Cindy Kirk - A Jackson Hole Homecoming

“Tripp, I’m not going to lie to your parents and make believe we have a relationship that doesn’t exist.”

His almost frantic gaze met hers. “Anna, do it for my mother. For my dad. Give them a little happiness.”

“Spell it out. Tell me exactly what you’re proposing.”

“We start dating. In a month or so, when my dad is better, I tell them we had a falling out and are no longer together.”

“We’re talking thirty days,” Adrianna repeated, wanting to make sure they were clear on this point.

“One month,” he said, his gaze never leaving hers.

Adrianna considered his proposition for a long moment. Would she be able to keep herself from falling in love when her feelings for him already ran so deep?

CINDY KIRKhas loved to read for as long as she can remember. In first grade she received an award for reading one hundred books. As she grew up, summers were her favorite time of year. Nothing beat going to the library, then coming home and curling up in front of the window air conditioner with a good book. Often the novels she read would spur ideas, and she’d make up her own story (always with a happy ending). When she’d go to bed at night, instead of counting sheep, she’d make up more stories in her head. Since selling her first story in 1999, Cindy has been forced to juggle her love of reading with her passion for creating stories of her own … but she doesn’t mind. Writing for the Mills & Boon ®Cherish™ series is a dream come true. She only hopes you have as much fun reading her books as she has writing them!

Cindy invites you to visit her website, www.cindykirk.com.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Merf, my fabulous mother-in-law!

Adrianna Lee took a step back, her heart in her throat. As a nurse midwife, watching parents ooh and aah over their little one was her favorite part of the birthing process.

This time had been extra special because the baby she’d delivered was the new son of her friends Betsy and Ryan Harcourt. Seeing Ryan’s dark head pressed against Betsy’s blond strands as they carefully checked out their new son’s fingers and toes brought a quiver of longing.

When would it be her turn? When would she find a man to love and stand by her? A man eager to build a life with her? She’d imagined the scenario many times. But the man in her dreams wasn’t some faceless entity. He had a face. And a name. Tripp Randall.

There was only one little problem. Okay, one big problem. He wasn’t interested in her.

“I heard the good news.”

Adrianna turned toward the deep voice and there he stood. The man who’d captured her heart at fourteen by gallantly carrying some branches to the curb for her. At the time he’d been a hunky seventeen-year-old capable of turning her knees to mush with a single glance. As the steady boyfriend of her neighbor, he’d also been unattainable.

These days he was the CEO of the Jackson Hole Hospital, a widower and still unattainable.

Tripp stepped close, keeping his voice low, as if not wanting to disturb the sleeping baby nestled in Betsy’s arms. “How did everything go?”

“Perfect.” Adrianna couldn’t keep the pride from her voice. “He’s a healthy eight-pound-six-ounce boy and Betsy barely broke a sweat.”

“So not true,” Betsy called out from the rocker. “Trust me, there’s a good reason it’s called labor.”

Her dark-haired husband brushed a strand of hair back from his wife’s face, his eyes filled with concern. “I didn’t like seeing you in such pain. Even when Adrianna assured me everything was proceeding normally, I worried.”

Beside her, Adrianna felt Tripp stiffen. Pregnancy was a natural occurrence but not without risk. Tripp knew that better than most. He’d lost his wife, Gayle, and their unborn baby three years ago when the placenta had abruptly separated from the uterine wall. Adrianna raised her hand to touch his arm in a comforting gesture but pulled back at the last second.

Tripp rarely spoke of his loss. Adrianna remembered the moment she’d heard the news as if it were yesterday.

“I’m happy for you both,” she heard Tripp say. If there was any inner turmoil, his voice gave nothing away. “Have you decided on a name?”

“Nathan.” Betsy’s radiant smile lit up the entire room. “It means ‘he whom God has given.’”

“Nate Harcourt.” Tripp cocked his head and appeared to roll the name around on his tongue. “I like it. Great name for a bull rider.”

Ryan had been a champion bull rider before hanging up his spurs to attend law school.

Betsy’s mouth widened in a perfect O and she glanced at her husband in horror. Obviously the thought of her baby boy one day straddling the back of a big bad bull didn’t sit well with the new mom.

Ryan shot Tripp a glinting “you’ll pay for that comment” before patting his wife’s shoulder. “No need to think of that now, sweetheart. That’s a lot of years away.”

“C’mon.” This time, Adrianna let her fingers curve around Tripp’s arm. “You’ve caused enough trouble for one day. Let’s give Betsy and Ryan time alone with their son.”

Tripp managed to call out his congratulations before Adrianna pulled him into the hall and shut the door to the birthing suite behind them.

“Hey, if you wanted to get me alone all you had to do was ask.”

The devilish twinkle in his eyes brought a smile to Adrianna’s lips and made her forget the scolding words on her tongue.

The man had the soul of a mischievous imp. Not to mention he was too attractive for his own good. His collar-length hair was artfully disheveled, the blond waves practically inviting a woman’s fingers to slide through the soft strands. The patch of scruff on his chin only added to his appeal.

Whenever she saw Tripp at Wally’s Place—a popular local bar—dressed in jeans and boots with his fingers curved around a bottle of Dos Equis, it was hard to imagine he could be the CEO of a health system with a multimillion-dollar budget. But his performance spoke for itself. Even though he’d been in the position for less than a year, he’d already garnered praise for his innovative changes.

They’d barely stepped away from the door when a nurse approached Adrianna for her signature. As she scrawled her name on the prescription, Adrianna couldn’t help noticing the pretty redhead checking out Tripp.

“We don’t see you up on the Maternity floor much, Mr. Randall.” The recently divorced nurse gazed at him through lowered lashes.

The RN clearly had the CEO in her crosshairs. Adrianna understood the appeal. Not only was Tripp wearing her favorite beige Armani suit with the blue tie that matched his eyes, but he also smelled terrific. A woman could get intoxicated simply breathing in the spicy scent of his cologne.

“What brings you up here today?” The nurse shifted from one foot to the other, clearly in no hurry to get back to her patients.

“Some friends had a baby.” He slanted a smile in Adrianna’s direction. “And I have a proposition for Ms. Lee.”

A look of disappointment skittered across the nurse’s face, but Tripp didn’t appear to notice.

“Well, if I can ever be of service to you, don’t hesitate to call me.”

There was a decidedly suggestive undertone to the nurse’s words that would be hard to miss, but Tripp’s easy smile never wavered.

“I’ll keep that in mind—” he glanced at her name tag “—Lila.”

“It’s Leila,” the redhead corrected, then frowned as another nurse motioned to her from the doorway of one of the birthing suites. Still, she offered Tripp another smile before strolling off, her hips swinging from side to side.