Loree Lough - Suddenly Married

Cover Page

Excerpt From the moment they were born, Noah’s two children had given his life new meaning. Once they were born, it took little more than a toothless smile to brighten his world. And now they were loving little beings who deserved to be loved right back. By a woman’s gentle hands. He’d try to persuade Dara Mackenzie to marry him. Dara was the woman God intended him to spend the rest of his days with; his prayers had convinced him, and Noah knew it like he knew the earth would continue spinning. So somehow he had to convince her of that. For his children’s sake. And…for his own?

About the Author LOREE LOUGH A full-time writer for more than twelve years, Loree Lough has produced more than two thousand published articles, dozens of short stories—appearing in magazines here and abroad—and novels for children ages eight to twelve. The author of twenty inspirational romances (including the award-winning Pocketful of Love and Emma’s Orphans, and bestsellers like Reluctant Valentine and Miracle on Kismet Hill —all from Barbour Books), she also writes as Cara McCormack and Aleesha Carter. A comedic conference speaker, Loree loves sharing in classroom settings what she’s learned the hard way. And since her daughters, Elice and Valerie, have moved into homes of their own, Loree and husband Larry have been trying to figure out why some folks think the “empty-nest syndrome” is a “bad” thing.…

Title Page Suddenly Married Loree Lough www.millsandboon.co.uk

Epigraph Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. — Psalms 37:7

Dedication To Elice and Valerie, my beloved daughters… and lifelong friends.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Dear Reader

Copyright

Noah’s two children had given his life new meaning. Once they were born, it took little more than a toothless smile to brighten his world. And now they were loving little beings who deserved to be loved right back.

By a woman’s gentle hands.

He’d try to persuade Dara Mackenzie to marry him.

Dara was the woman God intended him to spend the rest of his days with; his prayers had convinced him, and Noah knew it like he knew the earth would continue spinning.

So somehow he had to convince her of that.

For his children’s sake.

And…for his own?

A full-time writer for more than twelve years, Loree Lough has produced more than two thousand published articles, dozens of short stories—appearing in magazines here and abroad—and novels for children ages eight to twelve. The author of twenty inspirational romances (including the award-winning Pocketful of Love and Emma’s Orphans, and bestsellers like Reluctant Valentine and Miracle on Kismet Hill —all from Barbour Books), she also writes as Cara McCormack and Aleesha Carter. A comedic conference speaker, Loree loves sharing in classroom settings what she’s learned the hard way. And since her daughters, Elice and Valerie, have moved into homes of their own, Loree and husband Larry have been trying to figure out why some folks think the “empty-nest syndrome” is a “bad” thing.…

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.

— Psalms 37:7

To Elice and Valerie, my beloved daughters… and lifelong friends.

“This is ridiculous,” she seethed, slamming the report onto the desk. “I refuse to believe my father could have done such a thing.”

Dara stood so abruptly her chair toppled over behind her. Noah Lucas gave the fallen chair a cursory glance before turning his dark-blue gaze to her. “I’m afraid it’s all right here in black and white.”

Dara uprighted the chair and ran a trembling hand through her hair.“Then…there must be some mistake, because—”

“I’ve been over these files three times. Numbers don’t lie.”

Spoken like a true accountant, she reflected.

Ironically, Dara had been drumming that very lesson into her geometry and algebra students’ heads since she began teaching at Centennial High eight years earlier. Frowning, she looked from the computer readout to the corporation’s checkbook to the year’s worth of her father’s bank statements. Money—great sums of it—had been moved from the company coffers into Jake Mackenzie’s personal account. Hands clasped beneath her chin, Dara paced beside the desk. “Who could have done such a thing?” she wondered aloud. “And why?”

He heaved an exasperated sigh. “I have no idea why the man would do anything so foolish. I mean, surely he realized that sooner or later, he’d be found out.” Shaking his head, he added, “How he managed to get away with it through last tax season is a myster—”

Her pacing came to an abrupt halt beside the desk. “I don’t like what you’re implying, Mr. Lucas.”

He got to his feet, planted both powerful palms flat on her father’s desk. “I’m not implying anything, Miss Mackenzie. My accounting firm was hired by the board of directors to examine…” He smiled patronizingly. “For the sake of protocol, let’s just say we were called in to investigate certain, ah, incongruities in Pinnacle Construction’s books. Lucas and Associates has earned its reputation for being able to solve problems like this.”

“Problems like what? ” Agitated, Dara pointed at the paperwork on the desk. “You call that evidence?” She rolled her eyes. “Innuendo and supposition—that’s all you’ve got there. And I—”

His long-lashed blue eyes narrowed to slits. “Innuendo and supposition?” The intended humor in Lucas’s resonant laugh never made it to his eyes. “More than two hundred thousand dollars disappeared in the past eighteen months.” He thumped the printout, then nodded at the bank statements. Sarcasm rang loud in his voice when he added, “And by some strange coincidence, that’s exactly how much was deposited in your father’s savings account.”

Dara opened her mouth to protest, to defend her father’ s good name. But Lucas held up a hand to forestall any attempt at rationalization she might make. “I realize it’s not much consolation,” he said, “considering the ramifications, but I’m as surprised as you are. Jake Mackenzie’s reputation as an honest businessman earned him the respect of his contemporaries up and down the East Coast. Frankly, he’s the last person I would have suspected of stealing from his own partner.”

Gasping, Dara’s eyes widened. “How dare you call my father a…a…” She swallowed, unable to say the word.

“Thief?” Lucas finished. The blond eyebrow rose high on his forehead. “If you have a better explanation for how the funds got from here—” he nodded toward the big blue checkbook “—to there—” he indicated the savings statements “—I’m certainly willing to hear you out.”

No matter how bad things looked—and they looked gloomy indeed—Dara wouldn’t let herself believe her father had had anything to do with the missing money. Perhaps Jake’s secretary had deposited the money into his account by mistake. Or maybe that new comptroller hired a year or so ago wasn’t doing his job properly. It might have been the bank’s error.