Patricia Kay - The Millionaire and the Mum

If the walls of Stockwell Mansion could talk…

We’d say good riddance to that curmudgeon Caine Stockwell. He’s thrown his last crystal vase against us, that’s for sure! When Caine was alive he did nothing but make piles of money and mountains of mischief. And it’s beginning to look like that money and that mischief are very close cousins…. The Stockwell siblings recently uncovered some damning papers…documents that seem to verify that a Stockwell ancestor bilked his neighbors, the Johnsons, of their valuable land—fine Texas property oozing with black gold! Well, thank goodness the mean gene didn’t pass down to any of this generation of Stockwells. They’re all anxious to discover the truth and set things straight.

And no better man for the job than mercenary Jack Stockwell. He banished himself from his notorious family years ago, but is back for a last call of duty. Under an assumed name, he’s working on Beth Johnson’s storm-ravaged rose farm in order to dig up the dirt on the dirt. Seems Jack can’t quite keep his attention on the ground, however—his mind’s swirling with tantalizing thoughts of Beth!

In the search for their long-lost mother, the Stockwell siblings find a sister, too! But she barely steps foot in Texas when she’s kidnapped—and rescued by a Prince Charming rancher in The Cattleman and the Virgin Heiress, SE #1393, by Jackie Merritt, available May 2001, only from Silhouette Special Edition.

Dear Reader,

When Patricia Kay was a child, she could be found hiding somewhere…reading. “Ever since I was old enough to realize someone wrote books and they didn’t just magically appear, I dreamed of writing,” she says. And this month Special Edition is proud to publish Patricia’s twenty-second novel, The Millionaire and the Mom, the next of the STOCKWELLS OF TEXAS series. She admits it isn’t always easy keeping her ideas and her writing fresh. What helps, she says, is “nonwriting” activities, such as singing in her church choir, swimming, taking long walks, going to the movies and traveling. “Staying well-rounded keeps me excited about writing,” she says.

We have plenty of other fresh stories to offer this month. After finding herself in the midst of an armed robbery with a gun to her back in Christie Ridgway’s From This Day Forward, Annie Smith vows to chase her dreams…. In the next of A RANCHING FAMILY series by Victoria Pade, Kate McDermot returns from Vegas unexpectedly married and with a Cowboy’s Baby in her belly! And Sally Tyler Hayes’s Magic in a Jelly Jar is what young Luke Morgan hopes for by saving his teeth in a jelly jar…because he thinks that his dentist is the tooth fairy and can grant him one wish: a mother! Also, don’t miss the surprising twists in Her Mysterious Houseguest by Jane Toombs, and an exciting forbidden love story with Barbara Benedict’s Solution: Marriage.

At Special Edition, fresh, innovative books are our passion. We hope you enjoy them all.

Best,

Karen Taylor Richman

Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

has had a lifelong love affair with books and has always wanted to be a writer. She also loves cats, movies, the ocean, music, Broadway shows, cooking, traveling, being with her family and friends, Cajun food, “Calvin and Hobbes” and getting mail. Patricia and her husband have three grown children, three adorable grandchildren and live in Houston, Texas. Patricia loves to hear from readers. You can write to her at P.O. Box 441603, Houston, TX 77244-1603.

Silhouette Special Edition is delighted to present

Available

Where family secrets, scandalous pasts and unexpected love wreak havoc on the lives of the infamous Stockwells of Texas!

THE TYCOON’S INSTANT DAUGHTER

Christine Rimmer

(SE #1369) on sale

SEVEN MONTHS AND COUNTING…

Myrna Temte

(SE #1375) on sale

HER UNFORGETTABLE FIANCÉ

Allison Leigh

(SE #1381) on sale

THE MILLIONAIRE AND THE MOM

Patricia Kay

(SE #1387) on sale

THE CATTLEMAN AND THE VIRGIN HEIRESS

Jackie Merritt

(SE #1393) on sale

Available at your favorite retail outlet.

Visit Silhouette at www.eHarlequin.com

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

R ain and wind battered the casement windows of the first-floor library of the Stockwell mansion as thunder rumbled overhead. The storm had been moving toward the greater Dallas area for two days and had finally hit. But no one was complaining; the rain was a welcome change from the relentless heat and droughtlike conditions that had plagued this part of the state all summer long. Yet despite the noise of the storm, the four occupants of the room seemed oblivious to what was happening outdoors, so intent were they on their conversation.

“So we’re agreed?” Jack Stockwell was saying. “I’ll leave tomorrow for the Johnson farm.”

Cord and Rafe, his twin brothers, both nodded. His sister, Kate, was slower to concur, but she finally nodded, too.

As always, when regarding his sister, the hard shell Jack kept around his heart softened. He hated that her joy over her recent engagement was marred by sadness. Learning a few months back that Caine Stockwell had been lying to them all these years had shaken Kate to the core, yet her love for their father hadn’t wavered, and these past few days since his death had been very difficult for her.

