90702b2f-94b1-5227-9756-c2eb156aec67">
From stubborn bachelor to family man...
The Comfort Creek Lawmen have a new member
Returning home has stirred painful memories for officer Gabe Banks. But responding to a robbery at Harper Kemp’s bridal shop has upended his world. Harper’s adopted four-year-old is the daughter he never knew existed. Gabe’s no longer the bad boy Harper remembers, but he’s still terrified of commitment. Despite their fierce attraction, Harper must protect her little girl’s heart...and her own.
PATRICIA JOHNS writes from Alberta, Canada. She has her Hon. BA in English literature and currently writes for Harlequin’s Love Inspired, Western Romance and Heartwarming lines. You can find her at patriciajohnsromance.com.
Love Inspired
Comfort Creek Lawmen
Deputy Daddy
The Lawman’s Runaway Bride
The Deputy’s Unexpected Family
His Unexpected Family
The Rancher’s City Girl
A Firefighter’s Promise
The Lawman’s Surprise Family
A Baxter’s Redemption
The Runaway Bride
A Boy’s Christmas Wish
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk
The Deputy’s Unexpected Family
Patricia Johns
ISBN: 978-1-474-08555-7
THE DEPUTY’S UNEXPECTED FAMILY
© 2018 Patricia Johns
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.
“I think I need to apologize.”
“Sure. But there are no apologies necessary.”
“No?” Gabe eyed her uncertainly. “Look, that was... I’m not hitting on you.”
“Great.” She wasn’t sure if that was an improvement.
“That doesn’t clear it up. I mean, yes, I find you attractive. More than attractive—gorgeous. I always have. That’s no excuse.”
“But it wasn’t only you.”
“It wasn’t?” He raised his eyebrows. “You sure about that?”
“I felt it, too. But obviously, we can’t go there.”
“Obviously. You’re my daughter’s mother. And you and I have to maintain a good relationship for her sake. We can’t just try this on for size and change our minds later without it affecting Zoey.”
“We’re blessed, in a way. We don’t have some failed romance between us. We’re better for it.”
“And we need to keep it that way. I know that, and I won’t...let things get complicated. If that makes you feel any better.”
So they were on the same page. But it didn’t exactly fix whatever attraction was stewing between them.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
—James 1:17
It’s hard to wait for blessings, isn’t it? We get impatient, and when we see others enjoying the blessings we pray for, it can be hard. In this book, Harper has to make her peace with the love and romance she wishes she had in her life in the face of her younger sister’s wedding.
When my husband and I got engaged, we told our church family. There was a woman who was a few years older than me—a single mom. She threw her arms around me with a genuine hug, and she said, “I’m so happy for you! May God bless me, too!” That stuck with me, because she was so gracious, so lovely, so genuinely happy for the joy of others, and I thought, I want to be like her.
It might not be easy, but I’ve made it a habit now that when others reach my goals before I do to say, “I’m happy for her! May God remember me, too.” Because I’ve learned that just because God has blessed one person, doesn’t mean His plans for anyone else have diminished.
If you’d like to connect
