The Doctor's Instant Family Read online

  Addie Malone, brave frontierswoman and founder of Shotgun Ridge in the 1800s, would be proud to see the town’s bustling rebirth. Just last year, it was nearly extinct. But thanks to the efforts of four smug, matchmaking old men, Shotgun Ridge was bursting at the family seams once more. Now, it was time for a new bachelor roundup—and sexy, flirtatious Dr. Chance Hammond was due for a taste of his own medicine!

  Chance had thought he was perfectly happy as a bachelor. Ever since the old folks had started pulling their matchmaking shenanigans, he’d had to dodge all manner of women. Then Kelly had come to town, and he’d started to think that bachelorhood wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

  An odd pressure built up in his chest, emotions he couldn’t define, that seemed just out of reach. An anxiety lurked inside him that made him want to sweep Kelly off her feet and hold her to him until he could figure it out.

  The chemistry between them was undeniable. But that didn’t mean she would fall into his arms and live happily ever after with him. Her heart had been wounded.

  Chance wanted to be the man to heal it.

  Dear Reader,

  Happy Holidays! Everyone at Harlequin American Romance wishes you joy and cheer at this wonderful time of year.

  This month, bestselling author Judy Christenberry inaugurates MAITLAND MATERNITY: TRIPLETS, QUADS & QUINTS, our newest in-line continuity, with Triplet Secret Babies. In this exciting series, multiple births lead to remarkable love stories when Maitland Maternity Hospital opens a multiple birth wing. Look for Quadruplets on the Doorstep by Tina Leonard next month and The McCallum Quintuplets (3 stories in 1 volume) featuring New York Times bestselling author Kasey Michaels, Mindy Neff and Mary Anne Wilson in February.

  In The Doctor’s Instant Family, the latest book in Mindy Neff’s BACHELORS OF SHOTGUN RIDGE miniseries, a sexy and single M.D. is intrigued by his mysterious new office assistant. Can the small-town doctor convince the single mom to trust him with her secrets—and her heart? Next, temperatures rise when a handsome modern-day swashbuckler offers to be nanny to three little girls in exchange for access to a plain-Jane professor’s house in Her Passionate Pirate by Neesa Hart. And let us welcome a new author to the Harlequin American Romance family. Kathleen Webb makes her sparkling debut with Cindrella’s Shoe Size.

  Enjoy this month’s offerings, and make sure to return each and every month to Harlequin American Romance!

  Wishing you happy reading,

  Melissa Jeglinski

  Associate Senior Editor

  Harlequin American Romance

  THE DOCTOR’S INSTANT FAMILY

  Mindy Neff

  This book is dedicated to Wayne and Beth Neff.

  There’s nothing greater than the love of family.

  You guys are the best.

  And to my husband, Gene,

  who always comes up with the greatest scenes!

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Mindy Neff published her first book with Harlequin American Romance in 1995. Since then, she has appeared regularly on the Waldenbooks’s bestseller list and won numerous awards, including the National Readers’ Choice Award and the Romantic Times Magazine Career Achievement Award.

  Originally from Louisiana, Mindy settled in Southern California, where she married a really romantic guy and raised five great kids. Family, friends, writing and reading are her passions. When not writing, Mindy’s ideal getaway is a good book, hot sunshine and a chair at the river’s edge at her second home in Parker, Arizona.

  Mindy loves to hear from readers and can be reached at P.O. Box 2704-262, Huntington Beach, CA 92647, or through her Web site at www.mindyneff.com, or e-mail at [email protected].

  Books by Mindy Neff

  HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

  644—A FAMILY MAN

  663—ADAM’S KISS

  679—THE BAD BOY NEXT DOOR

  711—THEY’RE THE ONE!

