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A new life. A new love.
But will secrets tear them apart?
Struggling with a tragic loss, widow Nina Johnson seeks a fresh start in a Southern small town. Then she meets handsome veteran Bret Sinclair and his sweet daughters. Bret’s no stranger to loss, and his companionship is the solace Nina’s been searching for. Until a dark secret from Bret’s past is exposed, threatening to break these Mississippi Hearts.
LORRAINE BEATTY was raised in Columbus, Ohio, but now calls Mississippi home. She and her husband, Joe, have two sons and five grandchildren. Lorraine started writing in junior high and is a member of RWA and ACFW, and is a charter member and past president of Magnolia State Romance Writers. In her spare time she likes to work in her garden, travel and spend time with her family.
Love Inspired
Mississippi Hearts
Her Fresh Start Family
Home to Dover
Protecting the Widow’s Heart
His Small-Town Family
Bachelor to the Rescue
Her Christmas Hero
The Nanny’s Secret Child
A Mom for Christmas
The Lawman’s Secret Son
Her Handyman Hero
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
Her Fresh Start Family
Lorraine Beatty
ISBN: 978-1-474-08431-4
HER FRESH START FAMILY
© 2018 Lorraine Beatty
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 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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Version: 2020-03-02
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“I have some people I’d like you to meet.”
The sight of Bret’s two girls… The memories Nina kept locked away came surging back. She gritted her teeth and tried to look pleasant.
The girls said hello, big smiles on their sweet faces.
Bret’s expression faded from that of a proud parent to deep concern. She should explain, but her heart was being shredded.
“Girls, why don’t you go back to my office? I’ll be there in a minute.”
The minute the girls were gone, she wrapped her arms around her waist.
“Are you all right? I never considered that you might not like children.”
“I like children.”
“Really? You went pale as a ghost.”
“I was surprised, that’s all.” Tears filled her eyes.
“Nina. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I’m fine.” The sob escaped her throat.
Bret steered her toward the sofa and sat beside her. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.”
She stared into Bret’s eyes. He was safe. Trustworthy. Why was it so hard to say the words?
“I had a daughter. She died. Five years ago today.”
This is the day which the Lord hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
—Psalms 118:24
Welcome to the first book in my new series. We’ll be visiting a small city in Mississippi and three widows as they move forward and learn to love again.
This is a story I’ve wanted to write for a very long time, but it kept getting shoved into the background. When I finally started to work on it, I discovered it was going to be one of the most difficult stories I’d ever done. Dealing with Bret and Nina’s grief and guilt was challenging, but as I worked through the story, the two characters became special to me.
Both Bret and Nina struggled with the inability to forgive themselves for past failures. In reality, neither one was to blame. When something bad happens, we want answers. We want to know why, and we want a reason so we can make sense of the terrible loss. But we must accept that God chose to give His creation free will, which can bring about painful events.
We are all guilty of harboring resentment and allowing grief to paralyze our recovery.