“Will you read me a story, Daddy?” Emily asked.
Daddy. It was the first time she’d called him that, and the feeling that flooded Devin stunned him. Like a fist to the solar plexus. He’d used the word himself in his thoughts, but somehow, hearing it from her made it more real, more special.
Devin opened his arms and Emily climbed up onto his lap, settling her head just under his chin. She smelled like her peach-scented bubble bath, all warm and fragrant. He gazed into green eyes as familiar as his own. The shadows of fatigue were gone from her cheeks, the sadness had disappeared from her eyes and she no longer woke during the night, crying for her mother. She also had the sweetest smile, he decided, as he opened the book.
Of course she would. She was his daughter.
Dear Reader,
It’s going to be a wonderful year! After all, we’re celebrating Silhouette’s 20th anniversary of bringing you compelling, emotional, contemporary romances month after month.
January’s fabulous lineup starts with beloved author Diana Palmer, who returns to Special Edition with Matt Caldwell: Texas Tycoon. In the latest installment of her wildly popular LONG, TALL TEXANS series, temperatures rise and the stakes are high when a rugged tycoon meets his match in an innocent beauty—who is also his feisty employee.
Bestselling author Susan Mallery continues the next round of the series PRESCRIPTION: MARRIAGE with Their Little Princess. In this heart-tugging story, baby doctor Kelly Hall gives a suddenly single dad lessons in parenting—and learns all about romance!
Reader favorite Pamela Toth launches Special Edition’s newest series, SO MANY BABIES—in which babies and romance abound in the Buttonwood Baby Clinic. In The Baby Legacy, a sperm-bank mix-up brings two unlikely parents together temporarily—or perhaps forever.…
In Peggy Webb’s passionate story, Summer Hawk, two Native Americans put aside their differences when they unite to battle a medical crisis and find that love cures all. Rounding off the month is veteran author Pat Warren’s poignant, must-read secret baby story, Daddy by Surprise, and Jean Brashear’s Lonesome No More, in which a reclusive hero finds healing for his heart when he offers a single mom and her young son a haven from harm.
I hope you enjoy these six unforgettable romances and help us celebrate Silhouette’s 20th anniversary all year long!
Best,
Karen Taylor Richman
Senior Editor
Daddy by Surprise
Pat Warren
This book is dedicated to Perry and Ginny Huellmantel,
old friends and traveling companions, with affection
Books by Pat Warren
Silhouette Special Edition
With This Ring #375
Final Verdict #410
Look Homeward, Love #442
Summer Shadows #458
The Evolution of Adam #480
Build Me a Dream #514
The Long Road Home #548
The Lyon and the Lamb #582
My First Love, My Last #610
Winter Wishes #632
Till I Loved You #659
An Uncommon Love #678
Under Sunny Skies #731
That Hathaway Woman #758
Simply Unforgettable #797
This I Ask of You #815
On Her Own #841
A Bride for Hunter #893
Nobody’s Child #974
*A Home for Hannah #1048
*Keeping Kate #1060
Daddy’s Home #1157
Stranded on the Ranch #1199
Daddy by Surprise #1301
Silhouette Romance
Season of the Heart #553
Silhouette Intimate Moments
Perfect Strangers #288
Only the Lonely #605
*Michael’s House #737
Stand-In Father #855
Silhouette Books
Montana Mavericks
Outlaw Lovers #6
PAT WARREN,
mother of four, lives in Arizona with her travel agent husband and a lazy white cat. She’s a former newspaper columnist whose lifetime dream was to become a novelist. A strong romantic streak, a sense of humor and a keen interest in developing relationships led her to try romance novels, with which she feels very much at home.
Contents
Chapter One
If there was one thing Molly Shipman hated it was arriving anywhere late. The kitchen clock indicated that she had exactly seven minutes to get to her appointment with Della Bailey, her friend, Trisha’s, mother and the owner of a roomy duplex on a quiet residential street in south Scottsdale. She’d gotten up at six just so she wouldn’t have to rush. Of course, if she hadn’t dripped orange juice on her blouse, necessitating a change, or broken a nail opening the coffee can, she’d have had time to spare. As it was, she had to fly.
Stuffing the last bite of toast in her mouth, she grabbed her large canvas bag before racing down the outside stairs of her apartment building. She unlocked the door of her eight-year-old Honda and got in, wondering why she ever bothered to lock it. Nobody but the truly desperate would steal old battered Bessie.
Sending up a silent prayer, Molly turned the key in the ignition and breathed a