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The Hometown Hero Returns
Julianna Morris
He could still put her heart in a tailspin…When Luke McCade returns to Divine after a long absence, Nicki Johansson realizes that she may have lost the bad clothes and haircut, but it's hard to shake an old crush. Especially when she's never forgotten the first kiss he gave her. Nicki doesn't want to fall for the former high school football star, but how can she not when he's devoted to his ailing grandfather, is successful, thoughtful and still annoyingly sexy! Once they'd seemed to move in different leagues. But now…. Well, a newly confident Nicki vows to use her sweet kisses to show Luke there's no place like home!
He was the last person Nicki wanted to see.
If she didn’t owe so much to his grandfather, she wouldn’t be within a mile of Luke McCade ever again. But she did like and admire his grandfather. She’d do almost anything for Professor McCade. Even face Luke and all the memories he represented.
And then his broad shoulders filled the front door.
Despite her resolve, her pulse hammered in her throat.
If anything, he was more gorgeous than ever; small crinkles at the corners of his eyes and a few strands of silver in his black hair made him look solid and dependable. He’d come back to help his grandfather, showing that he wasn’t as selfish as she’d always thought.
A flutter of alarm skirted her mind. No. She couldn’t afford to think anything positive about him. Luke had put her in a tailspin when they were younger; she wouldn’t let that happen this time.
Dear Reader,
This month seems to be all about change. Just as our heroines are about to have some fabulous makeovers, Silhouette Romance will be undergoing some changes over the next months that we believe will make this classic line even more relevant to your challenging lives. Of course, you’ll still find some of your favorite SR authors and favorite themes, but look for some new names, more international settings and even more emotional reads.
Over the next few months the company is also focusing attention on the new direction and package for Mills & Boon Romance. We believe that the blend of authors and stories coming in that line will thrill readers and satisfy every emotion.
Just like our heroines, my responsibilities will be changing, as I will be working on Mills & Boon NEXT. Please know how much I have enjoyed sharing these heartwarming, aspirational reads with you.
With all best wishes,
Ann Leslie Tuttle
Associate Senior Editor
The Hometown Hero Returns
Julianna Morris
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For caregivers everywhere.
You make a special difference in the world.
Books by Julianna Morris
Silhouette Romance
Baby Talk #1097
Family of Three #1178
Daddy Woke Up Married #1252
Dr. Dad #1278
The Marriage Stampede #1375
* (#litres_trial_promo)Callie, Get Your Groom #1436
* (#litres_trial_promo)Hannah Gets a Husband #1448
* (#litres_trial_promo)Jodie’s Mail-Order Man #1460
Meeting Megan Again #1502
Tick Tock Goes the Baby Clock #1531
Last Chance for Baby! #1565
† (#litres_trial_promo)A Date with a Billionaire #1590
† (#litres_trial_promo)The Right Twin for Him #1676
† (#litres_trial_promo)The Bachelor Boss #1703
† (#litres_trial_promo)Just Between Friends #1731
† (#litres_trial_promo)Meet Me under the Mistletoe #1796
The Hometown Hero Returns #1829
JULIANNA MORRIS
has an offbeat sense of humor, which frequently gets her into trouble. She is often accused of being curious about everything. Her interests range from oceanography and photography to traveling, antiquing, walking on the beach and reading science fiction.
Julianna loves cats of all shapes and sizes. Her family’s most recent feline companion is named Merlin, and like his namesake, Merlin is an alchemist—she says he can transform the house into a disaster area in nothing flat. And since he shares the premises with a writer, it’s interesting to note that he’s particularly fond of knocking books on the floor.
Julianna happily reports meeting Mr. Right. Together they are working on a dream of building a shoreline home in the Great Lakes area.
Dear Reader,
I come from a large family and have watched grandparents, great-aunts and other loved ones go through difficult times. It isn’t easy to see someone you love changing due to age or illness, but there can be many reasons for those changes. I believe it’s important to keep asking questions, and one of those questions should be about depression.
Depression is an illness that can be treated. Through personal experience I’ve seen that it can resemble other conditions, or it may not be diagnosed at all—remember that “Uncle Joe” may act quite differently at the doctor’s office than he does at home. I’ve seen it, and I’ve seen how a doctor can have a hard time seeing the changes a family has observed. I’ve also seen how asking questions, talking things out and getting treatment can make a world of difference.
While the recovery of the hero’s grandfather in my story is probably faster than would normally occur, I hope that reading this novel and hearing a little about my own experiences will help someone out there. You are not alone.
As a small side note, the artist who painted my hero’s great-grandmother is fictional. However, the other artists mentioned in the story are real. Artists such as Alfred Sisley and Mary Cassatt were gifted Impressionists. More about their work can be learned at the library or on the Internet.
My best wishes go with you and yours.
Julianna Morris
Contents
Chapter One (#u993e155b-f9e9-5d84-93a6-3366c3d99f8d)
Chapter Two (#u934335c4-2111-53bc-ad5c-405668257ba0)
Chapter Three (#u18e4c17e-5e29-58ad-9d93-a618845e2c9e)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
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 One
“Here goes nothing,” Nicki Johansson muttered.
