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Four Reasons For Fatherhood
Muriel Jensen
From boardroom barracudaWork was everything to businessman Aaron Bradley. So when his four young nephews were orphaned and left to Susan Turner, he should have been relieved. Instead, he yearned for a chance at fatherhood. Aaron didn't know the first thing about children, but he hoped Susan would coach him. If only she weren't so temptingly distracting……to husband and father material?Susan Turner was finally a mother; now all she need was the right man to fulfill her other dreams–the steamy, romantic, 'til-death-do-us-part kind that Aaron inspired. The stubborn bachelor was determined to remain single, but Susan had a plan–and it began with a kiss…The Daddy Club: From Diapers to Dating–These Single Dads Learn It All!
Single fathers have it rough! So holds the philosophy of The Daddy Club.
The club is run by men, for men. The focus: raising children.
A veteran club member will be able to change a diaper in record time, give a bath without drowning the child or himself and make a grilled cheese sandwich a gourmet chef would envy.
It’s not rocket science, though that might be easier. It’s just about being the best dad a man can be.
Meetings held at Ruth Naomi’s Hardware and Muffin Shop alternate Wednesdays, 8:00 p.m.
Please join us!
HAR #813 FOUR REASONS FOR FATHERHOOD by Muriel Jensen
Also available:
HAR #805 FAMILY TO BE by Linda Cajio
HAR #809 A PREGNANCY AND A PROPOSAL by Mindy Neff
Dear Reader,
February is a month made for romance, and here at Harlequin American Romance we invite you to be our Valentine!
Every month, we bring you four reasons to celebrate romance, and beloved author Muriel Jensen has reasons of her own—Four Reasons for Fatherhood, to be precise. Join former workaholic Aaron Bradley as he learns about parenthood—and love—from four feisty youngsters and one determined lady in the finale to our exciting miniseries THE DADDY CLUB.
Some men just have a way with women, and our next two heroes are no exception. In Pamela Bauer’s Corporate Cowboy, when Austin Bennett hits his head and loses his memory, Kacy Judd better watch out—because her formerly arrogant boss is suddenly the most irresistible man in town! And in Married by Midnight by Mollie Molay, Maxwell Taylor has more charm than even he suspects—he goes to a wedding one day, and wakes up married the next!
And if you’re wondering HOW TO MARRY…The World’s Best Dad, look no farther than Valerie Taylor’s heartwarming tale. Julie Miles may not follow her own advice, but she’s got gorgeous Ben Harbison’s attention anyway!
We hope you enjoy every romantic minute of our four wonderful stories.
Warm wishes,
Melissa Jeglinski
Associate Senior Editor
Four Reasons for Fatherhood
Muriel Jensen
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Jeannette and Manny Braga—our best buddies!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Muriel Jensen and her husband, Ron, live in Astoria, Oregon, in an old four-square Victorian at the mouth of the Columbia River. They share their home with a golden retriever/golden Labrador mix named Amber, and five cats who moved in with them without an invitation. (Muriel insists that a plate of Friskies and a bowl of water are not an invitation!)
They also have three children and their families in their lives—a veritable crowd of the most interesting people and children. They also have irreplaceable friends, wonderful neighbors and “a life they know they don’t deserve but love desperately anyway.”
Books by Muriel Jensen
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
119—LOVERS NEVER LOSE
176—THE MALLORY TOUCH
200—FANTASIES & MEMORIES
219—LOVE AND LAVENDER
244—THE DUCK SHACK AGREEMENT
267—STRINGS
283—SIDE BY SIDE
321—A CAROL CHRISTMAS
339—EVERYTHING
392—THE MIRACLE
414—RACING WITH THE MOON
425—VALENTINE HEARTS AND FLOWERS
464—MIDDLE OF THE RAINBOW
478—ONE AND ONE MAKES THREE
507—THE UNEXPECTED GROOM
522—NIGHT PRINCE
534—MAKE-BELIEVE MOM
549—THE WEDDING GAMBLE
569—THE COURTSHIP OF DUSTY’S DADDY
603—MOMMY ON BOARD
606—MAKE WAY FOR MOMMY
610—MERRY CHRISTMAS, MOMMY!
