The Eden Tree (32 page)
Authors: Doreen Owens Malek
“No, Con. To stay with you forever.”
He stared at her for a moment and then sighed. “You’re mad. You’ve gone mad and I don’t blame you. I’m half there myself.”
“Listen to me, Connor. Here I am and here I’ll stay. You’re not going to get rid of me.”
He shook his head. “There’s no mistake in the records, Aislinn. I went to Holy Rosary. I flew back to Derbyshire and saw my original birth certificate. Kevin was my father.”
“I know. But he wasn’t mine.”
She watched the import of her statement register in his eyes. He stood up so fast his chair crashed to the floor. He seized her and searched her face.
“What are you saying?” he demanded breathlessly.
“I’m saying that you’re the rightful heir to Ildathach; you’re Kevin’s only child. My real father is a cipher, and from the single fact I know about as Irish as
sauerbraten
.”
Con picked her up and spun her around the tiny shack, laughing and crying and yelling at the top of his lungs. “Are you sure, Aislinn? Are you sure?” He finally set her down and they both sat on the floor.
Linn calmed him enough to listen and she happily recounted Karen’s story. He watched her every movement, absorbed her every word. When she was finished, he gathered her tenderly into his arms and pressed his cheek against her hair.
“I hope I’m sober enough to make sense,” he said. “I love you and want you to marry me. Immediately.”
“That makes perfect sense to me.” Linn tugged at his shirttails, pulling them free of his pants. “Are you sober enough for something else?” she asked, kissing his exposed chest.
He pulled her on top of him and began removing her clothes. “We may shock the sheep,” he said huskily.
“As long as we don’t shock the shepherds. Are there any nearby?”
“I hope not but I don’t care. Do you?”
“Certainly not. I’m the lady who likes to make love in the grass.” She caressed him intimately. “Remember?”
Bells tinkled in the distance. “I think they’re on their way,” Linn observed.
“So are we,” Con replied, and silenced her with a kiss.
– THE END –
I am Doreen Owens Malek, author of over forty books and lifelong fan of romantic fiction. I live in PA with my husband and college student daughter, a mini dachshund and a sun conyer parrot. I would like to tell you a little about myself.
I came to writing by a circuitous route, starting out as an avid reader of
Jane Eyre
and
Wuthering Heights
and
Gone With the Wind
and
Rebecca
, and any other similarly themed books I could find. I first worked as a teacher and then graduated from law school when I desired a more lucrative and independent career. I had always been discouraged from pursuing a writing career by the volatile nature of the business and the relatively poor chance for success. But the realization that I needed a focus for the future encouraged me to do what I had always wanted to do. I sold my fledgling novel to the first editor who read it, and I have been writing ever since. I have written all types of books for all types of people, but my favorite literary pursuit is and always has been romance. Nothing is as rewarding as hearing from my readers, so please use my website to communicate your thoughts and criticisms, as I am always eager to learn from you.
A romance novel rarely disappoints me: in an uncertain world filled with tragedy and sadness, reading about an appealing woman finding a strong man to love her and share her life is the perfect escape. I like to read and write stories in which the main characters overcome obstacles to get together, and then stay together because their mutual devotion cannot be denied no matter what else is happening around them. They always HELP each other and reinforce the quaint but enduring notion that love conquers all—at least in the fictional universe of my imagination. So pull up a chair and take down a book—or pick up a Kindle—and join me in a world where the heroes are tough and headstrong but never boorish and the heroines are feminine and sympathetic but never helpless.
Happy reading!
— Doreen Owens Malek
See all of
Doreen Owens Malek’s
Kindle eBooks on
Amazon.com
FEBRUARY 2013 RELEASE
UNSUITABLE
The Rancher and the Schoolmarm
Rancher Jason McClain trusted no one but his nine-year-old son. His former wife had taught him that women were calculating and faithless and that love was trap. He had no intention of ever being caught in it again.
Then Jason met Carrie Maxwell, Johnny’s fourth-grade teacher. He was touched by her beauty, her innocence and the gentle understanding she showed his troubled son. Haunted by his memories, self-conscious about his scarred body, he felt he had nothing to offer a woman. Carrie knew she could heal his wounds if he’d let her. But could she convince him to trust again?
JANUARY 2013 RELEASE
CLASH BY NIGHT
A World War II Romantic Drama
United by Love, Divided by War
As the German war machine claims Europe, tanks roll into the peaceful French village of Fains Les Sources, and the brave French Resistance fighters wage their desperate struggle for freedom. But for three proud, passionate women, the same fierce conflict that rages throughout France burns in their own hearts…and will forever change their lives.
From the sun-drenched beauty of the French countryside to the bloody beaches of Normandy, from the dark and terrible days of the Occupation to the glory of liberation, this is the magnificent story of the men and women, lovers and enemies, whose passionate dreams and undying patriotism shape the destiny of their land and their lives.
RECENT CONTEMPORARY
ROMANCE RELEASES
by Doreen Owens Malek
Brand new, never before published
Contemporary Romance
AMANDA’S BLUE MARINE
Available for digital download
at Amazon.com, and in print at
www.doreenowensmalek.com
Amanda’s Blue Marine
marks the return of Doreen Owens Malek to publishing after a 12 year absence. It is with great pleasure that Doreen presents her new, never before published contemporary romance
Amanda’s Blue Marine
.
When Amanda Redfield, an assistant district attorney from a wealthy and prominent Philadelphia family, is being harassed by a mysterious stalker, she meets Brendan Kelly, the police detective assigned to her case. Smart and capable but deeply troubled, Kelly protects Amanda while he works to find her tormentor, but his disturbing presence and rogue behavior disrupt Amanda’s settled life. She is helplessly drawn to the sexy and charming but barely controlled cop, and as their passion grows she must choose between her prosperous and settled past and an uncertain future with a man whose own life is spiraling out of control. How she draws on her wits and resources to eventually rescue Kelly emotionally in the same way that he rescues her physically makes for a powerful and satisfying love story.
Look for the reissue of the
enormously popular
A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE (1989)
,
available for digital download at Amazon.com
Taylor Braddock. His name brought back memories of a man so handsome that a young girl had fallen in love—and made a fool of herself. A man so unique he’d spoiled Sharon Philips for any other love.
But now her father’s will had joined their lives once again. In a final attempt at matchmaking, Dad left half his California horse ranch to Sharon, the other half to Braddock—provided they were husband and wife.
A quick wedding. A quick divorce. A quick sale of the ranch. It seemed simple. But time had only fueled their passion. Could Taylor erase ten years of pain and show Sharon that loving him was her destiny?