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His Two Little Blessings
Mia Ross
Can he find love again—with two adorable helpers?A Liberty Creek romanceWhen the school board threatens to cut her art program, Emma Calhoun plans to fight for the job she loves. And with her student’s father, banker Rick Marshall, on board to help, she might just succeed. But even as the handsome widower and his sweet little girls burrow their way into her heart, will he allow himself to love once more?
Can he find love again—with two adorable helpers?
A Liberty Creek romance
When the school board threatens to cut her art program, Emma Calhoun plans to fight for the job she loves. And with her student’s father, banker Rick Marshall, on board to help, she might just succeed. But even as the handsome widower and his sweet little girls burrow their way into her heart, will he allow himself to love once more?
MIA ROSS loves great stories. She enjoys reading about fascinating people, long-ago times and exotic places. But only for a little while, because her reality is pretty sweet. Married to her college sweetheart, she’s the proud mom of two amazing kids, whose schedules keep her hopping. Busy as she is, she can’t imagine trading her life for anyone else’s—and she has a pretty good imagination. You can visit her online at miaross.com (http://www.miaross.com).
Also By Mia Ross (#uc1a6eb03-5c3f-56c9-9c98-6646baf39379)
Liberty Creek
Mending the Widow’s Heart
The Bachelor’s Baby
His Two Little Blessings
Oaks Crossing
Her Small-Town Cowboy
Rescued by the Farmer
Hometown Holiday Reunion
Falling for the Single Mom
Barrett’s Mill
Blue Ridge Reunion
Sugar Plum Season
Finding His Way Home
Loving the Country Boy
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
His Two Little Blessings
Mia Ross
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08437-6
HIS TWO LITTLE BLESSINGS
© 2018 Andrea Chermak
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’d hate to be a third wheel.”
“Technically, you’d be the fourth wheel,” Rick corrected Emma, adding a mischievous grin. “And if you want to come, we’d love to have you. The girls, I mean,” he amended quickly.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you honestly that clueless, or are you just messing with me?”
He laughed out loud. “Okay, you got me. It’s nice to have another grown-up to talk to, and you’re great company.”
“Really? But I’m so quiet.”
“And funny and sweet. I have to say, I’ve never met anyone quite like you, Emma. You’re one of a kind.”
“Does that work on the other women you’ve known?”
Suddenly, the humor left his expression. “Only one.”
“Sarah?” When he nodded, she steadied her voice. “I’m honored. May I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Do you think you’ll ever be able to think of her and smile?”
He took a moment to consider that and nodded. “Someday. People tell me the pain eases, but I didn’t believe that. Until recently, anyway.”
Dear Reader (#uc1a6eb03-5c3f-56c9-9c98-6646baf39379),
This is the final Liberty Creek book, and I couldn’t think of a better way to end the Calhoun family’s heartwarming story.
When Emma Calhoun appeared in the first book of the series, I liked her right away. Her quiet strength and resilience in the face of such a serious illness amazed everyone around her, and her unwavering faith was truly inspiring. Being creative and playful in a situation like hers isn’t easy, but those traits made her a great teacher and just the kind of person Rick needed in his life. For him—as for so many—regaining his emotional balance after the tragic loss of his wife felt almost impossible. Emma and his sweet, funny daughters showed him the way, and fortunately he was open-minded enough to follow them.
Maintaining a positive attitude during tough times in our lives can help us to accept what’s happened in the past and move ahead. While today might look bleak, tomorrow things will be better. No matter how slowly we seem to be going, moving forward is the important thing, because going backward simply isn’t an option. While I didn’t intend for this concept to be the theme of this series, it definitely became the unifying aspect of all three stories.
Our history makes us who we are, and the future is something for us to reach toward. The present is where we make our true impact, as we go through each day doing the best we can with the circumstances we find ourselves in. Liberty Creek—and the people who live there—embody this idea perfectly. I hope you’ve enjoyed this charming place, with its frozen-in-time appearance and its warm, friendly people. I know I did.
If you’d like to stop in and see what I’ve been up to, you’ll find me online at www.miaross.com (http://www.miaross.com), Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. While you’re there, send me a message in your favorite format. I’d love to hear from you!
