Cheryl Harper - Her Unexpected Hero

Starting over...

with her ex-fiancé’s brother?

Winter Kingfisher only wanted to protect the nature reserve in her hometown of Sweetwater, Tennessee. But after a political scandal lands her family on the front pages and costs Winter her PR job at the reserve, and her engagement, she needs to rebuild. Enter handsome Caleb Callaway, who’s arrived to oversee a construction project meant to make amends of his own. Caleb was already part of Winter’s past...can he also be her future?

CHERYL HARPER discovered her love for books and words as a little girl, thanks to a mother who made countless library trips, and an introduction to Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House stories. Whether stories she reads are set on the prairie, in the American West, Regency England or on Earth a hundred years in the future, Cheryl enjoys strong characters who make her laugh. Now Cheryl spends her days searching for the right words while she stares out the window and her dog, Jack, snoozes beside her. And she considers herself very lucky to do so. For more information about Cheryl’s books, visit her online at cherylharperbooks.comor follow her on Twitter, @cherylharperbks.

Also by Cheryl Harper

Harlequin Heartwarming

Otter Lake Ranger Station

Her Heart’s Bargain

Saving the Single Dad

Smoky Mountain Sweethearts

Lucky Numbers

A Home Come True

Keeping Cole’s Promise

Heart’s Refuge

Winner Takes All

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Her Unexpected Hero

Cheryl Harper

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09601-0

HER UNEXPECTED HERO

© 2019 Cheryl Harper

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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“The only Kingfisher I’m concerned with is you.”

Caleb bent his head closer. “And the only Callaway I want you to relate to is me.” Something clicked as soon as he admitted that. It was true, so true, but his emotions didn’t matter unless Winter felt the same.

“I don’t suppose you’d like to support the arts in Sweetwater.” Winter took a step closer and tugged on his jacket. “The gallery could use a wealthy benefactor like you to attend the grand opening next Saturday. Bring your checkbook, of course.”

“I’ll be there.” He needed to go. She should walk back inside where it was warm, but she wasn’t moving away. Not even after he gave her the answer she wanted.

“But don’t buy the bunny painting. That one’s mine.” She smiled up at him and it was impossible to stop. Caleb bent his head slowly, carefully, and pressed his lips against hers.

Dear Reader,

When you think of home, does a certain place come to mind? For me, it’s the house I grew up in, my mother on the couch with a book and a beagle at her side or my father’s truck winding along mountain back roads. The places we love shape us.

For Winter Kingfisher, the mountains of eastern Tennessee are her first love and she’ll fight to protect them, even if it means losing everything she’s worked for. Caleb Callaway has orders to challenge Winter and her resistance to the Callaway family’s plans. I hope you enjoy reading how well that works out for him!

To find out more about my books and what’s coming next, visit me at cherylharperbooks.com.

Cheryl

This one’s for my parents.

They’re gone, and I miss them and home

every day, but I’m grateful for deep, deep roots.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Dedication

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

Extract

About the Publisher

CHAPTER ONE

“DOES ANYONE ELSE smell that...?”

Winter Kingfisher glanced up from her phone as Macy Gentry paused to take suspicious whiffs of the air over their corner booth at The Branch, the answer to nightlife in Sweetwater, Tennessee. It was Friday night, prime time for fun and rowdy crowds, but still so early that the first unofficial get-together of Sweetwater’s single ladies was tame. Subdued. Almost boring.

The way first dates or professional networking opportunities can be.

Scanning blog posts and headlines, hunting for either the Kingfisher or Callaway name had distracted Winter from the awkward silence in the booth. Not to mention any untoward odor.

News of her part in ending an engagement with the man planning to be governor had had a longer life cycle than she’d imagined. For almost a decade, she’d worked with her fiancé, Whit Callaway, Jr., in Knoxville’s political arena to make sure all his press was favorable. Going head-to-head against the Callaways, one of the wealthiest families in Tennessee, in order to save her brother’s job as head ranger of the Smoky Valley Nature Reserve had meant she’d returned the ring and landed both Kingfishers on the front pages.