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The Biological Bond
Jamie Denton
Fourteen years ago, Rebecca Martinson heard the sweet cry of her newborn baby, but she never laid eyes on her child–until now.Rebecca had been forced by her power-hungry father to send her child into adoption. Years later, single father Sam Winslow stormed into her world, stirring old emotions and sensual fantasies…and offering Rebecca the chance to give life to her daughter one more time.Keeping young Melanie alive meant bringing the beguiling birth mother into his home. But not for long! For Sam would never allow Rebecca to upset his ordered life. But Rebecca brought unyielding joy to their daughter–and a fire to his soul. Could it be that in saving his child, Sam had found a way to save his heart?
“You gave a child up for adoption, right?”
For the breath of an instant, Rebecca’s heart stopped beating. No one, not even her closest friends, knew about the decision that had been made years ago. How could this man, a total stranger—
“My name is Sam Winslow. I adopted a child fourteen years ago.”
Breathe. Just breathe. This couldn’t be happening. Rebecca waited in vain for the rapid cadence of her heart to slow, but the pounding continued.
“I petitioned the court to open her adoption records. You’re listed as my daughter’s birth mother.”
His words penetrated the fog surrounding her, and she looked at him. A daughter! She had a daughter. She hadn’t even known whether the child had been a boy or a girl.
The room spun. Rebecca clutched the edge of the desk to steady herself. She’d prayed, hoped and dreamed that her child would one day want to meet her. Were her dreams finally coming true?
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Harlequin American Romance. With your search for satisfying reading in mind, every month Harlequin American Romance aims to offer you a stimulating blend of heartwarming, emotional and deeply romantic stories.
Unexpected arrivals lead to the sweetest of surprises as Harlequin American Romance celebrates the love only a baby can bring, in our brand-new promotion, AMERICAN BABY, which begins this month with Jacqueline Diamond’s delightful Surprise, Doc! You’re a Daddy! After months of searching for her missing husband, Meg Avery finally finds him—only, Dr. Hugh Menton doesn’t remember her or their child!
With Valor and Devotion, the latest book in Charlotte Maclay’s exciting MEN OF STATION SIX series, is a must-read about a valorous firefighter who rescues an orphaned boy. Will the steadfast bachelor consider becoming a devoted family man after meeting the little boy’s pretty social worker? JUST FOR KIDS, Mary Anne Wilson’s new miniseries, debuts with Regarding the Tycoon’s Toddler….This trilogy focuses on a corporate day-care center and the lives and loves of those who work there. And don’t miss The Biological Bond by Jamie Denton, the dramatic story of a mother who is reunited with the child she’d been forced to give away, when her daughter’s adoptive single father seeks her help.
Enjoy this month’s offerings, and be sure to return each and every month to Harlequin American Romance!
Wishing you happy reading,
Melissa Jeglinski
Associate Senior Editor
Harlequin American Romance
The Biological Bond
Jamie Denton
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book can only be dedicated to two very special women…
To Joan—For having the courage to make the tough choices;
and
To Alice—For taking a child into her heart and making that child her own.
I love you both.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ever since she heard her first fairy tale, award-winning Harlequin author Jamie Denton always believed in happily-ever-after and the power of love. In her opinion, there’s nothing quite as heartwarming as the happy ending for a hero and heroine who overcome the odds. Always one to seek out a challenge, Jamie embraced her first challenge at the age of sixteen when she married her high school sweetheart. A whole lot of years later, she still fondly recalls the first time she saw her own personal hero and knew, even at that tender age, that he was the one for her. With a history like that, what else could she write except romances?
Books by Jamie Denton
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
892—THE BIOLOGICAL BOND
Dear Reader,
I’ve always been one to look for challenges and have always enjoyed tackling them. Writing The Biological Bond was one such challenge, and one that was close to my own heart for a number of reasons. For as long as I can remember, I knew I was adopted. Even though I grew up with this knowledge and never had a single moment of doubt about the love of my adoptive parents, it didn’t stop me from embarking upon the same fantasies that nearly every adopted child has about their biological parents. At the age of nineteen, the opportunity arose and I was able to live out that fantasy by locating my birth mother. Not only am I blessed with parents who love me, but I also have a whole new family to share in my life.
