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“I won’t marry you!”
Halfway across the churchyard, Mattie heard Jared calling her name. She didn’t stop until she heard his footsteps behind her. She turned to find him towering over her.
“Listen to me, Mattie. We’re going back into that church and we’re—”
“No!”
“You can’t raise this baby by yourself!”
“Yes, I can!” She looked up into his face and saw that Jared was as angry as she.
“Listen to me—”
“No, you listen to me,” she told him. “I have a home and a business. I have friends to help me. I’m perfectly capable of raising this baby myself. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying. You don’t know what you’re up against.”
Mattie reined in her temper. “This doesn’t concern you. Everyone thinks this baby is my husband’s, and that suits me fine.”
“Well, it doesn’t suit me at all!”
The Widow’s Little Secret
Harlequin Historical #571
Praise for Judith Stacy’s recent works
The Blushing Bride
“…lovable characters that grab your heartstrings…a fun read all the way.”
—Rendezvous
The Dreammaker
“…a delightful story of the triumph of love.”
—Rendezvous
The Heart of a Hero
“Judith Stacy is a fine writer with both polished style and heartwarming sensitivity.”
—Bestselling author Pamela Morsi
#572 CELTIC BRIDE
Margo Maguire
#573 THE LAWMAN TAKES A WIFE
Anne Avery
#574 LADY POLLY
Nicola Cornick
The Widow’s Little Secret
Judith Stacy
Available from Harlequin Historicals and
JUDITH STACY
Outlaw Love #360
The Marriage Mishap #382
The Heart of a Hero #444
The Dreammaker #486
Written in the Heart #500
The Blushing Bride #521
One Christmas Wish #531
“Christmas Wishes”
The Last Bride in Texas #541
The Nanny #561
The Widow’s Little Secret #571
To David, Judy and Stacy—the greatest family
Contents
Chapter One
Nevada, 1887
It just wasn’t right, being envious of a dead
