LITMIR.BIZ

      Dear Reader,

      Welcome to the second book in my MIGHTY QUINNS trilogy, featuring youngest brother Danny.

      About ten years ago, I happened across a small blacksmith shop near my hometown and decided to stop in and see what was going on. I’d nearly forgotten that place until I was looking for a profession for Danny Quinn and it just popped into my head.

      I was so impressed by an artist using fire and tools to coax beautiful shapes from reluctant iron. It took strength and patience and creativity—exactly the qualities I wanted for Danny.

      I hope you enjoy The Mighty Quinns: Danny. And don’t miss the final book in the trilogy next month, when eldest brother Kellan meets his match.

      Happy reading,

       Kate Hoffmann

      About the Author

      KATE HOFFMANN began writing for Mills & Boon in 1993. Since then she’s published sixty-five books, primarily in the Mills & Boon^® Temptation and Mills & Boon^® Blaze^® lines. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys music, theater and musical theater. She is active working with high school students in the performing arts. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin with her cat, Chloe.

       The Mighty Quinns: Danny

      Kate Hoffmann

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

       Prologue

      DANNY QUINN PULLED the pocketknife from his jacket and opened the blade. He carefully cut into the piece of soap he’d stolen from beneath the kitchen sink, hoping his mother wouldn’t notice it was missing before he had a chance to finish his carving.

      A brisk breeze blew off the sea, scattering the flakes of soap in the sand. He’d come down to his favorite spot, a spot he’d named Smuggler’s Cove, to get away from his brothers. There weren’t many places the youngest Quinn had all to his own, but this was one of them.

      He’d spent a lot of solitary time in the area. Beyond the cliffs was the old haunted castle, a place his older brothers always talked about. He hadn’t quite gathered the courage to venture inside; but he had found this spot, far enough from the ghosts and goblins that guarded the old tower. Though it was a five-kilometer walk cross-country, it was worth it to put distance between him and his tormentors.

      Today, just after breakfast, he had sneaked away from home, his rucksack packed with a lunch, scraps of driftwood and soap and his pocketknife—ready to enjoy a day alone. Who needed older brothers anyhow? He was just grand on his own.

      “I saw him go down here!”

      Danny looked up to see his eldest brother, Kellan, standing thirty feet above him. He scrambled back to hide himself against the rocks, but he wasn’t fast enough. “He’s down at the bottom,” Kellan shouted.

      “Go away,” Danny yelled. “This is my place and you can’t come down.”

      “How did you get down there?” Kellan called.

      “I jumped,” Danny shot back.

      Riley appeared beside Kellan. It was now two against one, the typical breakdown between the three brothers. “Bollocks!” Riley said. “Tell us how you got down or we’ll tell Ma you were climbing on the cliffs.”

      They wouldn’t go away. His older brothers were merciless. “Find the rock that looks like a duck,” Danny finally said. “The path is on the other side of that.” He watched as Riley and Kellan searched for the right spot and then slowly descended through the rocks. As they both leapt down onto the sand, Danny watched them warily.

      “How did you find this place?” Kellan asked, looking around in wonder.

      “I was searching for driftwood in the rocks. I just found it.” He cursed. “How did you find me?”

      “We followed you,” Kellan said, a wide grin on his face. “We were curious where you were off to in such a rush.”

      “What are you doin’ down here?” Riley asked. He pointed to the bar of soap that Danny held to his chest. “What’s that? Are you plannin’ on a bath, then? Tryin’ to smell grand for your girlfriend, Evelyn?” Riley laughed, jabbing Kellan in the side with his elbow. “That’s why he’s hidin’ out here. Danny has a sweetheart. Maybe she’s meetin’ him here for a bit of snogging.”

      “You in love with Evelyn, Danno?” Kellan asked, circling around him.

      “No,” Danny muttered. “I don’t have a girl.”

      “Then why are you holdin’ so tight to that soap?” Riley asked.

      Danny tried to shove it in his jacket pocket, but Kellan was waiting to snatch it from his grip. Danny cursed as his brother retreated a safe distance.

      “What are you doing with this?” Kellan said with a laugh, looking down at the dragon’s head that Danny had begun to carve. He immediately went silent. Riley frowned, then walked over to Kellan’s side. “What is it?”

      “Where did you get this?” Kellan asked.

      “It’s mine,” Danny murmured. “Now give it over.”

      “Who did you steal this from?” Kellan demanded.

      “No one. I told you, it’s mine.”

      Riley held up the soap, pointing to the dragon’s head. “You carved this?”

      “I did,” Danny said, grabbing the soap back from his brother.

      “Shut yer gob,” Riley said. “You can’t carve like that. You’re just a baby.”

      Danny’s eyes narrowed. “I’m eight years old.”

      “Prove it,” Riley challenged. “Prove you carved that.”

      “I don’t have to do anything you tell me,” Danny said. “You’re not my da, so feck off, the both of you.”

      “Maybe he did,” Kellan said. “He’s a clever little shite. After all, he found this place, didn’t he?”

      “I did,” Danny insisted. “And I’ll show you.” Plopping down on

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