скачать книгу бесплатно
Vanessa's Match
Judy Christenberry
To Vanessa Shaw nothing is more important than family, especially since her recent reunion with her long-lost brother and sisters. So when she's asked to counsel a troubled teen, she puts everything into restoring her charge's sense of security–while wondering, where is Lindy's half brother and new guardian, Richard Austin?Once he finds out what happened to his little sister, Richard is determined to make everything right. He works closely with Vanessa to achieve this, and the more time he spends with the therapist, the harder he falls for her. But Richard can't shake the feeling Vanessa isn't willing to forgive him for abandoning Lindy. Yet once he realizes Vanessa is the woman for him, Richard will stop at nothing to get her to change her mind about him–and consent to be his wife.
“Why wouldn’t my sister want us to get together and share life with her?” Rick asked
“Lindy is so young—she’s still just a child. What if she fears I may not care for her as much as I did, because I’m in love with you?” Vanessa replied.
“Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“In love with me?”
Vanessa felt her cheeks burn and she looked away. She wouldn’t answer his question. She couldn’t. Instead she took a different approach. “Rick, I’ve worked for four years on my advanced degree. I have six more months of work. Then I’ll be able to pursue a career I love.”
“Okay,” he said with a sigh. “Six months isn’t forever.” It just seems like forever when I want to marry you now!
Dear Reader,
We’ve come to the end of the CHILDREN OF TEXAS series. In the first four books Vanessa played a secondary role to her sisters’ and brother’s stories, and has been patiently waiting for her time in the sun.
As the youngest of the Barlow family, Vanessa had to grow up a bit before she was ready for her own story. In the meantime, she, along with Will and Vivian, looked for and found her other siblings. Each one was brought into the family and made to feel a part of it. The family has grown and babies have appeared.
Though Vanessa loves her siblings, and their babies even more, she has been lonesome at times because she didn’t have anyone special for herself. I wanted Vanessa to have her reward, but, as we all know, no reward really fills a void unless you work for it. I hope you’ll cheer on Vanessa through her struggles, and share in her happiness at the end.
It’s been a pleasure to bring you this family and all of its stories. I hope that you, too, have a family to share with. But remember, family doesn’t have to be of the same blood. Just reach out to those around you whom you love—and form your own family.
If you have any comments or questions, you can reach me at my Web site, www.judychristenberry.com.
Happy reading!
Vanessa’s Match
Judy Christenberry
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Judy Christenberry has been writing romances for over fifteen years because she loves happy endings as much as her readers do. A former French teacher, Judy now devotes herself to writing full-time. She hopes readers have as much fun with her stories as she does. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favorite sports teams and keeping track of her two daughters. Judy lives in Texas.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Prologue
“I need your help.”
Even through the haze of sleep, Vanessa Shaw recognized the voice that woke her at—She focused with difficulty on the bedside clock. Two a.m. Why was Dr. Cavanaugh calling her now? He was the head of the Psychology Department and Vanessa’s supervisor in her quest for her doctorate of psychology. For him to phone in the middle of the night, she knew the matter must be urgent.
“Yes, Dr. Cavanaugh, what is it?” she asked, clutching the phone with one hand and rubbing her eyes with the other.
“Sorry to wake you, Vanessa, but I need you.”
“Of course. Anything I can do.” One didn’t say no to Dr. Cavanaugh, even at two a.m.
Her mentor took her at her word and, without pausing, launched into an explanation. “There’s a fifteen-year-old girl in the hospital right now having her stomach pumped. She attempted suicide following her mother’s death in a car accident. The family attorney called and asked me to supply someone to be with her when she awoke and to help her through this tragedy.” Not waiting for a comment, he continued. “You’re the most senior female in the program, and a very good student. I’ve seen your work with some desperate cases, so I immediately thought of you.”
Vanessa sat up. Surely he didn’t expect her to fill the role he’d described. “Thank you, sir, but—”
“She’s part of the Austin family.”
It was a name she recognized instantly. The Austins had donated millions to the university.
“I don’t have to tell you how important this family is to the university.” The doctor’s voice deepened. “Or to your future.”
It wasn’t a threat; it didn’t have to be. Vanessa knew what she had to do.
She cleared her throat. “Yes, sir, I’ll be right there.”
Chapter One
Vanessa smiled as her patient, Lindy Austin, played with Vanessa’s niece, Jamie. Turning two and sweet as spun sugar, Jamie made Lindy laugh as they played with the plastic dollhouse and the toddler babbled on. Vanessa suspected it had been a while since Lindy had laughed like that.
Ever since she’d received the call that sent her to the hospital in the middle of the night five days ago, Vanessa had taken care of Lindy, and eventually brought her here to her mother’s house in the Highland Park section of Dallas, where Vanessa still lived. Lindy had said she couldn’t face going back to the condo she’d lived in with her mother.
