Lee McClain - A Family For Easter

Title Page A Family for Easter Lee Tobin McClain www.millsandboon.co.uk

Copyright ISBN: 978-1-474-08241-9 A FAMILY FOR EASTER © 2018 Lee Tobin McClain Published in Great Britain 2018 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. ® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries. www.millsandboon.co.uk

Bible Verse For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. —John 3:16

Introduction “Dad!” Diego cried. “Lauren and Ryan and Maya and Poppy got a dog!” “It’s a hound-pointer mix, like, this big.” Sofia held her hands a yardstick apart. “Come out and see!” All three of Fiona’s older kids, plus Eduardo’s two, ran after the dog, leaving Fiona, Eduardo and Poppy to watch. Eduardo blew out a sigh and tried not to notice the way the sun set fire to Fiona’s hair. Or the curve of her smile as she watched her kids play. Or the unconsciously warm and motherly way she made little sounds in her throat to soothe her youngest, who still rested her head on Fiona’s shoulder. He didn’t want to notice what a deep-down good person Fiona was. But being around her during all his at-home moments made that reality impossible to ignore. Maybe he needed to start looking for a new place to live. Before he did something crazy again, like tell her how much he liked being around her.

Dear Reader Dear Reader Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Bible Verse 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 Epilogue Extract , Have you ever struggled with body image? I think most of us do at one time or another. I was a beanpole kid and teenager. It doesn’t seem fair that I morphed into “carrying a few extra pounds” without even a pause at the perfect weight. Or wait...maybe that’s because perfection is an unattainable goal? In A Family for Easter, Fiona struggles with her size, and her challenge is exacerbated by her mother’s criticism. Because she feels so imperfect, she isn’t open to receiving the love Eduardo offers. It takes caring friends and the realization that she’s passing her own body-image issues down to her daughter to make her see that she’s “fearfully and wonderfully made,” God’s perfect creation. As you put on your Easter finery this year, my prayer is that you see yourself as God’s good creation, ready to focus on His joyous resurrection. Happy Easter! Lee

Dedication To my dad, because we always visited his family at Easter, and because I know he’s singing in the heavenly choir.

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

Epilogue

Extract

Chapter One

Fiona Farmingham clutched the edge of Chez La Ferme’s elegant tablecloth and wished she were home on the couch with her kids, eating popcorn and watching movies. Wearing sweats and slippers rather than heels and a dress and shapewear.

Based on tonight, at least, dating was way overrated.

“You should come see me in Cleveland,” Henry said loudly, forking braised lamb shank into his mouth. “We have restaurants that would put this place to shame. Really fancy.”

She forced her face into something resembling a smile and pushed her roasted vegetables around her plate, not daring to look around at all the Rescue River customers and waitstaff Henry had probably just offended.

A throat cleared a couple of tables away, and she glanced up. A soccer-dad friend, Eduardo Delgado, was looking over his date’s shoulder, smiling at Fiona with what looked like sympathy.

Her tight shoulders relaxed a little. Eduardo’s warm, friendly face reminded her of school parent nights and carpools and kids’ league games. Her normal life.

She was a little surprised to see Eduardo, a single parent who worked as a groundsman at Hinton Enterprises, dining at their small Ohio town’s only upscale restaurant. He never even bought himself nachos or a hot dog at the school concession stand, always relying on a cooler from home for himself and his two kids instead. She’d thought that meant he was economizing, but maybe he was just into eating healthy.

“Did you hear me?” Henry scooted his chair closer. “I have a nice big house. Six bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. You should come visit!”

Like that was going to happen. She channeled her society-perfect mother, who could out-polite the Queen of England, even managing a small smile. “With my kids, it’s hard for me to get away.”

“Yeah, four kids, that’s a lot!” Henry shook his head and attacked his spring pea risotto with vigor. She turned her chair half away and pretended to hear a sound from the evening bag she hadn’t used since attending society events with her late husband three years ago. She pulled out her cell phone and studied its blank screen. “Henry, I’m so sorry, but I think my kids need me.” Not a lie; kids always needed their parents, hers in particular. Right now, though, it was she who needed her kids.

“I thought you said you had a sitter. I was hoping we could spend more time together.”

“Thanks, but no, thanks. I really do have to go.” Fiona tried to keep her voice low, even though half the restaurant’s patrons had surely heard their discussion.

Why, oh, why had she let her friends Daisy and Susan talk her into online dating? But they’d both approved Henry’s profile, and he’d sounded nice on the phone.

She knew why: because she thought her kids might benefit from having a man in their lives. And, maybe a tiny bit, because she wished for a male companion who would care for her, even love her, just as she was.