What She Wants for Christmas

Janice Kay Johnson

All Teresa wants under her Christmas tree is Joe Hughes!Teresa has finally met her perfect man. Joe is gorgeous, strong and passionate…but he also has an intensely private quality that's a challenge to any self-respecting woman.And it's not as though Teresa really needs another challenge in her life. She's just moved to a small town in Washington, which her young son thinks is "cool" and her teenage daughter hates! And even worse, although Teresa's a darn good vet, the local farmers won't let her treat their livestock.But through it all, Teresa can't resist loving Joe. Even when she learns he's keeping a secret that threatens their future happiness….

“Is something wrong, Mom?”

She ought to tell him she didn’t expect to see Joe ever again. But she couldn’t. Not at Christmas. “No,” she said shakily.

Mark nodded, apparently satisfied.

“You really like Joe, don’t you?” Teresa asked.

Mark stopped playing with his Christmas gift from Joe. He lifted his head. Joe was the first man Mark had really cared about since his father’s death. Losing Joe, too, would devastate her son. Her heart wouldn’t be the only one breaking.

“Yeah,” Mark said carefully. “He’s really cool. I was thinking—I mean wondering…well, do you think you might marry him?” The last came out in a rush.

She couldn’t seem to speak, didn’t know what to say.

The truth, she thought. Tell him as much of the truth as you can bear.

“If he ever asks me to marry him, I’d say yes.”

Mark studied her for a long moment, his eyes serious, then gave another decisive nod. “Good.”

What She Wants for Christmas

Janice Kay Johnson

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

JANICE KAY JOHNSON

Janice Kay Johnson is the author of more than sixty books for adults and children. She has been a finalist for a Romance Writers of America RITA

Award four times for her Harlequin Superromance novels. A former librarian, Janice lives north of Seattle, Washington, and is an active volunteer and board member of Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter. When not fostering kittens or writing, she gardens, quilts, reads and e-mails her two daughters, who are both in Southern California.

CONTENTS

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

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER ONE

“CAN’T WE GO shopping?”

Thirty seconds after walking in the front door from a lousy day at work, these were not the first words Teresa Burkett wanted to hear from her daughter.

“Don’t whine,” she said automatically. “I didn’t let you whine when you were two, and I’m not going to start now.”

Nicole dumped a cat off her lap and rose from her slouch on the sofa. Sounding teenage indignant, she said, “Can’t I ask a perfectly reasonable question?”

“Certainly.” Teresa headed for the kitchen. “Go right ahead.”

Mark was already there. A typical ten-going-on-eleven-year-old boy, he was eating. String cheese, a bowl of some sugary cereal and a pop. Teresa shuddered.

She opened the fridge and grabbed a cola. Caffeine. She needed it quick. One long swallow later, she noticed the casserole dish, still covered with aluminum foil, reposing on the refrigerator shelf.

Stay calm. “You didn’t put dinner on like I asked.”

“Mo-om.” Her pretty dark-haired daughter looked at her as if she were an idiot. “It isn’t time to put dinner on. You’re home early.”

Teresa sighed. “I’m sorry. I forgot.”

Mouth full, Mark asked, “How was your day?”

“Crummy.” She made a face. “I did three spays, wormed two horses and treated a few miscellaneous cats and dogs. Otherwise, I hung around the clinic hopefully and helped Eric load his truck.”

The dairy farmers had decided their animals could afford to wait until the vet they knew—a man—could get around to them. They were a conservative lot, these farmers. Their daughters and wives might get their hands dirty helping out, but they didn’t make the major decisions and they didn’t become