скачать книгу бесплатно
Meant-To-Be Baby
Lois Richer
A soldier or a father?Maybe he can be both in this Rocky Mountain Haven storyPregnant and abandoned, Victoria Archer’s focused on helping with her aunts’ foster outreach program—not finding love. But there’s something undeniably charming about Major Ben Adams. Certain he’s not suited for fatherhood, Ben’s searching for a loving home for his recently orphaned nephew. But could he, Victoria and her unborn baby be the little boy’s perfect family?
A soldier or a father?
Maybe he can be both in this Rocky Mountain Haven story
Pregnant and abandoned, Victoria Archer’s focused on helping with her aunts’ foster outreach program—not finding love. But there’s something undeniably charming about Major Ben Adams. Certain he’s not suited for fatherhood, Ben’s searching for a loving home for his recently orphaned nephew. But could he, Victoria and her unborn baby be the little boy’s perfect family?
LOIS RICHER loves traveling, swimming and quilting, but mostly she loves writing stories that show God’s boundless love for His precious children. As she says, “His love never changes or gives up. It’s always waiting for me. My stories feature imperfect characters learning that love doesn’t mean attaining perfection. Love is about keeping on keeping on.” You can contact Lois via email, loisricher@gmail.com, or on Facebook (loisricherauthor).
Also By Lois Richer (#uf33ad4ea-6a1f-526b-bc15-853db8182305)
Love Inspired
Rocky Mountain Haven
Meant-to-Be Baby
Wranglers Ranch
The Rancher’s Family Wish
Her Christmas Family Wish
The Cowboy’s Easter Family Wish
The Twins’ Family Wish
Family Ties
A Dad for Her Twins
Rancher Daddy
Gift-Wrapped Family
Accidental Dad
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Meant-to-Be Baby
Lois Richer
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08554-0
MEANT-TO-BE BABY
© 2018 Lois M. Richer
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.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Victoria’s hand touched her stomach fleetingly.
“You still haven’t told your aunts.” It wasn’t a question.
“Don’t,” she begged quietly, and when it seemed Ben would argue, she turned her attention to Mikey. “Very nice,” she encouraged, hugging his tiny body close for a second before he wiggled away.
“C’n I ski?” he asked suddenly. “’Cause a boy in church tole me he skis with other kids an’ he ’vited me. Maybe he could be my friend?” he said wistfully.
“What a good idea.” Victoria looked at Ben and found him studying her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable. “Don’t you think?” she prodded.
“Uh, yeah. Skiing. Sure.” Ben’s gaze held hers for a second, then settled on Mikey. “We could do that, I guess.”
Mikey ran around the room, cheering. Victoria stayed put, staring at her hands, unsettled by the expression she’d seen on Ben’s face and her response to it.
He was a great guy. She liked him a lot. But there could be nothing between them but friendship. She was going to be a mom.
And soon Ben would leave.
And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
—Romans 8:28
Dear Reader (#uf33ad4ea-6a1f-526b-bc15-853db8182305),
Hi there! Welcome to The Haven, where God works things together to help His children. I love the Canadian Rockies. There’s something about those craggy peaks and teal-blue lakes that reminds me that God is far bigger and more powerful than I can imagine.
Victoria needed to return to The Haven to recover her faith and trust in God—and in love. It wasn’t easy, until she accepted that God loved her. Period. Not because she earned it but because God is love. Ben, too, struggled with acceptance of himself and his past failures. He feared parenting his nephew because he might fail again. It took him some time to realize that’s why God’s in charge.
I hope you’ll return to The Haven for Adele’s story. This good-natured chef wants a perfect family, but maybe perfect isn’t part of God’s plan for her life at all.
Blessings,
Lois Richer
This book is dedicated to Dorothea, who always believed God would make a way.
