Mia Ross - Circle of Family

When Love Lands

With his leather jacket, aviator sunglasses and restored WWII plane, pilot Ridge Collins has everyone in tiny Harland, North Carolina, talking. Especially single mother Marianne Weston’s impressionable young kids—who think Ridge would make a fine father. But shy Marianne is afraid to open her heart to the handsome pilot with a harrowing past. For one, he’s in town only temporarily. And Marianne is all about roots and Sunday dinners, while Ridge is into seeing what’s around the bend. But two sweet kids are set on showing him there’s no greater adventure than family.

Enjoy a special 15th anniversary bonus story from Love Inspired Historical, His American Duchess by Anna Schmidt

“You told me you don’t like to be in one place too long,” Marianne said.

Ridge noticed that she was watching him intently. “You miss things that way.”

“Such as?”

He shrugged. “Friends. Dogs. Having a place to come back to at the end of the day that doesn’t charge you when you walk in the door.”

He could tell she hadn’t expected that. “You like Harland, then?”

“Very much.” There was plenty to like about the close-knit community on and around the farm. Because Ridge didn’t know how to say that without spooking her, he settled on something less personal. “Little things mean a lot when you don’t have them.”

She eyed him with something resembling respect, which he took as a good sign. Marianne was by far the most mistrustful woman he’d ever met.

He still wasn’t sure why he was trying so hard to get through to her, and he had to wonder if his genetic stubbornness was steering him down a rocky, dead-end road.

MIA ROSS

loves great stories. She enjoys reading about fascinating people, long-ago times and exotic places. But only for a little while, because her reality is pretty sweet. Married to her college sweetheart, she’s the proud mom of two amazing kids, whose schedules keep her hopping. Busy as she is, she can’t imagine trading her life for anyone else’s—and she has a pretty good imagination. You can visit her online at www.miaross.com.

Circle of Family

Mia Ross

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Love Inspired! We’re celebrating our 15th anniversary this month, and you’re invited to the party!

Love Inspired Books began in September 1997, offering readers inspirational contemporary romances. Fifteen years later, Love Inspired has never wavered from our promise to our readers; we are proud to publish short contemporary romances that feature Christian men and women facing the challenges of life and love in today’s world.

In honor of our anniversary, we are showcasing some of our top authors in September. Irene Hannon, Arlene James and Lois Richer were part of the original lineup in 1997, and we’re supremely blessed that they are still writing for us in 2012. Jillian Hart and Margaret Daley have been part of the Love Inspired family since the early 2000s. And newcomer Mia Ross rounds out the month. We hope you enjoy these sweet stories full of home, family and love.

As a special thank-you to our readers, each book this month contains a bonus story. Give them a try, and we know you’ll find our authors the very best in Christian romance!

Thank you for reading Love Inspired.

Blessings,

Melissa Endlich

Senior Editor

For my friends who had the courage

to make a new life for themselves and their children. I admire you more than I can say.

Acknowledgments

To the pros who helped me make this book exactly what it should be: Elaine Spencer, Melissa Endlich, Rachel Burkot and the very talented staff

at Love Inspired.

A high five to all the dedicated—and very patient—coaches my children have had over the years.

The hours are long and the weather can be awful, but you’ve had a tremendous impact on them.

It really does take a village to raise a child, and

I know my kids are better people because of you.

More thanks to the gang at Seekerville

www.seekerville.net. You give me a place to share good news and bad, and I always leave with a smile on my face.

As always, this book didn’t get written in a closet. My friends and family surround me with support and encouragement every single day.

I couldn’t possibly do this without you.

* * *

Let all that you do be done in love.

—1 Corinthians 16:14

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

“What in the world?”

Up to her elbows in pink ribbons and last-minute wedding favors, Marianne Weston looked around the decorated yard to find the source of a persistent drone that was getting louder by the second. When she realized it was coming from overhead, she glanced up at the cloudless sky. The sound seemed to be racing the midmorning sun, and she shaded her eyes to look toward the east. Squinting against the sunlight, she saw a blue-and-yellow biplane barreling toward the Sawyer family farm.

So low it had to be clipping the trees, she thought for sure the plane was going to crash in the front hayfield. As she watched in amazement, it soared no more than six feet over the large white farmhouse, rocking its wings as if the maneuver was an everyday occurrence. It made a graceful loop before coming in to land in a fallow cornfield.

After that, nothing. She wasn’t close enough to see what the pilot was doing, but she knew he had to be her brother Matt’s best man. She’d never met Ridge Collins, and something told her this wouldn’t be your run-of-the-mill introduction.

Marianne put out the last of the ribbon-tied candy bags and headed up to welcome him. Several chickadees chattered at her from their home in one of the eaves as she passed by the flower-draped front porch. She strolled up the gentle slope, assessing the situation as she went. Life had taught her to be cautious, but the man’s unusual appearance had definitely piqued her curiosity.

Just as she topped the rise, the pilot popped up from his seat like a jack-in-the-box, his boots clanging as he descended the ladder attached to the side of the plane. Bracing his hand on the side, he looked underneath, then stepped back and folded his arms. After a few seconds, he was apparently satisfied.

“Thanks for a quick ride, girl,” he said, patting the plane as if it were a horse who’d just given him a good run. “I’m late, so your rubdown will have to wait.”

The man talked to his plane, Marianne thought with a smile. No wonder Matt had never introduced him to the family.

As she approached, she wasn’t sure how to greet him, so she went with something light. “That was quite a landing.”

When he turned to face her, her heart skipped a couple of beats. When it started up again, she had to remind herself to breathe.

He looked like he’d just stepped out of Pearl Harbor, one of her favorite movies. His battered leather jacket had a faded animal on the front, and his threadbare jeans had seen much better days. Mirrored aviator sunglasses completed the image. She could almost hear sweeping orchestra music welcoming the hero home.

A friend from Matt’s wilder days, Ridge held himself with relaxed confidence. Rugged and independent, he was handsome in a rough-and-tumble kind of way. While they stood looking at each other, Marianne wondered how many women had lost their hearts to this man.