Christine Flynn: Suddenly Family

And T.J., he knew, had their best interests at heart. His little Jenny was definitely getting attached to her. And young Jason had opened up to her far more than he had to any other woman.

Still, his kids needed more than for T.J. to be there for them as a neighbor, a friend, a baby-sitter. They needed a mom.

Unfortunately, T.J. just wasn’t someone Sam could look to for a relationship. He doubted she’d ever let a man get that close again. He figured the only reason she hadn’t backed away from him by now was because of their kids.

As much as he found himself thinking of her…wanting her…Sam had the feeling that if he made a move, T.J. would freeze up like a shallow pond in winter.

Dear Reader,

A rewarding part of any woman’s life is talking with friends about important issues. Because of this, we’ve developed the Readers’ Ring, a book club that facilitates discussions of love, life and family. Of course, you’ll find all of these topics wrapped up in each Silhouette Special Edition novel! Our featured author for this month’s Readers’ Ring is newcomer Elissa Ambrose. Journey of the Heart (#1506) is a poignant story of true love and survival when the odds are against you. This is a five-tissue story you won’t be able to put down!

Susan Mallery delights us with another tale from her HOMETOWN HEARTBREAKERS series. Good Husband Material (#1501) begins with two star-crossed lovers and an ill-fated wedding. Years later, they realize their love is as strong as ever! Don’t wait to pick up Cattleman’s Honor (#1502), the second book in Pamela Toth’s WINCHESTER BRIDES series. In this book, a divorced single mom comes to Colorado to start a new life—and winds up falling into the arms of a rugged rancher. What a way to go!

Victoria Pade begins her new series, BABY TIMES THREE, with a heartfelt look at unexpected romance, in Her Baby Secret (#1503)—in which an independent woman wants to have a child, and after a night of wicked passion with a handsome businessman, her wish comes true! You’ll see that there’s more than one way to start a family in Christine Flynn’s Suddenly Family (#1504), in which two single parents who are wary of love find it—with each other! And you’ll want to learn the facts in What a Woman Wants (#1505), by Tori Carrington. In this tantalizing tale, a beautiful widow discovers she’s pregnant with her late husband’s best friend’s baby!

As you can see, we have nights of passion, reunion romances, babies and heart-thumping emotion packed into each of these special stories from Silhouette Special Edition.

Happy reading!

Karen Taylor Richman

Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Evelyn Pillinger,

a true friend in every sense of the word.

admits to being interested in just about everything, which is why she considers herself fortunate to have turned her interest in writing into a career. She feels that a writer gets to explore it all and, to her, exploring relationships—especially the intense, bittersweet or even lighthearted relationships between men and women—is fascinating.

Second Week of August

WANTED: Live-in housekeeper/cook/nanny for single father and 2 children, ages 4 & 6. Harbor Island. Excellent salary. Ask for Sam. 360-555-1212.

Third Week of August

WANTED: Live-in housekeeper/cook/nanny for single father and 2 children, ages 4 & 6. Nice location on Harbor Island. Own room and private bath. Excellent salary. Ask for Sam. 360-555-1212.

Last Sunday

WANTED: Live-in housekeeper/cook/nanny for single father and 2 children, ages 4 & 6. Children well mannered. Father tries to be. Beautiful location on Harbor Island. Own room and private bath. Free air transportation to and from interview. Excellent salary plus bonus. Ask for Sam. 360-555-1212.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Something about her seemed familiar.

The thought distracted Sam Edwards from his phone call as the slender, almost waif-like woman in baggy bib overalls walked through the flight office door. Maybe it was the hair, he thought. A riot of deep-auburn curls tumbled down her back, practically begging to be free of their restraining clip. Or maybe it was the delicate line of her profile.

Definitely familiar, he thought, giving her a nod to let her know he’d be right with her. He just didn’t have time to figure out where he’d seen her before with his mother’s voice buzzing in his ear.

“You don’t need another housekeeper,” Beth Edwards informed him over 130 miles of telephone line. “You need a mother for these babies. If you won’t move back to Seattle so your father and I can help you, then at least think about finding a nice young lady to marry and help you raise them.”

His hand tightened on the phone. Turning his back to the woman who was glancing from her watch to the large aerial map on the wall, he kept his voice calm. “I don’t want another wife. I just need another baby-sitter. Preferably one who can clean house and cook.”

“Children need stability, Sam.”

“That’s what I’m trying to give them.”

“Well, I don’t see how hiring another stranger to take care of them is going to do that,” she returned with a sigh. “Jason is far too quiet for a six-year-old. I don’t think he’s said more than a dozen words to me and your dad since you dropped him and Jenny off here last night. And Jenny,” she continued, speaking of her four-year-old granddaughter, “that precious child is going to need braces if she doesn’t stop sucking her thumb. She should have been broken of that habit long before now.”

Sam didn’t for a moment doubt his mom’s concern or her caring. He knew she meant well. He knew she had only her grandchildren’s best interests at heart. But the last thing he needed from her or anyone else was to be told what his kids’ problems were. There wasn’t a soul on the planet more aware of those problems than he was.

He also knew that in another ten seconds his mom would launch into her lecture about how he spent too many hours away from his children, especially in the summer when the demands of the air charter business he and his partner owned claimed so much of his time.

He was doing the best he could. His best was all he could do.

Swallowing his frustration with life in general and his mother in particular, he lowered his voice another notch. “I can’t talk about this right now.” He wasn’t about to respond to her suggestions with a stranger pacing the polish off the floor behind him. “I have four fishermen outside waiting for me to fly them to Ketchikan and someone else just came in.

“No, I’m not avoiding the subject,” he insisted, forcing calm. “I’m just going to do what I said I’d do and find another housekeeper. Give the kids a hug for me, okay? I’ll call them when I get back tonight.”