White Dove's Promise

White Dove's Promise
Stella Bagwell

Handsome playboy Jared Colton became town hero the day he saved a toddler trapped in a drainage pipe. The tot's mom was none other than Comanche beauty Kerry WindWalker, the only woman in the state of Oklahoma who was immune to his magnetic charm.Now that he had the spirited single mom's attention, he wasn't going to let her go easily. But he never expected the darling family of two to evoke such tender emotions inside him. Jared needed to be rescued before he got in too deep–or had he found salvation the day he answered his little dove's cry for help?

COMANCHE BLOOD

Welcome to Black Arrow, Oklahoma—the birthplace of a proud, passionate clan who would risk everything for love, family and honor.

Jared Colton:

He never hung around one place for too long, but the new town hero had gained the attention of the only woman who could tempt him to stay…at least a little while longer.

Kerry WindWalker:

She’d steered clear of Jared Colton because of his bad-boy reputation, but his heroic gesture had her wondering if the avowed bachelor could become a true family man.

Gloria WhiteBear:

Would the secret past of the Oklahoma Coltons’ matriarch come back to haunt her grandchildren?

Bram Colton:

A man of honor and Comanche pride, the revered sheriff of Black Arrow had been kept busy since strange happenings started occurring in town….

Dear Reader,

There’s more than one way to enjoy the summer. By picking up this month’s Silhouette Special Edition romances, you will find an emotional escape that is sure to touch your heart and leave you believing in happily-ever-after!

I am pleased to introduce a gripping tale of true love and family from celebrated author Stella Bagwell. In White Dove’s Promise, which launches a six-book spin-off—plus a Christmas story collection—of the popular COLTONS series, a dashing Native American hero has trouble staying in one place, until he finds himself entangled in a soul-searing embrace with a beautiful single mother, who teaches him about roots…and lifelong passion.

No “keeper” shelf is complete without a gem from Joan Elliott Pickart. In The Royal MacAllister, a woman seeks her true identity and falls madly in love with a true royal! In The Best Man’s Plan, bestselling and award-winning author Gina Wilkins delights us with a darling love story between a lovely shop owner and a wealthy businessman, who set up a fake romance to trick the tabloids…and wind up falling in love for real!

Lisa Jackson’s The McCaffertys: Slade features a lady lawyer who comes home and faces a heartbreaker hero, who desperately wants a chance to prove his love to her. In Mad Enough To Marry, Christie Ridgway entertains us with an adorable tale of that maddening love that happens only when two kindred spirits must share the same space. Be sure to pick up Arlene James’s His Private Nurse, where a single father falls for the feisty nurse hired to watch over him after a suspicious accident. You won’t want to miss it!

Each month, Silhouette Special Edition delivers compelling stories of life, love and family. I wish you a relaxing summer and happy reading.

Sincerely,

Karen Taylor Richman

Senior Editor

White Dove’s Promise

Stella Bagwell

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

To the two men in my life.

My husband, Harrell, and our son, Jason.

STELLA BAGWELL

Recently Stella and her husband of thirty years moved from the hills of Oklahoma to Seadrift, Texas, a sleepy little fishing town located on the coastal bend. Stella says the water, the tropical climate and the seabirds make it a lovely place to let her imagination soar and to put the stories in her head down on paper.

She and her husband have one son, Jason, who lives and teaches high school math in nearby Port Lavaca.

Contents

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 One

“Lunch at your desk. At this rate, you’re going to have burnout before you reach the age of thirty.”

Unaware that anyone else had entered her small office, Kerry WindWalker jerked her head up from the promissory note she’d been typing to see one of Liberty National Bank’s loan officers standing at the corner of her desk.

Smiling at the tall, gray-haired man, she said, “I’m behind, Clarence. It’s Monday. Everyone seems to be broke on Mondays.”

With a rueful grin, he placed more work on the corner of her already loaded desk. “Reality hits when the weekend is over. But it doesn’t mean you need to work through your lunch hour. Have you eaten anything with that?” he asked, inclining his head toward the half-empty soda bottle sitting near her typewriter.

Kerry shook her head. “Not yet. But I will. I have a sandwich waiting for me back in the break room.”

Clarence glanced at his wristwatch. “It’s almost two,” he gently scolded. “Turn that machine off and go eat. Now.”