654—THE COMEBACK MOM
669—THE PRINCE, THE LADY & THE TOWER
688—KIDS & CO.
705—CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY
737—DADDY BY DEFAULT
742—DADDY BY DESIGN
746—DADDY BY DESTINY
756—GIFT-WRAPPED DAD
798—COUNTDOWN TO BABY
813—FOUR REASONS FOR FATHERHOOD
Upcoming topics
Be there…
for information vital to every single father!
Contents
Chapter One (#u58e0faf5-0b24-5c7a-b62e-6e1662ee36f7)
Chapter Two (#ua0873f1f-b771-51e8-8c81-7408ed70d575)
Chapter Three (#uab965717-29aa-556f-abb5-9d880343ce1e)
Chapter Four (#ub3062aaf-ce55-56d3-8280-ec5b66a9061d)
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)
Chapter One
Susan Turner watched the long silver limo pull up in front of the church as she walked down the steps carrying Ringo, the other three boys trailing behind her. The back door on the passenger side opened before the driver could come around to help.
A tall man in a beige raincoat stepped out onto the sidewalk. He frowned apparently at the sight of the small crowd leaving the church.
“Uncle Aaron!” John shouted. They were the first words except for “yes” or “no” the boy had spoken since Susan had sped across Princeton to care for him and his brothers.
The man opened his arms and bent down to scoop up the boy as he flew at him.
“Who’s that?” George asked. He was four.
“I Guess it’s Uncle Aaron,” six-year-old Paul replied sagely. “Come on!”
The two boys ran to the man. He lowered John to his feet to embrace the other two boys.
Susan tried not to be offended by their traitorous behaviour. She’d run to be with them the moment she’d received the news that their mother, Susan’s cousin, and their father had perished in a commuter-plane crash off Catalina Island.
Ringo, the fifteen-month-old in her arms, was grateful to be held, a source of security within the chaos his little life had become. George was warm and sweet, and Paul seemed to observe and analyze everything. But though the boys knew her well, they resisted her efforts to help them with their grief, because John, almost eight, the eldest and therefore the leader, was keeping his distance, unwilling to let anyone try to take his parents’ places.
Susan watched the man, who was down on one knee on the sidewalk drawing the boys into the circle of his arms as they talked. His hair was dark blond and a little rumpled from the blustery late March weather.
Hazel eyes focused on one boy after the other as he spoke earnestly to them. George on his raised knee, Paul leaning against him on one side and John on the other.
So, this was Dave’s brother, Susan thought. She’d never met him, but Becky had told her about her clever in-law with the multi-million-dollar computer-software company. “He’s a great guy, but when he’s working he’s all business, and when he’s playing he’s the quintessential playboy. He visits at Christmas every four or five years and calls occasionally, but he has very little time for domesticity.” Then Becky had smiled; Susan had been visiting shortly after John was born. “That’s why Dave and I would like to name you in our will as John’s guardian should—God forbid—anything happen to us.”
Susan had agreed without even stopping to consider, certain that nothing could happen to the robust young woman of twenty-one and her twenty-four-year-old husband.
But apparently God hadn’t forbidden, and eight years and three more children later, Susan was having to live up to her promise.
She was more than willing. Becky had been her childhood companion, and, after their parents had passed away, her only tie to family.
She couldn’t help, though, feeling resentful of the boys’ business-mogul/playboy uncle, who hadn’t bothered to get in touch until last night, four days after the accident. Who hadn’t even made it to New Jersey on time for his brother and sister-in-law’s memorial service today. And who now had the boys mesmerized like some London Fog-clad Svengali.
Then he got to his feet and bringing the boys with him, met Susan at the bottom of the steps.
He took Ringo from her and hugged him. The toddler allowed it, though he studied him a little warily.
“Hey, pal,” the man said, “I’m your uncle Aaron. I’m glad to see you got the Bradley good looks, too.” He pinched Ringo’s nose between his knuckles and the boy giggled.
