Gena went to her haunches. “How many?”

“Four. She’s really tired now.” He sounded vulnerable and sweet, like the loving little boy he’d once been.

“I expect so.” She stroked a finger across the mother cat’s head. The animal seemed friendly. The big surprise to her was that Quinn Buchanon would own a cat. An attack-trained rottweiler, yes. But a cat?

She looked up at the bewildering man standing inside the door. Had she misjudged him?

He was watching her. Not Derrick or the cats but her. For ten seconds their eyes held. Gena suffered a dozen conflicting emotions—including completely unwanted attraction and a need to know the man behind the haggard face and bent, scarred arm.

LINDA GOODNIGHT, a New York Times bestselling author and winner of a RITA® Award in inspirational fiction, has appeared on the Christian bestseller list. Her novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Active in orphan ministry, Linda enjoys writing fiction that carries a message of hope in a sometimes dark world. She and her husband live in Oklahoma. Visit her website, lindagoodnight.com, for more information.

Lone Star Dad

New York Times Bestselling Author

Linda Goodnight

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace,

that we may obtain mercy,

and find grace to help in time of need.

—Hebrews 4:16

For family, who sustains me, and as always,

for the glory of Jesus.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text The Secret Next Door Nurse Gena Satterfield knew raising her rebellious nephew, Derrick, would be tough, but moving to Gabriel’s Crossing was supposed to help ease the transition into their new reality. That was before she realized her new neighbor was Quinn Buchanon—her teenage crush, the town’s onetime star quarterback...and Derrick’s father. Her sister’s dying wish was that Gena keep this secret. Yet watching Quinn connect with the boy and penetrate his angry walls, Gena begins to see him in a whole new light. Now, torn between the truth and the promise she made, Gena has to follow her heart. And hope they can all heal together...as a family.

Introduction Her cranky, surly nephew sat on the bare floor while a mother cat licked milk from his fingertips. Nestled around the black-and-white cat was a bunch of brand-new baby kittens. Derrick raised a rapt face. “She had babies. I watched.” Gena went to her haunches. “How many?” “Four. She’s really tired now.” He sounded vulnerable and sweet, like the loving little boy he’d once been. “I expect so.” She stroked a finger across the mother cat’s head. The animal seemed friendly. The big surprise to her was that Quinn Buchanon would own a cat. An attack-trained rottweiler, yes. But a cat? She looked up at the bewildering man standing inside the door. Had she misjudged him? He was watching her. Not Derrick or the cats but her. For ten seconds their eyes held. Gena suffered a dozen conflicting emotions—including completely unwanted attraction and a need to know the man behind the haggard face and bent, scarred arm.

About the Author LINDA GOODNIGHT , a New York Times bestselling author and winner of a RITA® Award in inspirational fiction, has appeared on the Christian bestseller list. Her novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Active in orphan ministry, Linda enjoys writing fiction that carries a message of hope in a sometimes dark world. She and her husband live in Oklahoma. Visit her website, lindagoodnight.com , for more information.

Title Page Lone Star Dad New York Times Bestselling Author Linda Goodnight www.millsandboon.co.uk

Bible Verse Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. —Hebrews 4:16

Dedication For family, who sustains me, and as always, for the glory of Jesus.

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

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

He wouldn’t do this. Not again. He wouldn’t shame himself or his family this way.

Quinn Buchanon clenched his jaw hard enough to make his face ache and slapped his outstretched hands against the fireplace mantel. He was off balance, as always, the fingers of his right hand barely reaching, while the left was just dandy. The bitter root of the last eleven years curled inside his chest. His arm throbbed harder.

He glanced up at the plastic clock tacked above the crackling fireplace. Two o’clock. Too early.

Releasing a slow, frustrated breath, he pushed back and rubbed his right arm, the exact spot where the surgical titanium rod pushed against the bent muscle and scar tissue. On winter nights, the ache was worse. Add precipitation, like tonight’s cold misty rain, and he was in a world of hurt.

Quinn had thought he’d conquered the problem during his stint in Dallas, but the last surgery and coming home to Gabriel’s Crossing brought the pain and grief and most of all the pure exuberant thrill tumbling back in. The glory days. The accident. Yes, accident, as he’d come to realize last year. Jake Hamilton had not intended to hurt him. If anything, the fault was Quinn’s. His own fault. His own misery.

Whoever was to blame, the damage was done and he’d never be the same. Most days, he didn’t even feel like a man, certainly not the toast of Gabriel’s Crossing and half of Texas that he’d once been.

Memories were killer.

Head starting to pound in that incessant ache he knew too well, he took long strides down the length of the cabin, through the living space and out onto the saggy front porch. The air would clear his head. The cold would give him something else to think about.