He ambled toward her, as lazy as a long, cool drink of something wicked. Letter to Reader Title Page JENNIFER GREENE 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 ambled toward her, as lazy as a long, cool drink of something wicked.
He confounded Maggie. It was absolutely ridiculous for a practical, grounded, capable twenty-nine-year-old woman to feel bowled over by the look in a mans eyes. But there it was. Dam it, Andy was so darling she just wanted to sip him in.
His mouth kicked up a grin long before he reached her. Those eyes of his were darker than a midnight sky. He gave the length of her a once-over, from the floppy socks to her jeans and baggy sweater to her hair flying every which way. Maggie knew darn well there was nothing in her appearance to earn that sizzling spark.
And then Andy asked her the question shed been dreading all day.
Remembered anything yet that I need to arrest you for?
Dear Reader,
Hectic life? Too much to do, too little time? Well, Silhouette Desire provides you with the perfect emotional getaway with this months moving stories of men and women finding love and passion. So relax, pick up a Desire novel and let yourself escape, with six wonderful, involving, totally absorbing romances.
Ultratalented author Mary Lynn Baxter kicks off November with her sultry Western style in Slow Talkin Texan, the story of a MAN OF THE MONTH whose strong desires collide with an independent ladyshes silk to his denim, lace to his leather... and doing all she can to resist this irresistible tycoon. A small-town lawman who rescues a lost beauty might just find his own Christmas bride in Jennifer Greenes heartwarming Her Holiday Secret. Ladies, watch closely as a Thirty-Day Fiancé is transformed into a forever husband in Leanne Bankss third book in THE RULEBREAKERS miniseries.
Dont dare miss the intensity of an innocent wife trying to seduce her honor-bound husband in The Oldest Living Married Virgin, the latest in Maureen Childs spectacular miniseries THE BACHELOR BATTALION. And when a gorgeous exmarine shows up at his old flames ranch to round up the wife who got away, he discovers a daughter he never knew in The Re-Enlisted Groom by Amy J. Fetzer. The Forbidden Bride-to-Re may be off-limits...but isnt that what makes the beautiful heroine in Kathryn Taylors scandal-filled novel all the more tempting?
This November, Silhouette Desire is the place to live, love and lose yourself...to sensual romance. Enjoy!
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Her Holiday Secret
Jennifer Greene
www.millsandboon.co.uk
JENNIFER GREENE
lives near Lake Michigan with her husband and two children. Before writing full time, she worked as a teacher and a personnel manager. Michigan State University honored her as an outstanding woman graduate for her work with women on campus.
Ms. Greene has written more than fifty category romances, for which she has won numerous awards, including two RITAs from the Romance Writers of America in the Best Short Contemporary Books category and a Career Achievement award from Romantic Times Magazine.
One
White. When she opened her eyes, everything around her seemed bewilderingly white. White noise, white pain, white walls, white sheets.
The last thing she remembered was an explosion of vivid color. Vague pictures flashed in her mind from just before that. She was pretty sure shed been driving. Alone. It had been snowing like a banshee, on a night blacker than a witchs soul. And then suddenly metal screeched on metal with the screaming sound of a crash, and all those jeweled colors had exploded in her head. Then nothing.
Really nothing. She swiftly realized she was lying in a hospital bedand her body was creaking and groaning in too many places to worry that her brain wasnt functioning. She hadnt lost her mind. Just her memory. Her name, who she was, refused to come to her. There seemed nothing in her head but all that white fuzz... and a sick, terrible feeling that something bad had happenedsomething that she was responsible for.
Well, now. Youre finally waking up for us, huh? The nurse who charged in had a round face framed by bustling, bouncing brown curls. The smile was sweet, but the eyes were all business. Now dont try getting ambitious, honey, you just lie there. Im going to take your pulse and get your blood pressure
Her throat was dry, her voice so thick that she had trouble getting the words out. Something happened. An accident, I think
Uh-huh.
