Jill Shalvis - Long-Lost Mom

1998

Dear Reader,

Happy New Year! And welcome to another month of great reading from Silhouette Intimate Moments, just perfect for sitting back after the hectic holidays. Youll love Marilyn Pappanos Murphys Law, a MEN IN BLUE title set in New Orleans, with all that citys trademark steam. Youll remember Jack Murphy and Evie DesJardiens long after you put down this book, I promise you.

Weve got some great miniseries titles this month, too. Welcome back to Carla Cassidys Western town of MUSTANG, MONTANA in Code Name: Cowboy. Then pay a visit to Margaret Watsons CAMERON, UTAH in Cowboy with a Badge. And of course, dont forget our other titles this month. Look for Dangerous To Love, by Sally Tyler Hayes, a book whose title I personally find irresistible. And weve got books from a couple of our newest stars, too. Jill Shalvis checks in with Long-Lost Mom, and Virginia Kantra pens our FAMILIES ARE FOREVER title, The Passion of Patrick MacNeill.

Enjoy them all-and be sure to come back next month for more of the most exciting romantic reading around, right here in Silhouette Intimate Moments.

Yours,

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Senior Editor

To Matrice, for believing in me, even when I didnt. Thank you!

He came every year without fail. Same day, same time, and he wondered, as he always did, if Jenna knew it. If she was haunted by their past, too.

Of course she wasnt, and never had been.

Annoyed at himself, Stone Cameron tossed a curious squirrel a handful of his trail mix. This is the last year I do this, he told the animal over the roar of the surf.

The squirrel sat up on its haunches, hoping for more.

Stone tossed some more food, then laughed in spite of himself when the greedy thing tried to eat it all on the spot.

Ohmy God.

At the soft gasp Stone shifted on the large rock and looked over his shoulder.

A woman stood on the sand of the deserted beach, covered from head to toe in black. Black trousers, black hooded wool coat, gloves and boots. The early-morning spring sun spilled over her, bathing her in a golden glow, and for an instant she looked so familiar his heart all but stopped.

Jenna.

A shaft of pain sliced through him, neatly destroying his calm. For a moment hed thought shed come back, but he knew now that was impossible.

Jenna Loggins was gone. Long gone.

And he was glad.

The woman standing before him appeared rigid, practically unbreathing. All he could see of her was her nose, but somehow it was enough to know she was deeply troubled.

Great. For the past ten years Stone had made it a habit to stay away from women in distress. Far away.

The woman, medium height and willowy as a reed, suddenly swayed on her feet as though feeling faint.

Dammit. Are you all right? His voice was rougher and grittier than he would have liked, but sitting here, in this precise spot, where he hadnt been in an entire year, was tearing his guts out.

She nodded, then raised a glove-covered hand to her face. Behind her mirrored sunglasses he sensed her intense unwavering stare, which he returned.

She didnt look all right, although he couldnt see her well at all, just a vague impression of porcelain skin, carefully painted lips and shuttered eyes. Maybe you should sit down, he suggested, shifting over on the large rock. There was ample room for two.

Slowly, as if in a trance, the woman walked around the rock to face him. For a long minute she said nothing, did nothing, just stared at him.

And despite Stones resolve to be alone and miserable on this day, something about the woman caused a stir deep within him. It wasnt her body; he couldnt see it clearly. It certainly wasnt the face shed hidden from him with such care. No, it was something much more profound, and it disturbed him in a way he hadnt been disturbed in some time.

He was inexplicably aware of her as a woman. And he didnt want to be. God, he so didnt want to be.

Icant believe it, she whispered.

Neither could he, but he couldnt deny it. Some silent connection was drawing him to her.

The squirrel, clearly sensing snack time had come to an end, took off, chattering loudly, and disappeared into the thick woods lining the California beach. The noise seemed to snap the woman out of her spell. Again she lifted a hand to one cheek as if protecting herself from his gaze. Stone couldnt see her eyes behind the reflective sunglasses, but he knew she stared at him as if waiting for something.

Are you sure youre all right? The minute the words were out he wished them back. Would he never learn to stop trying to fix everyones problems but his own?

Youdont know me.

She sounded so shocked that Stone took a closer look. Her hood had fallen back some, revealing a crop of fawn-colored hair, artfully cut to fall in soft waves about her face-a face still more than half-covered by her scarf and the tilt of her head, almost as though she was afraid he would recognize her.

He didnt.

A horrible bone-seizing tension seem to grip her, a tension he didnt understand and told himself he didnt want to.

Dont tell me you have amnesia, he quipped, trying to lighten the mood, when in fact, for some reason, he really wanted to take her hand and tell her everything would be okay.

He was an idiot.

No, I dont have amnesia. But Her voice trailed off and her mouth closed tight. Suddenly she sank onto the rock beside him. You Im a stranger to you. As if she realized how much shed revealed, she dragged her hood back over her head and hugged herself with her arms. A complete stranger.

We can fix that easily enough, he said, disturbed by the anguish in her voice. Im Stone Cameron. And youre

Im She hesitated so long Stone became convinced she wasnt going to tell him. She continued to regard him intently, as if he could fill in the blank for her. Cindy, she said finally, almost regretfully. My name is Cindy Beatty.

A lie. He knew it even before she refused to meet his gaze. And just that quickly, his sympathy and curiosity vanished, for hed had enough of that sort of woman to last him a lifetime. Standing abruptly, he shrugged into his jacket and without another word started walking away, across the sand, toward the steep stairs that led to his truck.

Youreleaving? The last word was a squeak of surprise.

Yes. Goodbye, he added politely, unwilling, even in the face of her lie, to be completely rude. Hardening himself to the pained disbelief in her voice, Stone forced himself to keep walking. His reaction was ridiculous, but he couldnt stop himself.

Not on this day.

Shed lied, and hated herself for it. Still, Jenna watched him go with hungry eyes, suddenly transported back in time. Ten years since shed seen him. Hed been the most coolheaded, most strong-willed and honest man shed ever known. That had obviously not changed with time, for she knew hed sensed her lie.

Heart aching, she watched his broad-shouldered form slowly disappear from sight. Physically hed changed little. His laugh lines were deeper, his eyes a bit more cynical, and he wasnt as lanky, almost gawky, as hed been at twenty. But he still possessed a raw sensuality that tugged at some elementary core of her, and his body was still honed to a lean toughness by the physical labor hed done to put himself through college.

Shed gotten that tidbit from the detective shed hired, and her heart had nearly broken. For it had been her fault that hed had to work so hard back then.