The Biological Bond is an exploration of the emotional upheaval experienced by the biological and adoptive parents of a young girl in need of a life-saving procedure, a procedure that only the birth parent can provide. To further complicate matters, there is the undeniable attraction between birth and biological parent. And of course, there is the secret of the child’s parentage and what could happen if the truth was ever revealed.
I hope you enjoy your time with Sam and Rebecca as much as I did. I’d love to hear what you think. Write to me at P.O. Box 224, Mohall, North Dakota 58761-0224, e-mail to jamie@jamiedenton.net or visit my Web site at www.jamiedenton.net
Sincerely,
Jamie Denton
Contents
Prologue (#uc4c85e85-5651-5403-a97d-16eec3f0d452)
Chapter One (#uc6de70c0-8a3b-57cc-9d01-6cdce847e1f6)
Chapter Two (#u752800a6-dca2-5a60-902d-f99c255008d2)
Chapter Three (#u031818e8-1a87-5c40-a57a-a462a74e4ab2)
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)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue
“We’ve found her, Mr. Winslow. She’s in Los Angeles, California. Would you like us to make initial contact?”
Sam Winslow, Jr., glanced again at the photograph of Rebecca Martinson. Familiar green eyes gazed at him, and his hand shook. He wondered how she could she have done it. And why? He’d never understood the inner workings of a woman’s mind, but this particular woman he needed to understand.
“No,” Sam said, dropping the photo on the investigator’s desk. “I’ll leave for L.A. in the morning. I can handle things from here.”
Sam stood. If he was going to catch the morning flight for California, he had plenty to take care of before he left. Picking up the photograph again, he slipped it into the thick manila envelope the investigator provided.
Details.
Details of Rebecca Martinson.
For a woman who didn’t want to be found, she’d been relatively simple to locate.
He extended his hand to the investigator and thanked him before leaving the office. Tucking the envelope under his arm, he headed toward his pickup, slipped inside and tossed the offending material on the seat.
He wasn’t looking forward to this trip. Hell, he wasn’t looking forward to meeting her. And he wouldn’t have bothered, if he hadn’t needed her to save his daughter’s life.
Chapter One
“There’s a Mr. Winslow here to see you, Rebecca.”
Rebecca Martinson set aside the file she’d spent the morning reading and looked at her secretary. “A new case?” she asked Laura, wondering whatever happened to marriages that lasted forever. As a family law attorney, she’d seen the uglier side of marriage and, in some instances, humanity as well. She knew from her myriad of clients that happily-ever-after was nothing more than fodder for fairy tales. The only bright spots in her chosen profession were the adoptions she handled. Nothing could compare to the happiness on the faces of the adoptive couples or the love they gave to the child who’d been chosen. Her adoption cases gave her hope.
“He won’t say, and he doesn’t have an appointment.” Laura wiggled her eyebrows. “But he’s the most drop-dead-gorgeous specimen I’ve seen around here in ages.”
Rebecca smiled. “I’ve got a few minutes before the staff meeting. I’ll see what he wants, then you can get started on whatever paperwork we might need.”
Laura nodded, opened the door, and Mr. Winslow walked into the office. For once her secretary hadn’t exaggerated. This man was truly a sight to behold. He had “cowboy” written all over him, and Rebecca’s insides fluttered. Rough-hewn features and broad shoulders teased her feminine senses. She glanced away. She hadn’t been that affected by the male species since…well, in a very long time.
“Would you like some coffee, Mr. Winslow?” Laura asked.
“No, thank you.” His deep voice commanded attention, not to mention the jeans that emphasized long legs and strong thighs. He had the kind of well-tuned body Rebecca appreciated just a little too much.
Forcing her mind on business, she rounded the desk and extended her hand. His rough, callused hand clasped hers firmly. This was a man who worked with his hands for a living, she thought. Powerful hands.
