Her Baby Wish. Patricia Thayer

      BABY ON BOARD

      From bump to baby and beyond…

      Whether she’s expecting or they’re adopting—a special arrival is on its way!

      Follow the tears and triumphs as these couples find their lives blessed with the magic of parenthood…

      Look out for more Baby on Board stories coming soon from Mills & Boon^® Romance!

      Next month there is a

      BOARDROOM BABY SURPRISE

      by

      Jackie Braun

      Dear Reader

      The idea for this story came to me years ago, but it wasn’t until recently that I had the opportunity to write it. HER BABY WISH is a different concept for a romance. My hero and heroine, Trace and Kira, are married, and their love is stretched to breaking point when they have to deal with the problem of infertility.

      I was blessed by having three relatively easy pregnancies that gave me three healthy sons. That’s not always the case with so many couples, who go through the heartache of not being able to conceive a child. Trace and Kira McKane are one of those couples. In fact things have got so bad between them that Trace has moved out of the house.

      Kira blames herself. A secret from her past drives her obsession for a child. So much so that she turns to adoption and, when they’re offered the opportunity for a baby, talks Trace into coming back home to play the part of loving husband. Soon they discover love again, and together weather disappointment as they take the journey back to each other.

      Enjoy

      Patricia Thayer

      Originally born and raised in Muncie, Indiana, PATRICIA THAYER was the second of eight children. She attended Ball State University, and soon afterwards headed west. Over the years she’s made frequent visits back to the Midwest, trying to keep up with her family’s numerous weddings and births, but Patricia has called Orange County, California, home for many years. She not only enjoys the warm climate, but also the company and support of other published authors in the local writers’ organisation. For the past eighteen years she has had the unwavering support and encouragement of her critique group. It’s a sisterhood like no other.

      When not working on a story, you might find her travelling the United States and Europe, taking in the scenery and doing story research while thoroughly enjoying herself, accompanied by Steve, her husband for over thirty-six years. Together they have three grown sons and three grandsons. As she calls them, her own true-life heroes. On rare days off from writing you might catch her at Disneyland, spoiling those grandkids rotten! She also volunteers for the Grandparent Autism Network.

      Patricia has written for over twenty years and has authored over thirty books. She has been nominated for both the National Readers’ Choice Award and the prestigious RITA®. Her book NOTHING SHORT OF A MIRACLE won a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice award. She has been a guest reader at elementary schools and lectured aspiring authors. A long-time member of Romance Writers of America, she has served as President and held many other board positions for her local chapter in Orange County. She’s a firm believer in giving back.

      Check her website at www.patriciathayer.com for upcoming books.

      HER BABY WISH

      BY

       PATRICIA THAYER

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To all the couples

      who know the struggles and pain of infertility.

      I pray you all will be blessed some day.

      And a special congratulation to Michelle and Rod.

      CHAPTER ONE

      “I NEED you to come back home.”

      Trace McKane’s grip tightened on the pitchfork as he spread fresh straw around Black Thunder’s stall. He’d waited two long months to hear his wife say those words. The only problem was she didn’t exactly sound sincere, and too many harsh words had passed between them to repair the damage so casually.

      “I can’t see how that’s going to change anything.” He continued to cover the floor as if Kira’s presence hadn’t affected him at all. But it had. He’d give up the family’s Colorado ranch to have things back like they were before their problems started. And from the look of things lately, that might not be too far from the truth.

      “Trace, please, just hear me out,” she said.

      He stopped his chores and finally looked at her. “Why, Kira? Haven’t we said enough?” He straightened and tipped his hat back off his forehead. This was the first time he’d chanced a close up look at his wife since he’d moved out. She’d kept her distance, and so had he.

      She placed her hands on her hips. “Oh, you made your feelings perfectly clear. Things got rough so you walked out, without even trying to work things out.”

      “We were getting nowhere.”

      Kira Hyatt McKane was a natural beauty with curly wheat-blond hair that hung to her shoulders. She had an oval face, with a scattering of freckles across a straight nose and full, pouty lips. Her large brown eyes locked with his, causing his pulse to shoot into overdrive.

      He wasn’t going to take the bait and fight with her. “It’s better I moved into the bunkhouse,” he told her. He hated that they couldn’t make their marriage work.

      Yeah, he’d been running away. He’d spent a lot of time moving the herd to a higher pasture for the approaching summer. Many of those nights he’d slept under the stars, anything to keep from facing his lonely bunk. To keep from thinking about how he couldn’t—no matter how much he loved Kira—make his marriage work.

      “We both needed a breather.”

      God knew he’d missed her. The torture went on as his gaze moved over her navy T-shirt and the faded jeans that hugged her curves. Shapely hips and legs that he’d touched and caressed so often that he knew where every freckle was hidden. He also knew exactly where to touch to bring her pleasure.

      He glanced away. Don’t go there. That was past history. Their future together was bleak. He never thought he was a greedy man. He’d only wanted a traditional marriage; a wife to come home to and children to carry on the legacy of the ranch.

      That had been when the trouble started, when their marriage began to crumble and he couldn’t do anything to stop it.

      “Spring is a busy time,” he told her. Especially this year since he had that payment due to his half brother, Jarrett. And it didn’t look like there was much chance he could come up with the money.

      Kira shook her head. “I know, Trace.” She sighed. “And turning away from our problems doesn’t help.”

      He cursed. “Yes, Kira, we have problems, but face it, lately we’ve been unable to come to terms with things. And I’m tired of beating my head against a wall.” When he saw tears form in her eyes, he wanted to kick himself.

      “I never meant for it to be this way.”

      He shrugged. The last thing he wanted was to argue. In the months before their separation that was all they’d done. Then they’d stopped talking altogether. What broke his heart was knowing he hadn’t been able to give her what she needed.

      “I just wanted us to be a real family,” she added in a whispered voice.

      “You had a funny way of showing it.” He’d needed her to stand by him, and help him with his struggles with the ranch, but she