Temporary Dad. Laura Marie Altom

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      Annie gaped

      What else could she do faced with the handsomest man she’d ever seen—hugging not one baby, not two babies, but three? Each red faced and screaming. Triplets?

      “I’m your new neighbor, Annie Harnesberry. I don’t mean to be nosy, but it sounded like you might need some help.” She reached for the most miserable-looking baby and cradled the poor thing against her left shoulder.

      The guy sort of laughed. “Yeah. My little sis left me with these guys over twenty-six hours ago. She was supposed to be back at two yesterday afternoon, but—” The babies launched a whole new set of screams.

      “I’m Jed Hale. I’m a fireman. What do you do?” He awkwardly held out his hand for her to shake.

      “I’m a preschool teacher now, but used to work with infants in a day care. I ran a pretty tight nursery.” She winked. “No crying on my watch.” Annie’s triplet had calmed, so she brushed past her neighbor to place the child in a pink bunny-covered car seat. Then she took another of the screaming babies, and like magic, after a few jiggles he fell into a deep sleep.

      “Wow,” Jed said with a look of awe. “How’d you do that?”

      Dear Reader,

      My parents were both teachers when I was a kid, and every year, just as soon as school let out for the summer, we’d leave Michigan and head for the Colorado Rockies. My dad was an amateur gold miner, Mom was an avid reader and I liked both gold panning and reading, so usually a good time was had by all.

      One not-so-happy part of our trips, though, was that my father claimed to be allergic to tourist traps. Back in the late seventies there seemed to be a lot of quirky Americana-type places. The World’s Biggest Ball of Twine and The World’s Deepest Well—can you believe it? Dad actually stopped at that one! Anyway, this book is a realization of all my childhood tourist dreams—especially when Jed and Annie get to stay in a real cabin. To save money, we always stayed in a tent. Brrr!

      Back when I was a kid, Colorado was gloriously empty. We’d spend whole weeks seeing hardly anyone. As a kid, I grumbled quite a bit about these family camping trips, but now I look back on them as a truly magical time. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

      Would you like to share your vacation adventures with me? Please write me at [email protected] or P.O. Box 2074, Tulsa, OK 74101. Like your vacations tropical? Hit my beach at lauramariealtom.com!

      I hope all of you enjoy Jed and Annie’s story.

      Laura Marie Altom

      Temporary Dad

      Laura Marie Altom

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      This book is dedicated to the wonderful game of Scrabble, and to all the lovely folks with whom I’ve had the privilege to play.

      John Chew, webmaster extraordinaire for the National Scrabble Association—thanks so much for your generosity in sharing the particulars of the National Scrabble Championship. Any errors in official protocol are mine.

      Books by Laura Marie Altom

      HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

      940—BLIND LUCK BRIDE

      976—INHERITED: ONE BABY!

      1028—BABIES AND BADGES

      1043—SANTA BABY

      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

      Chapter One

      Waaaaaaaaaaaa! Waa huh waaaaaaaaahh!

      Sitting in a cozy rattan chair on the patio of her new condo, Annie Harnesberry looked up from the August issue of Budget Decorating and frowned.

      Waaaaaaa!

      Granted, she wasn’t a mother herself, but she’d been a preschool teacher for the past seven years, so that did lend her a certain credibility where children were concerned. Not to mention the fact that she’d spent the past two years falling for Conner and his five cuties. Considering how badly he’d hurt her, the man must have a PhD in breaking hearts.

      Baby Sarah had only been nine months old when Conner brought his second-youngest, three-year-old Clara, to the school where Annie used to teach.

      Their initial attraction had been undeniable—Annie’s affinity for Clara and Baby Sarah, that is.

      The two blue-eyed blondes were heart-stealers.

      Kind of like their father, who’d gradually made Annie believe he’d loved her and not her knack for taking care of his children.

      The man had emotionally devastated her when,