Baby by Surprise Daddy by Surprise by Karen Rose Smith

Author:Karen Rose Smith [Karen Rose Smith and Debra Salonen ]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781408920565
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

JACK WATCHED Kat for a few moments longer as she made her rounds. A bright spot in an otherwise stereotypical bar decorated in an Old West style that was probably far, far from the real thing. He considered himself fairly well versed in Old West history and legend—enough to know that the facts behind the legend often got blurred in the retelling for the sake of the story. He didn’t expect to see much of the real Old West here—at least not during this hectic celebration, but he could buy a forest-service map and head into the Hills. Do some exploring. Wind up lost.

He wasn’t sure whether the voice in his head was his mother’s or Jaydene’s. Frowning, he took a drink from the glass of water the waitress—Kat—had brought without him asking. It was cold and delicious. He hadn’t realized how parched he was. Maybe he was also drunker than he’d thought. Kat had seemed to think so when she’d urged him to get some supper.

“So, how ’bout a fricken…shicken…fried chicken steak?”

Brian chortled. “Okay.” He dug in his pocket for what Jack hoped was money, not car keys.

“Lesgo,” he said, tossing a ten on the table.

Jack added another twenty just to be safe. He’d lost track of their bill several rounds ago. He looked for Kat to thank her and confirm their meeting the next day, but she was nowhere to be seen.

The disappointment he felt surprised him. She was pretty. And nice. But that didn’t mean he’d ever give in to the attraction he felt for her. He’d made it a rule never to date women with children. He didn’t like kids. It didn’t take a psychiatrist to figure out why. His father’s career as a dentist—and his life—had been ruined by a lying, conniving child who had been coached by his greedy, low-life parents to say Jack’s father had touched him inappropriately. And since Jack’s dad had been performing the dental procedure on a weekend—free of charge—to an underprivileged child, there hadn’t been any staff or dental assistant to say otherwise.

Jack had been fifteen. Even in a city the size of Denver, the rumors had gotten around. His once respected, beloved, community-minded father found himself defending his honor, his veracity and his livelihood. The team of lawyers that represented his father’s insurance company had pushed for a settlement to avoid the cost of a jury trial. They’d argued that the scandal would blow over faster—and his family would be saved the humiliation of appearing in court and hearing the allegation voiced against him—if he agreed to settle.

Money changed hands. The charges were dropped. His father was never the same. Nobody was.

All because of a lying little brat.

Jack paused in the doorway of the bar for one last glance over his shoulder. With any luck, she wouldn’t look as cute and appealing tomorrow when he went to her house to get yet one more thing crossed off his list. Dull and unadventurous Jack was going to get a tattoo.

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