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The Soldier's Redemption
Lee Tobin McClain
A second chance at family… in this Redemption Ranch novelBlaming himself for the accident that claimed his wife and son, ranch manager Finn Gallagher vows he’ll never remarry. Yet he’s drawn to his new rescue-dog caretaker, Kayla White, and her little boy. But the single mother’s running from something in her past. And as he begins wishing the little family could be his, Finn must convince her to trust him with her secret.
A second chance at family...
in this Redemption Ranch novel
Blaming himself for the accident that claimed his wife and son, ranch manager Finn Gallagher vows he’ll never remarry. Yet he’s drawn to his new rescue-dog caretaker, Kayla White, and her little boy. But the single mother’s running from something in her past. And as he begins wishing the little family could be his, Finn must convince her to trust him with her secret.
LEE TOBIN MCCLAIN read Gone with the Wind in the third grade and has been a hopeless romantic ever since. When she’s not writing angst-filled love stories with happy endings, she’s getting inspiration from her church singles group, her gymnastics-obsessed teenage daughter, and her rescue dog and cat. In her day job, Lee gets to encourage aspiring romance writers in Seton Hill University’s low-residency MFA program. Visit her at leetobinmcclain.com (http://leetobinmcclain.com).
Also By Lee Tobin McClain (#uf4ba159a-0994-5da8-b145-764b6fff002d)
Redemption Ranch
The Soldier’s Redemption
Rescue River
Engaged to the Single Mom
His Secret Child
Small-Town Nanny
The Soldier and the Single Mom
The Soldier’s Secret Child
A Family for Easter
Christmas Twins
Secret Christmas Twins
Lone Star Cowboy League: Boys Ranch
The Nanny’s Texas Christmas
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
The Soldier’s Redemption
Lee Tobin McClain
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08435-2
THE SOLDIER’S REDEMPTION
© 2018 Lee Tobin McClain
Published in Great Britain 2018
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.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“I should probably bring another bucket of water, right?”
“Just to be sure. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
“You’re helping, believe me.” She gave her sleeping child a tender glance before taking the bucket back over to the outside spigot.
Finn felt the weight of the five-year-old boy against him as if it were lead. Pressing him down into the lawn chair.
Pressing him into his past.
He’d held his own son just like this. It was such a sweet age, still small enough to fit into a lap and to want to be there.
Leo would soon grow beyond such tenderness.
Derek wouldn’t, not ever.
The knowledge of that ached in Finn’s chest. Outside of the guilt and the regret, he just plain missed his son.
Kayla sloshed another bucket over the fire pit. “There. No sparks left to cause a fire.”
He met her eyes and the thought flashed through him: There are still some sparks here, just not the fire-pit kind.
But although it was true, it wouldn’t do to highlight the fact.
Dear Reader (#uf4ba159a-0994-5da8-b145-764b6fff002d),
Thank you for visiting Redemption Ranch! I’m very excited about this brand-new series, where troubled veterans and abandoned senior dogs heal together...and where romance has the wide-open space to grow. Finn, Kayla and young Leo have plenty of challenges to overcome, but with God’s help they learn to love one another, becoming the happy family God intended them to be.
One reason I love writing Christian romance is that I can delve into big problematic issues. That’s partly because the pages that aren’t taken up by love scenes can be devoted to character development. But mostly, it’s because the difficult problems people face can be best solved by turning to God. Faith and faith communities are the healing forces that let Christian romances dive deep, and still come back for an uplifting, happy ending.
May your summer be filled with faith, love and good books,
Lee
And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.
—Luke 9:11
To the staff and volunteers at Animal Friends of Westmoreland. Thank you for letting me work alongside you to learn how a dog rescue operates...and thank you for being a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Contents
Cover (#u29928f5f-0442-5389-ae3b-952c2f11004d)
Back Cover Text (#udfed2b66-33da-5d34-b4e3-09012419d653)
About the Author (#uce55e8c9-360b-5147-b8c8-cdc47e035e6e)
Booklist (#u80ba0d75-3658-5379-af52-48f6551200bb)
Title Page (#u251009b3-2436-5dfb-809d-3604536bf89f)
Copyright (#ud42d5985-3a6e-51ac-9637-5a2355d0206b)
Introduction (#u49973673-d748-541b-bbc5-8c429c5cb4c3)
Dear Reader (#u2742c6f5-b23b-5d80-8e41-d23886c7ed4d)
Bible Verse (#u7e587448-9aa0-525d-a135-fe0f500218d3)
Dedication (#uef331ea1-07ad-5691-a53f-2a581e807ac7)
Chapter One (#u002a43f5-c53b-5b56-9673-b96266a889a1)
Chapter Two (#u968e1b19-0d0c-5529-b3a0-04d3ec5c1c52)
Chapter Three (#uec45acae-7d3e-5501-89f8-b670a5e9b04e)
Chapter Four (#u8ac7a97e-497c-55ee-bca7-d33aa2982c83)
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)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#uf4ba159a-0994-5da8-b145-764b6fff002d)
Finn Gallagher leaned his cane against the desk and swiveled his chair around to face the open window. He loved solitude, but with overseeing Redemption Ranch’s kennels, dealing with suppliers and workers and the public, he didn’t get enough of it. These early-morning moments when he could sip coffee and look out across the flat plain toward the Sangre de Cristo Mountains were precious and few.
He was reaching over to turn on the window fan—June in Colorado could be hot—when he heard a knock behind him. “Pardon me,” said a quiet female voice. “I’ve come about the job.”
So much for solitude.
He swiveled around and got the impression of a small brown sparrow. Plain, with no identifying markers. Brown tied-back hair, gray flannel shirt, jeans, no-brand sneakers.
Well, she was plain until you noticed those high cheekbones and striking blue eyes.
“How’d you find us?” he asked.
“Ad in the paper.” She said it Southern style: “Aaa-yud.” Not from around here. “Kennel assistant, general cleaning.”
“Come on in. Sit down,” he said and gestured to a chair, not because he wanted her there but because he felt rude sitting while she was standing. And his days of getting to his feet the moment a lady walked into the room were over. “I’m Finn Gallagher. I run the day-to-day operations here at the ranch.”
“Kayla White.” She sat down like a sparrow, too, perching. Ready for flight.
“Actually,” he said, “for this position, we were looking for a man.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “That’s discriminatory. I can do the work. I’m stronger than I look.”
He studied her a little closer and noticed that she wore long sleeves, buttoned down. In this heat? Weird. She looked healthy, not like a druggie hiding track marks, but lately more and more people seemed to be turning in that desperate direction.
“It’s pretty remote here.” He’d rather she removed herself from consideration for the job so he wouldn’t have to openly turn her down. She was right about the discrimination thing. With all their financial troubles, the last thing Redemption Ranch needed was a lawsuit. “A good ten miles to the nearest town, over bad roads.”
She nodded patiently. And didn’t ask to be withdrawn from consideration.
“The position requires you to live in. Not much chance to meet people and socialize.” He glanced at her bare left hand.
“I’m not big on socializing. More of a bookworm, actually.”
That almost made him like her. He spent most of his evenings at home with a dog and a good book, himself. “Small cabin,” he warned.
“I’ll fit.” She gestured at her petite self as the hint of a smile crossed her face and was just as quickly gone. “I’m relocating,” she clarified, “so living in would be easier than finding a job and a place to stay, both.”
So she wasn’t going to give up. Which was fine, really; there was no reason the new hire had to be male. He just had a vision of a woman needing a lot of attention and guidance, gossiping up a blue streak, causing trouble with the veterans.
Both his mother and his boss would have scolded him for that type of prejudice.
