Substitute Daddy
by Rose, Dahlia
Rancher Matthew Ryder knew how to make money work for him. From the time he was twenty, he turned his father’s failing business into a multi billion-dollar enterprise. Computers, software, finances, and corporate takeovers, he could handle them all. But nothing said home to him like leaving the city behind and heading to his ranch in Nevada. His father’s love of horses was his, and he had the best horseflesh and cattle in the state. But when tragedy strikes, and his best friend was killed in an accident on the ranch just before Christmas, Matthew was left wondering what life was about. In town he found a pregnant fiancée that Lance never spoke about, and he wondered what other secrets was kept from him. Matthew found himself wanting to protect the beauty and her unborn child. He’d made a fortune and still something was missing. Maybe she and her baby were the people to fill that void. Grace Reid was an ebony beauty who carried herself with poise. She was heading back to Georgia the day Lance was killed. He was a cheating, lying bastard, and she was better off raising the baby alone. She had fully intended to be at her mama’s for Christmas, but her doctor had already given her the bad news that she was too far along to travel, and now she was stuck in Roman, Nevada. With her money dwindling and no prospects, Matthew Ryder came knocking on her door. It seemed that Lance had kept secrets from them both. She went from living in Lance's dingy apartment to waiting to have her baby in a mansion on a ranch. With the attraction between her and Matthew, she wondered if she was making another stupid mistake. Did he see her as another thing he could buy with his money, or did he really care? She had her baby to think about. Being tossed aside when he got bored wasn’t an option. Would love or money win when the day was done?