Stella MacLean - To Protect Her Son

Keeping the past where it belongs!

Moving to Eden Harbor is a dream for single mom Gayle Sawyer. A beautiful home. Friends. But this life and the carefully crafted lie she constructed years ago are threatened when her teenage son starts acting out. With few options, Gayle is forced to turn to counselor Nate Garrison for help. And Nate seems determined to dig into her past.

Worse, Gayle feels an attraction to Nate that she can’t deny. No matter how tempting Nate is, Gayle can’t reveal the truth. Doing so would mean risking everything—her home, the promise of a romance with Nate…and her son.

“Would you like to go out for coffee with me?”

Gayle wanted to say yes. To sit with this man, to have his attention focused on her would be wonderful…but only if she was prepared to face the consequences if she let something slip.

She stalled for time, trying to decide if she should take the risk. “When?”

“Whenever our schedules allow. What about Sunday?”

After today’s fishing trip, and Adam’s obvious improvement, Nate might not be around much longer. Yet she was just a little sad at the thought of not seeing him. The good news was that without Nate around, her secret would be safe.

“Okay, next Sunday it is,” she said, trying to sound casual while her pulse danced against her throat.

She watched him leave and felt the loneliest she’d felt since arriving in Eden Harbor. And she knew with certainty that this feeling came from the awareness that she could never have more than coffee with him.

What would it be like to have a romantic relationship with someone like Nate? Someone whose presence sent fissions of awareness and light-headedness spiraling through her?

She couldn’t let herself think about the impossible. To have a real relationship based on trust and caring, she’d have to reveal her past.

And to admit to her past was to admit to lying…

Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication Acknowledgments 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 Extract Copyright ,

Learning to trust someone can be a very difficult thing. To trust is to allow another person the opportunity to enrich our lives, but sometimes it can lead to pain and hurt. In order to trust someone, we must first trust ourselves and trust in our ability to know who really cares about us.

Welcome to the second book in the Life in Eden Harbor series. Eden Harbor is a small town on the coast of Maine where most people have known each other for years, and where keeping a secret is very difficult. When Gayle Sawyer moves to Eden Harbor, she is a woman haunted by her past, yet determined to protect her son from her mistakes. When her son gets into trouble, she is forced to share her past with Nate Garrison, a man with his own trust issues.

Like Gayle, I have had issues with learning to trust, with reaching out to others for help. Having nursed my husband while ALS claimed his body, I had no choice but to trust people and to share my agony. Had I not reached out to our friends and shared what was happening during those last months, Garry’s passing would have been much more difficult.

If you have had issues around trust and you’d like to share your experience with me, I can be reached at stella@stellamaclean.com. Or you can visit my website at stellamaclean.com. For those of you who enjoy social media, I can be found at facebook.com/stella.maclean.3, or on Twitter, @Stella__MacLean

Sincerely,

Stella MacLean

To Protect Her Son

Stella MacLean

www.millsandboon.co.uk

STELLA MacLEAN loves to write stories about romance and happy endings. A member of Romance Writers of America for twenty years, a past RWA board member and a Golden Heart® Award finalist, Stella is committed to the art and the business of writing stories about people overcoming their differences and finding happiness with each other. Every writer needs a muse, and Stella has found two. Jethro and Sully, two new kittens, maintain a raucous vigil while she escapes into the world of two people about to come face-to-face in their search for love.

This book is dedicated to my husband, Garry, the love of my life, my champion and my dearest friend, who succumbed to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) on July 6, 2013.

You are forever in my heart.

Acknowledgments Acknowledgments 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 Extract Copyright

In appreciation to my editor and friend

Paula Eykelhof, who encouraged me and stood by me while my life descended into chaos brought on by my husband’s illness and its inevitable outcome. Without her support and caring I would not have been able to finish The Doctor Returns, and I would not have been able to write To Protect Her Son.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text Keeping the past where it belongs! Moving to Eden Harbor is a dream for single mom Gayle Sawyer. A beautiful home. Friends. But this life and the carefully crafted lie she constructed years ago are threatened when her teenage son starts acting out. With few options, Gayle is forced to turn to counselor Nate Garrison for help. And Nate seems determined to dig into her past. Worse, Gayle feels an attraction to Nate that she can’t deny. No matter how tempting Nate is, Gayle can’t reveal the truth. Doing so would mean risking everything—her home, the promise of a romance with Nate…and her son.

Introduction “Would you like to go out for coffee with me?” Gayle wanted to say yes. To sit with this man, to have his attention focused on her would be wonderful…but only if she was prepared to face the consequences if she let something slip. She stalled for time, trying to decide if she should take the risk. “When?” “Whenever our schedules allow. What about Sunday?” After today’s fishing trip, and Adam’s obvious improvement, Nate might not be around much longer. Yet she was just a little sad at the thought of not seeing him. The good news was that without Nate around, her secret would be safe. “Okay, next Sunday it is,” she said, trying to sound casual while her pulse danced against her throat. She watched him leave and felt the loneliest she’d felt since arriving in Eden Harbor. And she knew with certainty that this feeling came from the awareness that she could never have more than coffee with him. What would it be like to have a romantic relationship with someone like Nate? Someone whose presence sent fissions of awareness and light-headedness spiraling through her? She couldn’t let herself think about the impossible. To have a real relationship based on trust and caring, she’d have to reveal her past. And to admit to her past was to admit to lying…

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication Acknowledgments 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 Extract Copyright , Learning to trust someone can be a very difficult thing.