Only Vanessa had gone to the condo to pack some clothes for Lindy. And she’d been disturbed by what she’d found. Richard Austin, Lindy’s half brother, had a lot to answer for. At the time of the accident he’d been in Japan on business and had ordered his attorney to make sure Lindy was taken care of. That had been the extent of Richard’s involvement. Because of the Austins’ connections to the university Dr. Cavanaugh got involved, but he knew little about Richard Austin.
Vanessa had so many questions about the man. But she couldn’t ask Lindy. The teen reacted badly to the mere mention of his name, which made Vanessa even more determined to protect the girl. How, she wasn’t sure, but she’d find a way.
“Vanessa?” Betty, the housekeeper, came into the morning room, breaking into her thoughts.
Vanessa looked up quickly. There was a hint of urgency in the housekeeper’s voice that alarmed her.
“What is it, Betty?”
“You have a caller. Shall I show him to the library?”
Vanessa paused. She started to ask the name of the visitor, but Betty’s gaze darted to Lindy and then back to Vanessa. So the caller was about her charge. “Yes, thank you.”
She looked at her sister, Jamie’s mom. “I’ve been expecting this visitor. Rebecca, can you keep an eye on everyone for a few minutes?”
She was glad Rebecca was here. There was a special bond between the sisters, perhaps because Rebecca was the first of her siblings found a couple of years ago. Not a day went by that Vanessa didn’t thank her mother, Vivian Greenfield, for telling her that she was adopted and offering to help Vanessa find her siblings. Four out of the five had been located, with the help of Will Greenfield, a private investigator and Vivian’s second husband. The last sibling would never be found: Walter Barlow, a soldier, had been killed in Iraq.
For being a devoted mother and for understanding Vanessa’s need to find her siblings, she would forever love her mother. Brothers and sisters had enriched her life immeasurably.
Too bad that wasn’t the case for young Lindy.
Vanessa gave her sister a thankful nod when she agreed. As the mother of two, Rebecca would do anything to protect Lindy, too, Vanessa knew. “I’ll hurry back,” she said.
Vanessa left the morning room and went to the library. She entered the room quietly, but she didn’t catch her visitor by surprise.
He turned and studied her. “Are you Vanessa Shaw?”
“Yes, I am.” When he said nothing else, she spoke up. “My housekeeper didn’t mention your name.”
“I’m Richard Austin, here to pick up my sister.”
Even his voice was cold.
Vanessa took a good look at the man she’d been obsessing about since she’d met his sister. He was tall, and dressed impeccably in what looked like a custom-made Italian suit. His dark hair had that just-cut look, and something made her believe it always did. The chill that radiated from his dark eyes came as no surprise to her. The man would never ease Lindy’s fears.
Keeping her reaction under wraps, she effected a professional distance, slowly walked over to the fireplace and sat down in one of the wing chairs. “Well, then, Mr. Austin, would you join me, please? I’d like to talk to you about Lindy.”
“There’s no need. Just bring the girl to me. I’m in a hurry.”
Vanessa said nothing, just stared at him.
Finally, he moved to the other wing chair. “Make it quick.”
Vanessa grew more determined. She couldn’t possibly hand Lindy over to this ice man. “What are your plans for Lindy?”
“I’ll return her to the condo and find a responsible person to take care of her.”
“But you won’t concern yourself with her?” Vanessa asked.
“What are you getting at? The girl is a stranger to me.”
Without knowing, he was making her case for her. “And whose fault is that? According to Lindy, you’re always too busy even to talk to her.”
“That’s none of your business, Miss Shaw.”
“I think it is. I was at the hospital with her when she came to, after attempting to commit suicide. I’ve taken care of her for the past five days while you were too busy to find out how she was doing.”
“What do you mean she tried to commit suicide?” he demanded, frowning deeply.
“No one told you?”
“No!”
“She was alone when she was notified that her mother had been killed. Emotionally distraught, she swallowed her mother’s sleeping pills and almost died. Fortunately, your lawyer realized that might be a difficult blow to a fifteen-year-old and came to the apartment to see if she was all right.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?” Richard demanded, jumping to his feet.
“Perhaps he was afraid of displeasing you.” Her father had been an important businessman like the one in front of her, and he’d generated fear among his employees and everyone around him, no doubt like Richard did. Vanessa had learned to overcome that fear and had faced her adoptive father many a time. She would do the same with Richard Austin. She had to, for Lindy’s sake.
The man scowled at her. “Never mind. Bring Lindy to me.”
“So she can become distraught and try to kill herself again?” She wasn’t going to pull her punches.
“I said I’d find someone to take care of her!” he snapped.
“Leave her with me.”
She could see that she had caught him by surprise with that request.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Leave your sister here with me. I have room for her and I care about her.”
“She has a perfectly good condo to go to!”
“Have you been to the condo?”