I was responsible? I caused it, didnt I? Oh God, was anyone hurt?
Well, I didnt hear muchno one ever tells us anything up herebut when Bertha wheeled you up from the ER, she said something about you being hit head-on. Didnt sound like your fault in any way to me. The nurse pried open her eyes, shot in a harsh spear of light, then flicked it off. Feeling a little confused and disoriented, are we?
I cant seem to remember anything about it
Thats not at all unusual, hon. Just be patient and give yourself a little time. An accidents always a shock to the system, and after the body pumps up all that adrenaline, sometimes the mind just seems to shut down and take a little rest right after. The nurse squeezed two fingers on her pulse, then strapped a cuff on her upper arm. She seemed to have five hands, and when they werent busy, she was talking.
You dont need to worry about a thing. Not real likely youre going to win a beauty contest for a couple of days, but there were no broken bones, no internal injuries. Ill bet it feels like you tangled with the Marines, though, huh? Youve got a prizewinning lump on your head and some Olympic-sized bruises, but youll be perfectly fine and healed up before you know it. Doc Howardll be in shortly. Weve just been waiting for you to wake up. And the sheriffs waiting to see you, tooyou know Andy Gautier? Hes a sweetheart. If you feel up to it, hes got some questions about the accident
I dont know what help I could be. I dont remember. Her voice was coming stronger, the whole hospital room sharpening in focus. The only thing still muzzy was her stupid mind. Darn it. I really cant seem to remember. Anything
Now just take it easy. If youre that worried about it, lets just try you out on some basics, okay? Do you know your name?
To her relief, it came. Maggie. Maggie Fletcher.
There now. You aced that one. And your drivers license claims that youre twenty-nine, brown hair, green eyes, 110 pounds. That sound like you?
Maggie would have nodded, except that any movement made her head feel like someone was crushing shards of glass in her skull. Wryly she admitted, I think I lied about the weight.
The nurse chuckled. Dont we all, dear. How about your address? You know that?
302 River Creek Road.
Another ace. But well try a couple tougher ones. You know what day it is? Where you are?
Yeah. Its Fridaythe Friday night after Thanksgiving. And I havent been here before, but this has to be the hospital at White Branch. The concerned frown on the nurses face was swiftly disappearing, and Maggie told herself she should be feeling equally reassured. It was all there. As if someone flicked the light switch on her memory, all the details of her life were relighting up. She could picture her cabin in her mind, knew what her job was, knew that shed had Thanksgiving dinner at her sisters the day before. She hadnt lost...herself. Everything really was okay.
Except that she still couldnt remember a single detail after going to her sisters for the holiday dinner. The twenty-four hours before the accident were simply a blank. And that wouldnt particularly matterexcept that she couldnt shake the anxious feeling that shed done something seriously wrong.
The nurse obviously considered her ability to answer those questions as a sign there was nothing to worry about. See now? Whatd I tell you? Youre starting to remember just fine. You just had a big jolt to your system, perfectly normal to feel fuzzy for a bit, and youve got a concussion to boot.
But theres still this whole gap. I dont know where I was going, anything I did that whole day, why I was driving anywhere at night, the accident... youre not lying to me, are you? About someone else being hurt? About it being my fault?
If I knew more about the accident, Id tell you. The truth is, I just dont ButIll make you a deal. You close your eyes and just rest for a few minutes. Now theres an IV in your armjust glucosebut I dont want you getting out of bed without calling me. Im just going to leave you alone and go get the doc. And if he okays it after seeing you, Ill let Andy in here for a couple minutes, and you can ask him more about the accident. Does that sound like a plan?
The nurse left. Then Dr. Howard came and went. The two of them were a matched set. They both poked where it hurt, bossed her around, and went through identical litanies about Youre fine and nothing to worry about and a little temporary memory loss is common after a traumatic accident.
