“That’s plants, Chris.”
“A natural historian, then. A genius of some kind, that’s certain. And now, wonder boy, let’s see what Mom’s got cooking for our dinner.”
Helene trailed after them, shaking her head, as Chris carried Martin into the kitchen.
* * * *
“Time for bed,” Helene announced, as she finished buttoning her son’s pajamas. They were both dressed for bed, but Martin was pulling his usual delaying tactics.
“Time for story,” Martin countered, grinning slyly.
“All right, just one.”
“Sad little pony,” the child announced, pointing to the bookshelf beside his bed.
“Okay, go get it.”
Martin retrieved his favorite book and settled himself on the bed as Helene resigned herself to yet another reading of the same story. He never seemed to tire of hearing about the “sad little, bad little” pony, who couldn’t be trained and was always in trouble. Helene was afraid it was because he identified with it.
“There once was a sad little pony,” she began, turning the well worn page as she talked. The book was falling apart, the binding a mass of desiccated glue, but Martin refused a replacement. He was attached to this particular copy, as well as the story, which featured his two great loves, horses and dogs. His lips moved along with hers as she read; he had the text memorized.
“Again,” he said, when she finished.
“Martin, Daddy will be back with Rover any minute now. We don’t have time.”
Chris had gone to pick up their dog from the vet’s. As if in response to her statement, the car pulled into the drive.
“Rover!” Martin said excitedly, forgetting the book.
The door slammed and they heard snuffling and the patter of wildly scampering paws as Rover, a black cocker spaniel puppy with a white splash on his chest, came flying down the hall. He shot through the air and landed on Martin, who was screaming with laughter. The dog smothered the boy with loud, wet kisses.
“Well, I must say Rover seems none the worse for wear,” Helene said dryly to Chris, who was lounging in the doorway, grinning at the spectacle on the bed.
“Dr. Bock gave him a shot for the infected ear,” Chris replied. “And he had a chicken fajita at Super Burger on the way home.”
“Christopher, how many times have I told you not to give that dog Mexican food?” Helene said in strong voice.
“He likes it.”
“He won’t eat his dog chow tomorrow. And when he doesn’t, I’ll just send you out for a special order of tacos, okay?”
Chris ambled over and kissed her lingeringly on the side of her throat. “Okay, mamacita,” he said in a chastened voice, which didn’t fool her for a minute.
Rover leaped off the bed and began to rocket around the room, panting madly. Martin shouted encouragement from the bed, waving his arms and giggling.
“I guess Rover’s excited to be home,” Chris said, laughing.
“Well, at least he saved me from three renditions of the bad little pony,” Helene replied dryly, sneaking the book back onto the shelf while Martin was preoccupied with the dog.
“Okay, buddy,” Chris announced to his son. “Rover has to go back to his bed in the kitchen.”
Rover chose that moment to vault onto the bed and land on his back at Martin’s feet, paws in the air. Martin looked up at them with mute appeal flooding his huge brown eyes and pleaded, “Rover stay with me?”
Helene groaned.
“That’s up to your mother, kiddo,” Chris said, taking the coward’s way out.
“Chris, the bed will be full of fleas by morning,” Helene said in an undertone.
“Are you suggesting that Rover has fleas?” Chris asked in mock horror.
“Please?” Martin said, adopting a perfect imitation of his father’s most beguiling expression. To add to the pitiful tableau, Rover whimpered adoringly and thumped his tail once.
“I give up,” Helene said, shrugging and throwing out her hands in resignation.
Martin yodeled and hugged the dog, who licked his face enthusiastically.
“Just this once,” she added, trying to hang on to some semblance of discipline.
“Now lights out,” Chris said.
“Pillow for Rover?” Martin suggested.
“Don’t push your luck, kid,” Chris advised him, switching off the lamp next to the bed and turning on the night-light. As if in response to some secret signal, Rover flopped onto his side at the foot of the bed and sighed deeply.
“I know I’m going to regret this,” Helene said. “He’ll have Stomper sleeping in here next.” Stomper was Martin’s six-month-old spotted colt.
“G’night, champ,” Chris said, bending from the waist to kiss his son’s forehead.
“Night, Daddy,” the boy said.
Helene tucked him in after Chris left and by the time she closed the bedroom door both boy and dog were deep in dreamland.
“Is he sleeping?” Chris asked as Helene came into their bedroom, yawning.
“Snoring. He’s exhausted.”
