Gift-Wrapped Family. Lois Richer

      

      A Family for Christmas

      Twenty-three-year-old widow Mia Granger is shocked to learn her late husband fathered a child out of wedlock. Now the handsome lawyer representing the young orphan’s adoption agency is pressing Mia to meet the girl. She’s touched by how deeply Caleb Grant cares about the five-year-old, especially given his own harrowing past. But with all the betrayals in her life, Mia is scared to open her heart to anyone. When she learns she owns a lovely ranch she never knew existed, Mia wonders if it’s a home meant for a family of three—just in time for Christmas.

      “You said Lily is five?” Mia hiccuped a sob.

      “That means my late husband and his secretary were together about as long as we were married. Why stay married to me if he was in love with someone else?” She dashed a tear from her cheek. “Why not marry her? Create a family with her?”

      “There’s no way we’ll ever know.” Caleb refused to restate the obvious lure of Mia’s money. He wasn’t sure she knew how much her mother had left her, but his sources told him the number was high, very high.

      “He said he never wanted to have children.”

      “Judging by the amount of attention he paid Lily, I’m guessing that part was true.”

      “I wish I could have a child.” She began to weep as though her heart was broken.

      Caleb watched helplessly, thinking what a wonderful mother this caring woman would make. Somehow he knew that Mia was cut from the same cloth as his mother had been. Mia would welcome a child, make him or her feel loved, the most important person in her world. Mia would intrinsically know how and when to give a hug.

      Things Caleb lacked. Because of his father.

      LOIS RICHER loves traveling, swimming and quilting, but mostly she loves writing stories that show God’s boundless love for His precious children. As she says, “His love never changes or gives up. It’s always waiting for me. My stories feature imperfect characters learning that love doesn’t mean attaining perfection. Love is about keeping on keeping on.” You can contact Lois via email, [email protected], or on Facebook (LoisRicherAuthor).

      Gift-Wrapped

      Family

      Lois Richer

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      You shall love the Lord your God

      with all your heart, with all your soul,

      and with all your strength.

      —Deuteronomy 6:5

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       About the Author

       Title Page

       Bible Verse

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

       Epilogue

       Dear Reader

       Extract

       Copyright

Chapter One

      “This can’t be the place.”

      Lawyer Caleb Grant matched the address on the paper in his hand with the crooked numbers on a small bungalow that had seen better days in this Canadian neighborhood of Calgary, Alberta, and grimaced.

      “Are you sure you gave me the correct address?” he asked into his phone. Having confirmed his location, he opened the rickety gate.

      The serious disrepair of the house contrasted with the garden in front, which bloomed in a riot of color. Mia Granger must be a dab hand with plants. How could a woman with this tender gift for gardening ignore his plea to help a bereaved child?

      Before Caleb could reach the end of the cobbled path, the weathered front door opened. A slim woman with masses of strawberry blonde hair tumbling around her shoulders stepped outside and reached for the mailbox. Her hand stilled when she saw him.

      “C-can I help you?” she asked in a voice so quiet he barely heard it.

      “I’m looking for Mia Granger. Does she live here?” Caleb watched her ivory skin pale.

      “I’m Mia. Are you another bill collector?” she said in a breathless voice. “I’m sorry but—”

      “I’m a lawyer with Family Ties. It’s an adoption agency in Buffalo Gap.” He saw no recognition on her face. “Someone called you about me.”

      “No one called,” she murmured in a scared voice, golden-red hair shivering in the wash of sunlight sneaking through a few dappled leaves left on a towering poplar tree.

      “They should have.” Caleb frowned. Mayor Marsha had talked him into coming here. She’d also promised she’d notify widow Granger of his arrival. When