Miracle in Bellaroo Creek. Barbara Hannay

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      One small town…

      Whoever said a broken heart was the end of the world had never met Milla Brady! In desperate need of a distraction, she sets her sights on reviving her parents’ bakery. But when a tall, handsome blast from the past turns up, Milla’s calm feathers are distinctly ruffled!

      One big miracle!

      Ed Cavanaugh could only watch when his brother walked all over Milla’s dreams—he always knew she deserved better. So, seeing her looking beautiful and content, he promises not to leave Bellaroo Creek until he tells her what he wanted to say all those years ago….

      BELLAROO CREEK!

       Three brave women, three strong men… and one town on the brink

      Bellaroo Creek in the Australian Outback is a town in need of rescue! So the arrival of three single women and a few adorable kids is exactly the injection of life it needs. Are the town and its ruggedly gorgeous cattlemen prepared for the adventure ahead?

      One town, three heart-warming romances to cherish forever!

      THE CATTLEMAN’S READY-MADE FAMILY

      by Michelle Douglas

      MIRACLE IN BELLAROO CREEK

      by Barbara Hannay

      PATCHWORK FAMILY IN THE OUTBACK

      by Soraya Lane

      Dear Reader,

      You might be surprised to hear that Australia is one of the most urbanized countries in the world. Ninety percent of our population live in cities scattered around the nation’s coastlines, and yet, historically, we owe our existence and success to the rural areas inland, where wheat, sheep and cattle have been farmed since early settlement—and where huge mineral deposits are also mined.

      I guess it’s no surprise that city dwellers love visiting our country towns with their tree-lined streets and close-knit communities and slower-paced living. I’m sure many visitors dream of going back to a less stressful, less complicated way of life, just as Milla (and subsequently Ed) have done in this story.

      In Australia, we worry when we hear that these towns, that were once our country’s heartbeat, are dying from decreasing populations. Save the Town initiatives are popping up all over Australia and we wish them the same success that Bellaroo Creek achieved.

      I’m hugely grateful to Michelle Douglas and Soraya Lane for the wonderful brainstorming email chats we had while coming up with this trilogy. Their continued inspiration during the writing process was invaluable.

      I hope you enjoy visiting Bellaroo Creek.

      Warmest wishes,

      Barbara

      Miracle in Bellaroo Creek

      Barbara Hannay

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Reading and writing have always been a big part of BARBARA HANNAY’s life. She wrote her first short story at the age of eight for the Brownies’ writer’s badge. It was about a girl who was devastated when her family had to move from the city to the Australian Outback.

      Since then, a love of both city and country lifestyles has been a continuing theme in Barbara’s books and in her life. Although she has mostly lived in cities, now that her family has grown up and she’s a full-time writer she’s enjoying a country lifestyle.

      Barbara and her husband live on a misty hillside in Far North Queensland’s Atherton Tableland. When she’s not lost in the world of her stories she’s enjoying farmers’ markets, gardening clubs and writing groups, or preparing for visits from family and friends.

      Barbara records her country life in her blog, Barbwired, and her website is: www.barbarahannay.com.

      To the town of Malanda, which doesn’t need saving, and to Deb Healy at the bakery for showing me how beautiful bread is created every day.

      Contents

       CHAPTER ONE

       CHAPTER TWO

       CHAPTER THREE

       CHAPTER FOUR

       CHAPTER FIVE

       CHAPTER SIX

       CHAPTER SEVEN

       CHAPTER EIGHT

       CHAPTER NINE

       CHAPTER TEN

       CHAPTER ELEVEN

       EPILOGUE

       EXCERPT

      CHAPTER ONE

      Boutique business opportunity at Bellaroo Creek

      Former bakery offered at nominal or deferred rental to help revitalise the town’s retail business.

      Bellaroo Council, in support of the Regional Recovery Programme, is calling for expressions of interest to occupy and redevelop Lot 3 Wattle Street on a lease or freehold arrangement. Some bakery equipment is included in the assets.

      Enquiries/business plan to J. P. Elliot CEO Bellaroo Council, 23 Wattle Street.

      MILLA SAT ON the edge of the hospital bed, a cup of tea and sandwich untouched beside her.

      It was over. She’d lost her baby, and any minute now the nice nurse would pop back to tell her she was free to go.

      Go where? Back to the lonely motel room?

      From down the hospital corridor the sounds of laughter drifted, along with the happy chatter of cheery visitors. Other patients’ visitors. Milla looked around her room, bare of cards or flowers, grapes or teddy bears. Her parents were away on a Mediterranean cruise and she hadn’t told anyone else that she was back in Australia.

      Her Aussie friends still thought she was living the high life as the wife of a mega-rich Californian and she hadn’t been ready to confess the truth about her spectacularly failed marriage. Besides, the few of her friends who lived in Sydney were party girls, and, being pregnant, Milla hadn’t been in party mode. She’d been waiting till the next scan to announce the news about her baby.

      But now...

      Milla wrapped her arms over her stomach, reliving the cramping pains and terror that had brought her to the emergency ward. She had wept as the doctor examined her, and she’d sobbed helplessly when he told her that she was having a miscarriage. She’d cried for the little lost life, for her lost dreams.

      Her marriage fiasco had shattered her hopes of ever finding love and trust in an adult relationship and she’d pinned everything on the promise of a soft, warm baby to hold. She longed for the special bond and unconditional love that only a baby could bring, and she’d been desperate to make a success of motherhood.