Kathie DeNosky - Betrothed for the Baby

From the desk of Emerald Larson, owner and CEO of Emerald, Inc.

To: My personal assistant, Luther Freemont

Re: My grandson, Hunter O’Banyon

My grandson, Hunter, has arrived in Devil’s Fork, Texas, to take over running the Life Med Evac Helicopter Service. I’m sure he’ll be less than pleased when he learns that his flight nurse is a single mother-to-be, who has no intention of grounding herself until just before she gives birth. However if our sources are reliable—and I have no doubt they are—he should not only come to terms with his past, but he’ll find his future, as well. That said, I expect you to assist him in whatever way he deems necessary to bring about a complete and satisfactory conclusion to his current dilemma.

As always, I am relying on your complete discretion in this matter.

Emerald Larson

Silhouette Desire is proud to present an exciting new miniseries from

KATHIE DENOSKY

The Illegitimate Heirs

ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN ENEMIES

REUNION OF REVENGE

BETROTHED FOR THE BABY

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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lives in her native southern Illinois with her husband and one very spoiled Jack Russell terrier. She writes highly sensual stories with a generous amount of humor. Kathie’s books have appeared on the Waldenbooks bestseller list and received the Write Touch Readers’ Award from WisRWA and the National Readers’ Choice Award. Kathie enjoys going to rodeos, traveling to research settings for her books and listening to country music. Readers may contact Kathie at: P.O. Box 2064, Herrin, Illinois 62948-5264 or e-mail her at kathie@kathiedenosky.com.

This book is dedicated to my editor, Tina Colombo. Thank you for your unwavering support and encouragement. You’re the very best.

And a special thank-you to my son, Bryan, for his help with the Spanish in this book.

Te amo, mi hijo.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

When Hunter O’Banyon glanced over at the pretty little blonde he’d met only moments ago, adrenaline began to pump through his veins. Her porcelain cheeks were flushed with a mixture of heat and excitement, and he could tell from the sparkle of urgency in her violet eyes that he was in for one hell of a ride.

“I hope you don’t mind, but this is going to have to be faster than I’d planned,” she said, sounding a little breathless.

Grinning, he nodded. “Bring it on. I can take it as fast as you want to go.”

“I like the way you think.” Her smile caused his heart to race like a twelve-stroke engine hitting on all cylinders. “Hang on, big guy. This might get a little wild.”

Hunter took a deep breath and braced himself. “Burn it, darlin’.”

At the same time as she pushed the gas pedal all the way to the floor, she reached out to flip a switch on the dash. Lights and the keening wail of a siren competed with the sound of spinning tires kicking up a huge cloud of gravel and southwest Texas dust as the pickup truck careened away from the tarmac at Devil’s Fork Community Airfield.

When Hunter had discovered there was no commercial air service to the little town, he’d wondered why the pilot of the Cessna Skyhawk he’d chartered to fly him to Devil’s Fork from El Paso had laughed like a hyena when Hunter had called it an airport. Now he knew why. The entire thing consisted of an asphalt landing strip that he’d bet barely met FAA standards, a storage shed that leaned precariously to one side and a wooden pole with a tattered wind sock attached to the top just above the United States and Texas flags. As far as he could tell, there weren’t even any lights for landing at night. He could only hope the Life Medevac operation looked better.

“By the way, I’m Callie Marshall, the flight nurse on the Evac II team,” the blonde said conversationally.

Nice name for a nice-looking woman, he thought as they approached the edge of town. “I’m Hunter O’Banyon.”

“Thank God.” She grinned. “When my pager went off, I didn’t give you time to introduce yourself, and it suddenly occurred to me that you might not be the man I was supposed to meet.”

His heart stalled and he had to clear his suddenly dry throat. When she smiled, Callie Marshall wasn’t just pretty, she was drop-dead gorgeous.

“What were the chances of anyone else flying into Devil’s Fork?” he asked when he finally got his vocal cords to work.

Her delightful laughter was one of the nicest sounds he’d heard in a long time. “Good point,” she said, nodding. “I think you’re the first person I’ve heard of flying into Devil’s Fork since I arrived two months ago.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” He tightened his safety harness when she turned a corner, seemingly on two wheels. “Did you arrive by plane?”

“No way.” She shook her head, causing her ponytail to sway back and forth. “I drove over from Houston. I wasn’t about to take one of those puddle-jumper flights in here.”

As they sped down Main Street, Hunter decided that if he’d blinked, he might have missed the entire town. Besides the fact that Callie was going so fast it wasn’t much more than a blur, the business district was only a few blocks long and there wasn’t much more than two or three blocks to the residential section.

“Mary Lou, our dispatcher, said you’re from the Miami area. It might take a while for you to get used to Devil’s Fork. It’s about six hundred miles from the nearest beach and not exactly a hotbed of social activity.”

“No kidding.” He cringed when they sailed through a four-way stop on the opposite end of town without so much as slowing down. “I knew this place was small, but I expected something a little bigger than this.”

“I did, too,” she agreed. “After I drove through it the first time, I had a hard time believing there was enough of a call for a medevac operation to be based here. But I was wrong.”

Hunter thought back to what he’d read in the file he’d been handed on the business his grandmother had given him to run. “The way I understand it, we’re the only emergency service available for sections of five different counties.”

She nodded. “The population is so sparse in this part of Texas, it isn’t cost-effective for communities to have their own ambulance.” Shrugging, she steered the truck onto a dirt-packed road leading up to a large aircraft hangar with Life Medevac Helicopter Service painted on the side. “Besides, if they had a ground unit, it would take too long to reach most of the people and even longer to get them to a hospital. We’re their best hope for emergency medical care.”

When she drove the truck around the side of the building, Hunter breathed a little easier. The Life Medevac base appeared to be in much better condition than the Devil’s Fork airfield. Besides the well-kept hangar, there were two brand-new, top-of-the-line Bell EMS helicopters sitting on brightly painted helipads, and the entire area was ringed with what looked to be state-of-the-art lighting for night takeoffs and landings.