Margot Early - Mr. Family

Cover Page

Excerpt “Hello. This is Kal Johnson calling. Is Erika there?” His voice was low and resonant. Masculine. God help her. “This is Erika.” “I thought we should talk on the phone.” Brilliant, brilliant, keep it up, Kal. Erika bit her lip. There was a bellows stuck in her throat, and it was opening and closing with each beat of her heart. Talk, she thought. Say something that will make him … Oh, she wanted it. They could settle into permanence—permanent celibacy, permanent family—and her life would not change again. Safe. “Your daughter’s beautiful.” The ensuing pause was so long that at last she asked, “Are you still there?” “Yeah. I…Erika, I’ve thought a lot since I got your letter. Are you serious about this?” This. As though he couldn’t say it himself. Erika swallowed. She wanted a family—and an opportunity like this wouldn’t come again. Normal people wanted sex. Kal and his grief were her only hope. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, I am.”

Dear Reader Dear Reader, I’m the youngest of eight children and have more than thirty first cousins. When I married my husband, I acquired even more family, not just my beloved spouse, but his family. So let me tell you a story. It was like something out of a romance novel. I was in distress, fleeing personal difficulties, taking my two-year-old son with me. My destination: Iowa. My husband-to-be’s family were to meet me at the airport; though I had never met them, on the trust of his love for me, they had invited me to come to their home and stay. My beautiful future sister-in-law met me at the airport with the words “Welcome to Iowa, Margot!” Just hours later my fiancé’s parents encouraged me to call them “Mom” and “Dad”—a tradition unfamiliar to me, but which I found immediately comfortable and welcoming. In the coming days Mom would inspire me with her courage and love (especially her love for my son!), Dad with his profound generosity, and Grandma with her wisdom and her chocolate chip cookies. I had already conversed at length with my brother-in-law-to-be on the phone. An added bonus was my new sister’s daughter, born the same day as my son. One couldn’t wish for better in-laws! Five years later, five years sprinkled with love and laughter during periodic visits with these delightful people, I found myself with them again while completing this novel Perhaps that is why Mr. Family celebrates the Hawaiian concept of ohana —not just family, but extended family. Though the characters of Mr. Family —Kal, Erika (who first appeared in The Third Christmas ), Hiialo and their ohana —are purely imaginary, perhaps you can feel in these pages the love I’ve been fortunate to know. I hope so. Wishing you and yours the same… Sincerely, Margot Early P.S. I love hearing from readers. Please write to me at P.O. Box 611, Montrose, CO 81402-0611.

Title Page Mr. Family Margot Early www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dedication For my ohana

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the following people, each of whom helped in some way with this book: For enriching my appreciation and understanding of art, I’m grateful to Elaine Barnhart, Jan Carlile and Alan Fine. To all my ohana who helped in large and small ways during the writing of this book, thank you. Laura and Cecilia, your friendship and wisdom brighten my days. And most of all, I thank the two closest to me, my husband and son, for your patience and love.

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

EPILOGUE

Copyright

“Hello. This is Kal Johnson calling. Is Erika there?”

His voice was low and resonant. Masculine. God help her.

“This is Erika.”

“I thought we should talk on the phone.” Brilliant, brilliant, keep it up, Kal.

Erika bit her lip. There was a bellows stuck in her throat, and it was opening and closing with each beat of her heart. Talk, she thought. Say something that will make him …

Oh, she wanted it. They could settle into permanence—permanent celibacy, permanent family—and her life would not change again. Safe.

“Your daughter’s beautiful.” The ensuing pause was so long that at last she asked, “Are you still there?”

“Yeah. I…Erika, I’ve thought a lot since I got your letter. Are you serious about this?”

This. As though he couldn’t say it himself. Erika swallowed. She wanted a family—and an opportunity like this wouldn’t come again. Normal people wanted sex. Kal and his grief were her only hope.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I am.”

Dear Reader,

I’m the youngest of eight children and have more than thirty first cousins. When I married my husband, I acquired even more family, not just my beloved spouse, but his family.

So let me tell you a story.

It was like something out of a romance novel. I was in distress, fleeing personal difficulties, taking my two-year-old son with me. My destination: Iowa. My husband-to-be’s family were to meet me at the airport; though I had never met them, on the trust of his love for me, they had invited me to come to their home and stay.

My beautiful future sister-in-law met me at the airport with the words “Welcome to Iowa, Margot!” Just hours later my fiancé’s parents encouraged me to call them “Mom” and “Dad”—a tradition unfamiliar to me, but which I found immediately comfortable and welcoming. In the coming days Mom would inspire me with her courage and love (especially her love for my son!), Dad with his profound generosity, and Grandma with her wisdom and her chocolate chip cookies. I had already conversed at length with my brother-in-law-to-be on the phone. An added bonus was my new sister’s daughter, born the same day as my son. One couldn’t wish for better in-laws!

Five years later, five years sprinkled with love and laughter during periodic visits with these delightful people, I found myself with them again while completing this novel Perhaps that is why Mr. Family celebrates the Hawaiian concept of ohana —not just family, but extended family. Though the characters of Mr. Family —Kal, Erika (who first appeared in The Third Christmas ), Hiialo and their ohana —are purely imaginary, perhaps you can feel in these pages the love I’ve been fortunate to know. I hope so. Wishing you and yours the same…

Sincerely,

Margot Early

P.S. I love hearing from readers. Please write to me at P.O. Box 611, Montrose, CO 81402-0611.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For my ohana

I would like to thank the following people, each of whom

helped in some way with this book:

For enriching my appreciation and understanding of art,

I’m grateful to Elaine Barnhart, Jan Carlile

and Alan Fine.

To all my ohana who helped in large and small ways during the writing of this book, thank you.

Laura and Cecilia, your friendship and wisdom

brighten my days.

And most of all, I thank the two closest to me, my

husband and son, for your patience and love.

Santa Barbara, California

January

WANTED: Woman to enter celibate marriage and be stepmother to four-year-old girl. Send child-rearing philosophies to Mr. Ohana, Box J, Haena, Kauai, HI.