HIS DAUGHTER...THEIR CHILD - Karen Rose Smith
Reunion Brides Series , Book 1
Silhouette Special Edition #2098
ISBN: 978-0-373-65580-9
February 1211
Contemporary Series Romance

The Present in Miners Bluff, Arizona

Celeste Wells has a special reason for returning to Miners Bluff to celebrate her fifteenth high school reunion. She's made up her mind to have an important meeting with her sister's ex-husband. In school, Celeste was the shy twin with a crush on her friend Clay Sullivan, but she knew she had no chance with him once he and the lively Zoie started going out. But now, Zoie is gone, leaving Clay and their daughter behind.

Nothing is more important to Clay than three-and-a-half year-old Abby. He can't help be wary of meeting Celeste at the reunion; he has sole custody of Abby and plans to keep it that way. His worry is not without some foundation, however; even though Celeste signed all the release papers, she was Abby's surrogate mother.

Celeste was recently burned by a man with whom she hoped to make a family. Now she is only hoping to make a place in Abby's life as she is able to work as a web designer in Miners Bluff as well as in Phoenix . Celeste and Clay get together in the school gymnasium, both treading carefully with each other. For Celeste, the dance with Clay brings back old feelings. Clay blames his years-long celibacy for the feelings that holding Celeste arouse.

Celeste and Clay have much more in common—such as their love of the outdoors—than Clay and Zoie had. Zoie hoped for a different life when she married Clay, but he soon left his father's bank to start a wilderness excursion business. This put a distance between them and between Clay and his father as well. Harold Sullivan is to provide extra conflict in this already difficult relationship. Important characters also include Clay's mother. To understand Violet Sullivan's initial attitude toward Celeste, it helps to know the social gulf between the prominent founding family, the Sullivans, and the daughters of a bar waitress single mother. Celeste's job is to convince everyone that she is not Zoie all over again. You'll like Clay and Celeste and find Abby a delight.

Once more, Ms. Smith features a mother/father/child story to warm your heart. HIS DAUGHTER...THEIR CHILD is a moving tale that will have readers hoping these two caring people can overcome all the strife and stress in their situation to form a family. As the first book in the Reunion Brides series, HIS DAUGHTER...THEIR CHILD introduces several other characters who attend the Miners Bluff High reunion...and who might make their own connections.

Jane Bowers