Mia Ross
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
—Luke 1:37
This one’s for you, Dad.
I miss you every day.
Acknowledgments (#uc1a6eb03-5c3f-56c9-9c98-6646baf39379)
To Melissa Endlich and the dedicated staff at Love Inspired. These very talented folks help me make my books everything they can be.
More thanks to the gang at Seekerville (www.seekerville.blogspot.com (http://seekerville.blogspot.ca)), a great place to hang out with readers—and writers.
I’ve been blessed with a wonderful network of supportive, encouraging family and friends. You inspire me every day!
Contents
Cover (#u13a3e35e-646a-5b79-9870-e22c1fdfc864)
Back Cover Text (#ufe17149e-3c90-50f5-af88-4da45600e09b)
About the Author (#u227901a5-35f6-5df3-9a62-5e751bbb4229)
Booklist (#ua2b8fc11-2829-572a-b751-d34c272d9ee6)
Title Page (#u038d2f81-c1a8-59b9-bdb3-210c175bc832)
Copyright (#u904cfe71-b541-5f27-99a6-98dc1eb07a52)
Introduction (#u11d4521a-d4e3-5ad8-92c2-16808291cb8c)
Dear Reader (#u2280ff52-9382-5b7e-8cdc-a991d03e8b57)
Bible Verse (#u0467682e-7ec4-501a-b675-1aa4fab8529a)
Dedication (#u02f4b7b1-1998-5db0-8097-07860c4f803a)
Acknowledgments (#u6d240544-85e3-5b90-9673-c02e6082acf4)
Chapter One (#u968436b9-b1e3-5406-87fb-0a0b250cfea7)
Chapter Two (#u134236fb-9349-512f-a198-4c7dea361253)
Chapter Three (#u08e735dc-7204-5329-bb99-80a074c1ca5b)
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)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#uc1a6eb03-5c3f-56c9-9c98-6646baf39379)
“Miss Calhoun! Miss Calhoun!”
At the sound of a child’s voice calling out her name, Emma looked into the crowd milling around the annual Liberty Creek Arts and Crafts Show. It was a gorgeous New Hampshire day in early May, and there were dozens of kids in the tree-shaded square who might have shouted to her. Being the elementary school’s only art teacher, she knew most of the young ones in town, so it could have been any one of them.
Then she caught sight of a little girl running toward her stand near the white gazebo, hand waving enthusiastically in the air, a riot of blond curls bouncing behind her. When she stopped in front of Emma’s jewelry stand, her cheeks were pink from the exercise, her china-blue eyes shining in excitement as she exhaled a breathless “Hello.”
“Hello to you, too, Caitlin,” Emma replied, stepping out to give the bright kindergartener a hug. “I’m so glad you found me.”
“There’s a lot of people here,” she agreed, glancing around before looking back at Emma. “But my daddy’s tall, so he saw you from way over there.”
She pointed to the edge of the park, and Emma followed the motion to see Rick Marshall, the bank’s new assistant manager, moving toward them, carrying a smaller version of Caitlin in his arms. They’d met a few times at school functions, but she’d never spent more than a few minutes chatting with him. Wearing khaki shorts and a dark blue polo shirt, he had the look of someone who spent his days in suits and ties and was happy to be dressed down for the weekend.
The sun picked up some highlights in his brown hair, not to mention the color of his eyes that echoed his daughters’. His wife was a very fortunate woman, Emma mused as he joined them. “Good afternoon, Mr. Marshall. How are you today?”
“Just fine,” he replied with an easy smile. “And I know I’ve told you at least twice to call me Rick.”
Emma made it a policy to address her students’ parents—especially the good-looking fathers—in a formal way that couldn’t possibly be misinterpreted as flirting. Being twenty-six and single was hard enough without creating the kind of wrong impression that could earn her a reprimand from the district superintendent or a complaint from a jealous wife.
So she ignored the chiding and focused on the adorable cherub he held. “You must be Aubrey. Caitlin has told me a lot about you during art class, but it’s nice to finally meet you in person.”
