Teresa Southwick - A Maverick's Christmas Homecoming

“The one that actually does want me around,” Shane clarified. “I’m going to Los Angeles.”

Gianna had a bad feeling about this. “For Christmas?”

He went on as if he hadn’t heard her. “It’s time for me to move on. Like you said, I found out what I came here for.”

But was that all he’d found? What about her? What about the two of them? Instead she said, “What about the restaurant?”

“The sous chef can take over for me. I’ve trained her. No one is irreplaceable.”

He was wrong about that. He couldn’t be replaced in her heart. And that’s when she knew she’d fallen in love with him.

Dear Reader,

In childhood we pick up the traditions that are carried on throughout our lives and one of the most time-honored is to spend the holidays with family. Everything’s supposed to be perfect during this special season, at least that’s what I thought as a little girl. One year reality set in when my younger brother was in the hospital with pneumonia. He was a pretty sick kid. But on the morning of December 25th, he was discharged and the whole family went to spring him. All of us were together, which made the day even more special because it nearly didn’t happen that way.

At Christmas most people make family plans, and Shane Roarke, the hero in this book, is no exception. But he takes it to the next level. Adopted as an infant, he’s wondered all his life about the biological parents who gave him up. What he discovers about them will either give him more family than he’s ever dreamed of or threaten his career and a future with Gianna Garrison, the woman he loves.

Life has taught me that things aren’t always perfect. I make a conscious effort to treasure the crisis-free times and count on family for support during all the rest. But in my books there’s always a happy ending and every day I’m grateful for this dream job.

I wish everyone health, happiness, love and peace at Christmas and all the best in the New Year.

Happy holidays!

Teresa Southwick

TERESA SOUTHWICKlives with her husband in Las Vegas, the city that reinvents itself every day. An avid fan of romance novels, she is delighted to be living out her dream of writing for Mills & Boon ®.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my brothers—Jim, Mike, Dan, and Chris Boyle.

I love you guys. Merry Christmas!

When he’d come to Thunder Canyon five months ago looking for his biological parents, Shane Roarke never expected to find out that his father was in jail for stealing from the town. So far his mother’s identity was still a mystery, but maybe that was for the best. Did he really want to meet the woman who’d shown the bad judgment to hook up with a criminal? And what did that say about his own DNA?

He’d arrived a city-slicker chef with a list of questions about who he was. Now he had half the answers and a lot to lose if anyone else found out. The information and what to do about it weighed heavy on his mind.

In June he’d taken the executive chef position at The Gallatin Room, the fine-dining restaurant at Thunder Canyon Resort. With successful restaurants in L.A., New York and Seattle it had been a career step-down, but necessary for personal reasons. Now he was the definition of a man in conflict—part of him wished he’d never come, while the other part really liked this town.

“Oh, you’re still here—”

Shane looked up from the glass of wine in front of him to the redhead who’d just walked into his kitchen. Gianna Garrison was a waitress and part-time bartender on his staff. In the big cities where he’d worked his name had been linked to models, actresses and celebrities, but he’d never seen a more beautiful woman than the one in front of him now, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

“I’m still here,” he agreed.

“Like the captain of a ship.”

“The last to leave.” He smiled.

Gianna was wearing the black slacks and long-sleeved white shirt all the waitresses wore but it looked better on her. The tucked-in blouse accentuated breasts, not too big or too small, which only left just right. Her waist was trim, her legs slim and that curly, shoulder-length red hair always got his attention even from across a crowded room. Close-up was even better.

“Sorry to bother you.” She started to back out of the room. “I’ll just be going.”

She wasn’t bothering him. In fact she’d done him a favor. Shane realized the last thing he wanted was to be alone with his dark thoughts.

“Wait. We were a waitress short tonight.” Pretty lame stating the obvious, but he’d just switched mental gears and it was the best he could come up with to stop her from leaving.

“Yeah, Bonnie has a bad cold. Coughing, sneezing and breathing germs on that party of ski executives from Switzerland seemed counterproductive to the goal.”

Shane nodded. “Convincing them that Thunder Canyon has the snow, slopes and service to make it a winter vacation destination for Europeans.”

“Right. And have you seen any of those movies on the flu pandemic and how disease spreads? We wouldn’t want Thunder Canyon identified as ground zero by the Centers for Disease Control. The Swiss would probably hear about it.”

“That wouldn’t be good. Bonnie was wise to call herself off.”

The humor sparkling in her eyes made them almost turquoise. He hadn’t noticed that before, which wasn’t surprising. Between work, looking for his birth parents and feeling guilty about it on account of his real parents who loved him unconditionally, he’d been a little preoccupied. Now she was only a couple of feet away and he noticed that her eyes were wide and beautiful, like the Caribbean Ocean. If he wasn’t careful, he could drown in them.

“So one waitress less means you worked twice as hard,” he said.

She lifted one shoulder in a no-big-deal gesture. “I just moved faster, smiled more and dazzled them with the Garrison wit, hoping they had no idea it was taking just a little longer to get their orders delivered. The complimentary bottle of wine you sent over to the table didn’t hurt, either. By the way, they raved about the food and seemed surprised. You’d think the invention of Swiss cheese entitled them to culinary domination of the universe.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t say that to them.”

“No.” She grinned.

“The head of the delegation complimented me on the food and service before they left. He promised me maximum stars, diamonds, happy faces, thumbs-up, however they designate their rating. Without you I couldn’t have pulled that off, Gianna.”

Her wit wasn’t the only thing about her that dazzled. When she smiled, her face lit up like the town square decorated for Christmas. “I’m flattered you noticed.”

“I make it my business to notice. It crossed my mind to come out to help serve, but I couldn’t get away.”

“Cooking is what you do. Delivering what you cook is my job.”

“There’s more to it than that. Even when the food is good it’s not always easy to keep the customer happy. But you make it look easy. Tonight you did a fantastic job.”

“I just handled it,” she said modestly.

“You always do. You’re one of my best waitresses. Thanks for all your hard work. I appreciate it very much.”

“No problem. It’s what you pay me for but it’s nice to hear you say it.” Gianna backed up a little more. “I’ll just be going now.”

No, he thought. Her dazzle kept the dark away and he wasn’t ready for it to come back yet. He wanted her to stay. Saying that straight out might make her nervous, think he was hitting on her. That wasn’t his intention. The pleasure of her company was his only goal; the question was how to achieve it.