Suzannah Davis - Gabriel's Bride

Cover Page

Excerpt “I Understand That Under Certain Circumstances, You Might Be Available… “For certain kinds of work, I mean.” Gabriel surged to his feet. “Ma’am, I fly choppers. That’s all. You got a hankering to tour the Everglades?” Sarah Ann tried to smile, tried to remember this was all for Gramps. “I need you for a temporary assignment. I’ll, uh, make it worth your while.” She regretted the innuendo instantly. He cocked one lean hip and absently ran a hand through his hair. “Just what exactly are you saying, ma’am?” “Look, I’ve heard that you and your friends do…er, unusual work from time to time and I thought, that is…” She groaned in distress and buried her face in her hands. “Spit it out, honey.” Lifting her head, she forced out the words. “I need a husband. Will you marry me…?”

Dear Reader Dear Reader, Happy holidays from the staff at Silhouette Desire! As you can see by the special cover treatment this month, these books are our holiday gifts to you. And each and every story is so wonderful that I know you’ll want to buy extras to give to your friends! We begin with Jackie Merritt’s MAN OF THE MONTH, Montana Christmas, which is the conclusion of her spectacular MADE IN MONTANA series. The fun continues with Instant Dad, the final installment in Raye Morgan’s popular series THE BABY SHOWER. Suzannah Davis’s Gabriel’s Bride is a classic—and sensuous—love story you’re sure to love. And Anne Eames’s delightful writing style is highlighted to perfection in Christmas Elopement. For a story that will make you feel all the warmth and goodwill of the holiday season, don’t miss Kate Little’s Jingle Bell Baby. And Susan Connell begins a new miniseries—THE GIRLS MOST LIKELY TO…—about three former high school friends who are now all grown up in Rebel’s Spirit. Look for upcoming books in the series in 1997. Happy holidays and happy reading from AND THE STAFF OF SILHOUETTE DESIRE Please address questions and book requests to: Silhouette Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Title Page Gabriel’s Bride Suzannah Davis www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author SUZANNAH DAVIS Award-winning author Suzannah Davis is a Louisiana native who loves small-town life, daffodils and writing stories full of love and laughter. A firm believer in happy endings, she has three children.

Dedication For my parents, Lynn and Gordon, and for my kids, Brian, Jill and Brad

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

Copyright

“For certain kinds of work, I mean.”

Gabriel surged to his feet. “Ma’am, I fly choppers. That’s all. You got a hankering to tour the Everglades?”

Sarah Ann tried to smile, tried to remember this was all for Gramps. “I need you for a temporary assignment. I’ll, uh, make it worth your while.” She regretted the innuendo instantly.

He cocked one lean hip and absently ran a hand through his hair. “Just what exactly are you saying, ma’am?”

“Look, I’ve heard that you and your friends do…er, unusual work from time to time and I thought, that is…” She groaned in distress and buried her face in her hands.

“Spit it out, honey.”

Lifting her head, she forced out the words. “I need a husband. Will you marry me…?”

Dear Reader,

Happy holidays from the staff at Silhouette Desire! As you can see by the special cover treatment this month, these books are our holiday gifts to you. And each and every story is so wonderful that I know you’ll want to buy extras to give to your friends!

We begin with Jackie Merritt’s MAN OF THE MONTH, Montana Christmas, which is the conclusion of her spectacular MADE IN MONTANA series. The fun continues with Instant Dad, the final installment in Raye Morgan’s popular series THE BABY SHOWER.

Suzannah Davis’s Gabriel’s Bride is a classic—and sensuous—love story you’re sure to love. And Anne Eames’s delightful writing style is highlighted to perfection in Christmas Elopement. For a story that will make you feel all the warmth and goodwill of the holiday season, don’t miss Kate Little’s Jingle Bell Baby.

And Susan Connell begins a new miniseries—THE GIRLS MOST LIKELY TO…—about three former high school friends who are now all grown up in Rebel’s Spirit. Look for upcoming books in the series in 1997.

Happy holidays and happy reading from

AND THE STAFF OF SILHOUETTE DESIRE

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Award-winning author Suzannah Davis is a Louisiana native who loves small-town life, daffodils and writing stories full of love and laughter. A firm believer in happy endings, she has three children.

For my parents,

Lynn and Gordon,

and

for my kids,

Brian, Jill and Brad

As she parked in front of the bayside resort, Sarah Ann Dempsey trembled as before the gates of hell itself.

A humid gulf breeze blew in off Paradise Bay, exotic and perfumed, but offering little relief to the southwest Florida heat. Though only May, the coastline between Tampa and Fort Myers was already sweltering, and the little town of Lostman’s Island was no exception. Beneath her practical gingham shirt, perspiration trickled between Sarah Ann’s breasts, and she curled her sweaty palms around the steering wheel of her aged pickup, willing calmness.

Impossible.

But she had a mission. A desperate quest to ease an old man’s mind, and no time for cowardice or feminine vapors.

“It’s just business,” she reassured herself. Slicking her dark hair back from her damp forehead, she automatically cally tightened her severe but sensible ponytail, then stepped out of the truck.

The marina had seen better days—and worse. Tall, clattering sabal palms shaded a weathered building, a combination business office, fisherman’s supply and dining hall. White crushed-shell paths connected ramshackle, clapboard guest cottages. A wooden dock stretched into the sparkling waters of the bay, but the majority of the boat slips lay empty. For most of Sarah Ann’s twenty-eight years, the Dempsey truck farm and orange groves had supplied fresh produce to this neighboring establishment. She and Gramps had watched the place struggle, then change hands—and names—again and again.

But the latest owners were something different. Mystery men, the gossips labeled them. A trio with questionable pasts, who vanished at intervals to pursue who-knew-what devilment, then reappeared to soak up the sun and rest on their laurels, caring little if the cottages were filled or the fishing boats rented.

As she opened the truck’s tailgate, a delicate shiver tickled Sarah Ann’s spine in spite of the heat. Making her deliveries, she’d seen them all at one time or another: the dark one, with the proud look of the Seminole; the Irishman with his merry grin and bleak eyes; and the one they called The Captain, tawny like a lion, and as commanding.