That's My Baby!

That's My Baby!
Vicki Lewis Thompson

Nat Grady is finally home–older and wiser. A year and a half ago, when the woman he'd loved had hinted at commitment, Nat had run far and fast. But now he knows he can't live without her. So he's back, hoping they'll be able to start again. Only, Jessica's nowhere to be found. But she did leave a little something behind….Jessica Franklin is living a nightmare. She'd thought things were rough when the man she loved ran out on her, leaving her to give birth to their child alone. But when she realized she had a stalker on her trail, she had to run–without her baby. Now, only one man can help her–Nat Grady. But can she find Nat–before the stalker finds her?

Cowboys.

Every boy’s hero…every woman’s fantasy.

They can rope, they can ride…

But can they change a diaper?

In Vicki Lewis Thompson’s bestselling miniseries,

we discovered what happened when three intrepid cowpokes bravely ventured where none of them had ever gone before—the nursery!

But now that they’re there—and discover they like it!—they’re in for an even bigger surprise!

Because a fourth strapping cowboy has just stepped forward and announced…

Dear Reader,

It’s time to pop the cork on the bubbly and break out the fireworks! I’m celebrating the grand finale of my THREE COWBOYS & A BABY miniseries and my first-ever single title release!

I hope you’ve stayed with me through the series. If not, I’ll wait while you catch up. In Harlequin Temptation #780, The Colorado Kid, rancher Sebastian Daniels was sure baby Elizabeth belonged to him. Wrangler Travis Evans had a different idea and laid claim to the little girl he called Lizzie in Two in the Saddle (#784). While these two cowboys were busy sorting out their paternity issues, Boone Connor showed up in Boone’s Bounty (#788), and insisted the child belonged to him.

All three of these books were published in the Harlequin Temptation series, but the rip-roaring conclusion needed more room. More specifically, my hero, Nat Grady, needed more room—especially considering the shock he’s in for. Raised by an abusive father, wary of emotional entanglements, he has no intention of ever becoming a daddy. But Mother Nature has other ideas….

Writing this single title has made me as excited as a cowpoke headed into town after his first trail drive. So here’s That’s My Baby! If I were a smoker, I’d be passing out cigars!

Warmly,

That’s My Baby!

Vicki Lewis Thompson

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

With love to my husband Larry,

whose faith in me has never dimmed.

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 FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

JESSICA FRANKLIN’S STOMACH gurgled with anxiety as she waited at JFK for the 5:45 flight from London. After seventeen months apart, she had to meet Nat Grady, the man she’d loved—still loved, damn it—disguised as a bag lady. Then she had to tell him about Elizabeth, the baby he had no idea they’d conceived, the baby she’d left in Colorado to keep her safe.

The embarrassing truth was, Jessica had picked up a stalker. She thought of it like that, as if she’d contracted a deadly disease and was no longer fit to be a mother. Growing up, she’d felt stifled by her wealthy father’s attempts to protect her from kidnappers. She’d left home, spurning a life of bulletproof cars and bodyguards, insisting she could live quietly and anonymously without all that. It infuriated her to be wrong.

About ten feet away, a woman clucked and cooed at the baby in her arms. Jessica ached every time she saw a mother and child. For her own good she shouldn’t watch them, but she couldn’t seem to stop torturing herself. Babies drew her like magnets. When she spotted one, she’d stare shamelessly as she tried to guess the child’s age and wondered whether Elizabeth would look anything like that, act anything like that.

This one looked to be around eight months old, Elizabeth’s age, and he was a boy, judging from the outfit. Jessica couldn’t imagine her baby this size. When she’d left her at the Rocking D Ranch, Elizabeth had been so tiny, just barely two months old. Jessica had never imagined that their separation would be this long. But now that Nat was home, she would see her baby again. Soon.