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Her Fresh Start Family
Lorraine Beatty
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.
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.
Also By Lorraine Beatty (#u48386583-7ad6-518c-ad07-56cacedcb93a)
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 (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Her Fresh Start Family
Lorraine Beatty
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08431-4
HER FRESH START FAMILY
© 2018 Lorraine Beatty
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.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“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
Dear Reader (#u48386583-7ad6-518c-ad07-56cacedcb93a),
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. Only by giving their grief and guilt to the Lord, completely, were Bret and Nina able to let go of their burden and find the courage to love and trust one another and step into their bright new future together.
I hope while reading this story you are able to find your way to forgiveness of yourself or someone else. It’s what the Lord wants you to do.
All the best,
Lorraine
To my mother-in-law, Mary Beatty. You are one of my greatest blessings.
Contents
Cover (#u69f34af5-77fc-5860-b960-e9eb2f6e38c7)
Back Cover Text (#ud686ad90-363a-5541-9f3a-4d2c76cfbcc7)
About the Author (#ub43a7c4e-8fd2-5019-9431-14d26a1a7876)
Booklist (#u3969a9d5-56c8-5475-99be-921f3ddcaa66)
Title Page (#u1af5a473-f546-5467-b5e1-b068abf1c74b)
Copyright (#u4240026a-62be-54da-987e-314553049e7c)
Introduction (#u45609030-8371-5f69-b3c4-cf41524e8219)
Bible Verse (#u8e78e7f0-820f-53b0-acfe-2f91d3004829)
Dear Reader (#uc44c8348-2a9c-52e1-aab0-39ba2f35da10)
Dedication (#u17b84eb0-1ba4-5810-87b0-86a8f28815a8)
Chapter One (#u7368e0f7-68a5-553b-b7b8-c9ea03bb9716)
Chapter Two (#udaea0d11-16c8-5593-b315-77906336c5fb)
Chapter Three (#u07ca49e8-c8d1-53f7-b02b-c2e9a3dea9d3)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#u48386583-7ad6-518c-ad07-56cacedcb93a)
A warm morning breeze blew a strand of Nina Johnson’s hair across her eyes. She pulled it away, her gaze riveted on the building in front of her. The two-story brick structure had an abundance of windows and a recessed entry that allowed for shade to cover the entrance. It looked fairly new. Had the cabdriver made a mistake and left her at the wrong place? She pulled her phone from her purse and brought up the address. It read 557 E. Warren Avenue. Her spirits sagged. She should never have agreed to come here. But then, where else would she have gone? Kathryn Harvey was her closest friend. She’d been there for her since college, through the marriage and the dark days afterward. When she’d asked her to come down to Hastings, Mississippi, and take over her psychology practice while she and her husband took advantage of a job in Spain for the next few months, she hadn’t been able to refuse. Her position as a corporate psychologist at Duncan and Stone had been eliminated. The call from her friend had been a blessing. Until now.
“Can I help you?”
Nina started at the sound of the deep voice close beside her. She stepped away, glancing at the man. Her gaze lifted until she found his startling green eyes lit with a smile. “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“You looked lost.”
The man was inquisitive for a stranger. She moved away a little more. “No, just surprised. The building is so small.” He frowned, and she realized she might have insulted him, so she hastened to explain. “My previous job was in a high-rise. Twentieth floor.”
“Ah. Not too many high-rises around here. But I assure you, this building is big enough to house seven thriving businesses. I should know. One of them is mine.” He held out his hand. “I’m Bret Sinclair.”
With her hands full of her purse, briefcase and a satchel filled with books she thought she might need, she could only stare back at him. She wasn’t used to strange men boldly introducing themselves—and shaking hands was even pushier. He didn’t seem to be the least bit put off by her nonresponse.
“Sorry. Let me help you.”
He took the briefcase from her grasp before she could react.
She had little choice but to introduce herself. “I’m Nina Johnson.” His large hand swallowed hers, wrapping around it with a solid strength that gave her an uneasy feeling, yet she was strangely reluctant to pull her hand away. The stress of the trip down here to Hastings must be getting to her.
A big smile spread across the man’s olive-toned skin, revealing a row of straight white teeth and an angled jawline that was very attractive.
“Kitty’s friend. She told us you’d be filling in for her. Nice to meet you. Let me show you to your office.”
