Boot Scootin' Secret Baby. Natalie Patrick

      “My boots!” Letter to Reader Title Page Letter to Reader 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 Copyright

      “My boots!”

      Jaycie burst through the doorway, thundering to the rescue of her prized cowboy boots.

      

      Cub gaped at the small girl. He looked as stunned as if he’d been kicked in the head by a bull.

      

      Alyssa met his gaze. “Congratulations, Cub Goodacre, you’re a father.”

      

      All but one corner of his mind went numb. He didn’t know the first thing about children. He was a cowboy, damn it. No way could he be a—

      

      “A what?”

      

      “A father,” she repeated.

      

      “My boots!” The toddler strained pudgy fingers toward the boots in his white-knuckled grasp.

      

      “You mean this is—”

      

      “Mine!” the child demanded.

      

      “Yours,” Alyssa declared.

      

      Joy rose to mingle with a pain so fierce it registered as heat in Cub’s chest. Despite the sudden stirrings of parental emotion, something in him shuddered.

      

      A life-scarred loner like him had no business being a father....

      Dear Reader,

      This month, Romance is chock-full of excitement. First, VIRGIN BRIDES continues with The Bride’s Second Thought, an emotionally compelling story by bestselling author Elizabeth August. When a virginal bride-to-be finds her fiancé with another woman, she flees to the mountains for refuge...only to be stranded with a gorgeous stranger who gives her second thoughts about a lot of things....

      Next, Natalie Patrick offers up a delightful BUNDLES OF JOY with Boot Scootin‘Secret Baby. Bull rider Jacob “Cub” Goodacre returns to South Dakota for his rodeo hurrah, only to learn he’s still a married man...and father to a two-year-old heart tugger. BACHELOR GULCH, Sandra Steffen’s wonderful Western series, resumes with the story of an estranged couple who had wed for the sake of their child...but wonder if they can rekindle their love in Nick’s Long-Awaited Honeymoon.

      Rising star Kristin Morgan delivers a tender, sexy tale about a woman whose biological clock is booming and the best friend who consents to being her Shotgun Groom. If you want a humorous—red-hot!—read, try Vivian Leiber’s The 6’2”, 200 lb. Challenge. The battle of the sexes doesn’t get any better! Finally, Lisa Kaye Laurel’s fairy-tale series, ROYAL WEDDINGS, draws to a close with The Irresistible Prince, where the woman hired to find the royal a wife realizes she is the perfect candidate!

      In May, VIRGIN BRIDES resumes with Annette Broadrick, and future months feature titles by Suzanne Carey and Judy Christenberry, among others. So keep coming back to Romance, where you’re sure to find the classic tales you love, told in fresh, exciting ways.

      Enjoy!

      Joan Marlow Golan Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance

      Please address questions and book requests to:

      Silhouette Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

      Boot Scootin’ Secret Baby

      Natalie Patrick

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      NATALIE PATRICK believes in romance and has firsthand experience to back up that belief. She met her husband in January and married him in April of that same year—they would have eloped sooner, but friends persuaded them to have a real wedding. Ten years and two children later, she knows she’s found her real romantic hero.

      

      Amid the clutter in her work space, she swears that her headstone will probably read: “She left this world a brighter place but not necessarily a cleaner one.” She certainly hopes her books brighten her readers’ days.

      Dear Reader,

      

      Ah, the terrible twos. I remember them well—from my children’s toddlerhood, not my own. Me? I’m sure I was every inch an angel, unlike little boot scootin’ Jaycie Goodacre. Cub and Alyssa really have their hands full with that one, and I wish, as an experienced mom, I could give them some sage advice.

      

      But honestly, I don’t recall either of my children being any more “terrible” at two than at one or at three or what have you. Maybe I’m seeing things through a sentimental haze—or maybe by comparison to their current preteen years, I have come to appreciate the open curiosity, the unbridled enthusiasm, the strident quest for self-determination...and the long afternoon naps of my children’s toddler days.

      

      So, I think in the end the only advice I would give Alyssa and Cub is to love their child and each other and to savor these times—because before they know it, Jaycie will be asking for the keys to Daddy’s brand-new pickup truck!

      Prologue

      To Jacob “Cub” Goodacre

      Whereabouts: Unknown

      Dear Cub,

      Come home.

      Didn’t you swear to me that when you’d won enough money bull riding to buy a ranch and settle down, you’d be back? Almost three years have passed since then, Cub. Your riding has made you darned near a legend. So, when will you come home?