скачать книгу бесплатно
For the Sake of His Child
Bonnie K. Winn
After tragedy deprives her of the two people she loves most, Brynn Alder decides to leave her old life behind and start over in Texas Hill Country. Here she'll help troubled kids get their lives in order–it's the only way she can make sense of everything that's happened to her.But she knows that she'll be able to help only if she doesn't get emotionally involved. Of course, that's before she meets Jake McKenzie and his daughter, Andrea.Jake wants to be a good father, but he needs Brynn's help. And when circumstances force him to stay at the isolated ranch with Brynn and Andrea, emotions build and refuse to be denied.
“Andrea’s starting to heal. Thanks to you.”
Brynn’s anxiety was still strong. “Partially. Some of it’s in her. But the most important step is still up to you.”
Jake looked puzzled. “And you don’t think I’ll do my part?”
Wanting so much for Andrea, Brynn battled between diplomacy and truth. “I know you’ll do everything in your power right now because you’ve nearly lost her. But what about later on? Will the next project in Kenya mean more than Andrea’s sense of stability?”
“That was a low blow.”
“I didn’t mean it to be. I’m just trying to be realistic. Your job takes you far away. And I don’t think Andrea can bear that anymore.”
He blinked. “You’re saying I have to choose between my career and my daughter?”
Dear Reader,
In the life of a writer, fact and fiction occasionally race along hand in hand. And when emotion begs to join them, a story grows. Such was the case in For the Sake of His Child.
Blessed with the world’s most wonderful friends, I’ve shared some of their generosity and experiences. Perhaps you’ll recognize yourself in the pages. Friends reaching out to friends. What could be better? Unless maybe it’s the love such friends find with the men in their lives. Men we cherish as we shop, talk endlessly over lunch and, even better, when we go home at night.
Please join me as I celebrate the unmatched joys of romance, friendship, single parenting and the quest for that one special love.
And to my own Mr. Right, keep the lights on, sweetheart. I’ll be home soon.
Sincerely,
Bonnie K. Winn
For the Sake of His Child
Bonnie K. Winn
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Jean Baker, for friendship, for giving, for sharing,
for always caring. I miss you, Texas girl.
And to Laura Shin, thank you.
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
PROLOGUE
San Antonio, Texas
GLANCING IN THE REARVIEW mirror, Kirk Alder accelerated. The same dark green car remained close behind. The one that had tailed him from his studio.
Searching his memory, Kirk was almost positive the car hadn’t been there before then. Not at the house, not at—
The deceptively fast Cadillac sped even closer.
Kirk reached for his cell phone. Cursing, he realized he’d left it behind at the studio, stashed in his camera bag. His mission had been so urgent he hadn’t bothered with either.
Speeding up again, he wished he’d driven the Eclipse. The van’s steering was clumsy and he didn’t want to try any evasive maneuvers with the boxy vehicle. But it was Brynn’s day out with Sarah. His wife and daughter loved the sleek lines of the Eclipse and they’d taken off for a day of shopping early that morning. And at the time he hadn’t thought he’d have to evade a pursuer.
He glanced ahead on the freeway, spotting the exit he needed not too far away. Switching lanes at the last minute, he hoped to outwit the driver behind him. But the Cadillac stuck right behind him on the two-lane overpass.
It was time—past time—to talk with the police. He’d already waited too long. The police station was close.
A slow-moving eighteen-wheeler hogged the right lane, the one he had to be in to exit. Swearing, he looked to the left, hoping to pass the truck and speed ahead.
But the dark green Cadillac was still on his tail.
Before he could guess the driver’s intention, the Cadillac slammed into the side of the van.
Kirk wrenched the steering wheel, trying to regain control. The van swayed on the high overpass.
Trapped behind the huge truck as he was, with the Cadillac boxing him in, there was no escape.
Desperately clenching the steering wheel with all his strength, he tried to prepare for the next blow. This time the heavy car made a direct hit on the driver’s-side door.
The sounds of tearing metal and shattering glass barely penetrated, blocked out by his last conscious thought: It wasn’t supposed to end this way! God, please let Brynn understand…please.
CHAPTER ONE
Two years later, Walburg, Texas
THERE WAS A TIME when Brynn Alder had not been sad. A time before her life had been stolen. A time when she had reason to be happy.
Tall French doors stood ajar, opening onto the cobbled brick terrace. Black and white chickadees perched in the huge, aged oak tree, sharing morsels from the well-stocked feeder. As Brynn watched, a blue jay swooped toward them and they darted away. Sometimes, when all was still, the chickadees tentatively breached the boundary between their world and hers, hopping inside from the terrace, crossing the warm wood floor of her studio. They always made her smile.
Although Brynn had known the Texas Hill Country was beautiful before she’d moved here nine months earlier from San Antonio, her true appreciation hadn’t developed until she’d settled in this house, drawn by the security it offered.
“Brynn, I’m going to get it this time,” thirteen-year-old Emily insisted, panting as she tried to shape the slippery clay. It was time for the child to go home, to move past her troubles now that she had the coping skills she’d learned from Brynn. But not before she had one more try at the potter’s wheel.
“Savor the feel of the clay in your hands,” Brynn reminded her. It was the sensation, not the end result, that she wanted the girl to carry with her. Brynn closed her eyes, picturing not Emily, but her own daughter, Sarah, sitting at the wheel, a determined, expectant expression on her young face.
“Rats!” Emily interrupted the fantasy. “I blew another one.” She held up a lumpy, shapeless object. “You’re right. This isn’t for everybody.”
Brynn smiled gently, glad Emily would take away this important concept. Ignoring the emptiness in her heart, she reached for the piece of clay. “And learning that lesson makes this a wonderful memento of our time here together. May I keep it?”
