A Baby For Christmas. Marie Ferrarella

      

      He’s fighting for them

      When Amy Donavan married the town playboy and left Forever, Texas, Connor McCullough wished her well—no matter how much it hurt. He got past it, but never really over it. Now the one that got away is back and needs his help...in more ways than one!

      Recently divorced and fleeing her abusive ex-husband, Amy needs a safe place to hide and someone she can trust. And she’s not alone. Her fussy six-month-old son needs sanctuary, too...and Connor is determined to protect them both. It’s not his family, but it’s the family—and the woman—he’s always wanted. So when Amy’s jealous ex tracks her down, hell-bent on reclaiming his “property,” Connor’s ready to fight this time...

      “All right,” he said to Amy as he headed toward the door, “then I guess I’ll say good-night and turn in.”

      Connor was almost at the threshold when he heard her call after him.

      “Connor?“

      He turned around quickly, thinking that she had remembered something she needed. “Yes?”

      Gratitude was shining in her eyes as she said, “Thank you.”

      The two words caused sunshine to filter all through him. He hadn’t felt like that since they were kids in high school.

      “My pleasure,” he told her.

      The next moment he pulled the door closed behind him and then he was gone.

      “Well, we did it, Jamie,” she whispered softly to the child, who was asleep in the nearby cradle. “We escaped. Now all we have to do is figure out what to do with the rest of our lives.”

      A Baby for Christmas

      Marie Ferrarella

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award—winning author MARIE FERRARELLA has written more than two hundred and seventy-five books for Mills & Boon, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website, www.marieferrarella.com.

      To Audrey,

      The Best Pet

      In The Whole World.

      Ten Years Wasn’t Nearly Long Enough.

      We All Miss You

      More Than Words Can Say.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

       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

       Chapter Seventeen

       Chapter Eighteen

       Chapter Nineteen

       Epilogue

       Extract

       Copyright

       Chapter One

      It was so quiet, he could literally hear himself breathe.

      Maybe he needed to get a dog.

      Connor McCullough frowned and shook his head.

      That was the thinking of a desperate man, the twenty-eight-year-old rancher told himself. He shouldn’t be desperate. After all, he had earned all this peace and quiet. Lord knew he’d worked hard enough for it over the years.

      The only trouble with peace and quiet was that it was, well, too quiet. And peaceful could also be another word for boring.

      For the last twenty-eight years, the ranch house he was sitting in had seen more than its share of bustling activity—as well as its share of sorrow. His mother had died here giving birth to Cassidy twenty-three years ago and this was where his father had passed away, as well. The latter had happened a week before he was about to go off to college. The first one in his family to actually go to college.

      That dream wound up being temporarily shelved, or so he told himself, because if he had gone off to college, Cody, Cole and Cassidy would have been farmed out to foster homes, most likely separate ones.

      So he’d stayed on and the four of them had worked as hard