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Heir to Secret Memories
Mallory Kane
A MAN ON A MISSIONAfter he was brutally attacked and left for dead, Jay Wellcome had lost all of his memories. But even his amnesia couldn't erase the haunting image of a nameless beauty…. Though Jay never anticipated they'd ever come face-to-face, Paige Reynolds appeared before him like a beautiful apparition. Except he didn't–couldn't–remember her, his fingers burned with the knowledge of the curves of her body.Paige tearfully claimed that her young daughter had been kidnapped. She needed him, and her vulnerability guaranteed his protection. And now nothing would stop him from tracking a killer–especially when he learned that her child was also his….
“Will you help me?” she pleaded
Paige’s voice broke then. “They told me they’d kill her. They’re keeping her in the dark. Katie hates the dark.”
“How do you think I can help? I don’t know you and I sure don’t know them. What do you want me to do, offer myself to them?” Jay asked.
She met his gaze. “The Johnny I knew would have done anything in his power to protect a child.”
Jay’s heart slammed into his chest with the force of a blow. The Johnny she’d known. “And you think I’m that man?” he asked, the effort of holding hope at bay inside him too much.
She held his gaze for a moment, her eyes wide and haunted. If he wasn’t careful, she could make him believe it himself….
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
Happy Valentine’s Day! We are so pleased you’ve come back to Harlequin Intrigue for another exciting month of breathtaking romantic suspense.
And our February lineup is sure to please, starting with another installment in Debra Webb’s trilogy about the most covert agents around: THE SPECIALISTS. Her Hidden Truth is a truly innovative story about what could happen if an undercover agent had a little help from a memory device to ensure her cover. But what if said implant malfunctioned and past, present and future were all mixed up? Fortunately this lucky lady has a very sexy recovery Specialist to extract her from the clutches of a group of dangerous terrorists.
Next we have another title in our TOP SECRET BABIES promotion by Mallory Kane, called Heir to Secret Memories. Though a bachelor heir to a family fortune is stricken with amnesia, he can’t forget one very beautiful woman. And when she comes to him in desperation to locate her child, he’s doubly astonished to find out he is the missing girl’s father.
Julie Miller returns to her ongoing series THE TAYLOR CLAN with The Rookie. If you go for those younger guys, well, hold on to your hats, because Josh Taylor is one dynamite lawman.
Finally, Amanda Stevens takes up the holiday baton with Confessions of the Heart. In this unique story, a woman receives a heart transplant and is inexorably drawn to the original owner’s husband. Find out why in this exceptional story.
Enjoy all four!
Sincerely,
Denise O’Sullivan
Associate Senior Editor
Harlequin Intrigue
Heir to Secret Memories
Mallory Kane
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mallory Kane took early retirement from her position as assistant chief of pharmacy at a large metropolitan medical center to pursue her other loves: writing and art. She has published and won awards for science fiction and fantasy, as well as romance. Mallory credits her love of books to her mother, who taught her that books are a precious resource and should be treated with loving respect. Her grandfather and her father were both steeped in the Southern tradition of oral history, and could hold an audience spellbound with their storytelling skills. Mallory aspires to be as good a storyteller as her father. She loves romantic suspense with dangerous heroes and dauntless heroines. She is also fascinated by story ideas that explore the infinite capacity of the brain to adapt and develop higher skills. Mallory lives in Mississippi with her husband and their dauntless cat. She would be delighted to hear from readers. You can write to her c/o Harlequin Books, 300 East 42nd Street, Sixth Floor, New York, NY 10017.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Paige Reynolds—When her daughter is kidnapped, she must enlist the help of the lover who deserted her years ago, or her daughter will die.
Johnny Yarbrough—Heir to the Yarbrough fortune, he was kidnapped and presumed dead three years ago.
Jay Wellcome—Three years ago he woke with a bullet wound and no memories. Now a woman he recognizes only from nightmarish visions is asking him to help her find a child she says is his.
Katie Yarbrough—Seven years old, she’s the image of her mother, with her father’s dark blue eyes. She’s a courageous little girl, if she can just hold on until her mom can find her.
Serena Yarbrough—She married Johnny’s father for money, and her scheme to control the Yarbrough fortune worked. But now her past is catching up with her. Can she succeed in eliminating the rightful heirs this time?
Leonard Lynch—Serena’s brother. If he’s clever enough to find Paige and Johnny, they may never live to rescue their child.
Sally McGowan—Paige’s entrepreneurial friend. She invited Serena to her art exhibit, but she would never harm Katie, would she?
For Joyce, who kept me sane.
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
Prologue
Summer, seven years ago
Paige Reynolds woke up the way she had since the day her mother died, scared, lonely, praying it was all a dream and her mom was in their tiny kitchen, making coffee. But a deep breath yielded no delicious aroma of coffee, just an ache of grief in her heart.
Then through the haze of sleep she heard the comforting scratch of pencil against paper.
Johnny.
