LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter One

      A cold north wind swooshed past Stephanie Fortune as she stepped through the glass door of the Rambling Rose Pediatric Center, but the tiny baby bundled in a heavy blue blanket was snug and warm in her arms as she carried him down a short corridor and into the busy day-care center.

      As she made her way through a large room filled with shrieks of laughter and squeals from a group of preschool children, a few of the busy staff members glanced in her direction and waved. Stephanie waved back and continued walking until she reached a wide door that led to an area designated for babies under twelve months of age.

      After a short knock, the door swung wide and Alaina, a middle-age woman with a kind face, greeted her with a cheery “good morning” and immediately followed it with a disapproving eye on her thin jacket.

      “Young lady, how long is it going to take you to remember you’re living in Texas now, not Florida? You’re going to freeze without a proper coat!”

      “I haven’t had time to buy any winter clothing. Besides, most of the locals tell me that spring comes early to this part of Texas. And as long as little Linus is warm and comfy that’s all I care about.”

      Stephanie flipped the blanket off the baby’s head and smiled lovingly down at the four-week-old boy. According to his pediatrician, Dr. Green, the baby had been born three to four weeks early. But thankfully, his birth weight had been enough to keep him out of neonatal care.

      “It wouldn’t be good for his mother to come down with a cold,” Alaina said. “You might give him the sniffles.”

      Unfortunately, Stephanie wasn’t Linus’s real mother. No one in Rambling Rose, or points beyond, seemed to know where Laurel, the biological mother, had gone after she’d walked into the pediatric center and left the infant with a nurse at the front desk. Since then, Stephanie had been the boy’s foster mother, and with each passing day she was beginning to regard the baby as her own son.

      “I never get a cold,” Stephanie assured her, then bent down her head and pressed a kiss to Linus’s smooth forehead. He smelled of baby oil, powder and the formula he’d nursed only minutes before she’d made the drive into town. The scents, along with the warm weight of his little body tucked into the crook of her arm, comforted her. “And as long as Linus’s mother is missing, I’m going to give him the best care I can.”

      “I’m sure you get tired of people asking, but have you heard any news about her?” Alaina asked.

      Mixed emotions swirled inside Stephanie as she studied Linus’s little pug nose, bow-shaped mouth and dark blue eyes, which were not yet developed enough to focus on much more than movements directly in front of his face. Like everyone in Rambling Rose, Stephanie hoped Linus’s biological mother was alive and safe. On the other hand, she’d wanted a child of her own for a long, long time, so ever since she’d suddenly been given the chance to be a foster mother to Linus, she’d felt like her life was a dream come true. Yet, each day she had to force herself to remember that Linus didn’t actually belong to her. It would be a year or more before she might get the chance to adopt him legally, and before that happened, Laurel might have a change of heart and show up to claim her son.

      “No news at all,” Stephanie said, answering the woman’s question. “Dr. Green believes she could be suffering from postpartum depression or maybe even some sort of psychosis. But she wasn’t his patient, so he’s only guessing.”

      “Well, you’re doing a wonderful job with Linus,” Alaina assured her, then held out her arms for the baby. “And from what I hear you’re doing a bang-up job at the Paws and Claws Animal Clinic. Frankly, I don’t know how you handle both. Every time I pass the new building, the parking lot is overflowing with vehicles.”

      Stephanie handed over Linus and a heavy diaper bag to Alaina. “The animal clinic is very busy,” she agreed. “And today is spay-and-neuter day, so we’ll be even busier than usual.” She glanced at a large clock hanging on the wall. “Which means I’d better be going.”

      Stephanie gave Linus a goodbye kiss, then hurried out of the day care. As she drove to Paws and Claws Animal Clinic, she thought about the millions of other mothers who had to leave their children at day care while they worked at a job they either loved or simply endured to help pay the bills at home.

      Thankfully, Stephanie loved her job as a veterinary assistant and she didn’t have to worry about making her paycheck stretch to cover essentials. She realized there were some folks around Rambling Rose who assumed she’d inherited her wealth because her last name was Fortune. But that wasn’t entirely the case. She’d worked hard to acquire her college education and later support herself in her chosen profession.

      In less than five minutes, Stephanie arrived at Rambling Rose’s animal clinic and rescue facility. The new sprawling building that housed Paws and Claws had been built by her three brothers, who owned and operated Fortune Brothers Construction. The modern structure of white brick and brown trim was a far cry from the cramped space of the old clinic that had served the community for many years. So far, Dr. Neil and the whole staff were enjoying the updated treatment rooms and a waiting area large enough to accommodate the daily influx of patients.

      Stephanie entered the building through a back entrance and went straight to a small break room to stow her jacket and handbag in a locker. As she turned the dial of the combination lock, an excited female voice sounded directly behind her right shoulder.

      “Stephanie! Oh, wow, are you going to be extra glad you came to work early this morning!”

      Stephanie turned away from the block of metal lockers to see Monica, a young woman who worked in the clinic’s bookkeeping department. From the animated look on her face, something unusual was going on.

      Combing fingers through her long, windblown red hair, Stephanie said, “I’m always extra glad to be at work, Monica. What’s so different about today?”

      “Because he’s in the waiting room! With his dog! It been ages since he’s been in the clinic and now—finally—he’s back!”

      Stephanie refrained from rolling her eyes as she pinned a name tag to the thin black sweater she was wearing with her blue jeans. At twenty-seven, she’d had far too many dating disappointments to let herself get excited over a man.

      “He?” she asked with casual indifference. “Who is this man that’s got you all gaga this morning?”

      “Acton Donovan! His family owns a ranch not far from town. And believe me, Stephanie, there’s no other man in Rambling Rose like him! He’s cute and sexy and adorable and—”

      “Whoa!” Stephanie held up a hand. The only kind of guys Stephanie had been able to find were those who’d been more concerned about their own personal wants and needs, but Monica didn’t need to know that. “There’s no such man that you’re describing. He’d be too good to be true. And I have work to do.”

      She started out of the break room with Monica stalking her heels. “All right, you don’t have to believe me,” she said under her breath. “You’ll see for yourself when Dayna brings him and his dog back to an examining room. So be prepared. That’s all I can say!”

      Stephanie cast her an indulgent smile. “Don’t worry, Monica, I won’t faint at the sight of Mr. Hunky.”

      “Stephanie,

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