Ruth Dale: Parents Wanted!

Wife Wanted! Wife Wanted! Rich and Handsome Prince Charming who likes kids and pets needs a wife. She must be pretty and nice and also like kids and pets. Deer Prens Charmng. My mama is nice and prety. Pleas pik hen. Love, Zach G.About the Author Ruth Jean Dale lives in a Colorado pine forest within shouting distance of Pikes Peak. She is surrounded by two dogs, two cats, one husband and a passel of grown children and growing grandchildren. A former newspaper reporter and editor, she is living her dream: writing romance novels for Harlequin. As she says with typical understatement, “It doesn’t get any better than this! Everyone should be so lucky.”Title Page Parents Wanted! Ruth Jean Dale www.millsandboon.co.uk CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN EPILOGUE Copyright

Wife Wanted!

Rich and Handsome Prince Charming who likes kids and pets needs a wife. She must be pretty and nice and also like kids and pets.

Deer Prens Charmng. My mama is nice and prety. Pleas pik hen.

Love, Zach G.

Ruth Jean Dale lives in a Colorado pine forest within shouting distance of Pikes Peak. She is surrounded by two dogs, two cats, one husband and a passel of grown children and growing grandchildren. A former newspaper reporter and editor, she is living her dream: writing romance novels for Harlequin. As she says with typical understatement, “It doesn’t get any better than this! Everyone should be so lucky.”

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

MRS. FORBES, longtime receptionist at the Rawhide, Colorado, Review, looked up from her word processor with a smile. “Why Jessica Reynolds!” she exclaimed. “How are you, honey? I haven’t seen you since your ninth birthday party and that was at least three months ago!”

Jessica shifted uneasily from one foot to the other, thrusting her hands behind her back so Mrs. Forbes wouldn’t see the plastic shopping bag, or be curious about its contents. “My birthday is April sixteenth,” she said. “Thank you for the soccer ball.”

“My pleasure.” The nice lady beamed. “Would you like a jellybean?”

“Yes, thank you.” Mrs. Forbes always had a bowl of jellybeans on her desk; you could tell she was a grandma. Jessica scooped out a handful and popped several into her mouth.

Mrs. Forbes nodded approvingly. “So what brings you here to a boring old newspaper office on this fine July day?”

Jessica spoke around a mouthful of candy. “I came to see my grandpa. Is he here?”

“He sure is.”

“Can I talk to him?”

“You sure can.” Mrs. Forbes pointed to the closed door with the sign that said Editor, Publisher, Owner and King. “Go right on in, honey. He’s been working on that editorial for two hours already. If it’s not right now, it never will be. And you can tell him I said so!” With a final smile she returned to her typing.

Jessica popped the last of the jellybeans into her mouth and squared her shoulders. She had come to see her grandfather on a very important mission and she didn’t want to make any mistakes. With purposeful steps she marched to his office and threw open the door.

John Reynolds looked up from behind his big desk with surprise on his jolly face. His thick white hair stuck out in all directions and Jessica thought in passing that he needed a haircut. But then, so did her daddy, most of the time. So did she, for that matter.

Grandpa grinned broadly and turned away from the word processor on the corner of his desk. “Hi, there, Sugar. Come give your favorite great-grandpa a big kiss!”

“You’re my only grandpa, and you are great,” Jessica said, because she knew he expected it. She only had one grandpa but this one would be her favorite even if she had ten grandpas. She trotted obediently around the desk and planted a big smack on his cheek, being careful to keep her shopping bag behind her.

He continued to beam at her. “So what brings you to my neck of the woods when you should be out playing with your friends?” He waved her toward a chair beside the desk.

She slipped into it, dangling bare brown legs over the edge of the seat. Maybe she should have dressed up for this important job? Her grandfather seemed to like seeing her in dresses and here she was in old cut-off jeans and a faded red T-shirt. She frowned, suddenly realizing that her sneakers had identical holes over the little toes of both feet. She sighed. Too late to worry about that now.

He was waiting for an answer. She pursed her lips and tried to think how to begin. “Well, see...uh...”

He stopped smiling but he didn’t look mean or anything. “Hmm...” He cocked his head to one side. “Looks like you mean business this time, young lady.”

“I sure do!” Jessica popped to her feet, finally hauling the bag around in front of her. Placing it on the floor, she reached inside and pulled out her piggy bank, the white ceramic one with the red spots that Grandpa had given her Christmas before last She placed the bank on the desktop before him.

He leaned back in his chair, hooking his thumbs in his suspenders. “What’s this!”

“All the money I have in the world,” she said fervently. “I hope it’s enough.”

“Enough for what?”

Turning, she rummaged around in her shopping bag again and pulled out a folded piece of notebook paper, her heart pounding. Holding her breath, she offered the paper to him.

He unfolded the page and spread it out on the desk with great care. Picking up his glasses, he perched them on his nose and began to read.

Jessica held her breath. She’d put a lot of thought into the advertisement she wanted to place in her grandfather’s newspaper. Hadn’t he always said you could find anything you wanted, or get rid of anything you didn’t want, with an ad in the Review?

She was about to put him to the test. She’d worked very hard on her ad, copying it over and over, trying to get all the words just right. She’d read it so many times that now she could recite it by heart:

“‘Wife Wanted. Rich and handsome Prince Charming who likes kids and pets needs a wife. She must be pretty and nice and also like kids and pets.’”

“Well, well, well.” Grandpa removed his glasses and peered at her in surprise. “Prince Charming, huh? Are you talking about anybody we know here?”

Jessica laughed nervously. “You know we are, Grandpa. I’m talking about Daddy!”

He nodded, looking very serious. “That’s what I thought until I got to that ‘rich’ part.”

“Pretty rich,” she hedged. “I heard Mrs. Forbes say he was a great catch one time. Is that the same?”

He rolled his eyes. “Close enough for government work, I guess. But I wouldn’t exactly call my grandson a Prince Charming, either.”

“I had to say something nice or nobody would answer the ad,” she argued a little desperately.

He chuckled softly. “Is it that important to you, Sugar? Aren’t you happy? Isn’t your daddy taking good care of you?”

This was the part she’d dreaded, trying to explain to Grandpa how she felt. “He’s...he’s awesome as a daddy,” she said slowly, “but as a mother... well, as a mother, Grandpa, he...he...”

“Stinks?” he offered helpfully.

She sighed. “Yeah, I guess.”

“But I thought he had girlfriends. I mean, doesn’t he go out on dates sometimes?”

Now it was Jessica’s turn to roll her eyes. “Sure, but not with mothers. They’re pretty and all, but they just pat me on the head and try to get away as fast as they can.” She curled her lip at the memories. “That Brandee woman is the worst.”