She was safe and warm and loved. Johnny was here and he was doing what he did so often. Drawing her while she slept.
She opened her eyes to meet his sapphire-blue gaze.
“Morning, Tiger,” he said softly.
He had on faded jeans and no shirt. His brown hair was tousled and that cowlick stuck up in the back.
Her heart filled to bursting with love. She’d never been as happy in the entire seventeen years of her life as during these past six weeks.
“You’re up early.” She didn’t want to get up yet.
They’d spent most of the night making love. Johnny had been quiet, more intense than usual. He’d held her and loved her and pressed kisses along every inch of her as if she were some precious icon and he were an obsessed worshiper. He’d acted as though he were memorizing her, body and soul, so he’d never forget her.
His fierce passion had been a little scary. But he’d whispered “I love you” a thousand times, and finally, as dawn reddened the sky, she’d fallen asleep feeling safe and sheltered in his warm, strong arms.
Just thinking about the night made her body thrill. She sat up in bed, letting the sheet fall behind her. Looking over her shoulder at him, she smiled. “You sure you’re ready to get up?”
He made a low, growling sound in his throat, threw the sketchpad aside and dove into bed with her.
Afterward, she lay in the crook of his arm while his fingers brushed lightly through her hair.
“Paige?”
“Hmm?”
“Have you thought about what you’re going to do?”
Her hazy glow faded a bit. “What do you mean?”
He kissed her cheek. “It’s been over three months since your mother died. What are you planning? Can you afford to go back to school in September?”
His question sent her heart hammering against her chest. Claws of panic began to tear at her insides, just like they had each week since her mother had succumbed to ovarian cancer as she counted her waitressing tips, praying there was enough money to pay the rent one more time. She sat up, pulling the sheet protectively against her.
“I thought we…” she started, but as soon as she said the words, as soon as she brought her gaze up to meet his, she knew.
“You’re leaving.” Her voice cracked on the last word.
“Paige, no. Wait.” Johnny sat up too, and grabbed her arms. “Listen to me.”
But she was already withdrawing into her protective shell. It had always just been her and her mother. Then when her mother died, her whole focus had been on survival.
But that was before Johnny had seen her in Jackson Square and asked if he could sketch her. Before he’d brought love and sunshine back into her life.
She’d believed Johnny’s words of love, just like her mother had believed her father. But when her mother had gotten pregnant, her father had revealed that he already had a wife and family. He had abandoned her mother when she needed him most. And now Johnny was leaving her.
Her breath caught in a sob.
“Paige!” He shook her, gently but firmly. “I love you. Weren’t you listening last night? I love you. Wait a minute.” He jumped up, his naked body pale and beautifully lit by the sunlight shining through the apartment windows. He got something from his backpack and came back to the bed.
“Give me your left hand.”
Hesitantly, Paige held out her hand, which shook. Don’t leave me, her heart screamed. I love you.
She watched his face as he took her hand in his.
“God, you’re shaking,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I did it all wrong.”
She felt something cool slip onto her finger.
“What…”
Johnny pulled her hand to his chest and placed his hand over it. She felt his heart beating fast, felt the warm familiar comfort of his hand over hers. “This was my mother’s ring. Father had it made especially for her. She wore it till the day she died. I want you to wear it.”
He looked at her solemnly. “I love you. I will love you forever. Will you marry me?”
A sharp pain pierced her breast. “M-marry?”
He nodded, and a lock of hair fell over his forehead. “I have to go back to school too, now that summer’s over. Come with me to Boston. We can live together. Be married. You could go to school up there.”
“M-married?”
Johnny laughed and kissed her. “M-m-m-married. Now stop stuttering and say yes.”
Paige’s eyes burned with tears. When her mother had died, she’d been left to face a world she wasn’t prepared for. In the weeks that followed, she had learned the meaning of the word alone.
“Oh, Johnny. I thought you were leaving me.”
A shadow crossed Johnny’s face. “I’m never going to leave you. I love you. I just have to take care of one thing. My father’s not going to be very happy about this.” His mouth twisted. “He’s never happy about anything I do these days.”
He jumped up and pulled on his jeans. “So I just need to run home and talk to him. I want him to meet you. He’ll love you once he meets you.”
Paige felt as if she were on a merry-go-round that had gone out of control. Her head was spinning. She put her hand over her fluttering heart.
He wanted to marry her. Marry! She was seventeen and all alone in the world. He was probably twenty and…. She suddenly realized she didn’t know much about him, except that he wanted to be an artist, but his father disapproved.
But he loved her. He wanted to marry her.
“How long have you been thinking about this?” she asked, grabbing one of his white monogrammed shirts and pulling it on, pushing the long sleeves back so she could fasten the buttons.
Johnny was gathering up stuff and throwing it in his backpack. He shrugged. “From the first time I saw you in Jackson Square. You were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I knew I had to draw that classic face.”
He turned and threw his arms wide. “Then you smiled and stole my heart.”
