Lois Richer - Mistletoe Twins

A family for the holidays...

Her Rocky Mountain Haven Christmas wish

A former foster child herself, Adele Parker’s committed to adopting twin preschoolers Francie and Franklyn—even if she does it alone. But being home at The Haven for the holidays means reuniting with handsome childhood friend Mac McDowell. And as they work together to create a new trail-riding program, Adele begins to wish her growing family could include the wounded military hero, too...

LOIS RICHERloves traveling, swimming and quilting, but mostly she loves writing stories that show God’s boundless love for His precious children. As she says, “His love never changes or gives up. It’s always waiting for me. My stories feature imperfect characters learning that love doesn’t mean attaining perfection. Love is about keeping on keeping on.” You can contact Lois via email, loisricher@gmail.com, or on Facebook (loisricherauthor).

Also By Lois Richer

Rocky Mountain Haven

Meant-to-Be Baby

Mistletoe Twins

Wranglers Ranch

The Rancher’s Family Wish

Her Christmas Family Wish

The Cowboy’s Easter Family Wish

The Twins’ Family Wish

Family Ties

A Dad for Her Twins

Rancher Daddy

Gift-Wrapped Family

Accidental Dad

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Mistletoe Twins

Lois Richer

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08647-9

MISTLETOE TWINS

© 2018 Lois M. Richer

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.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

“Love costs too much. I want

no part of it.”

“Adele, love has given you so much,” Mac countered, hating to see her so distraught. He brushed his hand against her cheek before quietly continuing, “You and your foster sisters have two aunts that adore you. And you have each other to lean on.”

“True,” she agreed solemnly, her gaze holding his.

“But?” Mac hated that she couldn’t seem to break free of her past.

“This sounds a little schoolgirlish, but I’ve always longed to have somebody who loved me enough that I never doubted it.”

“I don’t count?” Mac arched his brows.

“You were my best friend, Mac, and that counts for a lot. But you never loved me,” she said. “Not romantically. We’re just friends.”

“Just friends.” His mouth turned down. “Friendship’s not enough now?”

“It’s a great deal, Mac, and I will always treasure it.” Her hand closed around his and squeezed it. “But my escape from the past was always a dream about a fairy-tale love that would override my past.” She withdrew her hand. “Hasn’t happened and I doubt it ever will.”

Dear Reader,

Welcome back to The Haven, a refuge hidden in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies where foster kids come to find hope.

I hope you’ve enjoyed Adele Parker’s journey toward motherhood and love as she learns that God doesn’t expect perfection. He expects our trust. After Mac lost his hand in an airplane crash he caused, his struggle to learn God’s plan for his future got tied up with guilt. Mac doesn’t get a list of “next steps” from God, but he, like Adele, learns that if he keeps seeking God’s will, Our Father will point the way. As they travel that path, best friends Mac and Adele realize that friendship has changed to love.

I hope you’ll visit The Haven again to read how grief and loss bring Olivia joy and love.

Until we meet again may you find abundant faith, infinite peace and the love that comes from God.

Blessings,

Lois Richer

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

—Romans 8:28

This book is dedicated to my mom,

who always believed God had an answer

for whatever problems came her way.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

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

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

“Are we there yet?”

“Yes. This is The Haven.” Adele Parker pulled up in front of the big stone house set in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies and heaved a sigh of pure happiness. “We’re home.”

“Can we get out now?” In the back seat Francie nudged her brother, Franklyn, awake. “I’m tired of riding in this car.”

“Me, too,” agreed her four-year-old twin, with a yawn. “Tired.”

“It was a long drive from Edmonton.” Adele twisted to smile at the pair, treasuring the way their little faces came alive with interest at their first view of this place she loved. “Let’s get out but zip your jackets first. The mountain winds will be chilly.” Not wanting to arrive home disheveled, she checked her makeup, patted her curls, then thrust her arms into her own coat before exiting the car.

“Hey, where’s the snow?” Francie looked around, obviously disappointed.

“An’ where’s the ski hill you tole us ’bout?” Franklyn frowned. “This is a desert, like in that story you read us.”

“Franklyn, that’s not true,” Adele scolded. “Deserts don’t have all those green spruce trees, do they? Anyway, it’s barely October. It’s not time for winter yet. But don’t worry, snow will come.” She smothered a chuckle at their glum looks, then hunkered down beside Franklyn and pointed north. “The ski slopes at Jasper are about an hour away. In those mountains. Maybe we’ll go there one day, hmm?”