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Authors: Maggie Shayne

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BOOK: A Husband in Time
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“You could've come to me with nothing but the clothes on your back, Zachariah. Don't you realize—” She blinked fast, took a breath. “Ask me what?”

“To be my wife, Jane. To be the mother Benjamin has never had, the one he's been wishing for. To let me be a father to Cody. To let me love you for the rest of my life. Will you, Jane?”

He saw her lips tremble, saw her eyes well with tears.

“Say yes!” two voices shouted in unison.

Zach swung around at the same moment Jane did, to see the two small forms perched on the stairs, watching them. Ben and Cody came the rest of the way down, hesitating at the foot of the stairway, arm
in arm. Two curly heads of red hair, two pairs of big green eyes, two freckled faces. Two strong, healthy bodies, one a bit bigger than the other. They were brothers to their souls. They stood grinning, awaiting Jane's reply as breathlessly as Zach was.

“Say yes, Jane,” Zach whispered, hooking her chin with a forefinger and drawing her gaze to his once more.

“Yes,” she said.

The two boys broke into whoops of triumph and ran to them, shouldering their way between them and forcing them apart. “A dad!” Cody said, rushing into Zach's arms and hugging him hard. “I really have a dad!”

Zach had to swallow past a lump in his throat, and then it became impassable when he glanced up to see Benjamin, his arms linked around Jane's neck as she held him tight. “Can I call you Mommy?” Ben whispered loudly in her ear.

“You'd better,” she told him, and her tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks. She met Zach's eyes over the heads of the boys. And he knew his own were probably tearing up, too, but there was no helping it. He gently moved Cody aside, his eyes locked with Jane's as he moved toward her. She set Benjamin down on the floor and came to him. They met, and his arms went around her. He kissed her then, the way he'd been longing to do for so long it seemed like forever.

“Did I mention that I love you, Jane?” he asked her, unsure whether she heard over the joyous shouts of the boys.

“It never hurts to say it again,” she told him.

Epilogue

“W
ell now, Sterling, dear,” Kate Fortune said, her eyes twinkling, “Didn't I tell you Jane was going to find her heart's desire in that house? Didn't I?”

“Kate, you know perfectly well you were referring to the antique shop and the old-fashioned atmosphere, not that time-hopping inventor.”

“Don't be so sure,” she chided.

“Now, Kate, there's no way you could have known all of this would happen,” Sterling said softly.

“Don't forget, dear, I lived in that house for a time.”

Sterling only gaped for a long moment as Kate waggled her eyebrows. “Are you saying…that you knew…about that doorway through time?”

She only shrugged and moved away. “I'm very, very worried about Natalie, Sterling. I have a feeling she needs me.” She tilted her head. “Let's go check on her.”

“Kate…” Shaking his head, Sterling began to pace. “Kate, the entire idea is to keep you away from your family. But you insist on hopping from one grandchild to the next like some kind of fairy godmother! I'm trying to keep you alive, dear.”

“But I'm having so much fun being dead!” She
winked. “Besides, I've never had so much freedom to meddle without getting caught. It's wonderful, darling. Now come here. Sit down with me and let's make some travel plans. I do believe my darling granddaughter Natalie Fortune has been responsible, reliable, and
lonely,
for just about long enough.”

“Perhaps I should send her an anonymous note warning her of the whirlwind that's about to descend on her docile life.”

“But it's much more fun when it's a surprise, don't you think?”

“You never fail to surprise me, Kate.”

“That's good, Sterling. I only hope I never will.”

A HUSBAND IN TIME

Copyright © 1997 by Harlequin Books S.A.

ISBN: 978-1-4268-7321-8

Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Maggie Shayne for her contribution to the FORTUNE'S CHILDREN series.

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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BOOK: A Husband in Time
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