The Housekeeper's Daughter. Laurie Paige

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      JOE COLTON’S JOURNAL

      My second son, Drake, has always had a soft spot for Maya Ramirez. They were smitten with each other in their youth, but as an heir to the Colton fortune, my son kept his distance from the housekeeper’s daughter. Back then, I encouraged his self-sacrifice, but I’ve learned a lot about love and loss over the years, and now I believe that some people are destined for each other. Like his mother and me—until Meredith turned her back on me and decided to make my life hell. But I digress…. When Drake—a Navy SEAL who often disappears to parts unknown for long periods of time—returned home for a brief visit several months ago, he finally gave in to his pent-up passion for Maya. Now she’s pregnant, and my son insists she’s about to give birth to a Colton baby! But my tight-lipped boy has his work cut out for him if he intends to stake a claim on his woman and child….

      About the Author

      LAURIE PAIGE

      reports that in addition to remodeling the kitchen in her new (to her) mountain retreat home, she has adopted two mixed-breed Labrador retrievers. It’s like having two two-year-olds in the house. She wishes she’d tossed in twin dogs that steal socks and hide them in different rooms in the house in the story of Maya and Drake. That would have added some confusing elements for the characters! On second thought, Drake probably had all the problems he could handle dealing with proud, stubborn Maya and claiming a place in her life and that of their child! However, true love can smooth out the most tangled of troubles…except for those caused by two seventy-pound dogs. In that case, Laurie recommends obedience classes, which is where she will be as soon as she finishes the next book.

      The Housekeeper’s Daughter

      Laurie Paige

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      

      Meet the Coltons—a California dynasty with a legacy of privilege and power.

      Drake Colton: Navy SEAL. He’d come home to celebrate his father’s sixtieth birthday, but this officer’s family-filled agenda gives way to a night of passion when he is reunited with the housekeeper’s daughter.

      Maya Ramirez: Overnight Cinderella. Though Drake Colton had always seen her as a kid sister, this tomboy has blossomed into a raven-haired beauty in his absence. And one night, he makes all her adolescent fantasies a breathtaking reality!

      Inez Ramirez: Suspicious mother. She and her husband have always been loyal to the Colton family but now she suspects that a certain Colton may be responsible for her daughter’s “condition.”

      This book is dedicated to Hartley,

       beloved friend, delightful companion, a true hero.

       He greeted each day with a “woof” of joy.

      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

      One

      Maya Ramirez breathed deeply of the crystalline air and let it out in a long exhalation. The accompanying sigh was not exactly one of contentment—too many disturbing things had happened on the Colton ranch the past eight months for contentment to prevail—but at least she had found a certain peace of mind concerning her own future.

      Her horse, a sweet mare named Penny for the coppery highlights of her coat, twitched one ear in her direction. Maya patted the mare’s neck and admired the scenery.

      It was one of those February days along the coast of northern California in which the sky gleamed a breath-catching blue and the temperature had soared into the sixties after a week of cold, drizzly rain. Today, the cloud bank had receded offshore and all was bright and beautiful. For the first time in months, anything seemed possible.

      Almost anything, Maya corrected, batting away a lazy bee that hummed over the lupine that was already beginning to flower in stalks of white, yellow and lavender blue.

      “A hawk,” ten-year-old Joe Colton, Jr., yelled, pointing at the long, sweeping line of fifty-foot cliffs that scalloped the ocean along the western border of the ranch.

      “Where?” Teddy Colton, younger by two years, called.

      “Right there, silly— Uh, right there,” Joe amended with a quick glance at Maya.

      She gave him an approving nod, then smiled with affection. She didn’t allow name-calling or insults. Although newly employed as their full-time nanny, she’d been baby-sitting the boys for years, being only sixteen when she’d first been asked to accompany Mrs. Colton to a spa and take care of Joe Junior, who had been a baby at the time.

      Ten years ago. Maya sighed and shifted in the saddle, the sudden sting of tears surprising her as she contemplated the passage of time—so fast and yet so slow.

      When Mrs. Colton had had Teddy, Maya had helped out with him, too. After graduating from the local high school, she’d started college via computer courses and worked on the Colton estate when needed by her mother, who was the housekeeper there.

      Last month she’d been asked to move into the main house and take over as a full-time baby-sitter for the two youngest Colton boys. The nanny, Ms. Meredith called her. Frowning, Maya admitted she’d needed the job rather desperately.

      She swatted another bee out of her face, then noticed several others crawling in Penny’s mane. The mare shook her head as one landed on her ear. Maya realized the warm weather had caused a swarm.

      “Can we race?” Teddy shouted, giving her an appealing glance from his blue eyes.

      She nodded. “I think we’re running into a swarm of bees. Turn back toward the ranch and ease into a canter. Don’t swat the bees. They’ll fly off if you leave them alone and don’t scare them.”

      Both boys glanced around anxiously, but they kept their heads and did as told. After making sure they were on their way, she turned the mare, who switched her tail to each side and shook her head again. Gently Maya urged the mare into a fast walk, then past a trot into a loping run.

      In front of her, the brothers let out a whoop of excitement and raced toward the stable in the distance. She leaned forward with a grimace and tightened her knees, but she couldn’t keep up the pace. After reining the mare back to a fast walk, she relaxed once more.

      The mare repeatedly shook her head as they neared the paddock. Her ears twitched nervously.

      Maya patted her on the neck. “Hey, pretty Penny, what’s the matter, girl? The bees are gone—”

      She got no further when the horse gave a startled whinny, tossed her head and, without warning, took off at a dead run toward the stable. Maya grabbed the saddle horn and held on for dear life, fear rushing over her as she thought of falling.

      The adrenaline boost gave her the strength to