Contents
Cover (#u98065dc0-1d2c-57ba-856a-57b11ebc9653)
Back Cover Text (#uccfc5646-f2ae-5651-8b7c-fb6a8e282d85)
About the Author (#ub2cbbec7-cfca-5c87-ad1e-27c583253308)
Booklist (#u5eb9b5e3-9e4e-581c-8e52-f2caf08db677)
Title Page (#ud68c60a0-d356-5c7f-99f5-190ea7cd8c69)
Copyright (#u0f2aab29-b589-57c8-957d-fbdfefe01e9a)
Introduction (#u7993cc48-8431-5eec-bf32-13347dfa9bf8)
Bible Verse (#u5173b5f6-cce1-5e42-9175-f76133c4585a)
Dear Reader (#u044e5c5d-9705-5cb4-97be-9b7e727761ba)
Dedication (#u8c7ae1fe-2495-5be7-94a7-8bf0a688627a)
Chapter One (#uad8e8ef7-2c01-5401-a442-2a233db78ab8)
Chapter Two (#uf3d729d2-dcf7-5d6a-aacf-efea86204d88)
Chapter Three (#ud6b008cf-15d6-5bc4-8d1c-09badd28e2ba)
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 Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#uf33ad4ea-6a1f-526b-bc15-853db8182305)
“We have to do something.” Victoria Archer cradled her mug against her cheek and surveyed her two younger foster sisters. “This time, we were able to run home in time to help Aunt Tillie and Margaret clean up from that burst pipe. But what happens if—when—they have another emergency and none of us can make it back so fast?”
“It is January in the Canadian Rockies,” Adele agreed in a gloomy tone. “And they’re predicting a storm. If the aunties had an accident—”
“Or got sick.” The awful thought silenced Olivia for a moment. “So what do we do?”
“I need to think about it.” Victoria rose. “I’m going for a walk.”
“Still proving you’re tough enough to take whatever comes, huh?” Olivia shook her head. “Even the weather, Vic?”
“I always think better when I walk,” Victoria defended.
“Wait. How’d you get here so fast, Victoria?” Adele studied her intently. “You live in Vancouver. When we spoke two days ago, you were settling some issue with a hotel in Toronto. Suddenly today you’re here.”
Time for the truth.
“Toronto was a simple fix and my last job with Strenga Hotels. I’ve taken a leave of absence from them. And Derek. He and I broke up.” She hurried on. “I don’t want to talk about that except to say that I’m now free to stay here at The Haven to help the aunts.”
Avoiding their compassionate looks, Victoria pulled her gear off a wall hook: a white parka with a fur-trimmed hood, a thick red scarf, warm double-knit red mittens and knee-high insulated boots. Once dressed, she whistled for Spot and Dot, the two springer spaniels her foster aunts had rescued from a puppy mill three years ago. A glance at her sisters’ worried faces made her smile.
“I really am okay. How about some of your scrumptious chicken potpie for supper, Chef Adele?” she suggested as she grasped the doorknob, eager to escape their pity.
“Perfect for a stormy day.” Her sister began pulling out ingredients. “Be careful, Sis.”
“Always. See you later.” Victoria tucked her cell phone in her pocket and switched on the outside lights before leaving the big stone manor by the back door. The glow of the antique lanterns around The Haven chased away late afternoon shadows and lit a corresponding warmth inside her.
Home. Exhilaration bumped up her heart rate. Home. No Derek to consider. No pressing issue to tear her away from this glorious place. Well, there was that one huge issue looming...
The buffeting wind and whirling snowflakes turned the mountain foothills into a massive snow globe and ended her doubts. She loved The Haven. Her foster aunts’ huge estate encompassed their massive stone home and acres of foothills and forest with the majestic tips of the Canadian Rocky Mountains in the distance.
Victoria smiled as the dogs bounded through the snowbanks, in and out of the spruce trees lining the driveway, chasing each other in circles but always returning to check on her before racing off again.
Yet despite the beauty surrounding her, thoughts of the future plagued Victoria. At the moment, her only certainty was that she would not return to the hotel chain that had employed her for five years. Her leave of absence would be permanent. There was nothing and no one there for her anymore. Derek had made that perfectly clear when she told him she was pregnant with his child.
“You’re the famous fixer, Victoria. You’ve built a reputation in the hotel business by resolving issues with unhappy guests, broken reservation systems, under-functioning staff and a whole lot more. So handle this. Without me.”
And when Victoria said she was keeping the baby, he’d dumped her. It took Derek less than a week to find a new romantic love.
So be it. Now her future would include single motherhood.
