by Lilian Darcy
“G’night, Daddy.”
“’Night, Code.” Josh lingered for a moment, enjoying the little rustles Cody made as he settled. Then he returned to his room, flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Sleep wouldn’t come easy for him tonight.
* * *
Maggie pulled in the driveway of the big blue house, her car packed to the gills. Everything else had gone into storage when she sublet her apartment. That had been a bit of a risk. If this nanny position had fallen through, she’d have been up you-know-what creek without a paddle.
At least it would be familiar territory.
She got out of the car and hesitated in the driveway. Hired or not, it didn’t seem right to just walk in the house. Ellen burst out the front door.
“Maggie! Oh, my goodness, let me help. Josh, come on,” she yelled over her shoulder. “Maggie’s here.” She hurried across the lawn and gave Maggie a quick hug. “Let Josh and me help you. Is this all you brought?” she asked as she opened a rear door.
“All?” Maggie laughed. The car practically groaned under the weight of her “necessities.” The front door banged shut before she could say anything else and she turned to see Josh step out on the porch. His flannel shirt looked soft and worn with age, and his jeans held the same patina. His whiskey gaze caught hers and her traitorous pulse tripped. He gave her a half smile, strode down the steps.
“Good morning, Ms. Thelan,” he said, his deep voice resonating in the very core of her.
“It’s Maggie,” she said, and mentally winced at the husky element in her voice.
“Maggie, then,” he said and looked at her with... Was that regret?
“Josh! This box has books. Can you get it?” Ellen’s voice reached them, and he turned toward his mother.
“Sure, Mom,” he said. Maggie went around to the other side of the car as her insides twisted. Was Josh having second thoughts about hiring her? He’d been ambivalent, she knew, but she’d hoped a few days of space would have erased his doubts.
An hour later, she decided she’d imagined the whole thing. Josh was polite, and said no more than necessary, but she didn’t catch any more weird vibes from him. Ellen made up for it with chatter and Maggie was grateful for her warmth. Cody hovered around the edges of the activity, helping sometimes without being asked, but mostly dogging his father’s shadow. Her heart ached for the boy.
She hoped by Monday he’d have accepted her enough that they could spend the day together comfortably.
“Okay,” Ellen announced, placing a box on the floor by the bed. “Josh has the last one, he’s coming up behind me. Looks like you’ve made progress already,” she added, nodding to the closet where some clothes hung.
Maggie laughed. “That’s why I leave all that stuff on hangers. Makes me feel like I’ve done a lot when actually...well, actually, I haven’t.” She sank down in a chair near the fireplace, looked around at the mess. “I can’t thank you enough for helping me.”
Ellen waved her hand, dismissing Maggie’s thanks. “It was nothing, honey, really. Do you need any help unpacking?”
Maggie shook her head. She wouldn’t ask for anything more even if she needed it. “No. Thanks, though. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, then.” Ellen crossed to the door, then stopped. “You have my number if you need it on Monday? If you have any questions at all, you can call. Josh can’t always get away, but I’m usually available.”
“I do have it. I’m sure we’ll be fine, but it’s a big comfort to know you’re there if we get stuck,” Maggie assured her. Ellen nodded.
“Okay, then. Sorry to run, but I’m meeting a friend for dinner and it’s a good hour drive.” She left, and Maggie heard her voice in the hall before Josh came in, carrying the last of the boxes.
“Where can I put this?” he asked.
She waved her hand. “Anywhere’s fine. I have to go through them all anyway.”
Josh deposited the box near the one his mother left and stood still. An awkward silence fell over the room as Maggie tried her hardest to look everywhere but at him, but her gaze kept darting back as if he were magnetic.
“I—”
“Do—”
They both stopped, and he dipped his head in her direction. “You first.”
She drew in a deep breath. “I was just going to thank you for the help,” she said. “It wasn’t necessary but I really appreciate it.”
“No problem. Do you like pizza? You’re welcome to eat dinner with us.”
Maggie hesitated. She needed to erect some kind of wall between her unexpected emotions and this man. On the other hand, it would be an opportunity to interact with Cody. “Will Cody mind if I join you? I don’t want to infringe on his time with you.”
Josh shook his head. “You won’t be. It’ll be good for you to spend some time together. Any requests for toppings? Anything you can’t stand?”
They settled the pizza question with no onions or peppers for her but anything else was fair game. Josh left the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Maggie stared at the closed door, then flopped back on the bed as the enormity of her situation began to take root.
She’d found Cody, gotten the job she wanted so badly.