As it had many times since their father had confessed his duplicity, anger flooded Jack. How could Caine have done this to his children? How could he have banished their mother from their lives when they were little more than babies and then told them she was dead? Depriving them of Madelyn’s presence was a despicable thing to do, and Jack wasn’t sure if he would ever forgive his father. He understood his father’s motives, but no matter what Caine thought Madelyn had done, he’d had no right to cut her out of their lives.

Regardless of how many times Jack told himself it was wrong, he couldn’t mourn his father. Caine Stockwell had been a real bastard. From earliest childhood, Jack had known his father hated him. His feelings were evident in every word, every slap, every brutal act directed Jack’s way. Caine had not once had a loving or kind word for his oldest son. Indeed, he never missed a chance to belittle Jack.

As he had so many times before, Jack wondered what it was about him that had caused his father to hate him so much. Angry that this question continued to bother him when he should have come to terms with it long ago, he shoved it aside. What did it matter? Caine was gone. The wrongs he had perpetrated against Jack could never be changed.

“It’s still hard for me to believe that Daddy didn’t at least try to find out if Gabriel Johnson was telling the truth,” Kate said, her dark blue eyes meeting Jack’s. She was referring to the fact that she and her brothers had—in going through their father’s papers—discovered a series of letters from Gabriel Johnson in which he accused their grandfather Stockwell of stealing Gabriel’s father’s fortune. He’d said he had proof and had demanded restitution. “After all,” Kate continued, “the Johnsons are our mother’s family!”

“Hell, Kate, why is it hard for you to believe? Look at what our father did to us!” Even though it would have given Kate some measure of comfort if they all pretended their father had been unaware of the possibility that a long-ago Stockwell really had cheated their mother’s family out of its rightful inheritance, Jack refused to do it. First of all, he didn’t believe it for an instant. Secondly, he wouldn’t lie to Kate. Hell, his father didn’t deserve any whitewashing of his actions. Caine Stockwell had been ruthless in his business dealings. He would not have wasted one moment of sympathy on the Johnson family, even if he thought Gabriel Johnson’s claims were legitimate.

Caine’s philosophy and that of his cronies echoed that of the jungle: survival of the fittest. If the Johnsons couldn’t hold on to their fortune, that was their problem, not his.

And yet, even as Jack knew his father was entirely capable of turning a blind eye to any shady business deals that might have happened in 1900, as Gabriel Johnson claimed, Jack had some doubts about the authenticity of Gabriel Johnson’s claims himself. If this Johnson man really had proof of being cheated, wouldn’t he have produced it? Wouldn’t he have taken Caine to court to try to get back what was rightfully his? No, something was odd about this business, and even though Jack was prepared to believe the worst about his father, he was too familiar with the way people twisted the truth to suit their own purposes to believe Gabriel Johnson’s claims simply because he’d made them.

Still, if there was any possibility their ancestors really had stolen his mother’s ancestors’ property, the only right thing to do was make restitution. They were all agreed on that point.

In investigating, Jack had discovered Gabriel Johnson was dead, and that he’d had only two direct descendants of that original Johnson, a boy and girl who lived with their mother on a rose farm in Rose Hill, Texas.

So tomorrow Jack would leave for Rose Hill.

“What’re you going to tell this Beth Johnson when you see her, Jack?”

Jack shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’m just going to nose around, see what I can find out, then play it by ear.”

Cord nudged Rafe with his elbow. “See? What’d I tell you? Jack flies by the seat of his pants.”

“I’ve been thinking on my feet for a long time now,” Jack answered mildly. He was referring to the fact that he’d been a mercenary specializing in hostage negotiation and rescue missions for the past fourteen years. The only way a mercenary stayed alive was by thinking fast.

“I know,” Cord replied. “I was just kidding. Rafe and I trust you to make the right decision about the Johnsons, don’t we, little brother?”

Rafe rolled his eyes. Cord never missed a chance to remind him that he was eight minutes older. “Yes.”

“I trust your judgment, too,” Kate was quick to add.

Jack smiled at her. “Thanks. When are you leaving for Massachusetts?”

Months ago, after finding out their mother might still be alive and that there was a possibility they had a sibling they’d never known about, Jack and his brothers and sister had started trying to find them. One lead led to another, and last month Jack had gone to France to follow up on the latest information. While there he’d found a painting of a woman and a young girl who strongly resembled Jack’s sister, Kate. The painting led them to a woman named Madelyn LeClaire, who lived on Cape Cod. They were fairly certain this woman and their mother were the same person, and now that their father’s funeral was over, Kate planned to go back to Massachusetts to try to arrange a meeting with Mrs. LeClaire.

“On Monday.” For the first time since their meeting had begun, the sadness faded from Kate’s eyes. “Brett has some things he has to take care of first.” Brett Larson was Kate’s fiancé.