“Go Away!” Donna Cried. “I Don’t Need You, And I Don’t Want You. And Neither Does Louisa.” Letter to Reader Title Page BEVERLY BARTON Dedication Prologue Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Copyright
“Go Away!” Donna Cried. “I Don’t Need You, And I Don’t Want You. And Neither Does Louisa.”
Heat rose up Jake’s neck. “Dammit, woman! Did you ever stop to think that I might want to play a part in my daughter’s life?”
Jake cupped the back of his daughter’s tiny head. “You’re dead wrong if you think she doesn’t need me or want me.” Trembling inside, as if his body had been hit by an earthquake, Jake lifted the whimpering baby up against his chest, patted her back and said, “It’s all right, sugar baby. Daddy’s got you now.”
Donna looked up at the big man cradling Louisa against his chest, and for just a moment she couldn’t breathe. The sight of father and child overwhelmed her senses. There was something essentially right about the two of them together. Strength protecting helplessness.
A powerful man guarding what was his....
Dear Reader,
This May we invite you to delve into six delicious new titles from Silhouette Desire’
We begin with the brand-new title you’ve been eagerly awaiting from the incomparable Ann Major. Love Me True, our May MAN OF THE MONTH, is a riveting reunion romance offering the high drama and glamour that are Ann’s hallmarks.
The enjoyment continues in FORTUNE’S CHILDREN: THE BRIDES with The Groom’s Revenge by Susan Crosby. A young working woman is swept off her feet by a wealthy CEO who’s married her with more than love on his mind—he wants revenge on the father who never claimed her, Stuart Fortune. A “must read” for all you fans of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca!
Barbara McMahon’s moving story The Cowboy and the Virgin portrays the awakening—both sensual and emotional—of an innocent young woman who falls for a ranching Romeo. But can she turn the tables and corral him? Beverly Barton’s emotional miniseries 3 BABIES FOR 3 BROTHERS concludes with Having His Baby. Experience the birth of a father as well as a child when a rugged rancher is transformed by the discovery of his secret baby—and the influence of her pretty mom. Then, in her exotic SONS OF THE DESERT title, The Solitary Sheikh, Alexandra Sellers depicts a hard-hearted sheikh who finds happiness with his daughters’ aristocratic tutor. And The Billionaire’s Secret Baby by Carol Devine is a compelling marriage-of-convenience story
Now more than ever, Silhouette Desire offers you the most passionate, powerful and provocative of sensual romances. Make yourself merry this May with all six Desire novels—and buy another set for your mom or a close friend for Mother’s Day!
Enjoy
Joan Marlow Golan
Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire
Please address questions and book requests to:
Silhouette Reader Service U S., 3010 Walden Ave, P.O Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3
Having His Baby
Beverly Barton
BEVERLY BARTON
has been in love with romance since her grandfather gave her an illustrated copy of Beauty and the Beast. An avid reader since childhood, she began writing at the age of nine and wrote short stories, poetry, plays and novels through high school and college. After marriage to her own “hero” and the births of her daughter and son, she chose to be a full-time homemaker, a.k.a. wife, mother, friend and volunteer.
When she returned to writing, she joined Romance Writers of America and helped found the Heart of Dixie chapter in Alabama. Since the release of her first Silhouette book in 1990, she has won the GRW Maggie Award and the National Readers’ Choice Award and has been a RITA Award finalist. Beverly considers writing romance books a real labor of love. Her stories come straight from the heart, and she hopes that all the strong and varied emotions she invests in her books will be felt by everyone who reads them.
With love and gratitude to my husband, Billy, whose strength, kindness and understanding sustained me during some personally stressful months for our family, while I was writing this book.
Prologue
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into coming here.” Donna Fields hissed the words under her breath as she glared at her friend, whose attention was focused on a group of rowdy cowboys at a nearby table.
“Admit the truth,” Joanie Richardson said, her gaze riveted to one big, blond stud in particular. “You wanted to check this place out as much as I did. You’ve got to be tired of that lonely, boring existence you lead. I know I’m tired of being a Goody Two-shoes. Heck, gal, our vacation is almost over and I haven’t had any fun yet. Let’s live a little. Take a walk on the wild side, for a change.”
Donna fumed as she glanced around the smoky interior of the Blue Bonnet Grill—a name highly inappropriate for the seedy establishment. Good sense had warned her not to give in to Joanie’s fervent suggestion about spending their last night in New Mexico out on the town. For starters, there wasn’t much of a town here in Plain City. In truth, it wasn’t as large as their hometown of Marshallton, Tennessee.
“My life is neither lonely nor boring.” Donna gasped when she noticed a couple in the far corner, their bodies pressed intimately together as the man devoured the woman’s mouth. A warning shudder rippled over Donna’s nerves. “Let’s get out of this place. I feel uncomfortable in here.”
Joanie glanced away from the blond roughneck, who was smiling at her, and followed Donna’s line of vision to the couple in the dark corner. “Would you look at those two I can’t even remember what it feels like to be that passionate with a man.”
“People shouldn’t make