Wyatt's Ready-Made Family. Patricia Thayer

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      “It’s not fair to keep you out of your own home, Wyatt.

      “It’s just that I don’t want the kids to get any ideas.”

      He turned to find Maura standing there in her long cotton gown, the candle casting a soft glow over her face. “What kind of ideas?”

      “I don’t want them to think that you’ll always be a part of their lives,” she confessed. “I also don’t want them to think that you’re a live-in boyfriend.”

      Wyatt stepped closer. “You don’t want people to think you’re giving me special favors.”

      Even in the dim candlelight, he could see her blush.

      He wanted so badly to pull her into his arms. “Maura, please believe me, I would never ask you…. I care about you and the kids too much. But with this situation, I can’t see there’s any other answer. If you’re worried about what people will think, tell ’em…that we’re engaged.”

      Dear Reader,

      Here is an acronym that explains why you should not miss the opportunity to enjoy four new love stories from Silhouette Romance so close to Valentine’s Day:

      L is for the last title in Silhouette Romance’s delightful MARRYING THE BOSS’S DAUGHTER six-book continuity. So far, Emily Winters has thwarted her father’s attempts to marry her off. But has Daddy’s little girl finally met her matrimonial match? Find out in One Bachelor To Go (#1706) by Nicole Burnham.

      O is for the ornery cowboy who’s in for a life change when he is forced to share his home…and his heart with a gun-toting single mom and her kids, in Patricia Thayer’s Wyatt’s Ready-Made Family (#1707). It’s the latest title in Thayer’s continuing THE TEXAS BROTHERHOOD miniseries.

      V is for the great vibes you’ll get from Teresa Southwick’s Flirting With the Boss (#1708). This is the second title of Southwick’s IF WISHES WERE…terrific new miniseries in which three friends’ wishes magically come true.

      E is for the emotion you’ll feel as you read Saved by the Baby (#1709) by Linda Goodnight. In this heartwarming story, a desperate young mother’s quest to save her daughter’s life leads her back to the child’s father, her first and only love.

      Read all four of these fabulous stories. I guarantee they’ll get you in the mood for l-o-v-e!

      Mavis C. Allen

      Associate Senior Editor

      Wyatt’s Ready-Made Family

      Patricia Thayer

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To the family newlyweds:

       John and Annie Davenport

       Alissa and Tim Rawlins

       Daniel and Nora Powell

       May this be the beginning to a wonderful life together.

      PATRICIA THAYER

      has been writing for the past sixteen years and has published eighteen books with Silhouette. Her books have been nominated for the National Readers’ Choice Award, Virginia Romance Writers of America’s Holt Medallion, Orange Rose Contest and a prestigious RITA^® Award. In 1997, Nothing Short of a Miracle won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Special Edition.

      Thanks to the understanding men in her life—her husband of thirty-two years, Steve, and her three grown sons and two grandsons—Pat has been able to fulfill her dream of writing romance. Another dream is to own a cabin in Colorado, where she can spend her days writing and her evenings with her favorite hero, Steve. She loves to hear from readers. You can write to her at P.O. Box 6251, Anaheim, CA 92816-0251, or check her Web site at www.patriciathayer.com for upcoming books.

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Epilogue

      Chapter One

      Why hadn’t she gotten the lock fixed?

      Maura Wells huddled with her young children in the upstairs hallway, her hearing honed in on an intruder scavenging around downstairs in the house. Oh, God, why doesn’t he just leave? There was nothing down there worth stealing.

      The slamming of another door pierced the silence. Jeff and Kelly jumped and she hugged them tighter. Then the sound of the intruder’s booted steps passed by the staircase. She held her breath, trying to control her shaking. At the same time praying he wasn’t coming up. She closed her eyes and the image of outraged Darren formed in the blackness. Her heart hammered in her chest. Could he have found her…so soon? Her lawyer had assured her…

      Maura drew several breaths, listening as the unwelcome guest went into the kitchen, then began opening cupboards. It was just like her ex-husband to make her suffer—make her wait for her punishment.

      She’d always known someday he would come after her. Well, she wasn’t just going to stand here helpless. No more. If she’d learned anything at the shelter, it was that she couldn’t let Darren make her a prisoner again, in her own home. But living in the country meant she couldn’t expect a quick response from the police. At least she’d had the presence of mind to call her neighbor, Cade. He was on his way. But how long would it take for him to get here?

      “Mommy, I’m scared,” her daughter whispered. “Make the bad man go away.”

      “I will, honey.” Fighting her own fears, Maura pushed the kids into her bedroom. “You two wait in here. I’m going to make him go away. Don’t come downstairs no matter what. Promise?”

      With nods from both her six-year-old son and her three-year-old daughter, Maura closed them inside her bedroom, then crept cautiously to the hall closet and took out an old rifle that had been left behind before she’d moved in. She suspected it wouldn’t shoot, not that she could pull the trigger anyway, but she wasn’t going to let the intruder know that.

      Maura started down the stairs. With each step, she struggled to slow her breathing. A small table lamp was on, casing a soft glow over the large sparsely furnished living room. Most everything in the house had been given to her secondhand, except the black duffel bag beside the front door.

      That belonged to the visitor.

      She stayed back in the shadows, knowing that if it was her ex-husband, there would be no reasoning with him, but she would do anything she had to do to keep him away from her kids. She listened at the sound of cupboard doors being opened and closed. Then the sound of boots on the bare floors told her he was coming toward her. Here was her chance to catch him by surprise.

      The huge shadow appeared, too big to be Darren. A strange relief ran through Maura, then she realized she faced a different kind of danger. He was a thief, maybe worse. She pointed the rifle at him. “Just hold it right there, mister.”

      “What the hell?” The man stopped at the entrance