But she’d never figured on her brother-in-law. She hadn’t counted on seeing him as an attractive man. Somehow, she needed to figure out how to ignore that while keeping her true relationship to Cody a secret from his father. A flash of guilt made her swallow hard. Would it have been better to own up to her connection to Lucy?
No. She stood up and moved to the nearest box. The last thing she wanted was to inflict any more pain on either Josh or Cody. They’d experienced a terrible loss before Cody’s first birthday and she had no desire to open any old wounds for them. With any luck she could spend a year or so with Cody, and have enough of a relationship with the little boy that Josh would allow her to stay in his life after Cody no longer needed a nanny.
So she’d get over this ridiculous quasi-attraction to Josh and that would be that.
Wouldn’t it?
So why didn’t her plan seem to be quite so simple anymore?
Copyright © 2013 by Ami Weaver
ISBN-13: 9781460321300
A MAVERICK UNDER THE MISTLETOE
Copyright © 2013 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Brenda Harlen for her contribution to the
Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys continuity.
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
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www.Harlequin.com
A one-night stand between a SEAL and an air force major results in a holiday baby in New York Times bestselling author Rachel Lee’s new addition to the popular miniseries Conard County: The Next Genera
tion!
Honor, duty and loyalty drove Major Edith Clapton to risk her life flying Combat Search and Recovery in Afghanistan. Hunger, desire and lust drove her into the arms of Seth Hardin, a gorgeous navy SEAL she had airlifted to safety. Their epic one-night stand in the shadow of the Afghan mountains has left Edie facing the most important mission of her life: motherhood.
After sharing her news, Edie is stunned by Seth’s insistence on being a father to his child—and the bewildering feelings this practical stranger has stirred within her. This wasn’t part of her life-in-the-navy plan! Should she flee back to military life for a desk job and single parenthood? Or give thanks for this unexpected family?
“Am I still a challenge?”
“You’re carrying my son inside of you. How could you not be a challenge? But you’re still sexy as hell.”
Edie swore quietly.
“Sorry,” Seth said. “If you don’t like peeks inside my head, don’t ask.”
She faced him then. “You know, Seth Hardin, you’re driving me nuts. We can’t have a discussion like this on a public street.”
He pointed. “Half a block that way.”
She started marching quick time, looking for all the world as if she were on parade, back stiff, strides even and firm. He kept up without difficulty.
“Don’t get breathless,” he said.
“Oh, shut up.”
He almost grinned. No more eggshells, at least for now. The gloves were off.
* * *
Conard County: The Next Generation
Dear Reader,
For many, many years now I’ve been asked to write a full book for Seth Hardin. He first appeared in Point of No Return a very long time ago and even though he had a romance as a secondary character in a Conard County single title, then another in a Christmas novella, I still get a lot of requests.
It tickles me that so many readers wanted him to have his own book, but achieving that had become difficult. When I wrote his first romance with Darlene, I had no idea how many readers wanted him to have his own book. After that, the requests started to come in and I did the novella. Well, here we are two marriages down the road and the requests still come regularly. I had to find a way to work around that, but I finally did.
So here it is, Seth Hardin as the hero in his own book. I hope you enjoy what ensues after he has a one-night stand with an air force pilot in Afghanistan. Things get complicated quickly, but love is rarely easy, especially with an unexpected baby on the way.
Hugs,
Rachel
THANKSGIVING DADDY
Rachel Lee
Books by Rachel Lee
Harlequin Special Edition
**The Widow of Conard County #2270
**Thanksgiving Daddy #2295
Harlequin Romantic Suspense
**The Final Mission #1655
**Just a Cowboy #1663
**The Rescue Pilot #1671
**Guardian in Disguise #1701
**The Widow’s Protector #1707
**Rancher’s Deadly Risk #1727
**What She Saw #1743
**Rocky Mountain Lawman #1756
**Killer’s Prey #1771
Silhouette Romantic Suspense
*Exile’s End #449
*Cherokee Thunder #463
*Miss Emmaline and
the Archangel #482
*Ironheart #494
*Lost Warriors #535
*Point of No Return #566
*A Question of Justice #613
*Nighthawk #781
*Cowboy Comes Home #865
*Involuntary Daddy #955
Holiday Heroes #1487
“A Soldier for All Seasons”
**A Soldier’s Homecoming #1519
**Protector of One #1555
**The Unexpected Hero #1567
**The Man from Nowhere #1595
**Her Hero in Hiding #1611
**A Soldier’s Redemption #1635
**No Ordinary Hero #1643
Harlequin Nocturne
ΩClaim the Night #127
ΩClaimed by a Vampire #129
ΩForever Claimed #131
ΩClaimed by the Immortal #166
*Conard County
**Conard County:
The Next Generation
ΩThe Claiming
Other titles by this author available in ebook format.
