Phyllis Halldorson - A Wife For Dr. Sam

Cover Page

Excerpt

Dear Reader

Title Page

Dedication

About the Author

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Copyright

He wasn’t sure what it was about her that attracted him so, but he meant to put a stop to it before things got out of control.

He should have let well enough alone right from the beginning and stayed away from her. But no, he had to play with fire and pursue her.

He’d known that the feelings she aroused in him were dangerous, but instead of facing that fact and beating a hasty retreat he’d denied it. He’d told himself she was a sexy lady and he was single and available. If they lit sparks off one another, fine. If not, there was no harm done.

No harm? Ha! He’d vastly overestimated his ability to casually light a fuse without setting off a bomb.

Dear Reader,

This April, let Silhouette Romance shower you with treats. We’ve got must-read miniseries, bestselling authors and tons of happy endings!

The nonstop excitement begins with Marie Ferrarella’s contribution to BUNDLES OF JOY. A single dad finds himself falling for his live-in nanny—who’s got a baby of her own. So when a cry interrupts a midnight kiss, the question sure to be asked is Your Baby or Mine?

TWINS ON THE DOORSTEP, a miniseries about babies who bring love to the most unsuspecting couples, begins with The Sheriff’s Son. Beloved author Stella Bagwell weaves a magical tale of secrets and second chances.

Also set to march down the aisle this month is the second member of THE SINGLE DADDY CLUB. Donna Clayton, winner of the prestigious Holt Medallion, brings you the story of a desperate daddy and the pampered debutante who becomes a Nanny in the Nick of Time.

SURPRISE BRIDES, a series about unexpected weddings, continues with Laura Anthony’s Look-Alike Bride. This classic amnesia plot line has a new twist: Everyone believes a plain Jane is really a Hollywood starlet— including the actress’s exfiancé!

Rounding out the month is the heartwarming A Wife for Doctor Sam by Phyllis Halldorson, the story of a small town doctor who’s vowed never to fall in love again. And Sally Carleen’s Porcupine Ranch, about a housekeeper who knows nothing about keeping house, but knows exactly how to keep her sexy boss happy!

Enjoy!

Melissa Senate

Senior Editor

Silhouette Romance

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

For all you talented writers and teachers who have been in critique groups with me over the years, and have given so unstintingly of your time and expertise to set me on the right track and keep me there. I won’t attempt to name you, but I know who you are and I am grateful beyond words.

met her real-life Prince Charming at the age of sixteen. She married him a year later, and they settled down to raise a family. A compulsive reader, Phyllis dreamed of someday finding the time to write stories of her own. That time came when her two youngest children reached adolescence. When she was introduced to romance novels, she knew she had found her long-delayed vocation. After all, how could she write anything else after living all those years with her very own Silhouette hero?

The road sign on the outskirts of Grangeville, Idaho, read: Copper Canyon, 10 Miles, and Kirsten Reinhold’s excitement mounted. According to the directions Coralie had sent, the Buckley family farm was five miles on the other side of the small town of Copper Canyon so that meant she would arrive at her destination in about twenty minutes.

She pressed her foot harder on the gas pedal. This was the day she’d looked forward to for more than two months. She would see her best friend, Coralie Dixon, and finally meet Coralie’s new husband, Jim Buckley.

A loud roar of static interrupted the country-music program on the car radio and startled Kirsten. There were no other cars on the road, and she slowed down to look at the dashboard for the off knob when a sudden impact jolted her forward and sent her car skidding across to the opposite side of the road. She was too surprised and shaken to do anything but clench the steering wheel and hope the car would stop before going into the ditch.

It did, just barely, but her mind had gone blank and her fingers seemed to be frozen around the steering wheel. Badly shaken, she rested her forehead against the rim and tried to pull herself together. That was why she didn’t see the man jump out of the automobile she’d hit to rush across the empty road and open her door.

“Are you hurt, miss?” he asked anxiously.

Slowly she straightened up and looked at him. He was fairly young, mid-thirties, with short, curly brown hair and troubled brown eyes flecked with green. “N-no, I don’t think so. What…what happened?”

The concern in his expression turned to a frown of annoyance. “You ran a four-way stop and smashed into my brand-new car,” he grumbled. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”

She blinked in confusion and looked beyond him to see a white BMW crosswise in the middle of the highway, with a dent in the fender on the passenger side. “But there were no other cars around, and I just glanced down to turn off the radio.”

“Then you didn’t look closely enough,” he scolded. “I was driving on the side road. I saw you coming, but I expected you to stop at the sign.” His anger was heating up.

“I didn’t see the sign,” she wailed. “I had no idea—”

“If you don’t start paying more attention to your driving instead of fiddling with the damn radio, you’re going to have a real smashup one of these days.” His tone was gruff. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said, although she knew that wasn’t altogether true. She wasn’t injured, but she was shaking so badly that she doubted if she could stand.

Then a frightening thought occurred to her. She carried only the minimum amount of car insurance required by law in California where she lived. She doubted it would fully cover any large bills. “How about you? Were you hurt?” she asked, growing concerned.

“No,” he snapped. “But if you’d been going just a little faster we both could have been. Step out of the car, please.”

“Out of the car? But why?” She didn’t really want to try to stand up yet. She was afraid her quaking knees wouldn’t hold her.

“Because I need to make sure you have enough wits about you to drive without plowing into any more vehicles,” he said angrily.

Kirsten knew she was at fault, but he didn’t need to be so cranky. “Of course I’m okay to drive,” she insisted. “We didn’t collide very hard.”

To prove her point she turned in her seat and put her feet on the ground, then pulled herself up by hanging on to the open door. Her legs were rubbery and she felt a little light-headed, but she wasn’t about to admit it. The quicker she could get rid of this man and be on her way, the better. So far she hadn’t seen any other cars go by.