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Duty Or Desire
Brenda Jackson
He’s a man of his word…but she rocks his world Pete Higgins is a man of his word, and puts his duty to his orphaned niece first. Except, the temporary nanny, Myra Hollister captivates him. But she’s keeping secrets, the kind that remind Pete of all he’s lost before and what he can’t afford to lose again.
How did keeping things professional get so complicated?
What happens when a man of unshakable conviction meets the woman who rocks his world?
Pete Higgins is an honorary Westmoreland, a man of his word—of course he’ll put duty to his orphaned niece first. Too bad the temporary nanny is tempting him with every look. Myra Hollister captivates him. But she’s keeping dangerous secrets, the kind that remind Pete of all he’s lost before and what he can’t afford to lose again…
New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Jackson
BRENDA JACKSON is a New York Times bestselling author of more than one hundred romance titles. Brenda lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and divides her time between family, writing and travelling.
Email Brenda at authorbrendajackson@gmail.com or visit her on her website at brendajackson.net (http://www.brendajackson.net).
Also by Brenda Jackson (#uc52da3af-6edf-5bff-9fa2-b2ac176a1b85)
The Westmorelands miniseries
The Real Thing
The Secret Affair
Breaking Bailey’s Rules
Bane
The Westmoreland Legacy miniseries
The Rancher Returns
His Secret Son
An Honourable Seduction
His to Claim
Duty or Desire
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Duty or Desire
Brenda Jackson
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-09285-2
DUTY OR DESIRE
© 2019 Brenda Streater Jackson
Published in Great Britain 2019
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.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Note to Readers (#uc52da3af-6edf-5bff-9fa2-b2ac176a1b85)
This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:
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Acknowledgements (#uc52da3af-6edf-5bff-9fa2-b2ac176a1b85)
To the man who will forever be the love of my life
and the wind beneath my wings, Gerald Jackson, Sr.
To all my readers who love the Westmorelands
and their friends.
To my sons, Gerald Jr. and Brandon. Please continue
to make me and your dad proud. I love you guys.
To my family and friends who continue to support me
in all that I do.
Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
—Matthew 7:7
Contents
Cover (#u60140c60-faff-5cc8-850b-a392d0408d8b)
Back Cover Text (#u655f1b4b-2b20-51ef-b3d1-cc699ce06338)
About the Author (#u4bc6ea9f-3588-5566-9609-8caabb3e4eae)
Booklist (#ub2b63395-59c6-5caa-ad92-0e64100e3018)
Title Page (#u02eb25c8-1d86-513c-b7d1-e4fde441554d)
Copyright (#ud87ef3b8-5b68-566f-beaa-7b2de94998a6)
Note to Readers
Acknowledgements (#ufaa65f19-771c-5c15-aa81-659a4b5e2473)
Prologue (#u8b6b7259-9168-5748-93c3-2173ff09831f)
One (#ua49a4fcd-a411-58d7-97f0-8e384177cbc9)
Two (#u76751c2a-4da0-55f8-99fc-395383c1d24c)
Three (#u822a6b51-7f1f-59ff-b9f0-4248a8e71cf0)
Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#uc52da3af-6edf-5bff-9fa2-b2ac176a1b85)
The doorbell sounded and Bane Westmoreland wondered who the latecomer could be. All his family and friends who’d been invited to celebrate his and his wife Crystal’s housewarming party were accounted for.
Upon opening the door he found an older couple, in their late sixties, standing there with a baby in their arms.
Bane was certain he did not know the couple. “Yes, may I help you?”
The man spoke. “We hate to impose but we were told Peterson Higgins was here tonight. We are the Glosters, his deceased brother’s in-laws.”
Bane nodded. “Yes, Pete is here. Please come in.”
The man shook his head. “We prefer not to, but we would appreciate it if you could tell Peterson we’re here. We would like to speak with him. We will wait out here.”
Bane nodded again. “Okay, just a minute.” He circled around the room before finally finding Pete in a group in the family room.
“Excuse me, guys, but I need to borrow Pete for a minute,” Bane said to the others. Once he got Pete aside, he told him about the older couple waiting outside. Pete placed his cup of punch aside and quickly moved toward the front door.
When Pete returned about half an hour later, he was carrying a baby in one hand and a diaper bag in the other. Everyone’s attention was drawn to him when the baby released a huge wail.
It seemed all the mothers in the room hurried toward him.
“Whose baby?” Bane’s cousin Gemma was the first to ask, taking the baby from a flustered-looking Pete.
“This is my nine-month-old niece, Ciara,” he said, noticing how quickly the baby girl quieted once Gemma held her. “As most of you know, my brother, Matthew, and his wife, Sherry, were killed in that car crash six months ago. This is their daughter. Sherry’s parents were given custody of Ciara when Matt and Sherry died. But they just gave me full custody of her, citing health issues that prevent them from taking proper care of her. That means I’m now Ciara’s legal guardian.”
Pete looked around the room at the group he considered family and asked the one question none of them could answer.
“I’m a bachelor, for heaven’s sake! What on earth am I going to do with a baby?”
One (#uc52da3af-6edf-5bff-9fa2-b2ac176a1b85)
Five months later
“I hate that I’m leaving you like this, Pete, but my sister needs me.”
Sheriff Peterson Higgins stared at the older woman standing across the kitchen. He’d known something was wrong the minute he walked through the door.
Well, he had news for Bonnie. He needed her, too.
Pete suddenly felt like a class A bastard for thinking such a thing after she’d just tearfully explained that her sister had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Of course he understood her wanting to go be with her only sister during this time. Even if her leaving would put him in a bind, the last thing he wanted was for Bonnie to feel guilty about going to her family. Somehow, he would find the right person to live-in and keep his fourteen-month-old niece while he worked.
Of course, that person couldn’t really replace Bonnie.
Bonnie McCray had been his mother’s best friend. When Renee Higgins had died, Pete had been sixteen and his younger brother Matthew twelve. Renee had asked Bonnie to always be there for her sons and Bonnie had kept that promise. And when Pete’s father passed away three years later, Bonnie wouldn’t hear of Pete not fulfilling his mother’s dream of him completing college. Bonnie and her husband, Fred, agreed to look after Matt while Pete studied.
