www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Knowing that I’ve entertained a reader or fulfilled a reader’s

       expectations is what makes the hours of sitting in front of a

       computer monitor worthwhile. I’d like to dedicate this book to

       four readers who have always taken the time to write and tell

       me that they’ve enjoyed my stories: Daisella Vann,

       Bonnie Hendricks, Kathleen Stone and Christy Jenkins.

       Thank you, ladies, for the kind words, the unflagging support

       and the encouragement you’ve offered throughout the years.

      PEGGY MORELAND

      published her first romance with Silhouette in 1989 and continues to delight readers with stories set in her home state of Texas. Winner of the National Readers’ Choice Award, a nominee for the Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer’s Choice Award and a finalist for the prestigious RITA Award, Peggy has appeared on the USA Today and Waldenbooks bestseller lists. When not writing, she enjoys spending time at the farm riding her quarter horse, Lo-Jump. She, her husband and three children make their home in Round Rock, Texas. You may write to Peggy at P.O. Box 2453, Round Rock, TX 78680-2453.

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Epilogue

      One

      He could see it, almost feel it, as he watched them.

      He imagined calling out their names. Hey, Brittany! Brandon! His children turning to him, their eyes going wide, their surprise upon seeing their daddy quickly turning to excitement. They would run down the sidewalk, squealing, their chunky little legs churning, their tiny arms flung wide in welcome. Laughing, he would scoop them up in a big bear hug and swing them around and around until they were all three dizzy.

      He could see it. Almost feel it.

      Almost.

      But a fear learned at an early age of exposing his feelings and being rejected kept Clayton from putting the scene he envisioned to the test.

      Instead he strode across the street to the park where the twins played, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets, his expression shadowed by his cowboy hat, his eyes—as well as his emotions—concealed behind dark aviator sunglasses. He came to a stop not six feet from the sandbox where the twins were carrying on a game of tug-of-war with a bright red sand bucket.

      “My turn,” four-year-old Brittany cried, giving the bucket a determined tug.

      “No, mine,” her twin brother, Brandon, argued stubbornly, and yanked right back.

      The plastic sand bucket looked as if it would snap any minute from the pressure placed on it by two sets of warring hands.

      “Can’t you two share?”

      Clayton didn’t realize how gruffly he’d spoken the question until two little heads whipped around to peer up at him, two sets of brown eyes wide with fear. They released their holds on the bucket and the loss of tension sent both toppling over backward in opposite directions. He stooped and lifted them from the sand, tucking one under each arm, as if they were sacks of feed.

      “Clayton! What do you think you’re doing?”

      He turned to see his wife charging across the park’s carefully manicured grass toward him, her face flushed with anger. When had she cut her hair? he wondered in dismay. That beautiful blond mane. Gone.

      Shocked by the dramatic change the new style made in her appearance, he let his gaze drift down her length, noting the body-hugging white T-shirt tucked into crisp khaki shorts, and the stretch of long, tanned legs. And when had she managed to lose that last ten, stubborn pounds she’d carried since the twins’ birth? he asked himself. He tried to remember the last time he’d seen her. Had it been a month? Two? Or closer to three?

      She reached him and snatched his daughter from his arms, her brown eyes dark with fury.

      And that’s when he noticed that her wedding ring was missing—the simple gold band he’d bought her in the jewelry store right down the street from the courthouse where they’d married. The shock he’d felt upon seeing the changes in her appearance quickly gave way to icy-cold dread.

      Rena had never taken off her wedding band before. Not even when the twins