âWhat have we done, Nate?â
Hallie pushed herself up on her elbow to look at him.
âWhat we should have done a long time ago.â
âTo get each other out of our systems, you mean?â
He kept his eyes closed when he said, âIâll never get you out of my system, Hallie.â
âNor you, mine, Nate. But that really doesnât change the situation, does it?â
He opened his eyes and sat up, resting his back against the headboard. âNo. It doesnât.â
Hallie sat up, too, bringing her knees to her chest as she pulled the sheet up around her. âDo you really think that I havenât thought about what it would be like if we kept Ahn?â
Dear Reader,
As a parent and a grandparent, the parenting role is naturally near and dear to my heart. A Ranch Called Home was my tribute to the single mom. And in Dadâs E-mail Order Bride I paid homage to the single dad.
In my third Harlequin Superromance, however, I wanted to explore a different side of parenting. Iâve always had the utmost admiration for people who open their hearts and adopt a child. But it wasnât until I began thinking about writing an adoption story that I realized Iâd never given much thought to the other side of the adoption coinâthe unselfishness involved in putting a childâs best interest first.
Adopted Parents addresses that issue. And as I began writing the story from the aunt and uncleâs point of view, I began to understand that loving a child enough to do the right thing is just as important as loving a child enough to become a parent.
I hope you enjoy reading Hallie and Nateâs story as they struggle through a tragedy to find true love. I love to hear from readers, so please visit my Web site at www.CandyHalliday.com.
Best always,
Candy Halliday
Romance author Candy Halliday lives in the Piedmont of North Carolina with her husband, a spastic schnauzer named Millie and an impossible attack cat named Flash. Candyâs daughter and son-in-law and her two teenage grandchildren live nearby. Candy loves to hear from readers. Visit her on the Web at www.candyhalliday.com.
This book is dedicated to the loving parents who give adopted children a second chanceâand to those who step aside to make it possible.
Special thanks to my super agent, Jenny Bent.
Extreme thanks to my amazing editor, Wanda Ottewell.
Love and thanks always to my incredible family: Blue, Shelli, Tracy, Quint and Caroline.
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
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
IN A PERFECT WORLD there would be no tragic news that your sister and brother-in-law had been in a fatal car accident. No baby left behind. No difficult decisions to be made about the childâs future.
But the world wasnât perfect.
No one knew that better than Hallie Weston.
The past three weeks had been a nightmare, her emotions spinning so fast Hallie felt trapped inside a revolving door. Disbelief. Inconsolable grief. Blind anger at the drunk driver who had taken Janet and David from her. Back to disbelief again.
At the moment, all Hallie felt was numb.
She was sitting in the boardroom of her dead brother-in-lawâs law practice, waiting for a Monday morning meeting with Davidâs partner, Greg Holder, and all Hallie kept thinking was how adamant David had been six months ago about tying up loose ends after he and Janet adopted their daughter, Ahn. Hallie had believed then that David was simply in his usual attorney mode, dotting his iâs and crossing his tâs when heâd produced the joint guardianship document for her and his brother Nate to sign at the babyâs christening.
Now Hallie had to wonder.
Had David somehow sensed that he and Janet wouldnât live to finish the journey they started with the precious baby girl theyâd brought back from Vietnam? Had Nate wondered the same thing?
And even though Nate sat right beside her it wasnât a question Hallie would ask.
Because every woman had a guy from her past whom sheâd made a complete fool of herself over. Nathan Brock happened to be that guy for Hallie.
Ten years later, she still hadnât forgiven him.
Sheâd been only twenty-one then, fresh out of college, and willing to take a peonâs job in order to get her foot in the door at Bostonâs top television station. Nate had been thirtyâa gorgeous, confident older guy Hallie couldnât resist. Heâd also been her boss, the TV stationâs shining star, and already on his way to becoming the award-winning photojournalist he was today.
Sheâd fallen for Nate hard and fast.
The admiration had not been mutual.
After only one week of working as Nateâs gofer, heâd transferred her to the production department. And heâd told Hallie if she really intended to make it in television she needed to focus on her career and drop the silly schoolgirl crushes.