“I’m Rebecca Martinson, Mr. Winslow.” She motioned to a chair. “Won’t you sit down?”
He nodded, then crossed the office and sat in the chair opposite her desk. A deep-brown corduroy jacket, complete with elbow patches, matched the color of his hair—a tad too long for a label like clean-cut.
She returned to her own chair and looked at him expectantly. “What can I do for you, Mr. Winslow?”
The cowboy shifted and glanced around her office, taking time to examine the multitude of diplomas and awards on the wall behind her desk. When his gaze fastened on her, she smiled, hoping to set him at ease.
“Why don’t you start by telling me why you need a lawyer, Mr. Winslow.” She pulled a legal pad from her tray and wrote his name at the top.
He cleared his throat and looked at her with deep, chocolate-colored eyes. His lips were drawn in a thin line. He looked so serious, and a little angry. Not an unusual emotion in her line of work.
She set her pen on the pad, growing a little uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny. “Mr. Winslow, the initial consultation is free, but I have to warn you, I have a full schedule today. Perhaps you’d like to do this another time when you’re more comfortable—”
He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. Some emotion she couldn’t define sparked his gaze. “You gave a child up for adoption, right?”
For the breath of an instant her heart stopped beating. If someone had sucker-punched her midsection, she couldn’t have been more shocked. No one, not even her closest friends, knew about the decision that had been made fourteen years ago. How could this man, a total stranger…
“Who are you?” she demanded, rising.
“My name is Sam Winslow. I adopted a child fourteen years ago.”
Breathe. Just breathe.
This couldn’t be happening, she thought, sucking vital air into her lungs. She waited in vain for the rapid cadence of her heart to slow, but the pounding continued.
I adopted a child fourteen years ago.
Maybe it was a coincidence.
I adopted a child fourteen years ago.
There was no other explanation. There could be no other explanation. Hadn’t her father seen to it that no one would ever learn the truth?
“My daughter has a condition called aplastic anemia,” Sam Winslow continued in a matter-of-fact tone as if he hadn’t just tipped her world upside down. “If she doesn’t have a bone-marrow transplant, she’ll die. We haven’t been able to find a match, so I petitioned the court to open her adoption records. You’re listed as her birth mother.”
The room spun. Rebecca clutched the edge of the desk to steady herself. She’d prayed, hoped and dreamed that her child would one day want to meet her. At odd times she’d find herself wondering whether if things had been different she could have kept her child. Only things hadn’t been different, they’d been impossible.
Mr. Winslow’s words penetrated the fog surrounding her, and she looked at him. A daughter! She had a daughter. She hadn’t even known whether the child had been a boy or a girl—until now. She’d given birth, and the nurses had whisked the baby away, but not before she’d heard that first cry of life. A sound that had been haunting her dreams for fourteen long years.
Now that child could very well die. Her heart broke all over again.
“I…I have a…a daughter?” she whispered, still reeling from Sam Winslow’s claim.
His expression tightened and he stood. “No, Ms. Martinson. I have a daughter.”
The truth stung and scraped along her raw emotions. He was absolutely right. She didn’t have a daughter. He did. Legally. Emotionally was an altogether different scenario.
And it did nothing to stop the myriad of questions swimming through her mind. From the sharp tone of his voice, she had a feeling Winslow wouldn’t be forthcoming with answers. “What’s her name?”
He shoved his hands deep in his pockets. “I don’t believe that’s relevant.”
Sam turned and strode to the window overlooking Wilshire Boulevard, fifteen floors below. He never cared much for big cities, especially ones like Los Angeles with its smog, crime and overcrowded conditions. Previous experience reminded him that a twenty-mile drive could take more than an hour during rush hour. Wide-open spaces and untamed land, land that provided for his family, were more his speed.
He shouldn’t have come here, but he’d run out of options. Mel needed this woman to save her life. He was completely helpless, and he hated the feeling. And the way Rebecca Martinson looked at him, with those damn big green eyes of hers, made him uncomfortable as hell. Eyes just like—