  739—A BACHELOR FOR THE BRIDE

  759—THE COWBOY IS A DADDY

  769—SUDDENLY A DADDY

  795—THE VIRGIN & HER BODYGUARD*

  800—THE PLAYBOY & THE MOMMY*

  809—A PREGNANCY AND A PROPOSAL

  830—THE RANCHER’S MAIL-ORDER BRIDE†

  834—THE PLAYBOY’S OWN MISS PRIM†

  838—THE HORSEMAN’S CONVENIENT WIFE†

  857—THE SECRETARY GETS HER MAN

  898—CHEYENNE’S LADY†

  902—THE DOCTOR’S INSTANT FAMILY†

  Contents

  Prologue

  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

  Chapter Fourteen

  Prologue

  “I tell you, some of the boys in this town just don’t know a good thing when they see it!” Ozzie Peyton stoked the fire in the fireplace, satisfied with the soothing warmth that rushed through the room like a welcome burst of sunshine.

  Some might call him a crazy old fool, but he liked to keep the house comfortable for his sweet Vanessa. Her portrait hung above the mantel, and though she’d gone to the hereafter several years back, she was still his best friend and confidante.

  “Why, the woman’s right under his nose,” he lamented to Vanessa. “But do you think he’d do anything about it? Heck no. He even let her get away with staying home on Thanksgiving—but I told you about that, didn’t I, love?”

  He sighed and sat down with his journal. Since Vanessa had passed on, he’d been keeping a record of his daily thoughts, his plans—especially the ones he, Lloyd, Vern, and Henry cooked up.

  Not that the four of them were such a devious bunch. But once they’d tried their hand at this here matchmakin’ business, the excitement had simply swept them away. Nothing made a man feel better than when love was in the air.

  “Families and babies, that’s our aim, you bet. The sound of sweet children’s voices. Kelly Anderson has two of the cutest tykes. The littlest one is so quiet.” His loving gaze rested on Vanessa’s smiling lips. “You’d have gentled her, love, eased out her secrets and gotten her to open up, I just know it. And it’s at times like this that I miss you so much.”

  He told himself he wasn’t going to get all maudlin. Vanessa would have his hide. She’d been a sunny woman, so filled with goodness and compassion. The good Lord had seen fit to take her too soon, in Ozzie’s opinion, but he didn’t like to question the Man Upstairs.

  There were reasons for everything—including heartache.

  “Plenty of heartache with Kelly Anderson and her little girls, I’m thinking. You remember Bill Dunaway, don’t you, darlin’? He was part of my squadron back in forty-two—a young, wet-behind-the-ears medic. Kelly’s his daughter, and when he called me to talk over her problems, well, it just seemed like the perfect plan to have her come on out here and work for Chance for a spell. The boy’s fairly hopping in the medical arena these days.”

  Outside the big picture window, snowflakes drifted gently from the night sky. So far they were having a mild winter in Montana, which was practically unheard of.

  “If the weather can cooperate, I don’t know why the fool kids can’t do the same. Why, before long, I’m thinking we’re—the boys and me—are gonna just have to knock their heads together. Chance and Kelly’s, that is.”

  He sighed and picked up his pen. “I know, I know, love. Subtle. I’m an ornery old cuss, though. Thought this one had just fallen plum into our laps, what with old Bill calling me out of the blue
that way. I’ll give them till Christmas.” He gazed back at the portrait where dancing flames from the fireplace cast shadows over Vanessa’s face, giving her the look of a Madonna.

  “Wouldn’t mind a little help from your department, if you know what I mean. If you could just speak to the Man Upstairs…Well, you do your best, sweetheart. After all, it’s Christmastime. The season for miracles.”

  Chapter One

  Kelly Anderson heard the sound of sleigh bells.

  “Mommy, come look!” Six-year-old Jessica snatched at the lace curtains, then abandoned her place at the front window and bounded off the couch. Four-year-old Kimberly, her round eyes filled with wonder, reached for Kelly’s hand, giving a slight tug—a bid for action or protection, she couldn’t tell.

  It broke her heart that her youngest daughter hadn’t spoken a word in six months. At one time she’d been a chatterbox just like her older sister. But tragedy had trapped her voice inside a broken little soul that hours of therapy had failed to mend.

  Kelly had hoped the temporary move to Shotgun Ridge, Montana, would heal the horrors a four-year-old should never have had to witness.

