Tara Quinn - For Joy's Sake

There’s something about Julie

Hunter Rafferty is committed to two things: his bachelor lifestyle and his career as an event planner. But working with Julie Fairbanks on a fund-raising gala is quickly becoming the best part of his day. He can’t stop thinking about the mysterious beauty—despite her refusals to have dinner with him.

Everything changes when seven-year-old Joy comes to The Lemonade Stand, a shelter for victims of abuse. To help Joy overcome her trauma and the mystery surrounding it, Hunter and Julie push beyond their boundaries, confronting their own past pain...and feelings for each other.

“Just be yourself, Hunter. She likes you.”

“I truly have no idea how you talk to a child,” he said. “I’m guessing golf scores aren’t going to do it. And probably not surfing, either.”

His chuckle made her smile. Which sent warning notes through her. She was not going to soften toward this man.

Some man. Someday. Sure. If she was attracted to one she felt she could trust.

But not this man. Not a charmer.

“You talk to her like she’s a person,” Julie said. “I think back to when I was a kid and pull from that.”

His attention, fully on her now, warmed her all up again.

She was there to help him for Joy’s sake. She had to get it done.

And get out.

Dear Reader,

Joy is the pinnacle of good feeling for those of us living within the human condition! And for those of us who are parents? Holding your child in your arms, hearing his or her voice, watching him grow… These are some of the most joy-filled moments ever.

They’re also the moments that make us the most vulnerable ever. Because the shadowy side of joy—the loss of joy—is excruciating. It can be debilitating. We’ll go to any lengths to avoid it, to prevent harm from happening to our children. That’s what Joy’s mother does: she puts herself in jeopardy to protect Joy. So that the child might know joy.

And in this story, the child brings joy to those who are there to help her.

The source of joy isn’t just children—the source is infinite, spreading itself more thoroughly than the worst disease (the shadowy side) ever could. It’s here where I am and there where you are, touching us both and millions of others. And it’s up to us, each one of us individually, to let it in. A lesson Julie Fairbanks, a haunted soul, has to learn. For Joy’s sake.

I love to hear from my readers. Please find me at www.tarataylorquinn.com, Facebook.com/tarataylorquinnand on Twitter, @tarataylorquinn. Or join my open Friendship board on Pinterest, Pinterest.com/tarataylorquinn/friendship!

All the best,

Tara

For Joy’s Sake

Tara Taylor Quinn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Having written over eighty novels, TARA TAYLOR QUINN is a USA TODAY bestselling author with more than seven million copies sold. She is known for delivering intense, emotional fiction. Tara is a past president of Romance Writers of America. She has won a Readers’ Choice Award and is a five-time finalist for an RWA RITA® Award, a finalist for a Reviewers’ Choice Award and a Booksellers’ Best Award. She has also appeared on TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning. She supports the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you know might be a victim of domestic violence in the United States, please contact 1-800-799-7233.

Cast of Characters

Lila McDaniels—Managing director of The Lemonade Stand (TLS). She has an apartment at the Stand.

Wife by Design (Book 1)

Lynn Duncan—Resident nurse at TLS. She has a three-year-old daughter, Kara.

Grant Bishop—Landscape developer hired by TLS.

Maddie Estes—Permanent TLS resident. Childcare provider.

Darin Bishop—Resident at TLS. Works for his brother, Grant. Has a mental disability.

Once a Family (Book 2)

Sedona (Campbell) Malone—Lawyer who volunteers at TLS.

Tanner Malone—Vintner. Brother to Tatum and Talia Malone.

Tatum Malone—Fifteen-year-old resident at TLS.

Husband by Choice (Book 3)

Meredith (Meri) Bennet—Speech therapist. Mother to two-year-old son, Caleb.

Max Bennet—Pediatrician.

Chantel Harris—Police officer. Friend to Max and his deceased first wife.

Child by Chance (Book 4)

Talia Malone—TLS volunteer. Public-school scrapbook therapist. Student of fashion design.

Sherman Paulson—Political campaign manager. Widower. Single father of adopted ten-year-old son, Kent.

Mother by Fate (Book 5)

Sara Havens—Full-time TLS counselor.

Michael Edwin—Bounty hunter. Widower. Single father to six-year-old daughter, Mari.

The Good Father (Book 6)

Ella Ackerman—Charge nurse at Santa Raquel Children’s Hospital. Member of the High Risk Team. Divorced.

Brett Ackerman—TLS Founder. National accreditation business owner. Divorced.

Love by Association (Book 7)

Chantel Harris—Santa Raquel detective. Member of the High Risk Team.

Colin Fairbanks—Lawyer. Member of Santa Raquel’s most elite society. Principal of high-end law firm. Brother to Julie Fairbanks.

His First Choice (Book 8)

Lacey Hamilton—Social worker. Member of the High Risk Team. Child star. Identical twin to daytime-soap-opera star Kacey Hamilton.

Jeremiah (Jem) Bridges—Private contractor with his own business. Divorced. Has custody of four-year-old son, Levi.

The Promise He Made Her (Book 9)

Bloom Larson—Psychiatrist in Santa Raquel. Domestic violence therapist. Divorced.

Samuel Larson—Santa Raquel high-ranking detective. Widower.

Her Secret Life (Book 10)

Kacey Hamilton—Daytime-soap-opera star. Identical twin to Lacey Hamilton. Volunteer at TLS.

Michael Valentine—Cybersecurity expert. TLS volunteer. Shooting victim.

The Fireman’s Son (Book 11)

Faye Walker—Paramedic. Divorced. Sole custody of eight-year-old son, Elliott, who is in counseling at TLS.

Reese Bristow—Santa Raquel fire chief.

For Joy’s Sake (Book 12)

Julie Fairbanks—Philanthropist and children’s author. Sister to Colin Fairbanks.

Hunter Rafferty—Owns elite professional event-planning business specializing in charity fund-raisers. TLS is one of his clients.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Cast of Characters

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

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

HER BREATH CAUGHT in her throat, Julie Fairbanks crouched on the floor, hugging her knees, staring at the television screen. The baby who’d been born in a man-made bubble town, who’d been raised and surrounded by people who were only there to keep up appearances, was a man himself now. And about to break free...