Two little girls need a family…in this novel by New York Times bestselling author Lee Tobin McClain!
They are his nieces…
But she can never tell him.
As the new guardian to her twin nieces, Hannah Antonicelli is determined to
keep her promise to her late sister—that she’ll never reveal the identity of
their father. But when the girls’ uncle, Luke Hutchenson, moves in next door
and takes a job where Hannah works, the truth threatens their growing
connection. How can she keep the secret when she can’t even guard her own
heart?
Buy Finding a Christmas Home by Lee Tobin McClain
Hannah Antonicelli walked out of the Rescue Haven
Learn-and-Play and flopped down on the bench that ran along the wall of the red
barn.
“Cold for sitting outside, isn’t it?” Her friend Gabby
wrapped her heavy parka more tightly around herself before sitting beside
Hannah. Despite the fact that she and her husband oversaw all Rescue Haven’s
programs—the dog rescue, the after-school program for at-risk boys and the
childcare center—Gabby always had time to stop and chat.
And Gabby was right: November in rural Ohio wasn’t
sit-outside weather. Wind whisked across the neighboring cornfields, rustling
the dry, light brown stalks, carrying with it the faint, clean smell of
oncoming snow. “I just need a minute before I start with the dogs,” Hannah
said.
“Take a minute! Take an hour, or the whole morning off,
if you need. It’s a great thing you’re doing, providing a home for Marnie’s
girls.”
“The Learn-and-Play is the only possible way I’ll manage,
so thank you for accepting the twins on short notice.” And she didn’t want to
take advantage of Gabby’s generosity by skimping on her part-time job as the
Rescue Haven dog trainer. What with everything that had happened, she’d already
taken too much time off. Not to mention the fact that Gabby was pregnant and
didn’t need extra stress. “Let me know if they need anything or get upset.”
Caring for her sister’s eighteen-month-old twin girls had
been the right thing to do when Marnie had died of complications after a drug
overdose two weeks ago. The desperate phone call from her estranged older
sister had shaken Hannah’s world at its foundation. She and Mom had rushed to
Marnie’s side and instantly agreed to care for the twins they barely knew.
Which meant that, for now, Hannah was back in her
childhood home. Mom’s house had plenty of space, a big yard with a tire swing
and was close to Rescue Haven.
Anyway, until they got the twins’ lives in order and
their schedules figured out, it was going to take two of them to manage things.
Being in the same house was just easier.
Mom was busy trying to keep her struggling bakery afloat
during hard times. She was also grief-stricken and guilt-ridden over Marnie’s
death—not in any shape to be a primary caregiver. Whereas Hannah… Hannah was
more angry at her sister than anything else. Marnie had neglected her babies.
She’d caused terrible pain to their mother. And she’d entrusted Hannah with a
secret that wasn’t going to be easy to keep.
The blond, curly-haired twins had instantly become
Hannah’s priority in life. She had to raise them right, and she would. She
yawned. The twins hadn’t slept well last night—again—and she was just so tired…
She might have actually dozed off for a few seconds, and
when she opened her eyes, she felt like she was dreaming. “Who’s that?” she
asked Gabby as she stared at the movie-star-handsome, rugged man striding
toward them.
“You don’t recognize him? That’s Luke Hutchenson.”
Hannah’s stomach lurched. “When did he come back to
town?”
About the Author
Lee Tobin McClain
is the bestselling author of more than thirty emotional, small-town romances
described by Publishers' Weekly as enthralling, intense, and heartfelt. A dog
lover and proud mom, she often includes kids and animals in her
books. When she's not writing, she enjoys hiking with her goofy goldendoodle,
chatting online with her writer friends, and admiring her daughter's mastery of
the latest TikTok dances. Learn more at www.leetobinmcclain.com.
Connect with the
Author
0 comments:
Post a Comment