A Mother for Mandy: Hope Valley Romance, #4

By Tess Brennan

Take one taciturn army vet.

Add one a fiery four-year-old daughter he didn't know he had.

Mix with a pre-school teacher determined to help them both.

 

Amber Meadows can't help feeling drawn to Blake Roebuck, the introverted army vet who goes to the same weekend outings as she does. She senses something special in him and tries to draw him out. 

 

But… he has never mentioned his family, and he certainly never spoke of having a child! So when he turns up on her doorstep one Friday afternoon, looking frazzled and holding tight to the hand of a tiny red-haired spitfire called Mandy, Amber is somewhat taken aback. 

 

She discovers that this little mite is the daughter that Blake never knew he had… and she has not had a happy life so far. Amber and Blake join forces to give a brave but fearful little girl the security she has never had. The problem is, little Mandy wants nothing to do with this taciturn man who says he's her dad—she just wants to live with Amber! 

 

Blake, who has faced all manner of life-threatening challenges, finds that being a Dad to a rebellious four-year-old is the biggest hurdle he's ever had to face.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blue Gem Publishing
• Release date: Jun 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9798201051464

Book preview

1

A Surprise

The doorbell sounded just as Amber Meadows was pulling a steaming hot homemade lasagna out of the oven. 

She slid the pan onto a waiting cutting board and peeled off the oven gloves. Who would be stopping by on a quiet Friday evening? Her dad and stepmom always called ahead, and she had few friends and acquaintances in the area: most of them didn’t even know where she lived.

The doorbell rang again.

Coming! Amber called. When she reached the front door, she took a second to peek through the peephole. That split second lengthened as she recognized the tall build and dark, short-cropped hair of the man standing on her front porch. 

Blake Roebuck? What is he doing here?

He kept glancing up and down the street as though he were afraid of being caught doing something illegal.

Despite herself, her pulse quickened. Blake and Amber were both members of a casual group of bikers who met most weekends to ride along the near-empty highways around Hope Valley. Sometimes they went to Laredo, sometimes to small nearby towns. At first, she had thought Blake somewhat reclusive: he stuck to small talk and engaged with only one or two people during the group’s outings. 

He gave off the sense of being someone who maybe wanted to reach out and connect with people but wasn’t quite sure how to.

Amber had gone right through high school feeling uncertain and awkward in social situations, so she understood what it felt like to be on the outside. She made a point of chatting with him when the group stopped for a drink and a snack. It had been slow going at first, their conversations full of long pauses and rabbit trails, but gradually Blake had started to warm up to her. He’d told her briefly about his interests in cars and motorcycles, about places he’d been, and—most briefly of all—his time serving in Afghanistan. His eyes grew deep and distant when he talked about those days. Amber knew it must be painful to talk about, but the more he told her about himself, the more she wanted to know. She sensed that it was his experiences in Afghanistan that had made him so quiet. 

Something about him drew her in, in a way no one else, especially no man, had ever done before. Even with the tentative connection they had formed, Blake still kept to himself, never asking anything of anyone, even her.

So why was he here now? 

Dropping back onto her heels, Amber unlatched the two deadbolts and tugged the door open. 

She smiled. Hi Blake, she said. What brings you all the way out…. She trailed off as her eyes fell from Blake’s drawn, clouded face to the person who stood beside him. The other visitor was too short to be visible from the peephole, hardly coming up to Blake’s hip.

The little girl couldn’t have been older than five. Fiery red hair tumbled in curls over her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep blue, and stared boldly up at Amber. Despite her spirit, the girl—like the man standing beside her—looked bedraggled and tired and none too pleased. Blake was gripping her tiny hand in his big calloused one as though he was afraid she would bolt.

Amber glanced back up at Blake, frowning slightly. When his stony features failed to give her a hint as to the child’s presence, she asked, Well, who’s this?

Before Blake could even open his mouth to answer, the little girl spoke up. Mandy. I’m Mandy. Her face and voice were adamant as if she wanted to be absolutely sure Amber had heard her correctly.

Amber’s mouth curved into a warm smile, her love of children overriding her uncertainty about the strange pair appearing on her doorstep. Well, hello, Mandy. It’s lovely to meet you. Would you like to come in? She sent Blake another questioning look and was shocked to see a glimpse of helplessness stealing over his face. His blue eyes burned, silently pleading for help.

Mandy, he said in a deep, worn voice, glancing down at the little girl at his side, this is Ms. Meadows. Amber… He dragged his eyes back to Amber again. …I’d like you to meet my daughter.

Those last two words slammed into Amber like a tidal wave, almost rocking her on her feet. My daughter.

She fought to control her expression, remembering the pair of wide blue eyes staring up at her, watching her. Stretching her face into a smile, she held the door open wider. You can call me Amber, Mandy. Come on in. I was just about to put on a movie I think you’ll love.

Mandy’s eyes lit up as she twisted her wrist free from Blake’s grip and darted inside.

Blake let out a frustrated grunt and reached for her, but the movement was half-hearted, suggesting that he’d made many less-than-successful attempts to restrain the girl already.

Amber studied him, allowing worry to show on her face now that Mandy was inside. Wait in the kitchen, she said softly. I’ll settle Mandy.

On her way to the den, Amber snagged some cookies and juice from her stash in the pantry. 

She found Mandy curled up on the couch in front of the TV, bright eyes taking in the room and Amber, especially the treats Amber carried. Within minutes, Frozen was spinning in the DVD player, and Mandy was already burning through the cookies and juice at an alarming rate, eyes glued to the screen in fascination.

Smiling, Amber slipped out of the room and padded down the hall.

The pan of lasagna was still steaming on the kitchen counter when she turned the corner into the kitchen. It filled the room with a warm, meaty smell that was at odds with the gloomy cloud hovering around the man who waited for her there.

Blake was leaning against a counter across the room. Both hands were pressed to his face, and he was slowly massaging his eyes as though there was a raging headache he couldn’t shake.

Anxiety twisted in Amber’s chest. It pained her to see him looking so distressed, especially when he’d gone through so much already. Something was terribly wrong in Blake’s life, and it had to do with the little girl munching on cookies in the next room.

Amber popped open the fridge and pulled two beers from the shelf in the door. She nudged the refrigerator closed and held one of the frosty cans out to Blake.

He glanced at the beer, then at her. Without hesitation, he punched the can open and took a large gulp, throat bobbing.

Amber leaned against the counter next to him. In a voice low enough to be covered by the music from the room next door, she said, You have a daughter?

Blake’s head turned, and his eyes snapped to hers, the movement almost a flinch as if he wasn’t ready to accept those words, as if he didn’t even want to hear them spoken out loud. After a moment, he gave a single nod. Yeah. His voice sounded gravelly. He cleared his throat roughly and took another swig of beer.

Why didn’t you ever say anything about her? Amber asked hesitantly.

Blake’s face was tight. Because I didn’t know she existed until two days ago.

Amber watched him and waited, forcing herself to say nothing.

He