Click on image to enlarge.

	Regular				Club
You Pay:	$3.99				$3.39

eBook Category: Romance
eBook Description: When he hears that his uncle is offering a million dollar reward for the return of a lost wallaby (even though the wallaby, Wilma, was a favorite), political pro Noah Francis thinks it's time to go home to Bennett, Texas--a small town he's avoided since college, and straighten things out. It's also a chance to spend some quality time with his teenage daughter, Krissy--which is important since Krissy has been angry with him since her mother and he divorced. Noah suspects he'll run into his teenage hearthrob, Lou Ann Miles. What he doesn't suspect is that his heart will still throb, or that any of that old magic will remain. When he left Bennett, he'd stomped her heart flat and Lou Ann isn't about to forgive him for that. At least she doesn't mean to until sexy Noah Francis is back in town. He's a lot better looking than he was as a teenager, and his daughter, lost and angry, tugs at her heart. But the things that drove them apart in the first place remain--Lou Ann will never move to Washington D. C. and Noah is nothing if not a political animal. Then there's the secret she's been holding for so many years--a secret that will almost certainly destroy any residual affection Noah feels for her.

eBook Publisher: BooksForABuck, Published: 2007
Fictionwise Release Date: July 2007

3 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [577 KB], eReader (PDB) [203 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [189 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [168 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [171 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [211 KB], hiebook (KML) [419 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [249 KB], iSilo (PDB) [157 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [195 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [229 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [255 KB]
Words: 60564
Reading time: 173-242 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED
ISBN: 978-1-60215-054-6

Noah Francis stared out the window of the plane and thanked God he was flying a Super 80 with two seats on one side of the aisle, so he didn't feel quite so much like a sardine in a can. Which was about the only good thing he could think of to say about this fly-by-night trip back Bennett, Texas, the small town where he'd grown up and ran from as fast as he could. If it hadn't been for that fact that his Uncle Lyn, the man who'd raised him, had suddenly gone completely off his rocker--though he'd been slightly off for as long as Noah had known him--he'd be back in his office where he needed to be right now doing what he needed to be doing ... or maybe not.

He let his gaze fall on the teenaged girl slouched in the seat between him and the window, jamming to some rock/pop/bop song on her mp3 player, oblivious to his eyes on her and the clouds beyond. Talking to her didn't appear to be an option, and quite frankly he wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Noah wished he felt better about where he was headed--he hadn't seen his only other living relative in years, and regardless of the reason for this visit, the girl next to him, his daughter, deserved a chance to know both him and his uncle. He'd wanted to spend more time with Krissy for a long time, but this trip wasn't exactly the kind of father-daughter outing he'd had in mind.

One week ago he'd been hard at work in his office in Washington D.C., planning up upcoming fund-raiser for Harrison Stephens, a politician that PACT--People and Animals Coalition Team--the animal rights group he'd helped create, had high hopes of seeing elected to Congress in the fall. Others were depending on him--not only Harrison and PACT--but the people and animals across the country that depended on his organization to help prevent abuse, set standards for ownership and upkeep, and make sure animals weren't taken advantage of in testing and other kinds of 'research.' Noah felt strongly about his work, though some--his ex-wife included--had laughed--and cursed--him up one side and down the other when he'd left a high-paying and prestigious job as a campaign manager to pursue his passion. It went back to his roots though, and he felt his decision had been the best one he'd made in years. Unfortunately it had cost him his marriage and often, he felt, his daughter. He now moved in different circles than his rich ex-wife, and every other weekend when he saw Krissy, she seemed to be mad at him.

He studied his daughter again, taking in the young lady she seemed to have grown into overnight--not that young ladies these days looked anything like they once did. He thought back to a special one he'd known a long time ago, remembered tight blue jeans and white t-shirts, long auburn hair clipped back in a pony tail, and inwardly shuddered at this black-attired, blue-headed creature next to him. Fashion remained a complete mystery to him, almost as much of a mystery as women themselves. While he wouldn't mind learning more about the latter, he didn't have much use for the first. In the old days jeans and western shirts had been enough for him, then suits and ties, and in more recent years, khakis and polo shirts offered just about as much style as he needed on a daily basis. Women--on the other hand--had more serious agendas when they dressed.

Which brought his thoughts back to the fund-raiser and the hotshot intern. She'd been one pretty pissed off young lady when she'd found out he not only had unexpected parental duties for two weeks while his ex took off on a cruise with her latest paramour, but also that he planned to go to Texas to save his rich but eccentric Uncle Lyn from making a big mistake with about one million dollars worth of his money.

Normally an intern's opinion wouldn't have mattered a hill of beans to Noah, but Harrison Stephens had specifically asked that Mimi Richards be placed in charge of this fund-raiser and given kid-glove treatment. Evidently Stephens' owed a favor to someone in a position to help with his campaign in a big way, so ambitious little Mimi had become the beneficiary. She was smart enough and hungry for power and political clout--but for the life of him Noah couldn't see why she'd thought working for Harrison Stephens' campaign would bring her those things. Stephens was a long shot at best, and while Noah was used to the supporting underdogs--no pun intended--he couldn't see why Mimi, with her brains and good looks, would bother. She seemed totally committed though, and knew the right people to get to a benefit backing Stephens. She'd been less than thrilled at Noah dumping the entire she-bang on her lap at the twenty-fourth hour.

"It would really be nice," Mimi had informed him with some irony after his announcement, "if you could convince him to send that million dollars our way."

She was right, of course, but Noah knew no one could tell his Uncle Lyn to do anything he didn't want to do--and helping Noah win a political campaign probably wasn't at the top of his list. Lyndon Bass, with his love of animals and the environment, had instilled those same interests in his nephew. The problem was that Lyn was also an odd bird, and when he got something into his head, there wasn't much way of getting it out. His latest little fiasco was taking the cake a bit too far, Noah thought, a mid-flight frown crossing his brow again.

Lyn's favorite pet wallaby, a female named Wilma--had gone missing a few days ago. Noah had been having lunch with Mimi when he'd gotten a call from an old friend informing him of his uncle's shenanigans. The young woman was already perturbed because he'd brought Krissy along after his ex, Janet, unexpectedly dropped his daughter by the office on her way out of town. Noah had enough to think about with his realization he couldn't let Janet continue to raise their daughter if she planned to continue such irresponsible behavior. He didn't like confrontations with his ex, but he saw one looming on the horizon. The jingle of his cell phone had almost been a welcome interruption from the glares both of the ladies at the table were sending him.

"Of course I remember you, Lesley," Noah said, letting the caller do the talking for the next few moments. Finally his frustration erupted without control. "He's done what?! That's crazy!" After listening another moment or two, he continued, "Yes, well, thanks. I'll have to think it through. It's a really bad time right now. Sure, nice talking to you too."

Noah hung up his phone then focused his attention back to the young women, both of whom now appeared more curious than angry. That was something, at least. "Blast from the past," he said, not really wanting to go into details about the caller's identity or connection to his past. Instead, he rushed headlong into the crisis of which he'd just been informed.

"A friend was calling about my Uncle Lyn."

Mimi, her anger momentarily put aside, batted her eyelashes and leaned forward with interest. "Isn't he the one in Texas, with the kangaroos and all that money?"