“Come here and join me,” Chris said, flipping back the sheet invitingly.
Helene slid in next to him and curled against his warm naked flank, sighing with contentment.
“Do you think he’s spoiled?” Chris asked.
“Are you kidding? Of course.”
“Is that a problem?”
“If he plans to live among the rest of the human race, it is.”
“He’ll shape up when he gets to school.”
“By the time he gets to school he’ll think he’s the center of the universe.”
Chris was laughing silently; she could feel him shaking.
“It isn’t funny,” she said.
“I have a solution,” he offered.
“I can’t wait to hear it.”
“Let’s have another child.”
Helene propped herself up on one elbow and stared down at him.
“Do you mean it?” she said.
“Sure. Let’s get started on it this minute,” he said, pushing aside the collar of her nightgown with his tongue.
“It’s not the right time.”
“It’s always the right time.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Then I guess we’ll just have to keep working at it until we get it done,” he said in mock resignation.
Helene melted into his arms in agreement.
– THE END –
I am Doreen Owens Malek, author of over forty books and lifelong fan of romantic fiction. I live in PA with my husband and college student daughter, a mini dachshund and a sun conyer parrot. I would like to tell you a little about myself.
I came to writing by a circuitous route, starting out as an avid reader of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights and Gone With the Wind and Rebecca, and any other similarly themed books I could find. I first worked as a teacher and then graduated from law school when I desired a more lucrative and independent career. I had always been discouraged from pursuing a writing career by the volatile nature of the business and the relatively poor chance for success. But the realization that I needed a focus for the future encouraged me to do what I had always wanted to do. I sold my fledgling novel to the first editor who read it, and I have been writing ever since. I have written all types of books for all types of people, but my favorite literary pursuit is and always has been romance. Nothing is as rewarding as hearing from my readers, so please use my website to communicate your thoughts and criticisms, as I am always eager to learn from you.
A romance novel rarely disappoints me: in an uncertain world filled with tragedy and sadness, reading about an appealing woman finding a strong man to love her and share her life is the perfect escape. I like to read and write stories in which the main characters overcome obstacles to get together, and then stay together because their mutual devotion cannot be denied no matter what else is happening around them. They always HELP each other and reinforce the q
uaint but enduring notion that love conquers all—at least in the fictional universe of my imagination. So pull up a chair and take down a book—or pick up a Kindle—and join me in a world where the heroes are tough and headstrong but never boorish and the heroines are feminine and sympathetic but never helpless.
Happy reading! — Doreen Owens Malek
NEW RELEASES BY
DOREEN OWENS MALEK
www.doreenowensmalek.com
Brand new, never published
Contemporary Romance
AMANDA’S BLUE MARINE
Available for digital download
at Amazon.com, and in print at
www.doreenowensmalek.com
Reissue of the enormously popular
A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE (1989),
available for digital download at Amazon.com
Look for
ANOTHER MARRIAGE
OF CONVENIENCE,
the sequel to the above title, available
for digital download later in 2012.
Also available for digital
download at Amazon.com,
MARRIAGE IN NAME ONLY
best seller from 1995.
JUST RELEASED (MARCH 2012)
MEN OF INTRIGUE: A TRILOGY
750 Pages of Romance Reading Entertainment!
Amanda’s Blue Marine (Contemporary Romance): When Amanda Redfield, an assistant district attorney from a wealthy Philadelphia family, is harassed by a mysterious stalker, she meets Brendan Kelly, the detective assigned to her case. Smart and capable but deeply troubled, Kelly protects Amanda while he works to find her tormentor, but his disturbing presence and rogue behavior disrupt Amanda’s settled life. She is helplessly drawn to the sexy and charming but barely controlled cop. As their passion grows she must choose between her privileged past and an uncertain future with a man who is spiraling out of control. How she draws on her wits and resources to rescue Kelly as surely as he once rescued her makes for a powerful and satisfying love story.
A Marriage of Convenience (Contemporary Romance). Taylor Braddock. His name brought back memories of a man so handsome that a young girl had fallen in love - and made a fool of herself. A man so unique he’d spoiled Sharon Philips for any other love.
But now her father’s will had joined their lives once again. In a final attempt at matchmaking, Dad left half his California horse ranch to Sharon, the other half to Braddock - provided they were husband and wife.
A quick wedding. A quick divorce. A quick sale of the ranch. It seemed simple. but time had only fueled their passion. Could Taylor erase then years of pain and show Sharon that loving him was her destiny?
