Kathleen Creighton - Guarding The Soldier's Secret

A sexy soldier comes back from the dead to protect his daughter and her beautiful guardian.

Desperate to save his young daughter’s life, soldier Hunt Grainger tasked war correspondent Yancy Malone with smuggling Laila to the US. Now, years later, Yancy and Laila are back in Afghanistan—and face-to-face with the man they both thought was dead.

Hunt is desperate to reconnect with the child he barely knows and the headstrong redhead he never forgot. When Laila and Yancy are targeted by a group hell-bent on revenge, Hunt’s protective instincts kick into overdrive. Their only option: hide out at Yancy’s family ranch until the threat subsides. But Hunt’s own secrets might lead everyone he loves into even more danger!

“What kind of person do you think I am?”

“I don’t really know that,” Hunt said. “Do I?”

“You know a whole lot more about me than I do about you.” Yancy threw that at him, tight and quivering with emotions, three years worth of fear and uncertainty and unanswered questions. “I live my life in the public eye. You live yours in the shadows. You’re a—a—”

“Ghost?” A single word, spoken softly in the darkness.

Her chest constricted with the pain of remembering. She gave a helpless whimper of a laugh and turned away from him.

“Why did I keep Laila with me, and not hand her off to some stranger?” She paused, then took a careful breath and answered truthfully. “At first, I guess it was because she seemed so…lost. So scared. The way she looked at me…as if she trusted me.”

“I told her she could.”

How different his voice sounded. Did she only imagine it was emotion she heard? Or was she projecting her own inner turmoil onto him? Surely the Hunt Grainger she knew would never allow himself to be caught in such an unguarded moment.

But then, I really don’t know him at all.

* * *

Stay tuned for the next book in Kathleen Creighton’s Scandals of Sierra Malone miniseries.

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Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication Introduction Prologue PART I Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 PART II Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Epilogue Extract Copyright ,

It’s been a while since I last asked you to journey with me to beautiful June Canyon, California, where reclusive eccentric billionaire “Sierra” Sam Malone is attempting to atone for a lifetime of scandalous and reckless behavior. It was not my intention to stay away so long. After all, there are stories yet to be told, at least two more heirs for Sam to meet, two more granddaughters who may, possibly, come to forgive him. Maybe even learn to love him.

What is it someone supposedly has said? Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans?

Sometimes unexpected events can turn your life in a whole new direction, and it’s not always easy to find your footing on this new and often rocky path. In a way, that’s what happens to Yancy Malone and Hunt Grainger, as something neither of them could have foreseen turns their lives upside down, and sends them on a journey neither of them could have imagined. In the course of this journey they must experience tragedy and danger, duty and sacrifice, heartache and loss, before they can finally come to a place where both can accept, forgive…and love.

This is Yancy and Hunt’s love story, true. But it’s the story of another sort of love, too. The story of how “the soldier’s secret” brings unexpected light and joy to an old man’s heart.

Journey with me now, back to June Canyon…

Kathleen

Guarding the Soldier’s Secret

Kathleen Creighton

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KATHLEEN CREIGHTON has roots deep in the California soil but has relocated to South Carolina. As a child, she enjoyed listening to old-timers’ tales, and her fascination with the past only deepened as she grew older. Today, she is interested in everything—art, music, gardening, zoology, anthropology and history—but people are at the top of her list. She also has a lifelong passion for writing, and now combines all her loves in romance novels.

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This book is for my children.

I am never so proud of you as

when life knocks you down,

and you somehow manage to

pick yourselves up and go on,

stronger than ever.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text A sexy soldier comes back from the dead to protect his daughter and her beautiful guardian. Desperate to save his young daughter’s life, soldier Hunt Grainger tasked war correspondent Yancy Malone with smuggling Laila to the US. Now, years later, Yancy and Laila are back in Afghanistan—and face-to-face with the man they both thought was dead. Hunt is desperate to reconnect with the child he barely knows and the headstrong redhead he never forgot. When Laila and Yancy are targeted by a group hell-bent on revenge, Hunt’s protective instincts kick into overdrive. Their only option: hide out at Yancy’s family ranch until the threat subsides. But Hunt’s own secrets might lead everyone he loves into even more danger!

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication Introduction Prologue PART I Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 PART II Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Epilogue Extract Copyright , It’s been a while since I last asked you to journey with me to beautiful June Canyon, California, where reclusive eccentric billionaire “Sierra” Sam Malone is attempting to atone for a lifetime of scandalous and reckless behavior. It was not my intention to stay away so long. After all, there are stories yet to be told, at least two more heirs for Sam to meet, two more granddaughters who may, possibly, come to forgive him. Maybe even learn to love him. What is it someone supposedly has said? Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans? Sometimes unexpected events can turn your life in a whole new direction, and it’s not always easy to find your footing on this new and often rocky path. In a way, that’s what happens to Yancy Malone and Hunt Grainger, as something neither of them could have foreseen turns their lives upside down, and sends them on a journey neither of them could have imagined. In the course of this journey they must experience tragedy and danger, duty and sacrifice, heartache and loss, before they can finally come to a place where both can accept, forgive…and love. This is Yancy and Hunt’s love story, true. But it’s the story of another sort of love, too. The story of how “the soldier’s secret” brings unexpected light and joy to an old man’s heart. Journey with me now, back to June Canyon… Kathleen

Title Page Guarding the Soldier’s Secret Kathleen Creighton www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author KATHLEEN CREIGHTON has roots deep in the California soil but has relocated to South Carolina. As a child, she enjoyed listening to old-timers’ tales, and her fascination with the past only deepened as she grew older. Today, she is interested in everything—art, music, gardening, zoology, anthropology and history—but people are at the top of her list. She also has a lifelong passion for writing, and now combines all her loves in romance novels.