  They’d been here a little more than a month now, and Kimmy was still silent.

  “Come on, Mom! Hurry!”

  “I’m coming,” she said, letting her daughters drag her out onto the front porch of Mildred and Opal Bagley’s boardinghouse.

  The night air was downright freezing, something she still wasn’t used to, especially coming from California’s mild climate.

  Her heart gave a little flip, then softened in absolute delight. A reluctant smile pulled at her mouth.

  Dr. Chance Hammond, her sexy-as-sin temporary employer, was parked at the curb…in a sleigh of all things. Well, it looked like a sleigh, anyway. A sort of retrofitted hay wagon pulled by two well-behaved horses adorned with wreaths of jingling bells on their yokes.

  She recalled a conversation she’d had with her father hardly a month ago. Frustrated with the turmoil her life was in, she’d wondered what had happened to the days of Little House on the Prairie, where neighbors helped neighbors, folks paid for medical services in chickens and homemade canned goods, and life moved at a pace where a person could at least catch her breath.

  Looking at the sight before her, she decided she’d found it.

  “Get your coats, ladies,” Chance called, his hands holding the reins loosely. “Your chariot awaits.”

  “I wasn’t aware I’d ordered a chariot,” Kelly said.

  He cocked a sexy brow and Kelly felt an unwelcome tug of response flutter in her stomach. She wasn’t here to start a relationship with a man—especially a doctor—but this one was fairly persistent. Ever since she’d come to work at his small clinic, he’d made no secret of his attraction to her.

  “Aw, you’ve forgotten already. The drive-through live nativity production starts tonight.”

  “I didn’t forget. It’s only down the street a ways.” Although the thought of walking two blocks in the snow made her shiver on general principle. Her blood had yet to thicken sufficiently. She’d been cold since she’d arrived in Montana.

  “Now why would you want to walk when you’ve got a perfectly good sleigh and tour guide to get you there?”

  “Please, Mommy?” Jessica hopped up and down. “Kimberly wants to go! She said so.”

  Kelly glanced down at her youngest daughter. The little girl hadn’t uttered a word, but that didn’t stop Jessica from claiming to know her sister’s mind. Kimberly chose not to use her vocal cords, but her eyes spoke volumes.

  And Kelly would do anything to hear that sweet voice once again.

  She looked back at Chance. “All right. Give me a minute to get our coats.”

  He gave her a grin that made her nerves skitter in a way they hadn’t in a very long time, a grin that reminded her of the wolf in one of the fairy tales she read to her girls. Well, he’d just have to turn that charm on someone else.

  She wasn’t taking up with Dr. Chance Hammond, and she wasn’t letting him figuratively walk her through the woods to Grandma’s house.

  She would, however, accept a short ride to the church’s drive-through nativity production.

  For her daughters, she told herself.

  After bundling against the weather in gloves, scarves and heavy coats, she herded Jessica and Kimberly out to the sleigh.

  Chance hopped down and lifted each of the girls into the wagon, then turned to Kelly, reaching out.

  She sidestepped him. “I think I can manage.”

  He shook his head. “My mama taught me to be chivalrous to the ladies.”

  He put his hands at her waist, and she gripped his arms, looking up into his laughing eyes. “Your mama teach you to flirt, too?”

  A few gentle flakes of snow drifted onto his hat. He winked. “This isn’t flirting, Hollywood. When I decide to flirt, you’ll definitely know.”

  Oh, he was so smooth. And so charming. And ever since she’d told him she’d come from Beverly Hills, he’d been calling her Hollywood. She’d quit correcting him after the first couple of days at the clinic. “Are those sheep’s clothes under that coat?”

  He laughed. “Now the woman calls me a wolf.”

  “Did I, now?” She shouldn’t be standing in the freezing cold, gazing up at him like a young girl in her first blush of a crush, but she couldn’t help it. Chance Hammond was a difficult man to resist.

  “Implied,” he corrected himself. “And they’re shepherd’s clothes, thank you so much for noticing. I’m in charge of the donkeys.” Beneath his coat was a flowing white costume that didn’t quite reach the hem of his jeans.