Once they both left, Maggie sank back against the pillow, exhausted from all this being taken care of. Outside the door, she heard the clattered wheels of a cart, phones ringing, voices echoing down the hall. Her only sojourn in a hospital before this was a few hours as an outpatient when shed had her tonsils out at age six. She liked it even less now. The bed was too hard, the whole room so sterile and alien, and shed never liked being fussed over.
She wanted to be home. Now, immediately. Her head burned like fire; her ribs ached; bruises were announcing themselves all over her body. If she were just home, in her own bed, everything would be better. She could rest. She could think. Maggie squeezed her eyes closed, disturbingly aware that that strange knife of guilt was still stabbing her conscience. There had to be a reason for it. She just had to make herself concentrate....
Maggie Fletcher? Maggie?
Her eyes shot open again. Shed forgotten about the sheriff. One look at the guy standing in the doorway, and Maggie doubted shed make that mistake twice.
There were times she wouldnt mind meeting an attractive man. Tonight definitely wasnt one of them. She was feeling way too battered and beat up to conceivably have a functioning female hormone...but it seemed a couple stubborn ones perked up. The wayward thought skimmed through her mind that the stranger could probably arouse a woman from a coma without half trying.
Maggie, Im the sheriff, Andrew Gautier...Andy. He ambled toward the bed and stuck out his hand. The handshake barely lasted two seconds, no more than a polite greeting, carefully gentle. But his palm was warm and strong, his grip as straightforward as he seemed to be.
I got a mixed review on whether it was okay to talk with you, he said wryly. We can do this another time if youre not up for it. The consensus seemed to be if Im real good and dont get yall riled up, I can stay for a few minutes. Theres always paperwork to fill out after an accidentnot my favorite thing, but I was in the hospital, anyway, and I tend to procrastinate if I dont get it done. And Gert seemed to think you might feel reassured if I filled in some blanks for you on the accident as well.
Yeah, thatd be fine. Id appreciate it, in fact.
Okay...
He pulled up a chair, yanked a small spiral notebook from an inside pocket, and stretched out his long, lanky legs. He really was darling, Maggie mused. Not Mel Gibson, but he sure had the eyes.
He wasnt wearing any sheriffs uniform, dressed more like hed been called from home and had to hustle out into the night. A beat-up leather jacket showcased linebacker shoulders, and both his charcoal sweatshirt and jeans looked like old, worn friends. His hair was cut short, starling-black, but it was thick and rumpled and still had a glisten from the damp snowy night. She thought he must have some Indian blood from the ruddy warmth of his skin tone and the sharp high cheekbones.
He was strikingso striking he could give any woman that nice, edgy aware feelingbut the eyes looked like trouble to her. Deep, dark, spicy. If he was the law, he sure wasnt looking her over in any lawful way. Those dark, exotic eyes prowled her face with more blunt masculine interest than shed been treated to in quite a while.
Maggie mentally sighed. Obviously she was crazy, unhinged by the accident, imagining things. He surely wasnt really communicating interest, and she had serious stuff on her mindnothing related to hormones. Yet the first thing that blurted out of her mouth was an inane Cripes, I have to look like something a cat dragged home from an alley.
He didnt miss a beat, but she caught just the edge of a sneaky grin. Yeah, I see some bumps and bruises, but lets put it this way. If my catd dragged you home, hed be in tuna for the rest of his life. He patted his inside pocket. Hell. Ive lost my pen again. I swear, if I buy a dozen, I lose twenty-four. He vaulted out of the chair, wagged a long finger in front of her nose. Just stay here, okay? No leaping tall buildings in a single bound until I get back. Ill just go steal another pen from Gertshes used to it.
He was only gone a minute, came back, and stretched out again with his notebook. Okay, first thing I need to ask you is who you want me to contact? We got your basic stats and medical insurance information from your wallet, but there was nothing in there about next of kin, and I didnt find any other Fletchers in the phone book...