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A second chance at family...
in this Redemption Ranch novel
Blaming himself for the accident that claimed his wife and son, ranch manager Finn Gallagher vows he’ll never remarry. Yet he’s drawn to his new rescue-dog caretaker, Kayla White, and her little boy. But the single mother’s running from something in her past. And as he begins wishing the little family could be his, Finn must convince her to trust him with her secret.
LEE TOBIN MCCLAIN read Gone with the Wind in the third grade and has been a hopeless romantic ever since. When she’s not writing angst-filled love stories with happy endings, she’s getting inspiration from her church singles group, her gymnastics-obsessed teenage daughter, and her rescue dog and cat. In her day job, Lee gets to encourage aspiring romance writers in Seton Hill University’s low-residency MFA program. Visit her at leetobinmcclain.com.
Redemption Ranch
The Soldier’s Redemption
Rescue River
Engaged to the Single Mom
His Secret Child
Small-Town Nanny
The Soldier and the Single Mom
The Soldier’s Secret Child
A Family for Easter
Christmas Twins
Secret Christmas Twins
Lone Star Cowboy League: Boys Ranch
The Nanny’s Texas Christmas
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
The Soldier’s Redemption
Lee Tobin McClain
ISBN: 978-1-474-08435-2
THE SOLDIER’S REDEMPTION
© 2018 Lee Tobin McClain
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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“I should probably bring another bucket of water, right?”
“Just to be sure. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
“You’re helping, believe me.” She gave her sleeping child a tender glance before taking the bucket back over to the outside spigot.
Finn felt the weight of the five-year-old boy against him as if it were lead. Pressing him down into the lawn chair.
Pressing him into his past.
He’d held his own son just like this. It was such a sweet age, still small enough to fit into a lap and to want to be there.
Leo would soon grow beyond such tenderness.
Derek wouldn’t, not ever.
The knowledge of that ached in Finn’s chest. Outside of the guilt and the regret, he just plain missed his son.
Kayla sloshed another bucket over the fire pit. “There. No sparks left to cause a fire.”
He met her eyes and the thought flashed through him: There are still some sparks here, just not the fire-pit kind.
But although it was true, it wouldn’t do to highlight the fact.
Thank you for visiting Redemption Ranch! I’m very excited about this brand-new series, where troubled veterans and abandoned senior dogs heal together...and where romance has the wide-open space to grow. Finn, Kayla and young Leo have plenty of challenges to overcome, but with God’s help they learn to love one another, becoming the happy family God intended them to be.
One reason I love writing Christian romance is that I can delve into big problematic issues. That’s partly because the pages that aren’t taken up by love scenes can be devoted to character development. But mostly, it’s because the difficult problems people face can be best solved by turning to God. Faith and faith communities are the healing forces that let Christian romances dive deep, and still come back for an uplifting, happy ending.
May your summer be filled with faith, love and good books,
Lee
And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.
—Luke 9:11
To the staff and volunteers at Animal Friends of Westmoreland. Thank you for letting me work alongside you to learn how a dog rescue operates...and thank you for being a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.
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