Wife By Contract. Raye Morgan

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      All Chynna Needed To Do Was Figure Out How A Woman Was Supposed To Act Around The Stranger She Planned To Marry. Letter to Reader Title Page About the Author Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Copyright

      All Chynna Needed To Do Was Figure Out How A Woman Was Supposed To Act Around The Stranger She Planned To Marry.

      She had to make the man fall in love with her. That was the crux of the matter. But she didn’t think she could manage a coy look if her life depended on it.

      

      But her life did depend on it. Her life and the lives of her two babies.

      

      She was going to have to make herself irresistible. She would clean like crazy, cook something unforgettable, show off her great kids and he wouldn’t be able to resist.

      

      And she would have him in wedding clothes by the end of the week....

      Dear Reader,

      LET’S CELEBRATE FIFTEEN YEARS

      OF SILHOUETTE DESIRE...

      with some of your favorite authors and new stars of tomorrow. For the next three months, we present a spectacular lineup of unforgettably romantic love stones—led by three MAN OF THE MONTH titles.

      

      In October, Diana Palmer returns to Desire with The Patient Nurse, which features an unforgettable hero. Next month, Ann Major continues her bestselling CHILDREN OF DESTINY series with Nobody’s Child. And in December, Dixie Browning brings us her special brand of romantic charm in Look What the Stork Brought.

      

      But Desire is not only MAN OF THE MONTH! It’s new love stories from talented authors Christine Rimmer, Helen R. Myers, Raye Morgan, Metsy Hingle and new star Katherine Garbera in October.

      

      In November, don’t miss sensuous surprises from BJ James, Lass Small, Susan Crosby, Eileen Wilks and Shawna Delacorte.

      

      And December will be filled with Christmas cheer from Manreen Child, Kathryn Jensen, Christine Pacheco, Anne Eames and Barbara McMahon.

      

      Remember, here at Desire we’ve been committed to bringing you the very best in unforgettable romance and sizzling sensuality. And to add to the excitement of fifteen wonderful years, we offer the chance for you to win some wonderful prizes. Look in the pages at the end of the book for details.

      

      And may we have many more years of happy reading together!

      Senior Editor

      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

      Wife By Contract

      Raye Morgan

      

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      RAYE MORGAN favors settings in the West, which is where she has spent most of her life. She admits to a penchant for Western heroes, believing that whether he’s a rugged outdoorsman or a smooth city sophisticate, he tends to have a streak of wildness that the romantic heroine can’t resist taming. She’s been married to one of those Western men for twenty years and is busy raising four more in her Southern California home.

      One

      Joe Camden hadn’t expected to get a lump in his throat. Sentimental emotions weren’t usually his style. But something happened when he got out of his car and looked down at the old ramshackle house.

      Home. That was what it was, even though he’d been gone for fifteen years, even though he’d run as fast and as far away as he could when he’d had the chance.

      “Ah, you’ll miss it,” Annie Andrews had said, shaking her gray head and laughing at him the day he took off. He’d stopped by to get supplies for his hitchhiking odyssey in her tiny combination post office and general store. “Alaska will call you back.”

      “Not me,” he’d said, sure enough of that to grin at her. “It’s bright lights and big cities for me from now on.”

      “And girls,” she added for him, laughing again. “It’s true, we don’t have enough girls here for you young men. It’s no wonder you all run off.”

      His wide mouth twisted in a half smile as he remembered that day and thought of all the things that he’d been through since. Now he was back, and Annie was half-right. The Alaska grandeur, the white peaks, the forest green meadows, the water tumbling through the gorges still had the power to stir him. But it really wasn’t home any longer. He belonged in L.A.

      Still, everything was the same as ever. It hardly looked as though anything had changed since he’d left. The old house where his brother, Greg, still lived looked as beat-up as ever. Evidence suggested Greg was as allergic to responsibility as their father had been—but then, Joe hadn’t expected anything else. In fact, that was why he’d come back.

      A rustling caught his ear, and he glanced toward the nearby trees. He caught a glimpse of what looked like brown fur in the underbrush, and the past came tumbling back to him even more strongly.

      “Champ,” he murmured, remembering his childhood pet, the energetic brown dog who would hide in the bushes and then jump out at him, licking his face and wriggling in his arms. Without thinking, without wanting to remember that Champ had died when he was eighteen, he went toward the brush and stuck his hand into the leaves where he’d seen the movement, as though he could find that puppy just as he had so often so many years ago, as though he thought he might be able to reach back into yesterday and pull the dog up by the scruff of the neck.

      “Champ?”

      Champ didn’t answer, but something with teeth bit down on his hand, and he yanked it back, swearing. “Ouch. What the hell...?”

      A small boy emerged from the underbrush, running as fast as his chubby little legs could take him, his brown hair bouncing on his head as he ran straight for the house.

      “Hey,” Joe called after him, but the little boy didn’t turn. He ran on, stumbling