She pulled a rectangular package from her car and stared at the house before her. He was inside that house. He was the last person she wanted to see. If she hadn’t owed so much to his grandfather, she wouldn’t have come within a mile of him ever again.
Still, Luke McCade was gorgeous.
But impossible—a reminder of awkward childhood days when a plain teenaged whiz kid in secondhand clothing had dreamed of having the captain of the football team fall in love with her.
Hah, Nicki snorted to herself. They’d been thrown together back then because Luke was in the hospital and needed a tutor. She’d convinced herself that his bored flirting might actually mean something, even though she hadn’t even liked him…at least, not that much. But she did like and admire his grandfather. She’d do almost anything for Professor McCade. She’d even face Luke and all the memories he represented.
She marched up the walkway with the thought that Luke might have put her in a tailspin when they were younger, but not anymore. Despite her resolve, her pulse hammered in her throat as the door swung open and his broad shoulders filled the space.
“Yes?” he said without a spark of recognition in his brown eyes.
Nicki shifted her feet, torn between an unsettling attraction to Luke’s athletic grace and fallen-angel looks, and an obligation to his grandfather. Darn him. If there were any justice in the world he would have developed a paunch and a receding hairline.
“Whatever it is, we’re not buying anything.” He began to close the door and Nicki stuck out her hand.
“No, wait, I’m not a salesman. That is, a saleswoman, or should it be a…a s-salesperson?” she stuttered as his brow gathered into a frown. Swell, she sounded like an idiot. “I’m here about the yard sale a few months ago.”
“Oh.” Luke sighed. “Look, we appreciate people bringing things back that Grandfather shouldn’t have sold, but I’m sure it’s all right if you keep whatever it is. He’s confused and not himself, but the valuable stuff is still here.”
“No, it isn’t.”
His eyebrows shot high. “Excuse me?”
Nicki cleared her throat. If anything, he was more gorgeous than ever; small crinkles at the corners of his eyes and a few strands of silver in his black hair made him look solid and dependable.
No.
A flutter of alarm skirted her mind.
She couldn’t afford to think anything positive about him. Luke McCade had always made her want things she didn’t have. Somebody to love and want her, as much as she loved and wanted him. To belong. Luke served as a reminder that it might never happen. She was alone in the world, while he belonged to a large, loving family. Now he’d come back from Chicago to help his grandfather, showing that he wasn’t as selfish as she’d always thought.
“May I come in?”
Nicki stiffened when Luke hesitated, then took a calming breath. She had a bad habit of overreacting when her confidence was shaken; friends said her pride could make her as bristly as a pincushion. It was a holdover from always being the odd kid out when she was a child.
“I’m not a thief or con artist or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she said finally, trying to sound reasonable.
“I didn’t think you were. It’s just…” Luke shrugged and stepped back, opening the door wider.
Nicki had never seen the interior of the McCade house, and she looked about curiously. Inside, the foyer was big and airy with rooms opening off it, and through one of the archways Nicki saw her old professor dozing in a chair. He was a lovely man who’d devoted himself to art and teaching…quite the opposite of his eldest grandson, who had gained a reputation as a hard-nosed businessman interested solely in profit margins. She knew this because the local newspaper often ran articles about him, and his name was regularly in the Chicago paper she read.
“This way,” Luke said, motioning in the opposite direction.
“How is Mr. McCade doing?” she asked as she was led to the kitchen.
“Fine,” he said, giving her a careful look. “Do you know my grandfather?”
She put the package on the table. “We’re acquainted.” It was the truth, but only part of it. She’d been a shy student in the back of Professor McCade’s classes, trying to avoid notice. But the lessons he’d taught about the beauty of art and the human spirit would stay with her forever. “I…um, took all of his courses at the college before he retired. Plus, it’s a small town,” she added.
“Yes, it is,” Luke said slowly.
Drat.
She didn’t want to get him thinking. If he remembered her, he’d remember his nickname for her…Little Miss Four-Point-O. She’d just hated that name, which had naturally pleased Mr. Perfect Captain of the high school football team to no end. Of course, that probably was the point of calling her names in the first place.
“Anyway, I’m here about the picture frame I bought.” She ripped the brown paper from the face of the package and held it up for him to look at.
“It’s nice, I suppose,” he murmured, barely giving the frame and painting a glance.
Nicki rolled her eyes. Luke was certainly obtuse about the fine points. Maybe it had something to do with him being a land developer. No doubt when someone was tearing down buildings and putting up strip malls, subtlety didn’t have much value. On the other hand, maybe it was because he was an ex-jock. Her ex-husband had been a sports guy like Luke, and he’d possessed the sensitivity of a steamroller.
Along with a few other undesirable qualities.
Sighing, she looked Luke square in the eye.
“It isn’t about the frame. I mean, that’s why I bought it, but that’s not…” Her voice trailed off as she tried to collect her thoughts. “The thing is, when I examined the painting I discovered it was quite valuable. Take a look at the signature.”
Leaning forward, he pulled a bit of paper away from the lower right-hand corner of the canvas. “A. Metlock. So?”
“So, Arthur Metlock was one of the finest American impressionists of his day.”