Marriage in Name Only (Contemporary Romance): Years ago Ann Talbot had been forced to leave Heath Bodine without a goodbye. Now she was back, and though Heath still had the power to make her insides quiver with longing, he had changed. Yes, he was proposing marriage. But not out of love—out of revenge. And Ann knew she had no choice but to say yes.
Heath intended to make Ann pay for running out on him. But no matter how much he tried to deny it, living under the same roof and sharing the same bed with her was going to prove his undoing. Because he didn’t just want her body, he wanted her heart as well...
Men of Intrigue: A Trilogy is a three book anthology of my bestselling romances from the nineteen-eighties assembled in one volume. I have combined them because the stories share the common theme of adventurous heroes who get involved through fate and circumstances with ordinary (not!) women. All three heroines rise to the occasion when the men they love must follow through with their destinies despite the passion and commitment they’ve found with their partners. I absolutely love these books and had a great time with them. I hope you will enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
— Doreen Owens Malek
MEN OF INTRIGUE: A Trilogy
Montega’s Mistress (1986) tells the story of a Central American revolutionary who discovers love with a sheltered American heiress when, badly injured, he stumbles into her family’s isolated resort home in Florida. Matteo Montega relies on Helen Demarest for his very survival as she nurses him back to health, but then must leave her to pursue overthrowing the corrupt government in his native country. How their lives reconnect and take them to the jungles of fictional Puerta Linda to share an unlikely but compelling passion is a timeless tale of devotion with an unexpected and delightful conclusion. Matteo and Helen are an irresistibly appealing couple, and you’ll root for them to overcome the odds and get together in the end. BTW, love the title.
Danger Zone (1987) has a tough, cavalier loner for a hero in Steve Colter, and the fun in this story is watching Karen Walsh worm her way gradually into his mercenary’s heart and break down his defenses. He tries hard to resist her and maintain his independent existence but the reader can tell from word one that he will eventually surrender. The story takes them around the globe but never far from each other’s thoughts, and when at the conclusion Colter transforms his life to keep Karen with him it is gratifying and fulfilling but not a surprise. The story also features a wise and witty best friend for Karen in Linda Folsom, a savvy Brit with a wicked sense of humor who keeps the saga humming along on the rare occasions when Colter is offstage. All in all it’s a fast moving and absorbing tale.
Devil’s Deception (1985) has a mafia princess for a heroine and an FBI Bureau Chief for a hero, so the story gives new meaning to the notion of “opposites attract.” Brett Devlin is a fed planted in the home of Angela Patria in the guise of her bodyguard to get the goods on her drug smuggling uncle. When Devlin finds himself instantly attracted to the lonely, withdrawn beauty who is Patria’s innocent niece, his life becomes complicated very quickly. It is Devlin’s job to be with Angela at all times since he is supposed to be protecting her, and this task makes it impossible for him to conceal his growing feelings for the woman he is deceiving on a daily basis. How this dilemma is resolved and the embattled couple wind up together makes for a satisfying read, and watching straight arrow Devlin unbend enough to fall for the gangster’s ward is touching as well as amusing.
COMING SOON FROM
DOREEN OWENS MALEK
Abra’s Arranged Marriage (Contemporary Romance): A law student marries her estranged stepbrother to keep him out of jail, then discovers a new life of sensuality and commitment with the last man on earth she would have chosen.
Cupid’s First Strike (A Treasury of Young Adult Romance): A collection of four young adult novels that portray the special happiness and heartbreak that teens experience with their introduction to love. Included are Season of Mist, Call Back Yesterday, That Certain Boy and Where the Boys Are.
OTHER WORKS BY
DOREEN OWENS MALEK
AVAILABLE FOR
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD
AND/OR IN PRINT AT
www.doreenowensmalek.com
The Panther and The Pearl
Panther’s Prey
The Lion and the Lark
The Raven and the Rose
Clash by Night
Fair Game
The Highwayman
Torchlight
Big Sky Drifter
Daddy’s Choice
Officer and a Gentlewoman
Made for Each Other
Another Life
ADDITIONAL DIGITAL
DOWNLOADS
SCHEDULED FOR
FUTURE RELEASE 2012
Gypsy Autumn
Arrow In The Snow
Above the Law
See all of
Doreen Owens Malek’s
Kindle eBooks on Amazon.com
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
About the Author
New Doreen Owens Malek Releases
&nbs
p;
The Harder They Fall Page 14
