Lone Star Baby (McCabe Multiples, 5, Band 1561) - Softcover

Thacker, Cathy Gillen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0373755821 ISBN 13: 9780373755820

Verlag: Harlequin American Romance, 2015

Inhaltsangabe

PRACTICE MADE PERFECT

Suddenly finding herself a foster parent definitely shakes things up for Doctor Violet McCabe. Especially because her attractive and pragmatic colleague, Doctor Gavin Monroe, is baby Ava’s co-guardian. Gavin has doubts about the arrangement, but idealistic Violet is certain they can work together to find Ava the perfect adoptive family.

Gavin secretly crushed on Violet for years, but after losing her fiancé, Violet’s heart was impenetrable. Ava changes everything. For once, Violet is ready to embrace the unpredictable…maybe even love. But is Gavin the right man for Violet—and the right father for Ava? In their search for a perfect home for Ava, will Violet and Gavin miss that the best family for her is the one they’ve already created?

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Cathy Gillen Thacker is a popular Harlequin author of over one hundred novels.  Married and a mother of three, she and her husband resided in Texas for eighteen years, and now make their home in North Carolina.  Her mysteries, romantic comedies, and family stories have made numerous appearances on bestseller lists, but her best reward is knowing one of her books made someone's day a little brighter.  

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"So it's true? You're really going to do this?"

Violet McCabe swung toward the sound of the low, gravelly voice. Gavin Monroe stood framed in the open doorway of the partially converted stable-house, dark brows lowered over his mesmerizing blue eyes.

"Do what?" she parried back, trying not to be swayed by the determination radiating from his tall, masculine frame or the sensual curve of his lips. "Go glamping for the next three months?" She was baiting her ruggedly confident colleague. "Or say no to the attending-physician position at Laramie Community Hospital?" One of two positions that had been offered to her.

Gavin strode closer, all indomitable male. "Both."

Pulse jumping, she watched as his gaze swept the exposed wooden beams supporting the high pitched roof and the large ceiling fan whirring overheard. Then it moved downward to take in the autumn sunlight pouring in through the windows of the rustic, cement-floored space she was about to call home.

"Glamping is going to be fun." She pointed to the Con-estoga wagon that would serve as her bedroom. The area in front, which held a couple of braided wool rugs and her living and dining room furniture, would comprise her entertaining space. To one side of that was a hallway that led to a small utilitarian bathroom with shower, sink and commode.

On the other side of the sliding, front barn doors was her camp kitchen.

"You think so now." He walked closer to the metal sink, antique wooden worktable and shelving unit. "But when you tire of such a primitive setup…"

When it came to cooking for one, Violet knew there was little she couldn't do here. Except maybe entertain her parents, five sisters and four brothers-in-law and all their kids.

She shrugged and stepped close enough to inhale the crisp male scent of his cologne. "Then I'll go into town or visit friends and family." She had plenty living in the area.

He folded his arms across his brawny chest. "We need you at the hospital."

And she needed a new lease on life, more desperately than anyone knew.

Feeling simultaneously flattered and annoyed, Violet swallowed. "Gavin, we've been over this." More than once, as it happens, over the past year. With the same result.

He nodded tersely. "You've talked. I've listened."

And never once believed she was serious, she thought with a beleaguered sigh. "You know why I can't stay on at LCH." There was too much scrutiny here, too many people wondering if she would ever get past her grief over her late fiancé or be able to move on the way they wished. Too many people hell-bent on helping her do just that. Including and especially Gavin.

He called on the rapport they'd built as casual friends and coworkers. "What I know is that you're making a mistake."

This had a familiar ring. Her parents had said the same thing. Only her five sisters seemed to understand her need to reset the clock and strike out on her own again. "It's mine to make," she said just as stubbornly. "I need a fresh start, Gavin."

Tension filled the silence between them.

His lips thinned. "This is about Sterling, then."

And the secret unrequited lust I feel for you.

"The point is, I'm in a rut." Violet ignored the mention of the only man she had ever loved and the painful reminder of the many ways she had let him down, despite her intentions otherwise.

The way she had begun to fear she might someday let her patients down, too.

Resolutely, Violet continued. "And now, given that my residency has officially ended—"

"You still have staff privileges for another few weeks," Gavin reminded her, clearly holding out hope.

"Until the new attending, Tara Warren, comes in to take over." Violet stalked out to the U-Haul trailer that held the rest of her things. Aware he was hot on her heels, she pointed out, "Which will be by the first of October, I'm told. Until then, I'll help out, on an as-needed basis, as promised, while simultaneously honoring my commitment to my family to oversee the renovation of the new McCabe House."

Lifting a heavy box into her arms, she nodded at the rambling Victorian farmhouse on the other side of the lawn. Home of her late grandparents, John and Lilah McCabe, the two-hundred-and-fifty-acre property was being turned into a hospitality center and temporary lodging for patients and families undergoing medical crises.

"How's that going?" Wordlessly, Gavin stepped up to give her a hand, his shoulder bumping hers in the process.

Tingling where their bodies had collided, as well as everywhere they had not, Violet wheeled the loaded dolly into the stable-house. He walked beside her, easily carrying what she could only wheel. "They're supposed to start the remodeling process next week."

She emptied the dolly and returned for another load, Gavin still at her side. "How many suites are there going to be?" he asked.

After unloading, Violet paused to show him the building plans, which were spread out over her desk. "Seven—all with private baths." She flipped through the plans, pointing as she spoke. "The entire downstairs will sport a large kitchen and one living and dining area."

"It was pretty great what your grandparents did."

Violet nodded. "And fitting, in a way, for them to deed their entire estate to the formation of a nonprofit foundation dedicated to providing food and shelter for families undergoing medical crises. Given that the two of them were the driving forces that established Laramie Community Hospital in the first place, more than seventy years ago."

"I admire what they've done. What you've volunteered to do. But you don't have to live out here for three months to watch the workers, Violet." His stormy blue eyes drifted over her. "You could easily supervise this process from town, too. And still take the part-time staff physician position in the oncology department, until it becomes full-time sometime late next year. Or stay on part-time, if you want, and let them hire another part-time doc, too."

Violet knew there were a lot of options available to her, should she decide she wanted to stay on at LCH. The chief of the department had made it clear they would work with her on that score.

But being around the hospital meant being around Gavin. A lot. And that was a problem for her, because despite the soul-crushing blows life had dealt her, she still wanted desperately to believe that a fairy-tale life was possible.

Whereas Gavin, who had also weathered some devastating life events, believed their experiences proved that no such utopia existed—or ever would.

Leery of having his cynicism engender even more doubts, she'd elected to create a healthy distance between herself and her gifted colleague.

Hopeful that her alone time would bring back her inherent optimism, she said, "I want to be here, Gavin." Aware he wouldn't let it go, she said, "I need to take a break. And it's got to be a big one."

It wasn't the first time Gavin Monroe had heard the sentiment. His ex-fiancée had said pretty much the same thing before walking out the door four years earlier. And while he hadn't minded so much then, he found he minded a lot now. Maybe because he was closer to Violet than any other woman who had come into his life.

Which was strange. Because they hadn't dated. Or acted on the simmering physical attraction between them in any way.

Not because he hadn't wanted to,...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Harlequin American Romance
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2015
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0373755821
• ISBN 13: 9780373755820
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 240
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Product Safety Manager; enquiries@harpercollins.ie; ; HarperCollins, Macken House, 39/40 Mayor Street Upper; Dublin 1; D01 C9W8; Irland