Child of Grace. Irene Hannon

      

      Luke regarded Kelsey, the expression in his dark brown eyes unreadable. “Why do I make you nervous?”

      It was foolish to deny the obvious. But neither was she about to explain her reaction to this stranger.

      Luke rested his elbows on the table. “Have I done something to offend or alarm you during our short acquaintance?”

      “No. You haven’t.” She took a deep breath.

      He pinned her with an intent gaze. “This youth center is too important to fall victim to a personality quirk. If you don’t think we can work together, tell me now.”

      Kelsey was taken aback by his candor. From everything she’d heard and seen, he appeared to be a principled, compassionate…safe man. What could she have to fear from a former army doctor?

      She forced herself to meet his eyes. “The truth is, I’m a bit battle-scarred myself. I apologize if I’ve offended you. Maybe we should start over.”

      He gave a slow nod and lifted his coffee cup. “I’ll drink to that.”

      IRENE HANNON

      writes both romance and romantic suspense and is the author of more than thirty-five novels, including the bestselling Heroes of Quantico series—Against All Odds, An Eye For An Eye and In Harm’s Way. A four-time RITA^® Award (the “Oscar” of romantic fiction) finalist, she took home the golden statuette in 2003. Her books have also been honored with a Daphne du Maurier award, two Reviewers’ Choice awards from RT Book Reviews magazine and a HOLT medallion. A former corporate communications executive with a Fortune 500 company, Irene now writes full-time. She and her husband make their home in Missouri. For more information, Irene invites you to visit her website at www.irenehannon.com.

      Child of Grace

      Irene Hannon

      MILLS & BOON

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      Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I consecrated you.

      —Jeremiah 1:5

      To my husband, Tom—

      Thank you for being my partner on this journey called life.

      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

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Epilogue

      Letter to Reader

      Questions for Discussion

      Chapter One

      Someone was on his beach.

      Frowning, Luke Turner stopped halfway down the forty wooden steps that led to what was supposed to be a private beach on the shores of Lake Michigan. But the brim of a large, floppy hat peeked above the wide swath of tall grass between the base of the steps and the open sand. And it was low to the ground. Meaning the woman who owned it was sitting, not just pausing to admire the view while strolling by.

      A definite breach of beach etiquette in this part of the world.

      Stifling a sigh, he resettled the frame of his chair on his shoulder, took a sip of coffee from his mug and resumed his descent. He hadn’t planned to start his visit to Pier Cove with a confrontation. He’d seen enough conflict during his past ten years as an army doctor to last a lifetime. Now that his enlistment was up, he just wanted some quiet time to reacclimatize to civilian life, complete one final mission before heading home to Atlanta and the E.R. job that awaited him, and chill.

      And he’d planned to do a lot of that chilling on his private beach.

      At the bottom of the steps, he stopped again to take another sip of coffee. He didn’t want to make a scene. But he didn’t appreciate trespassers, either. When Mark had offered him the use of his place, he’d said the house next door, which shared the beach, had been unoccupied since the owner died last fall. Luke was well within his rights to tell the woman to move on.

      And maybe this would be easy. It was possible she was a vacationer who didn’t know most Michigan beaches were private. If so, he could direct her to the public beach a short stroll away. Then he could enjoy this sunny Saturday morning in peaceful isolation.

      Fortified by that little pep talk, he followed the narrow path through the swaying grass and stepped onto the sand.

      The interloper was angled slightly away from him, seated in a beach chair, her long, shapely legs stretched in front of her, a pair of flip-flops askew in the sand beside them, as if she’d kicked them off. She was wrapped in a gaudy beach towel to ward off the morning chill Mark had warned him was common on the lakeshore even in mid-July, and her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. Shoulder-length blond hair peeked beneath the brim of her hat, and her head was bent as she perused a book. Beside her, a thermos was stuck into the top of an overflowing beach bag, and she was juggling a mug of coffee in one hand.

      In other words, she was settled in for the duration.

      Bracing himself, Luke cleared his throat.

      At the sound, the woman jerked toward him. The coffee sloshed out of her mug, and she yelped as the hot liquid splashed onto her skin.

      Nice approach, Turner. Scare her half to death.

      Luke took a step forward. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

      Keeping a wary eye on him, she dumped the rest of her coffee into the sand and struggled out of the low-slung chair. The book slid off her lap as she rose, and the towel slipped from around her shoulders. She grabbed it…but not before he got a good look at her rounded figure.

      She was pregnant.

      Very pregnant.

      And apparently unmarried.

      Her empty ring finger was front and center as she readjusted the towel around her shoulders and clutched it in front of her.

      So was the pink spot on the back of her other hand.

      He took another step toward her, eyeing the burn. “Cold water will…”

      She stumbled back, almost tripping over her chair on the uneven sand.

      He