A gigantic smile erupted on Emily’s freckled face. “You really want to keep it?”
“Absolutely!” Brynn glanced at the clock on the studio wall. “But now you have to pack.” She had given in to Emily’s request for one last walk, horse ride and session at the wheel. “Your parents should be here any minute.”
“Okay.”
Emily was a changed child. When she’d come to Brynn six weeks earlier, there had been no trace of a smile and no willingness to obey the simple rules Brynn insisted upon. It was ironic, her ability to read what other people’s troubled children needed. If only she’d been so attuned to her own.
It was too difficult to go there, to relive the pain and loss. Instead, she followed Emily up the stairs, then detoured to her own room. Quickly Brynn exchanged her smock for a fresh T-shirt. She made few concessions to ceremony these days, since the remote location of the house seldom made them necessary. There were times it seemed she lived on the edge of the world. And despite the counsel of family and friends, she needed the solitude.
Loneliness wasn’t a factor. Brynn knew she’d be equally alone in a crowded room. When she’d lost the ones she loved, a chasm had rent her soul. And no one could fill that void.
One of her beloved dogs, a Border collie named Virgil, pushed his muzzle into her hand. She patted his silky head and his tail wagged in silent support as they walked down the stairs together.
Brynn had only enough time to fix some iced tea before the doorbell rang. The Hills, Emily’s parents, could scarcely contain their anxiety.
But before Brynn could reassure them, Emily rushed down, her shoes making a noisy clatter on the wooden stairs. Running forward, she hugged her parents eagerly.
Surprise changed to gratitude as the Hills returned Emily’s embrace, the room filling with enthusiastic voices.
A few minutes later, Emily’s father still looked stunned as he glanced toward Brynn. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Enjoy your beautiful daughter,” Brynn replied.
After accepting thanks, she watched the trio get into their car, then waved until they were out of sight. Once back inside, with the door closed, she found that the silence seemed louder than the noise the happy family had made. Only the clicking of Virgil’s toenails broke the stillness.
Brynn strolled through the studio and onto the terrace. The house was too quiet, as it always was when a child left. And this one had stayed longer than most. As a result, Brynn was behind in her work. Contracts to three galleries had yet to be filled and she couldn’t afford to lose the work. However, once the commissioned pieces were completed, she needed to rest. She couldn’t mentor another child unless she had some downtime first.
Sitting in a comfortable, deep rocker, she surveyed the open green field before her. Her other three dogs were playing in the long grass, chasing rabbits or each other. Virgil was the one who glued himself to her side, keeping watch. Still, all the animals had adjusted well to the move. And to think less than a year earlier she’d had no pets. Now she couldn’t imagine not having them around.
Virgil had been a gift from her best friend, Julia Ford. Worried about Brynn after Sarah’s death, Julia had brought over the faithful dog. Unable to face the responsibility of having to care for another living creature and perhaps failing it, Brynn had determinedly headed for the shelter where Julia had purchased the dog, intending to return him. However, as she walked the aisles of caged animals, her tender heart had betrayed her.
Instead of returning Virgil, Brynn had brought home three additional dogs destined for destruction that day, along with two cats marked for a similar fate. And now they were her family.
A flash of sable surfaced in the field and she smiled. Shamus, her big, rambunctious setter mix, was galloping away from his smaller playmates. Brynn was indebted to her friend for far more than her pets. This was Julia’s ranch—loaned to Brynn without hesitation or limitations.
Brynn’s cell phone rang, interrupting her musing. She considered ignoring it, but knew she no longer had that luxury. The ranch phone rarely rang. Julia’s visits were sporadic and most callers knew that the cell phone was the best way to reach Brynn.
The man’s authoritative voice was one she didn’t recognize, and his request one she was hoping to avoid.
She listened to him for a few moments. “I’m sorry, Mr.… is it McKenzie? But I really can’t take on another child at this time.” Even now, exhaustion seeped through her bones. Helping a child took every bit of her limited emotional reserves.
“I was told you are the best,” McKenzie responded.
Hearing determination in his tone, she winced, knowing how desperate some parents were for help. “I appreciate the compliment—”
“It’s not a compliment. I wouldn’t be bothering you if I had an alternative. I’m not crazy about sending my child away. But she needs you.”
Brynn swallowed, hating to refuse, but knowing she had to. Battered by the events of the past year, her emotions were fragile. Although she volunteered willingly, she knew her limits. “Mr. McKenzie, the same people who recommended me can find you someone else.”
“You have a unique approach, Mrs. Alder. No one else takes a child on a one-to-one basis. Group programs haven’t helped my daughter. She’s been in the highly recommended ones and the mildly recommended ones. They didn’t make a dent.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. McKenzie.”
“This can’t be discussed on the phone,” he replied. “I can be at your place tomorrow—”
“No!” Fear made the word a screech. She calmed her voice. “As I said, I can’t help her. Goodbye, Mr. McKenzie.” She shut the phone, unwilling to hear more. Feeling the tightness in her throat, she made herself breathe more slowly.
Brynn had reluctantly given her phone number to Julia, family and a few doctors, but she’d never divulged her new home’s location. Even her mail went to a post office box in San Antonio, which Julia checked. Her friend alerted her to anything that needed an immediate response, then brought the mail when she visited. And so far, it had worked. No one had bothered her here.
Breathing normally now, Brynn rubbed Virgil’s ears. “I’m being ridiculous,” she told the dog. “There’s no way Mr. McKenzie or anyone else can find us here.”
Still, she felt better once she’d rounded up all the pets and securely locked them inside for the evening.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING Jake McKenzie wasn’t in any better humor, having driven through San Antonio’s rush hour and then another three hours to the outlying edge of the Hill Country.
