Judy Duarte: The Cowboy's Family Plan

A PREGNANCY...WITH COMPLICATIONS

Solemn rancher Alex Connor was looking for a good woman. To be more precise, he was looking for a surrogate to bear his babies. He had it all figured out: he’d be a single dad completely devoted to his children. But after his first meeting with obstetrician Dr. Selena Ramirez, all his carefully made plans flew out the window.

Selena knew she’d be able to help Alex, though not in the way he might imagine. Common sense told her to run when the sexy green-eyed cowboy admitted he wanted her. What kind of crazy fate had brought a man yearning for offspring to a woman who couldn’t have any? What kind of crazy girl would gamble on a man whose heart was already taken?

What if she did the unthinkable?

What if she fell head over heels in love with a man whose heart would always belong to another woman?

Selena knew firsthand how badly a situation like that would turn out. But the possibility of heartbreak in the future didn’t seem to matter right now.

She couldn’t let Alex walk away tonight without giving him a chance to prove her wrong. So she lowered her guard and chose to ignore her apprehension.

By the time they reached her house, her heartbeat was soaring in anticipation. Just how far would they go tonight?

As far as he was willing, she decided.

Dear Reader,

I love autumn because it’s a season of change. The leaves begin to fade into shades of red and gold. And the summer breeze turns crisp and cool. With the upcoming holidays on the horizon, it’s a cozy time of the year.

On days and evenings like this, it’s fun to light a fire in the hearth, put a pot of soup on the stove and a batch of muffins in the oven. It’s also a good time to curl up with a book—or for those more tech-minded readers, an ereader.

I’m so glad you chose The Cowboy’s Family Plan as your autumn escape. In this story, you’ll return to Brighton Valley, where you’ll meet rancher Alex Connor, who is determined to hire a surrogate to carry the babies he and his late wife had planned to raise together. You’ll also meet Dr. Selena Ramirez, an obstetrician who has just learned that she’ll never be able to get pregnant. But when a little chemistry, romance and modern science kick in, miracles can happen.

Happy reading!

Judy

The Cowboy’s Family Plan

Judy Duarte

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JUDY DUARTE

always knew there was a book inside her, but since English was her least favorite subject in school, she never considered herself a writer. An avid reader who enjoys a happy ending, Judy couldn’t shake the dream of creating a book of her own.

Her dream became a reality in March 2002, when Silhouette Special Edition released her first book, Cowboy Courage. Since then she has published more than twenty novels. Her stories have touched the hearts of readers around the world. And in July 2005 Judy won a prestigious Readers’ Choice Award for The Rich Man’s Son.

Judy makes her home near the beach in Southern California. When she’s not cooped up in her writing cave, she’s spending time with her somewhat enormous but delightfully close family.

To Bob and Betty Astleford,

whose family plan included me. Thank you

for all your love and support through the years. I love you!

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Excerpt

Chapter One

As Alex Connor reached the door of the community education room at the Brighton Valley Wellness Center, a shudder of apprehension shot through him, and he froze momentarily.

Once he stepped inside, he was going to feel as out of place as a circus clown on a wild bronc, but he wasn’t going to wallow in it. He owed it to Mary, his late wife, to learn all he could about surrogacy. So he shook off his uneasiness, swallowed his pride and entered the classroom, his limp a bit more pronounced than it had been when he woke up this morning.

The room wasn’t full, although there were plenty of people already seated, most of them couples, whose expressions ran the gamut from hopeful to uneasy to I’d-rather-be-anywhere-but-here-tonight. And Alex knew how every one of them felt, especially the ones who looked as if it wouldn’t take much for them to bolt.

A few of those in attendance were women on their own, with no husband or partner in sight. Alex did his best not to look at them, not to think about Mary, who’d had to research in vitro fertilization on her own four years ago.

Now here he was, learning what he should have learned with her back then.

Alex wasn’t the only man in the room this evening, but he was the only one who’d arrived by himself. Shaking off his uneasiness, he chose a seat in the front row and placed his Stetson on the empty chair next to him. Then he waited for the class to begin.

It had been nearly three years since he’d lost Mary, along with the baby she carried. And now that he’d dealt with the grief, he was determined to do everything he could to make sure his and Mary’s remaining two babies, just frozen embryos now, had a chance to live. Unfortunately, Mary had been the one who’d had any real understanding of the whole in vitro process. She’d merely showed him the papers he needed to sign and told him how much to pay, where to be and what to do. So he found himself at a bit of a loss now—and a bit guilty at not being more involved during the whole clinical part of the process.

He would have made an appointment to talk to Dr. Avery, Mary’s obstetrician, if the guy hadn’t retired a while back and sold his practice to a Dr. Ramirez.

Alex had planned to talk to the new doctor, but as luck would have it, the guy was giving a series of three lectures on fertility options on Tuesday nights.

Luck, huh? Alex might have been fortunate to chance upon that flyer, but his reason for being at the wellness center in the first place had been the result of a preventable accident and an order for physical therapy.

Nearly six months ago, he’d walked behind his prize stallion, Blazing Thunder, and gotten kicked, which had been a dumb move on his part. As a result, he’d suffered a broken kneecap, which had sidelined him for months. He’d needed orthopedic surgery, and after the bones had healed, he’d been sent to physical therapy.

Last week, while working with Maria, his therapist at the wellness center, he’d spotted that poster. Because one of the topics dealt with finding and hiring a surrogate, he’d signed up to take the classes, which were being taught by none other than Dr. Ramirez.

So call it luck or fate or chance, here he was.

He’d planned to sit through this first lecture, then afterward, catch the doctor alone and pick his brain.

Mary had thought the world of Dr. Avery. Alex just hoped that Dr. Ramirez, whoever he was, would be just as competent.

So what was keeping him?

Alex glanced at his wristwatch, noting it was almost seven. The doctor ought to be here by now.

Moments later, he heard the sound of the door swinging open at the back of the room.

Footsteps clicked upon the tile floor, drawing closer.

Alex turned and glanced to the right, just as an attractive brunette wearing a white lab coat over a green dress strode toward the lectern.

Alex wasn’t sure why he’d assumed that the obstetrician would be a man. It’s not as though he had any qualms about a female physician; it’s just that this one appeared to be too...young...too petite...too attractive.

But she certainly had an air of confidence about her.

He slowly turned to the front and waited for her to step behind the podium.