Tina Leonard - The Secret Agent's Surprises

They rode the elevator to the second floor, then walked to the nursery window.

“There they are,” Pete said. “One, two, three and four.”

“Oh,” she said, “they’re cherubs.”

No one could resist such sweet and tiny babies. Their tiny fannies wore small diapers. Impossibly small arms each had a hospital-issued bracelet identifying them. Adorable caps of different colors adorned their heads. They each wore a small T-shirt and had a blanket, though one of the girls had kicked her blanket off.

All of them slept peacefully, unaware of the two adults staring at them through the nursery window.

Pete was a tempting man—tempting enough to marry. And who wouldn’t want to help four helpless children?

Dear Reader,

February is one of my favorite months of the year—the month of sweethearts and romantic love! It's cold outside in many parts of the world—certainly in my neck of the woods—which makes it a wonderful month for reading.

In Union Junction, it’s not just the weather outside that’s cold. In The Secret Agent's Surprises, life on the home front is going to be a little chilly until Pete Morgan makes amends with his father and develops mature relationships with his three brothers. He must also deal with his attraction to Priscilla Perkins, a manners coach and tea-shop owner. Pete's got a lot to learn if he wants to make any headway with a woman who, as he notes, is prim and proper! Used to life as a secret operative, Pete now must learn to balance family relationships, romance and—the big shocker for him—adoptive fatherhood. Pete's father, Josiah, believes Pete is just the man to go from living dangerously to changing diapers, and he encourages Pete to adopt four orphaned infants. Pete has seen his brothers Gabe and Dane fall into their father's matchmaking traps in Texas Lullaby and The Texas Ranger's Twins, so Pete knows full well he's now in a dangerous dilemma where the result may be a wedding ring and a ready-made family.

I hope you're enjoying THE MORGAN MEN miniseries. As February brings us our chilliest weather yet, I hope you'll settle in with the Morgans and their struggles to become the men their father always knew they could be.

Best wishes and much love,

Tina Leonard

Tina Leonard is the bestselling author of over forty projects, including a popular thirteen-book miniseries for Harlequin American Romance. Her books have made the Waldenbooks, Ingram’s and Nielsen Book-scan bestseller lists. Tina feels she has been blessed with a fertile imagination and quick typing skills, excellent editors and a family who loves her career. Born on a military base, she lived in many states before eventually marrying the boy who did her crayon printing for her in the first grade. Tina believes happy endings are a wonderful part of a good life. You can visit her at www.tinaleonard.com.

Many thanks to my editor, Kathleen Scheibling, for steering me straight, and to Lisa, Dean and Tim, who understand that time with family is my personal dream

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

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

He who loves his son chastises him often —Sirach 30:1, quoted often by Josiah Morgan when his four boys rebelled against his discipline

Pete Morgan sat in a bar in Riga, Latvia, tired, cold, and annoyed as he thought about the letter he’d received from his father, Josiah, in January. The missive was a parting shot, designed to make him feel guilty. Wasn’t the pen supposedly mightier than the sword?

Josiah’s words hadn’t had the desired effect—they had simply reignited old feelings of resentment. Pete wouldn’t admit to a saint that he’d been steaming since the two letters had been found in a kitchen drawer at the Morgan ranch, one addressed to him and one to his oldest brother, Jack. Pete had left the letter for Jack with a rodeo manager, knowing it would reach him eventually.

Now it was February, and the very memory of his father’s words still set Pete’s teeth on edge. He knew every word by heart.

Dear Pete,

Of all my sons, you were the most difficult. I saw in you an unfulfilled version of myself, a man who would never be able to settle. I write this letter knowing that you will never live at the Morgan ranch attempting to be part of the family. Like Jack, you hold long grudges. If by the time I pass on, you have not lived at the ranch for the full year, your million dollars will be split among the brothers who have fulfilled their family obligation.

Pop

It was a kick in the teeth, not because of the money but because his father lacked trust in him, basic faith that Pete cared about his own family. Wasn’t it Pop’s own fault no one cared to be at the ranch or have any contact with him? It had been many years since he and his father had spoken more than ten words to each other. To receive the letter out of the blue in January had sent Pete packing to the other side of the world, even though he’d been seriously considering retirement from espionage. The life was tough, the hours and the constant danger not conducive to trust, or building friendships, or anything remotely resembling comfort. Pete used to love his job, used to enjoy the unpredictability, until recently. His last assignment had chilled him, made him search his soul.

He’d always thought of himself as a savior, rescuing people from war-torn situations. It was important, critical even, to be able to go into foreign countries and extract those who needed help. This was his way of helping keep his country safe, and he got a lot of satisfaction out of it.

The best part was knowing he’d returned a father, a mother, children, to families desperate to be reunited.

Pete had an excellent record of success, but his last mission had been beyond his control. He tried not think about it, but the shadows lurked, ever ready to assail him. He had been meant to recover fifteen children from the basement of an abandoned orphanage. But he hadn’t been able to save them. There’d been bombing after bombing; the screams still cursed his sleep. He’d done what he could, but then…

Much as he might change the channel on a television set, he turned his mind from the memory of the parents who would never see their children again, shutting out the ghosts. He was haunted by his own family, and tonight he wondered if it was time to face his demons. Life was short, and it could be dark and lonely. His lips thinning, he thought about Josiah.

Jack’s letter—which he’d read—had been worse:

Jack, I tried to be a good father. I tried to save you from yourself. In the end, I realized you are too different from me. But I’ve always been proud of my firstborn son.

Pop

That was Pop, always playing the Morgan brothers off one another, which was how the trouble had begun so many years ago, driving a wedge between Jack and himself that still existed today.