RACHEL LEE
was hooked on writing by the age of twelve and practiced her craft as she moved from place to place all over the United States. This New York Times bestselling author now resides in Florida and has the joy of writing full-time.
To my babies, all grown now. I’m so proud of you.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
Prologue
Flying with the air force combat search and rescue team had given Major Edith Clapton nerves of steel. At least when she was in the middle of all hell breaking loose. This op had been like many other ops, flying into enemy territory to pull out a recon unit, this time a group of navy SEALs. She didn’t want to know their mission. None of her business. Her job was to fly that Pave Hawk helicopter in and pull them out no matter how dangerous it became.
This time there had been gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, enough to put her teeth on edge, especially during the part where she had to hover over a cliff top that simply didn’t seem big enough, getting far closer than she would have liked, given her rotors.
It had been close, but there had been wounded in the team she was picking up, one of whom needed a litter, and under fire there was no way she could use a rope lift. They needed to be in and out as fast as possible, with minimal exposure to those attackers on the surrounding mountains.
So trying to hover while nearly scraping the ground of a nearby cliff, holding perfectly still while fire came her way...well, it might take some time to calm down completely. The nerves of steel that helped her on missions never failed to desert her back at the base.
After showering, she headed to the officers’ club, looking for a good meal and an illicit drink or two. Illicit because legally no alcohol was allowed in Afghanistan, but somehow it made its way in to the bases anyway.
She drank only after a mission, and only a couple of drinks. There were too many others around her to remind her that alcohol could become a crutch. She didn’t want any crutches, but she did want to wind down. Every nerve and muscle in her body seemed to be shrieking.
She nodded to the people she knew, which was nearly every officer at this base, and found herself a rickety table in the corner. They were supposedly at the rear of all the fighting, but that could change at any moment. In the meantime, this clone of the U.S. tried to pass for normal, with hurriedly built structures, a few fast-food joints and an exchange.
It didn’t quite deceive anyone, but it was sure better than some of the firebases she had seen. For some, spending time here almost amounted to a vacation.
She saw the SEAL team walk in just as she was being served a steak. Yeah, a real steak. It hardly seemed fair when so many of her fellow troops would be dining on barely warmed freeze-dried rations tonight. It was, however, one of the perks of being stationed at a permanent base. Well, semipermanent. She let the politics of it all fly by her.
She was on her second drink and halfway through her steak when one of the SEALs she had
rescued pulled out a chair and sat across from her.
“Mind?” he asked.
“We’re not supposed to hang,” she reminded him. Like many of his type, he seemed to be all hard angles and planes encased in muscle. Short dark hair, brown eyes that held flecks of green. Just sitting there, he looked dangerous.
“No one knows you pulled us out today. Besides, if we can’t trust the people in this room, who can we trust?” He stuck out his hand. “Seth Hardin.”
She shook it, taking in the subdued captain’s eagle, which was stitched into the collar of his camouflage uniform. His rank was the naval equivalent of the air force’s colonel. “Edith Clapton.”
“That was some flying job you did out there,” he said.
“Thanks. Your guys okay?”
“One just got winged. We’re still waiting to hear about the other. Your medics probably saved his life.”
That was the other part of the job: she extracted, but in the rear of her helicopter she carried the bare bones of an emergency medical team when it was needed. Today it had been needed. They’d done some stripping in the cabin to make room. “That’s what we do.”
He smiled faintly. “Doesn’t mean I can’t be grateful.”
The waiter, a civilian working for a contractor, came over to take his order. He wanted a steak, too, and a couple of beers.
“Time to forget,” he said.
She couldn’t agree more. There’d be another mission, tomorrow or the next day, but for right now it was time to play the mental game of “everything’s normal and okay.” And maybe it was, as much as it could be in the middle of a war.
“Let me buy you another drink,” he said. “It’s the least I can do.”
“I usually limit myself to two.”
A sparkle came into his green-brown eyes. “Usually. Maybe tonight is different. It’s just one more. I don’t want to give you a hangover.”
She hesitated, then said, “Thanks.” Another whiskey. More wind-down. Just this once. Maybe it would quiet the tingling awareness of Seth’s masculinity. A need, probably adrenaline-fueled, to have wild sex with him and make the world go away.
