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Daddy, He Wrote
Jill Limber
From Bestseller to…Best Father?Journal Entry No. 1: I bought Blacksmith Farm to find peace and quiet to write my next bestseller–not to spend it with a fetching widow caretaker and her baby! This blizzard has us stuck together like one big, happy family. I'll be lucky if I survive the first night.Journal Entry No. 8: I can't believe I, sophisticated city slicker Ian Miller, am enjoying this simple country life. Granted, Trish Ryan is easy on the eyes and her gentle spirit has inspired my best work. But for one electrifying moment she even had me considering a new chapter in my life–that of loving husband and father. If I don't finish this book soon, I could lose my mind–and heart–for good!
The baby grinned at him.
Ian heard Trish coming down the hall and jumped back from the crib.
“I didn’t hear her cry.” She frowned at the baby monitor, then looked back up at him worriedly. “I’m so sorry if she disturbed you from your writing.”
“Not at all. I came down for coffee and she was awake.” He couldn’t tell if he had offended Trish by checking on the baby. “Do you mind if I talk to her?”
A surprised expression flashed across Trish’s beautiful, flushed face. “Oh, not at all,” she said in a rush. “I just don’t want you to be bothered, Mr. Miller.”
Ian shrugged, secretly flattered that she, so protective of her child, trusted him. “Trish, she’s no bother. In fact, when you have to go outside, let me know. That way you don’t have to worry about her.”
He amazed himself as he heard the words coming out of his mouth. Ian Miller, confirmed bachelor, had just offered to baby-sit. If anyone had told him he’d be doing that a month ago, he’d have laughed out loud.
Next thing he knew, he’d be writing a baby into his story!
Dear Reader,
Let this month’s collection of Silhouette Romance books sweep you into the poetry of love!
Roses are red,
or white in the case of these Nighttime Sweethearts (SR #1754) by Cara Colter. Scarred both physically and emotionally, this cynical architect will only woo his long-lost love under the protection of night. Can a bright beauty tame this dark beast? Find out in the fourth title of Silhouette Romance’s exquisite IN A FAIRY TALE WORLD… miniseries.
Violets are blue,
like the eyes of the ladies’ man in Myrna Mackenzie’s latest, Instant Marriage, Just Add Groom (SR #1755). All business, even in his relationships, this hardened hero would never father a child without the protection of marriage—but he didn’t count on falling for the prim bookseller next door!
Cupid’s at play,
and he’s got the use of more than arrows for matchmaking! Even a blinding blizzard can bring two reluctant people together. Watch the steam rise when a gruff, reclusive writer is stranded with a single mom and her adorable baby in Daddy, He Wrote (SR #1756) by Jill Limber.
And magic, too!
With only six days left to break her curse, Cat knew she couldn’t count on finding true love. Until she happened upon a dark, reticent veterinarian with a penchant for rescuing animals—and damsels—in distress! You’re sure to be enchanted by Shirley Jump’s SOULMATES story, Kissed by Cat (SR #1757).
May love find you this Valentine’s Day!
Mavis C. Allen
Associate Senior Editor
Daddy, He Wrote
Jill Limber
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Teresa, the best kind of friend.
No matter what, I know I can count on you!
Books by Jill Limber
Silhouette Romance
The 15 lb. Matchmaker #1593
Captivating a Cowboy #1664
Daddy, He Wrote #1756
Silhouette Intimate Moments
Secrets of an Old Flame #1226
JILL LIMBER
lives in San Diego with her husband. Now that her children are grown, their two dogs keep her company while she sits at her computer writing stories. A native Californian, she enjoys the beach, loves to swim in the ocean and for relaxation she daydreams and reads romances. You can learn more about Jill by visiting her Web site at www.JillLimber.com (http://www.JillLimber.com).
Blacksmith Farm To Do List:
1) Make Mr. Miller breakfast
2) Wash Emma’s bibs and blankets
3) Stop thinking about sexy new boss!
4) Feed the horses, the cat and the dog
5) Wash kitchen floor
6) Stop thinking about sexy new boss!!
7) Buy groceries
8) Stop thinking about sexy new boss!!!
Contents
Chapter One (#u763668e2-0a4f-5091-a8f9-b1945c4054e8)
Chapter Two (#uedf6b20e-7ef1-591f-9451-f0e3a07bed81)
Chapter Three (#ue9715363-4945-5376-9c3f-0eb60897e9af)
Chapter Four (#uf57a1a7d-eadd-5d7c-9fd5-b255b390b830)
Chapter Five (#u621a65da-192a-5740-b6a2-4b378a9cffe0)
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 Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Trish dropped the box of books she’d just begun to unpack and grabbed the telephone before the ringing could wake three-month-old Emma. If the baby hadn’t been in the room, she’d let the machine pick up. She’d been dodging phone calls for three months.
