Can Maggie find the father she wants for her son in the man who once abandoned her when she needed him most?
Kurt Rainer left his hometown with a bad reputation and bitterness in his heart. After twelve years as a mountain guide he’s back—and involved in a high profile murder of a movie star. .
Maggie longs for a stable family and a loving father for her child and has plans for herself and her twelve year old son that certainly do not have room for a former lover who abandoned her, leaving her pregnant and vulnerable just when she needed him most.
When Kurt turns up wounded on her doorstep, she faces hard choices. His sexual attraction is as strong as ever and she battles with every instinct she has for security and peace. He never was a suitable father for a boy, even less so now as a suspected accomplice in a crime. Maggie wants passion and integrity, strength and independence. Can she find these qualities in Kurt Rainer?
Excerpt
Maggie took a deep breath, struggling to center herself, to deal with the tumult of emotions. He wanted his old room! Kurt Rainer wanted to be in his old room, in the house that she now lived in! The man she'd firmly shut out of her life and her thoughts was back in flesh and blood and invading her home. She leaned back against the counter and closed her eyes. The clock ticked loudly in the silence that hung heavy in the kitchen. Through the open window, the chain on the humming bird feeder creaked softly as a bird came down to drink. Whatever she said would be wrong. "Go away, I don't care if your grandmother promised you the whole house. You can't stay here." Or how about. "Please make yourself at home. Share everything." Not! as Jeff would say.
A scraping noise from the table startled her into opening her eyes. Kurt had pushed his chair back and was on his feet, doubled over, his hands pressed to his side. His face was waxy pale, his eyes squeezed shut. His mouth twisted in a grimace of pain.
"What is it?" Maggie thrust herself away from the counter and took two steps to his side.
He steadied himself with the back of the chair, then waved her away and straightened carefully. "It's okay," he said in a gasp. "Don't worry about it." He let go of the chair and took a tentative step. "Got to move the car," he whispered through bloodless lips. He reached the doorway with a visible effort and clung to the jamb for a long moment. Then, quietly and slowly, he slid down the length of the wall and lay crumpled in a heap at her feet.
Professional Reviews
Romantic Times
Patricia Crossley has written a compelling story of two former lovers trying again, in spite of nearly insurmountable obstacles. She also gives us a baffling mystery. These two characters are well-developed, interesting people, and the mystery they solve is finely crafted.
Christine Chambers
Bridges magazine Platinum
A tantalizing weave of love, adventure, and deception marks the pages of A Suitable Father, and renders the reader yearning for a sequel. Patricia Crossley's ability to engulf her reader comes from an intriguing and well-developed
plot mixed with a titillating romance. This is one sexy contemporary romance you wont want to miss.
A Suitable Father earns platinum honors! -SEXY
Huntress reviews
More going on in this story than I let on. Trouble at the work place for Maggie, trouble for Kurt while helping the police, and a lot of water under the bridge between Maggie and Kurt. The characters are well written and seem to have a life of their own. A flowing story full of romance, healing, and the learning of trust between two people. Recommended
Destiny's Journey, judged Best Western in the Easychair Bookshop competition.
Family deception kept Jennifer O’Malley from marrying her first love ten years ago, West Point officer, Glen Herrington. Now a Civil War widow, she leaves war-torn Richmo