  “Don’t shepherds watch the sheep?”

  “Wyatt Malone’s in charge of them. Him being a cattleman and all, he wants to keep a close eye on the critters for fear they’ll get loose and mow his grazing land down to the roots.”

  “In this snow?”

  Chance shrugged and hoisted her into the sleigh, grinning at her surprised gasp. “Those cattlemen haven’t met a sheep yet they trust.”

  Yes, well, Kelly wasn’t too trusting of this particular shepherd, either.

  He vaulted up on the seat, glanced back at Jessica and Kimberly. “Ready, girls?” When they nodded happily, he clicked his tongue at the horses and set them moving slowly down Main Street.

  Kelly felt the bite of frigid air against her cheeks. Christmas was definitely in the air. The night was so clear she could see for miles across the prairie as she glanced back over her shoulder, away from town.

  Facing forward again, listening to the merry jingle of the bells on the horses, Kelly took in the sights and sounds. They had an otherworldly feel, far removed from anything she’d ever experienced.

  The town was breathtakingly beautiful. Christmas lights twinkled in candy colors of red, green, blue and orange, strung along every available length of eaves on the storefronts they passed.

  Carly McCall’s boutique windows glittered with shiny baubles and balls draped on mannequins adorned in old-fashioned lace and velvet. Buttons and trim and all manner of sewing notions lay scattered against cotton batting that resembled fresh-fallen snow.

  At the end of Main Street, a twenty-foot decorated Douglas fir straddled the courthouse and churchyard, a bright star at its highest point.

  Cars were already lined up behind a barricade guarded by one of Sheriff Cheyenne Bodine’s deputies.

  “My gosh, I didn’t know this was going to be such a huge production,” Kelly said.

  “Compliments of Emily Bodine,” Chance said. “The woman knows her business when it comes to advertising.”

  “I’ll say.” Kelly had just started working at the clinic when Emily had come to town, pregnant with twins as the result of a surrogate agreement with her sister and Cheyenne Bodine’s brother. The woman’s capacity to love touched Kelly and everyone else in town—especially the man who’d become Emily’s handsome husband, Sheriff Cheyenne Bodine.

  “A camel!”
Jessica squealed from behind them, bouncing just behind Chance’s shoulder. “Look, Kimmy!”

  Both little girls poked their heads between Chance and Kelly, their round eyes agog.

  “Pretty cool, huh?” Chance said with a wink. “Ethan Callahan had the camels and donkeys trucked in, Wyatt Malone provided the cows and sheep, and Stony Stratton brought horses.”

  They’d barely pulled the sleigh off to the side of the church before Jessica and Kimberly were clamoring to get down.

  “Careful, girls,” Kelly cautioned. “We don’t want to spook the animals.”

  “Can we pet ’em?” Jessica asked while Kimberly’s eyes pleaded.

  “’Course you can pet them,” Chance said. “As long as your mom or me are with you. Careful of the camels, though. They spit.”

  “Do not!”

  He grinned, winked at Jessica and ruffled Kimmy’s hair. “Scout’s honor.”

  Kelly raised a brow. “Were you a Scout?”

  “Well, no. But they do spit—the camels, that is.”

  He took off his coat and Kelly smiled at his shepherd costume. He was likely to freeze his buns off in this weather. Since they were nice buns, she thought that’d be a pity.

  “Silent Night” played through huge speakers positioned on the church steps. A tent with portable heaters housed tables laden with cookies, hot chocolate and urns of steaming coffee.

  “I need my shepherds in place!” Dan Lucas called. The pastor’s booming laughter rang around the parking lot, vying with the sounds of animals, children and Christmas hymns.

  “That’s me,” Chance said. “Coming?”

  Kelly shook her head. “We’re not in costume. I’ll catch you on your break.”

  “Aw, Mom,” Jessica complained.

  “Plenty of time to visit with the animals and do a walk-through,” she told her daughter. “We’ll go help out at the concession stand for a while.”

  Chance nodded and headed for his place, taking the lead ropes of the donkeys he was in charge of.