Heart pounding, she said, “Hello, Blacksmith Farm.”
“Is this the housekeeper?” an arrogant-sounding female voice asked.
Trish answered, knowing this could be the call that ended her job. If that happened, she and Emma would be homeless. “Yes. This is Trish—”
The impatient caller cut her off. “This is Joyce Sommers. I’m Mr. Miller’s business manager.”
Mr. Miller was the new owner of Blacksmith Farm. Trish waited through the woman’s dramatic pause, wanting to make a sarcastic comment but knowing that would not be the wisest step, considering her circumstances.
“I have a list of things that need to be done before Mr. Miller arrives.”
Trish sat down at the desk, fearing her shaky legs might not support her. If she was getting instructions she still had the job. On a giddy wave of relief she started scribbling furiously to get down everything Ms. Sommers wanted accomplished in the next two days.
She assured Ms. Sommers that everything would be done before Mr. Miller visited, then the woman hung up without even a goodbye.
With a shaking hand, Trish replaced the receiver and stared at the telephone. Relief spread through her, and she felt the knot of tension between her shoulder blades ease a bit.
Despite her worry, Trish supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. The caretaker came with the property, just like the furnishings and the animals. The old owners had sold everything, lock, stock and barrel, literally.
If she was lucky, the new owner would spend as little time here as the old owner had.
She glanced over at Emma, sound asleep on her back in a wash basket lined with a quilt, her tiny hands curled into fists and her mouth making little sucking motions.
Trish’s heart swelled with love every time she looked at her daughter.
In their short marriage, Billy had been a miserable husband and an indifferent father, but he’d given her Emma. Part of Trish would thank him forever for that.
Through the window of the study, just past the barn, she could see the cracked shingles of the old stone farmhouse that went with the caretaker’s job. It had no heat except the fireplace; the electrical wiring was ancient and undependable; and the water pump didn’t work when the power was out. She loved every square leaky, drafty inch of it. It was hers, the first place she had ever been able to call home.
Trish emptied the box she’d been working to unpack before Ms. Sommers’s call, and realized all the books were multiple copies of the ones written by the new owner.
She looked at the floor-to-ceiling bookcases on the west wall, trying to decide where to put one of each of Mr. Miller’s books. He’d be proud of his work and want them at eye level, she decided, where people would see them when they came in the room.
She carried an armload to the shelves. This was her favorite room in the house. She loved to read.
She shelved a copy of each volume and ran her fingers down the spines to make sure they were aligned. The rest she stored in a cupboard.
What would it be like to be rich and live in a house like this and have enough time to read every day? In her dreams she pictured Emma and herself in a big, safe, cozy house like this. She’d have a housekeeper and a gardener. She’d have time to play with Emma whenever she wanted, and after she tucked Emma into bed at night, she’d curl up in the big flowered chair in the front room and read until bedtime.
Trish sighed at her own foolishness as she dusted the shelves. He must be very smart to write these books. She’d read all of them. Ian Miller was one of the most popular authors today. He hit the New York Times best-seller list with each new book.
She pulled out a volume of his latest release and studied the black-and-white picture of him on the dust jacket. Incredibly handsome, he looked more like a movie star than a writer. He was dressed in a tux and had a glass of champagne in his hand.
Trish smiled. He wouldn’t spend much time here. She loved the farm and this wonderful old restored house, but it was way out in the middle of the Pennsylvania countryside, miles from his home in Philadelphia and the glittering New York life someone like Ian Miller would be used to.
He’d be like the previous owner. He and his wife said they wanted a retreat from the stressful life in Manhattan, but they rarely used the farm.
They’d stocked the place with horses and a cow, then they’d split their time between a flat in London and a penthouse apartment in New York.
Trish would never understand how rich people’s minds worked.
She traced her finger over the picture of the elegant-looking man and smiled.
No, he wouldn’t spend time here.
She and Emma would have their little stone house.
Ian Miller considered heaving the telephone against the wall in frustration. “Joyce, I thought I made it clear I wasn’t doing any more publicity appearances or book signings for a while.”
Her cool, steady voice, a sound that he was starting to hate, made a falsely sympathetic murmur. “I know, Ian, but you agreed to this tour before the holidays. Before you made that ultimatum.”
Her tone told him just what she thought of his warning.
Ian hadn’t remembered agreeing to any such thing, but when he was on deadline he knew he sometimes said what Joyce wanted to hear just to get her off the telephone. “When do I leave?”
“A car will pick you up tomorrow morning at seven.”
He groaned. He’d planned to work all day tomorrow, even though he knew what he’d been writing lately was worthless and would never end up in a book. He’d been promoted as a “boy wonder” with his first book, had phenomenal success with all his subsequent releases and now was in danger of burning out before he turned thirty.
